Dance Class 2013

Ellie started ballet/tap class the Monday we got home from Pennsylvania.  We enrolled her in a six-week session that met Monday afternoons at a studio that's really close to our house.  She has some basic familiarity with dance terms from a dvd my cousin Karen gave her for Christmas.  We haven't watched it much since the weather warmed up, so I was anxious to see what she retained.  Alas, this dance class didn't feature any classical music or dance terms but lots of Ke$ha (did I spell that right?) and Katy Perry.  My friend Meredith and I were thrilled at the music choices, to say the least.  Our favorite was the 5-10 minutes each week of "free dance" to the soundtrack from Frozen.  Um, we do that at our house 4-6 days a week for free.  Thanks.  

But.  BUT.  The girls looked darling.  Just perfect.  And they had fun.  And Ellie didn't pull Clara's arms out of their sockets, so it was a win.  Without further adieu, the thing all you friends and relatives want, an onslaught of pictures and videos. 

 

  (yes, that's Ellie you hear singing)

And, of course, token picture of Caroline watching dance class:

(class was typically in the tiny hot pink room, only the last class was in the large studio for parents to be able to watch)

Though Ellie's Eyes - first edition

I keep forgetting to post this! Here is a collage of pictures Ellie took when her camera was brand new.  (I think I took the top middle one.) She's gotten better about having her eyes in the viewfinder when she presses the capture button, but hadn't mastered that yet for these shots.

Caroline - 10 months.

 

 

 

Caroline is ten months old.  We've entered the 'say it ain't so!' phase of her first year.  I cannot believe ten months have gone by.  It seems like she was just born.  My last baby is on her way to being a toddler.  I know she'll be fun in each of her new stages, but will miss my squishy baby as she grows.  At ten months, Caroline weighs 21 pounds, 1 ounce.  This month she started pulling up - first in her crib, now on anything that doesn't move.  She has climbed the bottom two steps, but we've not given her the opportunity to do much more.  On 7/12, after three days of fever and clinginess her top right tooth finally broke through the gum.

Eating/Sleeping:  Not much change in what Caroline is eating.  Mostly just smaller amounts of what we eat.  She still does not like bananas - will pick them out of a mix of fruit and push them to the side of her tray - so funny!  Loves nectarines, clementines, blueberries.  Caroline only takes two naps now, but they're both usually really long (2-3 hours each.)  She sleeps from 7pm to 6/7am with, usually, one feeding during the night.  When she was up with fever last week she was pretty miserable from 10:30-11:30 each night, and got Motrin around 1am two nights in a row, and was then up again at 3am, 5am, etc - but that was pretty atypical and I am attributing it to the tooth.

Likes/Dislikes:   Caroline LOVES water in a straw cup!!  She drinks some, spits some down her chest, shakes some out on the floor, and just has her own little splash park party.  I've finally learned to take her clothes off BEFORE giving her a cup, because otherwise I have to change her immediately afterward.  Caroline enjoys playing with her stacking cups, wooden grasshopper, and constellation turtle (So, pretty much, if it's a gift Pete and Jenni gave to Ellie, she loves it.)  The only thing I can think of that she dislikes is public changing tables.  If she even sees one, she starts screaming.  Changing her diapers on our way to/from Pennsylvania was an adventure, to say the least.

I don't want to forget:  her smell, the softness of her skin, watching her fall in love with her Raffie, my daily surprise at the wonderful color of her hair.

fun in the pool at Caitlyn's house

mastered the snack cup

more active playing with sister (who came home from school with that hair)

first pair of shoes from Daddy (not to be worn for some time)

end of an afternoon at the pool

reading with Ellie

conquering the steps

WV hotel-room crib

Leggzzzz

day one of fever - not sleeping, just feeling puny

feeling better at the pool Sunday evening

My favorite stage - the Starfish Hands!!  She crawls around the house rapidly, slapping her hands on the floor as she moves.

Oh Caroline, you sweet, sweet girl, we love you so.

Aunt's 90th

The last weekend in June, all the Carters from all the land made the trek to Macungie, Pennsylvania to celebrate our great-aunt Phyllis' 90th birthday.  Known as 'Aunt' to all, my cousin Christy nailed it when she described her as a "bonus third grandma."  Aunt Phyllis still lives in the house she was born in in Tamaqua, PA, and, since she is ninety years old, we wanted her party to be close to where she lives for her convenience.  So the rest of us drove or flew in from Nebraska, Texas, Indiana, Arkansas, Georgia, and Kentucky.  Aunt was a chemist for Atlas Powder Co., so the theme of the party was Elements of Aunt.

[UPDATE:  I feel like I sold Aunt short by writing she still lives in the house in which she was born when that's not really at all true.  She moved back into her parents' house after her widowed mother (my Great-Grammy) needed care as she got older.  She had graduated from Albright College, lived in a house she owned in West Chester, and had a successful career (including being the president of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists) before taking an early retirement for Grammy.  Here's a link to one of the patents she holds for making ice cream treats better. (important stuff, y'all!)  I don't know if it would be appropriate to say she was a pioneer in her field, but she definitely fought the early fight of equality for women in the workforce.  At her first job, they tried to get her to make the coffee!  She had to assert herself and her skills when she was not welcome, just because she was female.  Another update - just did some Googling: she won the SCC's Merit Award in 1973, and the Masion G. de Navarre Medal Award, the society's highest honor, in 1981.]

Aunt's eight great-grandnieces and nephews.

We stayed at Bear Creek Mountain Resort and had a great time using the facilities, especially the pool.

 

 

Ellie clearly learns by example, as after a day or two of watching Cloudy and Ben swim in the pool, she was able to swim all by herself!!  Such a proud and exciting moment for us.

Saturday evening we had a casual dinner - where we wore the required birthday tees and had the birthday cake.  Jenni found an awesome baker who made this amazing chemistry cake with edible paper printed with a periodic table, atoms, a beaker, etc.

The birthday girl with her niece, Aunt Nancy, and nephew, my dad.

The whole crowd -minus Jenni, our unofficial photographer.

Aunt!

Please ignore my crazy eyes and look at that cute baby!

Don't take me from my mommy!!

All the kiddos love [fast] Uncle Pete!

Sunday was the nice party - with roasts and toasts - and pictures with Aunt!

 

Clouds - in his custom-made (and monogrammed!) bow tie.  Jenni is a talented super-mom.

Hey look at that - I have siblings!  Sorry for the wonky light, we always forget to take pictures until late in the day.

It was so great to see everyone and catch up, even for a day or two.  We are so lucky to have Aunt in our lives.  She's smart, witty, and never misses a trick!