The shoes were made for walking

Caroline is 11 months old today. We thought we should show you a little bit of what she has been up to -- walking! She can now make it most of the way across our living room. She can make it all the way across her room, but the threshold out into the hallway is still a little tricky. But, she is getting better at it every day!

We celebrated 11 months by going out to dinner as a family. Caroline got the rare delicacy appreciated by this branch of the Koller family, a hotdog. Mmm Mmm good.

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First Day in a new Class

Well, I don't have a picture for this (yet). But, I thought I would mark a big day here in the Koller household. Caroline went to the "big kids" class for the first time today. Now, mind you, the bid kids' class is where the 1-2 year olds are. But, it is big stuff. There isn't carpet on the whole room like the baby room. They have real chairs. They have a play house that is up on two steps. This is exciting stuff.

Caroline was apparently great for the whole hour that she was with the big kids. She was a big fan of sitting in a circle and singing songs. Well, let's be fair, she smiled and clapped vigorously while the teacher sang songs. Apparently the only time she cried was when the went outside. But, she didn't have big kids shoes on (I didn't know they were going outside today). Because it was a little cold and wet, the sweet teacher was afraid her cold would be worse if Caroline walked around in her soft shoes. So lovely Miss Yvette held Caroline for the 15 minutes until they took her inside. Caroline apparently screamed the entire time. That's our kid--totally unwilling to sit on someone's lap if it looks like motion is more fun. Tomorrow Caroline is wearing tennis shoes.

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A little behind

I thought I would try to catch up on our blog posting...we have been
enjoying the holidays and hanging out as a family. As a result blog
postings have fallen by the wayside. But here is a picture of what
Caroline has been doing lately--playing with her Christmas presents.
This is part of her tea set that Aunt Deb and Uncle Scott gave her.
She is very excited about banging the cups together. (She isn't so
clear on the whole drinking from cups thing yet).

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Newseum

Today was a cold, blustery day here in DC. So, rather than going outside to play, we took advantage of our great museums. We decided to go to the Newseum. We had planned to go on Jack's birthday, but it snowed 18 inches. So we stayed home that day. Today we decided to try it out.

This picture is a great visual that Jack took a picture of. Red signifies countries where the press isn't free, yellow is where it is partially free, green where it is considered free. The thing that was surprising to me is that Italy was yellow. They had these cool touch screens where it would explain each country. Italy has issues, according to the display, with Mafia influence, consolidation of media outlets and really strong/over strong libel laws. Interesting...

The Newseum is along Pennsylvania Avenue and is basically glass all along one side.

Jack took the opportunity to take some pictures of what it looks like inside and from the Newseum. This picture is from the top floor looking inside the atrium of the Newseum. Check out the cool news helicopter.

The displays that we didn't take pictures of were equally cool. On the second floor there is a whole area that is set up as an interactive mock news room. There are a number of large booths where you can pretend to be a news anchor or weatherman. (TV cameras and all). There were other areas with displays that showed what photographers do as well. There was a series on the history of big moments in American journalism. We watched clips of the assassination attempt on Reagan, Nixon saying that he isn't a crook, and other interesting historical moments.

This picture is the view from the sixth floor of the Newseum. They have an outdoor walkway that looks out (as you can see) over the Capitol. The building with the Canadian flags is the Canadian Embassy (another rather cool looking building). As you can see it is a beautiful (if windy) day.
There was a whole section on sports journalism and sports photography. For obvious reasons, Jack thought that this quote was rather funny.

Caroline was quite the trooper today. We weren't sure how she would do with a multi-hour trip in the stroller. (She doesn't like it when she can't move constantly). She was entranced with all of the pictures and televisions to look at. Eventually, after lunch in the cafeteria (where many Cheerios died a sad death on the floor), she passed out and took a nap (guarding her favorite ball all the while).

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Lest everyone think that all we do is play with Caroline, I thought we would post some pictures of our time after she's tucked in bed (or zipped into her sleep sack as the case may be).

Since getting a sitter, dinner reservations and out of the house is almost more trouble than it is worth on New Year's Eve, Jack and I decided to stay in. We had a nice dinner with food from my new cookbook (thanks Mom and Dad)--Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

We had stuffed roast duck, puree of potatoes and turnips and asparagus for dinner. As you can see from the above picture, Jack though that our main dish needed some company while it was defrosting.

I had never roasted a duck, but it turned out nice, brown and tasty. We had a little bit of trouble trying to figure out how to carve it, but we finally got the hang of it. Ms. Child suggested stuffing it with apple & sausage stuffing. Mmmm... I highly recommend it.

We finished off with a dessert of orange soufflé. It actually stayed up until I got it to the table and started spooning it out. So, I think that's a success.

Of course, after all of that heavy food I was tired and (ahem) a little lame...I fell asleep at 11:15. Poor Jack. Ah well, at least he got a nice dinner for the evening.

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