Kaitlyn takes on the Volunteer State...

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  11 weeks and 4 days

Family,

And a good Thursday afternoon to you from the Queen City, where the temperatures are rising and everything is super green thanks to all the rain we've had recently.  I'm happy to report that, at time of writing, Kaitlyn's pink dogwood is doing VERY well and growing nicely.  I'll water her again today or tomorrow, but I feel very confident about our new little sapling's chances.

The munchkin in her dress from Panama -
mom bought this for her the day she was born.

So apologies that I've been off the grid for more than 2 weeks, but I have had good reason.  Team Taylor spent the last week plus in the Volunteer State, and I didn't want to write a post on any other PC's for fear of folks finding out about my little "project."  And whilst I believe the secret is still intact, the other consequence was that I now have a TON of information to catch up on and limited time to do it given that the munchkin seems to be in a perpetual state of wake and hunger these days.

However, the BIG NEWS that I must share first:  THE MUNCHKIN IS NOW SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT CONSISTENTLY!!!!  While I don't want to celebrate too much for fear of jinxing us, she has slept at least 8 hours at night consistently for the past 10-11 days.  In week 9 it was about 6 hours, but last week she pretty much just dropped the middle of the night and late night feeds cold turkey.  AMAZING!!!!!  Case in point - the Munchkin slept from 8:15 PM-9:15 AM last night with only a 45 minute feed in the middle at 5 AM.  BEST.  CHILD.  EVER.

Team Taylor at "The Big House on the
River" for Zach's wedding - beautiful.

But since I'm sure we'll celebrate all of these milestones when we talk about her progress at 3 months, let's jump into the subject of this post - the 10 days away from the Mountain Fortress.  It all started with a Saturday morning drive to Waynesville, NC, where we were spending the night and attending my cousin Zach's wedding.  We got out of the house about an hour later than expected, but that wasn't a bad thing, as there really was nothing to do once we arrived at the hotel other than get dressed, pump, and wait for the caravan to head over to the service.  It was a big moment, however, as Kaitlyn met 2 very special people - both of whom were named Pattie. :-)

Pattie Ruth wasted no time rounding the corner to FINALLY meet her niece, and Grandmother Taylor (96 at time of writing) wasn't far behind.  It was so sweet to watch each of them interact with her, and it kicked off what can only be described as 10 days of UBER-sensory overload for Special K (seriously, Kaitlyn - if you're reading this 3 decades from now and have repressed memories about being passed around like a football for a week plus, I can pretty much guarantee that it ALL stemmed from this trip).

A photo for the ages - Kaitlyn at 10 weeks
and Grandmother at 96.5 years on their
first meeting.

The wedding was beautiful, albeit SHORT.  Seriously - we had food at the ready in the event Kaitlyn started going crazy during the ceremony, but the actual service lasted all of FOUR MINUTES (not joking).  It actually took longer for the wedding party to walk in than it did for the complete service.  It was so fast I even missed the kiss!  But hey, no complaints, as we had tons of family around, the weather was GREAT, the venue just incredible, and the food SUPERB (THE BEST fried green tomatoes I've ever had...but how could that not be the case when they are covered in bacon and bleu cheese?).

The evening was great, as I got a chance to chat with nearly all my cousins (and found out one of them is expecting!), aunts, uncles, and most especially mom and dad.  We stayed until 9 PM and got the munchkin back home and asleep in the pack and play around 10 PM or so, where she remained sacked out until 6 AM.  Then it was an early rise, a nice breakfast with Dad and company, and a short, 90 minute drive to Morristown where we met mom for lunch at Cracker Barrel.

The rest of the week was spent bouncing all over the place in Tennessee, and I have no lie to tell - it was a little slice of

My mom the real estate mogul...complete with a cat
sleeping on the scanner.  Don't worry, clients - you're in
good hands.

Heaven.  For starters, it was SO GREAT to see Grammie (my mom) and Grand Pooh (my stepdad) interact with Kaitlyn.  She seems to LOVE being around people, which is a good thing considering how many folks touched her, kissed her, and breathed on her in this 168 hour span.

Sandra, Joy, Gail, and Mom with the munchkin - who was
PAAAAAAAAASSED out the entire time we were there...

