Merry Christmas

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." (Luke 2:11,14)

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE

FROM LORI, GALEN, & CAROLINE!

Five Months Old

December 10th was Caroline's fifth month "birthday." This month she saw her first snow, and she was dedicated at church. Her weight is up to about 16 pounds, and she is very active and likes to laugh. She has a big Christmas trip ahead of her, including not only plenty of time with the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in North Carolina, but also a drive up to Philadelphia, where Galen has a conference, before we all return home to Arkansas on New Year's Eve. We are anxious to see how Caroline will do through all this, but she has been very good at home recently so we are hopeful that she has grown up enough to do okay through all the upcoming excitement.

Thankful

At her last checkup, Caroline weighed 13 lbs., 13 oz., and was almost 25 inches long. We are very thankful for her good health, and the three of us hope that you have many reasons to be thankful too. Happy Thanksgiving!

Lucky Charm

The Wake Forest University football team, for which Galen was once the equipment manager and Lori a ticket salesperson, now has a record of 9-1 after defeating Florida State 30-0 on November 11, 2006. This is the best record after ten games in the history of the team's football program, which dates back to 1888. But this is also the first year in which Caroline has been around to root for the Deacons, and she does so in style with her WFU outfit. Coincidence? We think not.
Caroline also pulls for the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, the team for which our friend and former Wake Forest head coach Jim Caldwell is the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach. Once again, Caroline is doing her part by trying on her Colts cheerleading outfit. The Colts have raced out to a 9-0 record, currently two games ahead of all other teams in their conference. We're sensing a pattern here.
Caroline also pulls for our nearby college, the Arkansas Razorbacks, which are having one of their best years ever too. So maybe football teams who want to do well should send some gear to Caroline since she seems to be a lucky charm so far! Go Deacs, Colts, and Hogs!

Four Month Milestones

During Caroline's fourth month, she has experienced some of those milestones of infant development that are no less cute just because they are expected. For instance, she has learned how to suck on her thumb.

She smiles when you tickle her. She can grab her foot with one hand while putting the other hand in her mouth.She handed out candy at Halloween for the first time.

And she has been in the audience for a speech from the President of the United States. In other words, all the usual stuff.It was a little difficult for Caroline to hear President Bush through her cap, though, so she had to turn her head to the side to be able to pick up everything more clearly. Then the President came up to the crowd, shook Lori's hand while she was holding Caroline, and left the Northwest Arkansas airport on Air Force One. To be so young, Caroline sure has experienced a lot. These photos will help us to remember how blessed we have been.

Glamour Girl

Caroline is looking too cool in her stylish shades, and when she's not taking a little cruise around the neighborhood and catching some rays, she's cooing and babbling about her strolls back at the crib.

Three Months Old

Caroline turns three months old on October 10. She really has grown, it seems like she keeps getting cuter too. She is starting to giggle a little bit, to grab onto objects, and to learn how to put her hand in her mouth. She is calmer as she gets older too; some days she doesn't cry at all, and when she does, it's usually because she is fatigued. She took her first mini-vacation this month--a two-day trip to Branson, Missouri. She traveled well, which hopefully is a good sign for the long Christmas trip that will be coming up. Our van was completely packed with things for Caroline just for a short trip, so we have no idea what it will be like to pack for several weeks on the road with her in December! Lori and Galen are glad to be settling into a routine again, even though we know that there will be plenty of readjustments ahead. Enjoy some of the newest pictures from the past few weeks, and thanks for stopping by.

Two Months Old

Caroline turned two months old on September 10, and she has really grown. She is already up to 12 pounds, which is at the high end of the healthy weight class for her length of 24 inches. She also had her first vaccinations this week, which were definitely a shock to the system! The hardest thing for us now is that we are still trying to find the right formula that is easy on her stomach. Probably the biggest blessing is that she sleeps six hours or more most nights. It has been a big adustment for Galen to go back to semester classes and leave Lori and Caroline alone during the day, but thankfully his office is only one mile from home, and his schedule has some flexibility in it. We already have learned how demanding new parenthood can be, but Caroline is so beautiful too, and we can't wait for giggles, hugs, and first words. Until then, we are pleased to share some of our favorite pictures. We really appreciate everyone who has shown care for us and who tells us that you enjoy the blog. Thank you to all for your love and prayers!

