Can a mother never wash her hands?

The world is her canvas...

...and she has now scrubbed it clean

Artistic Inclinations

We thought Carolyn would love to get crayons in her stocking this year for Christmas. We were mostly wrong. She loved the candy in the stocking, and anything that was not edible was immediately tossed to the side as she dug for more chocolate. Smart girl.

Now, a week later, she has rediscovered all the other fun things we gave her that day. She is an awesome little artist. She already has a hand preference (right) and a chosen position (lounging). She might by picky, but I can't argue with the results. She can scribble with the best of them!

Best shirt ever. Thanks, Mom.

When Should a Girl Start Shaving?

I remember being in the sixth grade and starting to shave my legs. I had a bunch of older friends, and I was one of the last girls to start. I can't recall if a brother barged in while I was experimenting with shaving cream or just pounded on the door until I told them it "would be awhile; I'm shaving my legs!" Either way, the reaction was one of dismay. I received a lecture about how I was too young. I didn't want to be one of those girls who shaved twice a day by the time I was in high school, I was told. Nor did I want to have the thick, black hairs that shaving would inevitably bring. I had some great brothers who were always willing to share the little (and inaccurate) wisdom they had about girls. I disregarded the advice and happily shaved my legs. Not once did I shave my legs twice a day, and I don't have thick, nasty leg hair. So obviously, eleven was not too young.

What do you think about 18 months?



Do you think this means she'll have a beard soon?

18-Month Portraits

My friend Megan took some pictures of Carolyn the other day. I just got sick of The Picture People. The last time we were there the pictures were not cute. The photographer was not good with Carolyn, and it was overall an unfortunate experience. But, these pictures? They are cute.

Bitty Baby

This is how my mommy hugs me.

Am I too big for Bitty's stroller?

This works better

Bitty needs fresh air, but I didn't bring a blanket for her

Do you think she looks like me?

Bitty deserves her own entry. I never thought something could replace Dolly, a soft-bodied doll given to Carolyn last Christmas, but I think Bitty Baby managed. Carolyn really enjoys her new role as mommy. Bitty gets kisses, hugs, dropped on her head. All the regular stuff. The one thing she doesn't have is a name. I somehow managed to name all of Carolyn's stuffed animals, but nothing seems right for Bitty. Ideas?

Merry Christmas!

Here are some snapshots from our first Christmas as just the Horners. It was a very enjoyable day. If you aren't here for the pictures of a cute baby, maybe you should come back some other day! We have tons of pictures.

Carolyn found the joy of having candy before noon


Opening the first present, piece by piece


Throwing away each piece before finishing opening the present


Grooving out to the music


Getting ready to strike the Heisman pose

I love Christmas. Yes, I have just posted all the pictures of Carolyn with presents, but one of the best moments for me this season was when Carolyn repeated "Jesus" for the first time. I feel like she'll remember in some way that Christ has always been the central part of Christmas in our home. It also melted my heart to hear her say "thank you" after each present and see her give hugs to her cousins after opening a gift. Love it all!

Kelly Comes to Visit

Right after Thanksgiving, one of my oldest friends came to visit, Kelly Jane Faust. It's nice to wax nostalgic with someone who has known you for so long it's hard to remember when you became friends. It was so much fun to have her here that we posed for a couple of self-portraits of the three girls. Thanks for making the drive! Kelly made the 2.5 hour drive home in about 5 hours. She's lucky she left when she did because the storm that hit closed a 20-mile stretch of I-5 later that night.

Bowling with the Family

I know this is old, but I am blogging about it anyway because I won! Over Thanksgiving, while Joseph, Laura, and Spencer were here, we went bowling together as a family. It was tons of fun, except keeping Carolyn away from the lanes, the heavy balls, the ball feeder thingy. Even though I won, Ethan was the only one that had two strikes in a row! Go Ethan!

Ugh!

This must be what I get for being so confident in my last post. After Carolyn fell asleep Monday night we had no issues for the rest of the evening. She even slept until 6! Yesterday's nap didn't go so well. And last night--oh man last night--she cried from about 7-12:45. That's right. Almost 1 am. On top of that, there is some dissension on how to effectively wean from the binky. So she got one at 12:45. And then she woke up at 6:25. I even skipped the gym hoping to get some rest. That was a mistake. Now she is crying in her crib protesting nap time without her pacifier. I know we shouldn't have broken down last night, but, I'll admit it, I was too darn tired to think straight. Her tears were starting to intermingle with mine. So now we are at a crossroads. Do we give up and try in another month? Do we make her go cold turkey to avoid confusion? How does one ever get any sleep?!

I have no answers, so I am taking suggestions.

