LOVE

I am sure most parents can relate, but no one could have told me how truly and utterly I would fall in love with a child.

Sure, Carolyn can certainly try my patience (especially now as she asserts her independence -trust me, she is a feisty toddler). But I have never enjoyed a role in life more than I do being mother.

She makes me laugh.

She kisses my boo-boos.

She asks for hugs and freely gives kisses.

She is daring. She is adventursome.

She is not afraid to try anything.

But she still comes back and asks mama to hold her.

She makes up her own songs.

She is excited by the little things in life that I never would have noticed without her.

She amazes me everyday.

And, everyday I fall just a little more in love with her.

Thank you, Carolyn, for showing me just how much love is in my heart.

Two little monkeys ....

.... jumping on the bed.

Thankfully, neither fell off and bumped her head.

Follow the link below to see a video that Katy made of the two little monkeys.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eurohNXsUsc

Note: This is from our trip back to Ohio in June. Katy is Becky's cousin; Lauren is her daughter. Carolyn and Lauren are essentially the same age (Lauren is 2.5 months older).

Speaking of Jumping

Wow, two posts in one day and both about jumping!

This weekend, I took Carolyn to a place called "Jumping Jacks." It is an indoor warehouse filled with those big inflatable bounce houses. She and Max (Michelle and Josh's son) had a ball running around, sliding, and jumping. Carolyn actually showed some fear and caution at this place. I think this was the first time I have ever seen her be hesitant to do something. A little fear and caution is a good thing, in my opinion.

The place also had a few other little amusement rides. She kept climbing in and out of the cars, acting like she was driving them. She loved them. Then, she climbed on one with another little girl whose mommy put in some coins. Whoa! She loved them even more, and could not stop asking me to make them start. Needless to say, I buckled and changed in some dollars for some coins.

With the temperatures in the 90s (and me feeling under-the-weather still), it was a nice way to spend a morning.

UPDATE: I have strep throat. I went to the Urgent Care clinic this morning where they quickly confirmed it and gave me a shot of penicilin. About 12 hours after the shot, the pain in my throat was starting to ease a little. Hopefully, by the time I wake up in the morning, I will be well on my way to recovery.

An overdue vacation post

When I was uploading some photos today, I noticed a bunch of photos from our trip to Ohio last month and realized that I never posted a review of our trip. I think I was waiting to get some photos from a few people, and then I just forgot about doing it.

Our trip began on June 10. We flew into Detroit, picked up a car, and drove to Joerg and Ann's house in Ann Arbor. We did not get there until 1 in the morning, so went straight to bed. Unfortunately, by the time the sun came up the next morning, Steve had a full-blown case of the flu. He stayed in bed most of the day, while the kids (Oli & Carolyn) played together. Ann and I snuck away for a bit to get pedicures. Then, the four adults enjoyed an evening out while the kids played at the Y. Carolyn and Oli were sweaty and excited when we picked them up, so they must have had fun. Steve, on the other hand, could not eat a thing and still felt pretty weak and lousy, but at least he stuck it out and could spend an evening with us.

The next morning, Steve drove me and Carolyn to meet my dad -- somewhere around Findlay Ohio -- so I could go to Dayton and make a surprise visit. I think granny just about had a heart attack when Carolyn and I showed up at her door, while Addie and Emerson were excited to show us their new puppy, Lilly Cupcake. The main reason I wanted to come home was to see Addie in her dance recital. And, boy, was she good!

On Sunday morning, we woke up pretty early, packed up the car again..... this time, headed toward Cleveland. Carolyn and I drove from Dayton with my parents (Aunt Kathy rode along with us, too). Steve, after spending another day in bed at Joerg and Ann's house, was driving from Ann Arbor to Cleveland. We all arrived shortly after lunchtime, just in time for the Altman JUNE party. In addition to the numerous birthdays in the Altman family, this year we were also celebrating Hayley's graduation from high school (Congrats Hayley!). The party was at Brecksville reservation, the same pavilion that we celebrated Carolyn's first birthday party the year before. After the party, we spent the rest of our time in Cleveland, visiting with my parents and Steve's parents before we drove back to Detroit for our flight back home on June 17th.

Oh, the flight ..... all I can say is that it is not exactly easy to fly with a very active 2-year old. But she sure did love her new suitcase. She took it with her everywhere and insisted on carrying it herself.

It was nice to see so many friends and family.

