Christmas Day 2011

Carolyn slept in until 945. She came downstairs, where I was watching "White Christmas." She decided she wanted to snuggle on the couch and watch the movie with me. She really had no interest in seeing whether Santa came or not. After the movie was over, I reminded her that it was Christmas and that we should go upstairs and look around to see if Santa had come to our house. She walked slowly upstairs, kind of scared. Then, she saw something new sitting on the table next to the fire place. She was still very cautious and walked very slowly over to it. It was a wind-up toy prince (nutcracker). Next to it was a bowl of nuts with a nutcracker. And there was a big card with her name on it. Her wish to Santa was for a toy prince that could crack real nuts and that was wind-up. Santa left her a note saying that it was a difficult wish to fulfill, but he found a toy prince that was wind-up, but that she would have to ask her parents to help her crack the nuts with a real nutcracker. She was pretty quiet this whole time, but definitely excited. She ate a bunch of nuts, and just kept staring at her new toy-prince, winding him up so his feet and hands marches. She's a believer!

As she played with her new toyprince, I quickly made us some breakfast. Belgian waffles with fresh berries (and of course, more whipped cream for Carolyn). During breakfast, Carolyn asked if she could give me the gift she picked out. A new lunchbox, that asks if I am a good witch or a bad witch. Carolyn has already asked if she can borrow it.

Then, it was time to open our presents. We still had to open the gifts from Grandma Lynn and Grandpa Mike, as well as our family gifts. Thanks Mom and Dad for all of the loot -- the new dishes, the sheets, the gravy boat, the stationary, the new sweater, the abacus, some clothes for carolyn, and the puzzle and game! Thanks to Steve for the new ceramic flat iron (hair), a Kindle Fire, bracelet, and hand-calligraphied stationary. From me and Carolyn, Steve got a bunch of new clothes, a whole new drawerfull of socks (all the same, so we do not have to worry about losing matching socks anymore), snow boots, a pair of Crocs, and a winter hat. From us, Carolyn got a new game, a couple of books, and winter snow outfit - with boots, hat, mittens, coat, long underware, and snow pants. It was a fun morning. Carolyn definitely knows what to do with gifts.

If she opened a book, we always had to stop and read it to her.

After a late and slow morning, we cleaned up the house and got ready for our open-house party. At 5, we invited friends (mostly those who do not have family in town) over for some cocktails and home-made pizzas. Steve set up a full bar with every sort of fresh juice and mixer imaginable and downloaded a new app on the i-pad that allowed everyone to randomly pick a cocktail based on what types of liquor they wanted. He mixed cocktails and kept everyone's glasses full. Everyone had fun with that! I made some home made pizzas to fill everyone's bellies. It was such an easy and casual and fun party. Our visitors included Michaela, Martin, Constantin, and Victoria (visiting from Germnay); Kim, Nick, and Sebi (Becky's colleague and family); Ryan, Katie, and Sayer (neighbors); Joe, Nancy, Laila (friends); Dave, Elle, Carly, Lauren, Sabrina (neighbors); Nikki and Joshua (friends); and Michelle, Josh, Max (friends). The kids entertained themselves, mostly with some christmas movies and games. I think most of them were pretty tired and wanted to just sit in front of the TV with blankets. The adults entertained themselves too, especially when I cleared the food from the table and set up a puzzle. I think this may have to become a tradition. It was a very fun evening!

We misss our families at Christmas time, but we are thankful to have such great friends and neighbors in Salt Lake City. We feel blessed.

Christmas Eve 2011

We shared a traditional turkey dinner with our next-door neighbor, RJ. Becky made the feast, which included a turkey breast, sausage apple fennel dressing, homemade cranberry sauce, mashed potatos, gravy, brussel sprouts, and a pumpkin pie. Carolyn's favorite part of the "feast" was the amount of whipped cream she was allowed to have on the pie!

On Christmas Eve, we opened a few gifts, including those from the Altman family. Thank you to Bill for the pajama pants; Steve wore a pair to bed last night. Thank you to Char for the gloves; they will go in the car to keep my hands warm this winter. Thank you to Hayley for the new purse and tights. Carolyn proceeded to put every gift she opened into her new purse and carried it around all night. From Harry and Carol, we thank you for the money, which will deposited into Carolyn's (and eventually, Elizabeth's) bank accounts. Some of it will be used to purchase our annual zoo membership, and more will be put toward the new wardrobe we our buying for our bedroom next week. The earrings have already made their debute; Carolyn slept with her new frosty doll and played for a long time with the cars; and Steve will be cozy and warm with his new shirt. Thank you to the Altmans.

The theme of the Tangeman (my mom's family) gift exchange was "homemade." Each person drew a name and had to make their gift, keeping their supply budget limited to $10. Carolyn made a picture frame ornament for Emerson, with a picture of her and him. I made Mark a batch of preserved lemons and real vanilla extract, with recipes for each. Steve made my dad some snacks, like peanut brittle, peppermint bark, and trail mix. These were my favorite gifts to give and receive. Carolyn received a pretty little bracelet, made by Angela, my cousin's girlfriend. Thanks Angela.