UPDATE: So, it's nap time, and I gave her the pacifier. I just couldn't do it. Jeremy and I will have to come up with a plan of attack and implement it later. To justify my weakness, I say it is because she has developed quite the cough. With that and her vaccinations, I think it is too much. So hard! I would still like anyone's ideas on how to get rid of it for when I think I am strong enough.

Binkies?! We don't need no stinking binkies!

Carolyn has two best friends: Elmo and the pacifier in her mouth.

One of those friends ended up in the trash can today. Elmo, I can handle. What I can't handle is waking up multiple times a night to replace the binky. Or my 18-month old sleeping less at night than when she was two months old. Or hearing a drawer opening and slamming to find Carolyn trying desperately, and screaming all the while, to grow 5 more inches so she can retrieve the binks that have been put away.

So I found a new best friend: the trash can.

As you can imagine, my day has been far from fun. We skipped the afternoon nap. We skipped most meals. Unless you count the food that accidentally made it into her mouth as she flung her dishes at me. I tested my willpower listening to her cry while Dad was at a Blazers game. Then I reached my end. My daughter fell--jumped?--somehow escaped from her crib. We have a nice raspberry above her left eye to remember it by. Just in time for her doctor's appointment tomorrow. I managed all day with no tears. That didn't last.

Miraculously she has fallen asleep. All without the aid of a binky. It only took one hour and a traumatizing experience for it to happen. But my daughter? She don't need no stinking binky!

Happy Turkey Day

Look at this beauty! It's not my first turkey or anything. More like my third or fourth, but this one actually took some effort. I did a rosemary and basil rub that went between the skin and meat. This meant I had to separate the two and squish it in there myself. Gross at the time, but so worth it.

We had quite a spread. Rachel came over with her family and brought close to half the meal. That was so appreciated. Even with that help, dinner was half an hour late. It was so fun though. Joseph, Laura, and Spencer drove up from Provo and joined us for this weekend. We also had the opportunity to have one of Jeremy's colleagues join us. He is from the Czech Republic and this was his first Thanksgiving. It was just such a nice time. Below are some pictures from the day. I can't believe I am actually blogging because of how tired I am, but I just wanted to get these up.

Searching for an after-dinner snack

Running off with my treasure

Now for the best photos of the day:

Give me just one kiss

Please! Just let me give one little kiss...

Fine, but only if I don't have to kiss back

I have much to be grateful for today. It's wonderful to look at everything I have, especially on a day so full of gluttony (which I gleefully take part in) that it's easy to not appreciate each individual dish. Sometimes I think we look at life that way. Overall, it's more good than can be fully taken in, so we don't appreciate each item for the wonderful thing it is. Like a husband who willingly helps in the kitchen preparing and cleaning. A daughter who showers me with kisses any time of day. A faith in God that gets me through all the rough times. And a God that blesses me beyond my comprehension. It's nice to take a few moments every once in awhile, more often if we are lucky, to remember how it's all the little things that combine to make up such a wonderful life. Happy Thanksgiving to you all today. I hope you've each had time to reflect and find something positive that maybe you missed recently.

A New Culinary Sensation

Carolyn is ready to send in her audition tape to Top Chef. She has a very discerning palate, especially when it comes to mingling new flavors. Her latest creation is a delectable combination of sweet applesauce and salty Harvest Cheddar Sunchips. Mmmm, sounds delicious, no?

Christmas Already?

We appreciate the ornaments and decorations we get each year from Jeremy's parents. It helps us create a collection of unique ornaments that have meaning to our family. Much better than going to the store and buying three boxes of perfectly coordinated glass balls at Fred Meyer. I think Christmas is going to be so fun this year because Carolyn is old enough to be interested in the packages--the tearing, the surprise. She really enjoyed opening these pre-Christmas presents. She especially loved her new music box.

Here is a short video of her opening the box. We ended up needing to help, but for the people who can't get enough of her (you know who you are), here's another video for your viewing pleasure.

Future Mia Hamm

We have regular daddy-daughter time at our house. Usually, after dinner, or before if Mom is slacking, Jeremy and Carolyn will take to the living room and have the time of her life. All it takes? Well, just one ball and lots of kicking!



Also, videos from our camera never embed correctly, but if you really want to watch Carolyn play her favorite game or talk, just click the links!

Again?

We took Carolyn in today to make sure she wasn't overly dehydrated from the stomach flu that she's been fighting for the past couple of days. While in, they said it was about a month ago she was in for croup. Are you kidding me? It was actually 4 weeks? In my mind, it went something like sick for 2 weeks, well for Halloween and my birthday, and then sick the next day. It's amazing the tricks your mind can play on you. Hopefully this will pass from our house quickly. It has now struck me, but I really hope Jeremy can avoid it. He's the only one holding us together right now.