Seriously - there was enough caffeine in each of those
mugs to power Chicago...not that we stopped shy of draining
them, of course.  After all, those cups would have been
about $600 each in Singapore.

The first 3 days were spent at Grammie's, where we had K in a new pack and play (courtesy of the Rice clan) for the first 2 nights, with the Munchkin moving into Steve's room the two last nights.  This made life MUCH better for the Bull, as I already have trouble sleeping in my old bed (it's a queen, and I'm ALL ABOUT the king size beds these days) and my tendency for being a light sleeper doesn't mesh well with K's breathing patterns whilst sleeping.  The days were great, as we walked the "Morristown Greenway" on Monday before spending a good 4 hours with Dad and company in the "West Virginia State Park pavilion", and then Tuesday we visited the newest culinary icon in Morristown's "Historic" downtown area - the Java Garden.  I'd heard about this place for AGES, and it was so good to FINALLY get over there and drink cups of coffee larger than my torso.  More importantly, however, we got a chance to catch up with Sandra, Gail, and Joy - friends of the family since before I was born - and show of our little miracle.  Tuesday night we went to O'Charley's during what can only be described as a "Flood of Noah" with dad and company, and this was a BIG moment - the FIRST TIME out of the house as a couple without the munchkin in tow.  I checked in with mom a few times, and the response was always the same - "Kaitlyn's doing great - she's asleep!"  Mom found it absolutely AMAZING that K a) could be laid in her crib AWAKE and b) would actually SLEEP according to a schedule (apparently I never slept more than 45 minutes at a clip - YIKES).  I don't know what was cuter - watching them interact or the look on mum's face when she saw that our child actually slept (and slept for good chunks of time!).

Wednesday we went for a walk out at Cherokee Park, where we arrived to find a chain gang working away in 700 degree heat (I'd say odds are good I probably knew someone on that crew).  We made it all of 2 miles before we were again DELUGED by rain.  Classic moment for the TN boy:  Jenny says, "Those storm clouds sure look close," and in my infinite wisdom I reply:  "Oh, that's MILES off."  8 seconds later rain drops the size of Volvos were en route toward my face - AWESOME.

On Thursday we met my buddy Link for lunch before shifting locations and making camp over at Nanny's house in Rogersville.  This turned out to be PERFECT for us, as Nanny basically has a 1 story PALACE with 4 bedrooms and plenty of space to spread out.  This meant that Team Taylor had a king sized bed, a separate room for the munchkin, and plenty of space for the 17,000 items required to raise a child in modes society.  Kaitlyn even had her own crib already set up, and it was arranged so that we could leverage the monitor again - BOOOOOONUUUUUUUS!  So we had a great Thursday evening with Nan, sitting out on the porch and enjoying the anti-gravity chairs.  It was also really sweet to watch Nanny interact with her and watch K smile with her and Grammie around - I think she really likes being around them!

Plan B is for Beer...

Friday we went for a 3.3 mile walk around the neighborhood (weather could NOT have been better) before once again leaving K in the very capable hands of Grammie and Nanny.  Why, you ask?  So Team Taylor could go out and watch BENNY WILSON IN CONCERT, of course!  We hadn't seen Benny play in AGES, so it was great to get out and watch him in action.  There wasn't a huge crowd, but the folks there were really engaged, and as always Benny gave a TERRIFIC show.  I really do think his voice has gotten stronger and his range wider over the years - such a good time.

Saturday was the other featured event of the trip, as we watched my sister GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL.  Seriously - I don't know HOW this is possible, but my little sister starts college in the fall.  Where on EARTH did the time go?  It was a GREAT ceremony, and I was very proud to hear her name called out several times for various awards and accolades.  I was even more proud to watch her interact with her friends, as it was on clear display how mature and wonderful a girl she was and how highly she was thought of by friends, peers, and teachers.  We didn't take the munchkin, but I'm glad considering that the gym was PACKED and the ceremony lasted 2 hours (to say nothing of the commute in, the photo time, and the delay in getting out of the parking lot).  We did, however, take her to the cookout over at Dad's, which was a blast and gave us more time to bond with grandmother (and for Pattie to see her niece, of course).  We then headed over to my friend Harv's for a quick 90 minute visit, where we got a chance to FINALLY meet his kids and to introduce him to K.