Carolyn and Oli making funny faces

At the dance recital

Cousins

Attention from both Grandpas

Becky, Kristin, and their girls - Carolyn & Savannah

Carolyn had fun playing with her 'cousin' Lauren -- Lauren is Katy (my cousin)'s daughter

We also went to Kristin's house to play with Savannah and CJ

We can find playgrounds anywhere we go

This is Carolyn eating her 'pup-cake' ... you should have seen her jumping up and down when dad told her she could have one.

Grandma Carol very patiently showed Carolyn had to use the shap sorter.

Steve's family: 1. Jeni (cousin) and her daughter Brooke, 2. Rachel (niece), our biggest fan, made us a welcome sign, 3. Bill (brother) playing some sort of game.

In her words

This morning, Carolyn came over to me and said "Mama, need a horse please." I sadly told her that "No, I do not think we will be getting a horse." She seemed a little sad, maybe a bit frustrated.

So, she went over to her drawer and pulled out a hair-band. She then said, "Need a horse. Pink hairband. Please." I love that she kept saying "please" with this request.

By now, I realize that she does not really want a pet horse, but I did not put two and two together yet.

Next she says, "Mama, want tail like Elise. Please." Her please was not as sweet this time, but sounded a little desperate (Elise is her friend, who is a bit older and has longer hair).

Ah ha!

So I asked, "Carolyn, do you want a pony tail in your hair?"

12-Month Family Photo Challenge

I almost missed last month, but it is only the first week of July and I already have our family photo for July. Here we are in Park City waiting for the fireworks on fourth of july.

Note how we are dressed. We certainly were not prepared for 43 degree weather that greeted us that evening when the sun went down. Who would have known that the temperature could go that low on the fourth of july. It was pretty miserable, but I do not know which is worse -- the near-freezing weather of the mountains or the heat wave that the east coast is currently having?

Happy Fourth of July

This past weekend, we went on vacation, but only traveled 20 minutes to get there. So, I guess that is what you call a "staycation."

We were planning on going to the symphony at Deer Valley on Saturday night with some neighbors, and then decided it would be fun to also go up for the parade on Sunday morning, so why not stay the night in Park City? When I found such a good deal at the new Waldorf Astoria ($99/night), we decided to stay for two nights.

Oh, I am pretty sure the rate we got on the room was a mistake because when another family tried to book at the same rate, the website had been changed with the correct promotional rate of $199/night. Oh well. Their mistake. Our gain. We lived like the elite for a few days...champagne tastes on a beer budget.

Here are some pics of our "vacation house" as Carolyn called it.

We started our weekend with a night at the symphony with our neighbors Brian & Katie, who have two girls, Abby (almost 4)and Emily (18 months). It was at the Deer Valley amphitheater and they played all patriotic tunes. My favorite part of the evening was when Carolyn started singing along to the "Ants Go Marching" song. As for the picture of her in the tall grass, she thought she was playing hide-n-seek with a group of older kids. She was sad when they ran right past her, instead of saying "I found you." Poor girl. She tried to fit in with the big kids, but they hardly even noticed her.

We went to the parade on Sunday morning, but Carolyn was not all that interested. Who could blame her, we did not have the best of view. Instead, she insisted on going back to the playground that she spotted when we were walking to the parade route. It was perfect timing because she had the whole place to herself since all of the other kids were busy watching the parade. We then meandered around the street festival, listened to some music, and ate lunch on Main Street. For lunch, Carolyn told me that she wanted to eat tofu, green beans, brown rice, and kiwi. We had to settle for a slice of watermelon and a crepe with roasted veggies and chicken.

Next, Steve played golf with some friends, while Carolyn and I relaxed back at the hotel. I think her favorite part of vacation might have been jumping on the bed in our room.

When Steve got back from golf, we made ourselves a picnic dinner (well, more accurately, we bought it from Whole Foods) and took the shuttle to the golf course where we had a great view of evening's fireworks. For this meal, Carolyn did get her tofu! She was even more pleased with her special treat, a piece of berry streusel. As the sun began to set we realized how very cold it was going to be and how unprepared we were for the extreme drop in temperature. We dug through our bags for anything that might keep us warm. We used socks as mittens, sunhats on our heads, and all three of us bundled together in the blanket. I am not exaggerating; we were in survival mode.... it was 43 degrees! The thermometer on the shuttle confirmed it and so did the evening's news.

On Monday morning, we slept in, spent some time in the pool, and enjoyed a final brunch before we went back home, where we all took a 3 hour nap. Now, that is how holiday weekends should be spent!