Babysitters, Bumbos, and Bjorns...

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  4 months and 3 weeks

Family,

I absolutely LOVE this photo - she looks like
a "little lady" - nice work, Muffin!

And a good Sunday afternoon to you from the Queen City - another great week filled with firsts is in the books!  For starters, this week saw the first night EVER that Team Taylor left the munchkin and the house without a family member present.  Rather than Grammie or Nanny (as both were on vacation), Team Taylor entrusted the Munchkin to a highly recommended babysitter - "Molly from Cross-fit." :-)

I am pleased to say that all went swimmingly.  Molly fed her, played with her, and put her down right on schedule.  Granted, there is the small hiccup that she put K down with her bib still on, but hey - details. :-)  The good news is that everything went smoothly, the house didn't burn down, and we've now got someone we can trust when the fam isn't available.

YES - the obsession with the fan continues.
But at this point - if you can't beat 'em - join 'em.

The reason for the babysitter, you ask?  We had the Rice clan in town, baby!!!!  Oh yeah!  Johnny and Rebeka were visiting to cross off a bucket list item - seeing Dave Matthews in concert.  I had always wanted to see him as well, and so we bought lawn seats (as you would do for a DMB show), tailgated in the parking lot for a bit, and had a great 2-3 hours hanging out before walking into the concert.  Everything was going according to plan - we had a good spot, the beer was cold, we had confirmation that the munchkin was down, and then EVERYTHING CHANGED.  The Heavens opened up, and we're not talking a drizzle.  We're not even talking a torrential downpour.  We're talking FIND NOAH AND THE ARK BECAUSE THIS IS THE END OF THE WORLD.  They actually evacuated the lawn due to lightning, and I ended up stuck in the men's bathroom with about 600 co-eds (all drinking yet under 21 - quality) for the better part of an hour.

The Hoffler holding the munchkin outside at VBGB.  And
YES - the Munchkin has now been there FIVE times.

The show finally did go on about 90 minutes late, but by then we were soaked and freezing, and as it was still pouring AND Beka is 16 weeks along with their third, we bagged out of there after only 6 songs.  The good news is that we got home early and didn't have to fight traffic.  The bad news is that we really didn't get to experience the concert and were drowned rats for the better part of 3 hours by the time it was all said and done.  But hey, it was still a GREAT night with JR and Beka, and we even saved a little money by getting home early - every cloud has a silver lining, right?

Just another Friday afternoon after partying with Johnny.

The next day was EPIC, and I do feel it made up for the concert debacle, as Team Taylor and the Rice clan pub crawled their way through the QC, hitting 201 Central (Terrapin Tree Hugger = guuuuud), OMB (which Rice loved), VBGB (at which point Rice was ready to move to Charlotte), and then heading home for some Hawthorne's pizza.  Wife Muffin was an ANGEL and tended to K the entire day as we bounced from place to place - BEST WIFE (and mom!) EVER!!!!

I love my BUMBO!!!!

The weekend has been pretty chill, largely due to the fact that the bull has been in recovery from some heavy food and drink consumption during that 36 hour stretch.  However, it's been a busy one for the Munchkin, as thanks to the Rice's she now has a BUMBO!!!!  It absolutely wears her out, but I definitely think it's paying dividends, and she actually seems to enjoy sitting in it.  She's most productive in the morning when she's fresh, as she can actually hold herself up for a quite a bit before she becomes exhausted and starts slouching.  I must confess that it's pretty hilarious, as first she slides to one side, and then eventually she just falls over - sucking her thumb the entire time!

And so begins the slide - to the left this time.

The Munchkin in the water for the second time EVER.  Her response
was, well, enigmatic...I guess no screaming = it's AWESOME, right?

In fact, now is a good time to mention that she IS OBSESSED WITH PUTTING HER FINGERS OR THUMB IN HER MOUTH - it's basically every second that she's not grabbing something else.  And whilst I'm sure that's normal, it certainly defeats some of the effectiveness of tummy time. :-)  Trying to combat this, this weekend I started blocking her mouth so that she couldn't put either hand in there.  I looked like a GENIUS for about 12 seconds (and even that's being generous) before K figured out that she didn't actually need carbon digits to satisfy her need for self-soothing.  Instead, she went FACE DOWN on the playmat and began sucking the material for all it was worth.  I mean...come on, kid...but ya gotta love her. :-)

The picture says it all - you'd have thought
we were pushing bamboo shoots under her
fingernails - WOW.

The other experiment for the weekend was the Bjorn - courtesy of Team Brothernides!  JT had previously tried it on, but today was the first ever "test drive" with the munchkin.  And in case the photo doesn't say it all, let me spell it out - UNMITIGATED DISASTER.  That child screamed NON-STOP from the second her first foot went through the loop until we put her in her crib (10 minutes after she'd exited the apparatus).  AC - does this thing come with an auto-drip of Jim Beam or anything?  Just asking, as I think it might come to that...

Cute side note on the munchkin - she's still sucking with her left hand, but now she ALWAYS has a place for her right as well - behind her head, making her look like she's the picture of total relaxation.  Mum - it should be noted that she also pulls on her ear a lot - so much so that it's now raw and inflamed.  So perhaps that wasn't just a habit of mine.  After all - nothing is stronger than heredity.

We're entering a big week, as it officially kicks off Jenny's last full month of leave.  It has been a sea of emotions for both of us so far, and we both know we ain't seen nothing yet.  If the first 5 months were the Pacific on a sunny day, this last month is going to be the Drake Passage.

Couldn't resist adding this pic of the twins - TOO CUTE,
GUYS!!!!  Even if they are in that hideous Gator blue
and orange... :-)

Okay, time for a shower before the fourth (and final) first of the week - the inaugural visit to Carolina Ale House.  Bring on the Zingers, baby!!!!  Woot-woot!!!!

Love,

Sam and Jenny