RJ brought us many gifts, including lots of arts and crafts supplies for Carolyn and some lace-up sewing cards, which entertained all of us. Thank you, RJ, we are thankful to have you as a neighbor and a friend!

As the night wore on, Carolyn was getting pretty tired, but wanted nothing to do with going to bed. So, we let her open one more gift, from my parents. Her new sleeping bag. She knew exactly what it was. I wish I had taken a video because she just kept screaming, "It's a sleeping bag. It's a sleeping bag." Immediately, she put on the new PJs from RJ and snuggled into her sleeping bag on the couch downstairs and fell asleep. We scooped her up and put her to bed a little later, after the kitchen was cleaned up.

I will have to update this later on, letting you know what time she finally wakes up for Christmas Day. It is almost 930 now, and I do not expect to hear her little feet for another hour or two. I am thinking I am going to curl up on the couch and watch "White Christmas" - my all-time favorite movie to watch over the holidays. Merry Christmas!

Pre-Christmas Adventures

I took most of the week off before Christmas, so Carolyn and I had a lot of adventures. Here are some photos. We went to Zoo Lights. After watching the reindeer parade, she jumped in line to see Santa because she had some questions for him. First, she wanted to know why he comes down the chimney. Then, she asked how he fits because he is kind of big. Then, she asked what he did when there was a fire. Then, what happens when some houses do not have fire places? He uses the door. Then, finally, he said, "Santa is Magic. That is how it happens. How did you come up with all of these question?" Her reply, "I was just thinking. Hey, Santa, I have been a good girl. I wish for a toy prince, one that winds up."

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Earlier in the week, we went to the children's Christmas party at the Faculty Club. There were magicians and performers and crafts. Of course, Carolyn volunteered to be part of the play. She helped the penguin find her friend. Then, later in the evening, we looked over and Carolyn was leading the whole group in a version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer -- on the microphone! Shy? No!

One day, she decided our adventure would include a trip to the swimming pool. When she woke up (at 1045 in the morning) that day, she came downstairs looking like this.

One night, we invited our friends -- Heather, Lukas, and Oliver -- to go bowling with us. We went for pizza afterwards.

A trip to the bounce house was also part of our pre-Christmas adventures.

We met our friends -- the Shields -- at "This is the Place" heritage park, where they do a candlelight Christmas celebration all through the mock pioneer village. There were crafts and storytelling, and of course, another visit with Santa. All the girls saw him together, so I do not think Carolyn flooded him with questions this time.

In our week of adventures, I took Carolyn shopping to pick out a gift for Dad. Then, as soon as we got home, she told him that she got him a new pair of Crocs (and the best part, that she got to pick out a free pair for herself). Steve took her out shopping later in the week, but she now knows she is supposed to be keeping it a secret from me. She really wants to tell (because she keeps showing me the package from her), but she hasn't told me yet. I can't wait to see what she picked out! Today, is Christmas Eve. We are meeting another set of friends -- the Dubiners -- to go to the new Science museum downtown. Then, we are cooking a traditional turkey dinner, to be shared with our next door neighbor RJ later in the evening. We will have Skype on all day, so Skype us. We will be home all day Christmas too, so we will post pictures as we have them. And, stay tuned for next week's adventures. We are all off of work again, so we are bound to be out and about. Carolyn wants to go sledding and ice skating. We will probably go to the new Natural History museum, too.

Family Photo Challenge

A pretty good photo of all of us, for December 2011. We were at the annual "Pray for Snow Party." Let's hope it works because we have very little snow so far.

Family Photo Challenge

We took a lot of photos of the three of us this month, but they were for our Christmas card. (Stay tuned, you should be getting that one in the mail sooner or later.) Here is one that will not appear on our holiday greetings, but has all three of us in the same frame.

Santa Picture 2011

As soon as she sat on his lap, she said

"Hello, my name is Carolyn. I would like a tuba please"

A tuba, really? I think I need to talk her into something different.

Mom's Out of Town; Dad's In Charge

I had to go to a research conference in Boston for a few days, which means that Steve had to take a turn at being single-parent for a few days. Here are some photos he sent me of the weekend (she was at a birthday party at a children's cooking academy)

The caption on this one said, "She picked out her own outfit today." Of course, she wanted to wear her unicorn shirt. And the pairing of the ballerina skirt, striped tights, and snow boats is pretty cool!

It is hard to be away from home, even if it is only once or twice a year and only for a few days at a time, but it was nice to receive play-by-play text messages showing me what I was missing! Thanks Steve. It was great to meet up with them in Ohio for the Thanksgiving holiday.

School Pictures, age 3

First, a photo of Carolyn Rebecca Altman, age 3.



Then, one of her whole class at the Montessori Community School.