Re-U-Ni-Ted, and it feels so guuuuuuuuuuud...

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  5 months and 3+ weeks

Family,

And a good Sunday afternoon to you from the Queen City, where the Bull and Striker are sitting in the Bonus room with the Munchkin, who's just finished her best round of tummy time EVER and has also just finished quite the bout of screaming.  Wife Muffin is heading to the nursery to put her down as I type, so I figured it was a good chance to knock out this week's update.

It's been a FANTASTIC weekend, off the back of a terrific week.  Jenny was in Orlando with Kaitlyn until Thursday, and they had a blast.  Not only did they get lots of bonding time with Julie, Steve, and their wee ones, Jenny also got a chance to hang out with some of her other college friends - Katie and Stacey.  Up here in the QC, however, the Bull was living the life of a bachelor.  And let me tell you - this house was TOOOOOOOO quiet.  WOW - there were so many moments (especially at night) when the silence was deafening.  To make things stranger, I often heard "phantom cries" or "phantom noises" in the night.  Basically I thought I kept hearing Kaitlyn breathing on a monitor that wasn't there.  Yeah, freaky.  The Bull will come clean and admit that he locked the bedroom door every night.  True, it probably wouldn't have kept out the zombies from the zombie apocalypse, but hey - a man does what he can.

AD Pi's in the house - now all with future diamonds. :-)

The weekend has been quiet but fantastic, and I've got 4 milestones to report this week.  First, the munchkin has FINALLY found her right thumb!  It's funny - JT and I don't actually think she realizes that she has it, but it's definitely there and definitely being used. :-)  She's actually much more reserved with how she handles her right thumb, but that could be because she ultimately always ends up consuming HER ENTIRE FIST.  It should be noted that she's become exceptionally adept at wiping slobber ALL OVER ME.  Seriously - this gal has slimed me on more than one occasion.  It's also worth noting that her neck has become MUCH stronger, having the cumulative effect of her being able to whip that neck around and CRACK my jawbone when I'm burping her.  Rough and tumble, just like mummy!

K with her teething chew toy that also doubles
as a gum cleaner...because daddy's too lazy to do it.

The second milestone is that she's finally found a foot!  Just her right foot for now, but she's got both of those puppies flapping in the breeze, so it's only a matter of time before she tries to consume one.  And speaking of consumption, that poor Mouse the Aussies gave K is now a daily victim of slobber, suction, and chewing.  The "Oz Mouse" is still intact, but it's only a matter of time before "Little Kaitlyn Foo Foo" ribs off one of her ears like a scene from Watership Downs.

That's a good segue way to mention that K is now chewing on EVERYTHING.  We are trying to wipe stuff down and keep her environment relatively sterile, but she is a full-on chewer and slobber box at this point, meaning the quest is pretty much futile (Borg style).  But there's no question she's more alert and aware - she's loving the jumperoo now and has discovered all the lights on the back side of the apparatus.  She's even rolling and pushing the sound button ("Lion's roar!"), but I don't yet think she's associated the cause with the effect.

The 3rd big milestone is that we've come to an end of the swaddle!  That's right, sports fans - the evening swaddle is no more.  Now, the ritual is putting her in pajamas (meaning long sleeves) and putting her down for the night.  Honestly, the swaddle was becoming almost impossible, and she kicks of violently that she was even managing to get out of it some nights.  This is good, as it's giving us a chance to try out some new outfits, all of which are TOO CUTE. :-)

GI Jane in the house - look at this little munchkin's form!
Next up - the army crawl!  But not too soon, as this house is
NOT baby-proof yet...

And the 4th and final milestone - K has really gotten the hang of tummy time!  Whilst I don't think she likes it yet, there's no question that it's working.  Today was her best session EVER - she used her arms and kept her head up for quite a while!  Way to go, Wife Muffin!!!  Your persistence has paid off.

Okay, that's it from our corner of the world.  Chat next week!

Love,

Sam and Jenny