Snowmageddon

Although we live in a city that usually gets unremarkable and boring winters, we have been blessed this year with FUN snows! We got a great one a month an a half ago on December 17th that was affectionately named Snowpocalypse.

And now we have another storm that is supposed to be a big one. With dire predictions of impending doom we are told that we're getting somewhere in the vicinity of 18-26 inches. The Koller family will believe that when we see it. But, it is bad enough that they apparently just shut down I-66. So, we're going to eat soup and stay warm.

In the meantime, here is a little video we made this evening. Enjoy (and tomorrow we'll post pictures of Caroline in the snow!!)

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Not to be outdone

Caroline's cousin Micah got a little messy this week. She can't leave him having all of the fun.

So, Caroline got some of her own spaghetti this week. She LOVED it. (Note, she also devoured her peas. Hooray for a little girl eating her veggies).
This is her confused look when I asked her not to throw spaghetti on the ceiling. I mean really, who would be so weird as to let their kid throw spaghetti onto the ceiling? Grandpapa can you think of anyone who would let their adorable and lovely child to toss their spaghetti?

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A Whole Lot of "Talking"

Just because I think it is so cute.

It isn't precisely clear what she is saying but that "bitsju" "word" is her favorite noise these days. Makes us laugh!

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What a difference a few months makes

I got to come home a little early today because we're expecting a whopper of a storm today/tonight (but more on that later). So, I thought I would finally catch up on the blog. Jack got our bouncy seat out to let his co-worker borrow it. Caroline thought it was a hysterically funny thing to climb in and see if she could make it bounce. We managed to catch a picture of her antics.

I thought I should go back and see the difference in size. Check it out. Wow has she has grown. Here is Caroline when she was 3 days old:

Amazing, isn't it.

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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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A Few Pictures from Christmas

As you can see from this picture of a very pleased with herself Caroline, we have made the trip back to Washington from Indianapolis.

Hooray for nice ticket agents. A very nice man gave Caroline the empty seat on the plane. So, we were able to strap in her car seat on the way home. This picture is from the very beginning of the flight. A few minutes later, Caroline put her thumb in her mouth, held onto her green ball (on her lap in this picture) and went to sleep. She had no concerns again until someone turned the lights on when we landed. Wow was having her in her own seat great (especially since it was free).

Christmas, of course, is not about presents. But, it is hard to capture the moments of our family reading Luke 2 together on camera well. (And, let's be honest, Caroline was busy eating cheerios while her Grandpapa read. She's a little small to grasp what was going on.)

But, here are some pictures of what we could get. But, I also recommend that you check out this picture of Jack. It is by far the funniest picture of our Christmas in Indy that I have seen.

Here is Caroline on one of her favorite toys at Nana and Grandpapa's house. This is Grandpapa's toy, but he takes great joy in watching his grandchildren play on it. And Caroline really did have a great time (particularly if Daddy was pushing her).
Caroline had a great time with her Aunt Laurie too. Of all of the people we know, Aunt Laurie is the person (so far) that Caroline reminds us of the most. They are both fun, inquisitive and ALWAYS moving. It was funny to watch them together.
Caroline also had a great time with her cousin Micah. She wasn't real clear on the fact that some of the toys weren't actually hers. But, Micah was a champ and great at sharing (thanks Micah!). So, here she is playing with him and his musical toys.
She also tried (not as successfully) to share with him. Here they are playing with Caroline's present from Mom and Dad--mega blocks. (And, yes, we bought them because Jack and I want to play with them).
Caroline wasn't so clear on what she was supposed to do with her presents, but we had a great Christmas anyway. We hope you did too!

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