Caroline's 2nd Christmas!

Having been married for only 2 years, we still haven't quite figured out what our holiday traditions are/will be. We opened presents on Christmas Eve, not because of any particular tradition, but because it just worked out that way. I'm sure we will figure it out. Caroline really liked the boxes and paper and pretty much ignored her gifts. (She will love them once we throw away the boxes!) She enjoyed "opening" the presents (with our help, of course) and tearing the paper. She pulled our tree over too! Our Christmas tree is only about 18in tall so it wasn't a problem, though it did scare her.

She is walking a lot these days and has developed the strange habit of carrying one of her spoons with her all day. It has become something of a comfort object to her. Sometime she will even carry two spoons! She even insists on holding the spoons while she nurses. It is so odd... I will post some pictures shortly.

The MTA union goes on strike

No subways or buses this morning. My day has been completely turned upside down. I will be unable to go to the doctor today because of the mess. The ferries are still running, thankfully. Apparently the conflict is over pensions and retirement ages. The MTA workers get to retire at the age of lie 22 or something (55?) and the MTA wants that age raised to 62 and wants workers to-get this- contribute to their pension plans and health insurance. Keep in mind that MTA employees make $60,000+ a year. I am outraged.

The remains of the cake 

Yea! 

Hooray! 

Hello! 

The icing is attacking me! 

Dad, are you eating my cake??  

:) 

:) 

:) 

Wow! 

Icing is yummy! 

Daddy is taking his piece of cake before the whole thing is destroyed. 

Hmmm. Interesting... 

A very cautious start. 

Here she is waiting to grab the cake. 

The Happy Birthday balloon 

Caroline's birthday cake. 

Caroline's first birthday is tomorrow!

Since I probably won't have any time tomorrow to post, I wanted to give everyone a quick update. We aren't really planning on having a party, but we'll probably do something casual. I gave her her birthday present earlier today (couldn't resist). I bought two bags of balls (the kind you find in ball pits) and put them in her play yard. It's the perfect at-home ball pit. The best part is I don't have to worry about the balls being cleaned (because you never really know, do you?). Anyway, I will definitely get some pictures of that and post them soon.

Say bye bye to the high chair

I have had a love/hate relationship with the Ocean Wonders highchair. Well, hate won out and I sold the high chair on Craigslist. While Caroline didn't seem to mind the chair, I could never clean it properly. I resorted to putting the whole contraption in the shower a few times to clean all the food off it. The chair has all these nooks and crannies that seem to attract food. Anyway, between washing the seat cover, the straps (all five), the two trays, the three toys and the foot rest (which was quite useless, because it didn't reach her feet) everyday, and well, having a life, I chose the latter. Caroline has been using her booster seat temporarily, which she seems to like. I am presently considering the Stokke chair called the Tripp Trapp. The American version is called the Kinderzeat. They are basically the same chair except the Tripp Trapp can be modified to accomodate a 6 month old (with a special bar that you can add), whilst the Kinderzeat is Not Approved For Use With Children Under Eighteen Months. Too many lawyers here, I suppose. It will take some ingenuity to import one from the UK, but I am working on it.

In other news, I have been unloading our books through Amazon's Marketplace. It's very easy and I've made some quick money doing it. Who knew that someone in Minnesota would want a copy of Mars Attacks? At any rate, it feels good to get rid of unnecessary things, like books and highchairs. I just need to work on not replacing them with more books and high chairs.

:) 

Caroline and her mom 

Oooh! A camera! 

Does anyone have a napkin?  

Hi! 

:) 

:) 

:)