Sunday was a day of packing up before driving over to Knoxville, where we spent 7 WONDERFUL hours with Rice and company.  They had JUST bought a house an hour before, and so they were scrambling to fax some paperwork - VERY EXCITING!!!!  They will close on the house at the end of June, which means that next time Team Taylor won't be chillin' at the Holiday Inn World's Fair Park.  That being said, we love that place and had a terrific room (and even received a free glass of wine since we're Priority Club :-)), so all in all it was a great day.  Rice and Beka did a shrimp boil, and it was DELICIOUS.  As always, I left there fat as a damn bear.  I will say that it was quite odd to leave his house this go-around, as that is the place I've been visiting him for years and will, most likely, never see again.  I always loved that house, but I'm really, REALLY excited about their new one, as the photos look EPIC.  Congrats, guys!

Monday we were up about 6, fed the munchkin, and then walked through World's Fair Park and through the University over to Starbucks.  We had coffee and split a pastry before heading back to the room, where I spent about 90 minutes packing whilst Muffin fed the Munchkin and packed.  We then walked over to the Downtown Brewery, where we met Johnny and company again for a farewell meal.  It was then time to get on the road, but the reality is that Kaitlyn needed food and JT needed to pump, so we scrambled back to the Holiday Inn, where I'm happy to report that, since we're priority club, we were granted a 2 PM checkout (it was 1:30).  We didn't actually ask for it, however, and they were in process of cleaning our room when we arrived.  However, my key still worked, which was all I needed to sweet talk our way in and commence with the busiest 30 minutes of our lives (well, maybe not quite, but it was hectic!).

We FINALLY got on the road about 2:15, and we stopped by our Jefferson County Land en route.  15 minutes later, however, the munchkin went CRAZY, and we knew that we needed to find a place to feed her.  Our only option before Asheville (too far) was Waynesville, and so Team Taylor made it to exit 27 and ended the trip the same place we started it!  We did at least cross off the Tipping Point

Brewery and Tavern, as well as a little walk down their main street.  It was 5 PM at this point, but we really thought that, by the time we left at 5:30, we were good to go.  Ooooooh, naive new parents....

TWO STOPS AT REST AREAS TO FEED LATER, Team Taylor FINALLY arrived back in the Queen City.  It was 9:30, and I felt like I'd been slapped in the face with a wet mackerel.  But all in all, no complaints, as we'd been through the fire and emerged on the other side, battle-hardened from travel with the munchkin.

In all honesty, that week in TN was absolutely PERFECT.  We had SO much fun, got some "us time," allowed the fam to spend more time with Kaitlyn, and most importantly, got the change to rest, recharge the batteries, and be a family before I resume work.  I left there more relaxed than I'd been in a long time, not only because of all the sleep we'd FINALLY started to get with her sleeping through the night, but also safe in the knowledge that the family was able to spend so much quality time with the little who (who was DEFINITELY more awake than the last time they'd all seen her!).  JT and I did find it funny how my parents perceive our parenting style.  I think dad feels we're the most over-protective parents EVER, whereas we think my mother things we belong to the Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome school of parenting where the poor kid isn't tended to nearly well enough.  And while we think reality is somewhere in between, I'm sure the debate will rage for years to come. :-)

As for Kaitlyn, I saw 2 HUGE accomplishments for her.  The first was sleeping through the night, but the other was surviving being passed around like watermelon on Independence Day.  Seriously - I think everyone south of the Mason-Dixon line handled her this past week, but that kid was RESILIENT.  Good thing, too, as I don't see that changing anytime soon!

Two words:  Shell shocked...

A few nicknames for Kaitlyn have definitely emerged:  Munchkin, Mon-chi-chi, Munchies, Munch-a-Bunch, and Special K.  Special K is now a running joke with Grandmother, especially since dad told her that "Special" is her real name - quality.

Okay, that was quick and I'm sure I missed a lot, but that'll have to do for now.  Chat next week, when 2 more HUGE events occur - K hits 3 months, and the Bull returns to work (UGH).

Chat soon,

Love,

Sam and Jenny