Caroline meets the (future) Governor

Asa Hutchinson, candidate for the Governor of Arkansas, made a campaign stop just north of Siloam Springs in Gentry. Hutchinson is originally from this area and, after an appointment by President Reagan as U. S. Attorney, became U. S. Representative for our district in Congress from 1996-2002. He has also headed the Drug Enforcement Administration, been the Undersecretary for Homeland Security, and led the President's Board to Protect American Civil Liberties. He was extremely kind to us and took time from his busy schedule to talk with us about our families and his vision for the state of Arkansas. We really like and appreciate Asa. And if he advertises the picture below with Caroline, how could he lose?

Caroline meets an Olympian

Our family recently took a short trip up to Rogers to support the Northwest Arkansas Run for a Child. Appearing at the event was Apolo Anton Ohno, the Team U. S. A. speed skater who won a gold and silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and a gold medal and two bronze medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. Apolo was happy to meet Caroline, sign a Wheaties box cover for her to appreciate in the future, and provide the picture below for our album. I think the woman behind him is jealous! The Springdale Morning News ran an article on Ohno's visit that mentions Caroline; you can read it by clicking here: http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2006/09/05/sports/0905ohno.txt

The Hat Collection

In preparation for cooler weather and the approach of fall, Caroline has been trying out some of the trendiest baby hats for the new season. What do you think?

Caroline meets Lou Holtz

On Saturday, August 26, the whole family took an outing to the Wal-Mart in Fayetteville (where our church is), where Lou Holtz was signing copies of his new book, Wins, Losses, and Lessons. We are big college football fans, going back to Galen's days as student manager and later team chaplain at Wake Forest, and Lori working for three years at the ticket office there. Coach Holtz is most famous for winning the national championship at Notre Dame, but he also coached at North Carolina State and Arkansas, which is why he came here for a book signing. We waited almost two hours in line to meet him, but it was definitely worth it. As soon as he saw Caroline, he commented on how beautiful she is, asked how old she was, and wanted Lori to bring Caroline around the desk where he was sitting for a picture together. Because there were so many people still in line, and he had to leave soon to catch a flight, he couldn't take much time to talk with people or take pictures, but he was the one to make a special request to pose with Caroline. So we were very impressed by Coach Holtz, and we will remember this day for a long, long time!

One Month Old

Today, August 10, makes exactly one month since Caroline was born. She is healthy and growing normally, for which we are so grateful. We have had our moments where we were concerned about a sleep pattern or a crying spell, but she has not had those daily, hours-long episodes of colic that can be so trying on everyone. It has been amazing to us that so many things we had read in books during the pregnancy have become true. Mainly, we have discovered how accurate it is that the early weeks can have moments both of frustration and of joy, and that this is to be expected. The main issue for Galen has been to cope with crying that has no immediately discernible reason, and the main issue for Lori has been to stay rested and get her strength back. Because our life together has been only the two of us with no relatives nearby for many years now, we have grown accustomed to relying exclusively on each other, and that is certainly paying off now as we are dividing up the responsibilities for the baby and still becoming even closer to each other every day. We both are so happy and blessed when we can hold Caroline, pet Winston, lean on each other, and feel that our family is complete. We know that we have a lot of growing still to do ourselves in terms of learning how to entertain and educate Caroline as she gets older, and then to get used to traveling with her. Also, Galen will soon have less time to give to baby duty as he returns to work for the start of the new college semester. But when we see Caroline's beautiful face, in which we see reflections of each of us, we thank God and smile and know everything will be okay. We have added to this post some of our favorite baby poses from the past month. Thanks as always for taking a look around.