And the babbler arrives...

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  7 months and 11 days

Family,

Look at this girl pulling up into Cobra - Yoga instructor
in training!  Such a cute, happy baby in the morning.

And a good (not so) idle Tuesday to you from the Queen City - another week is in the books!  I realize I'm two days late committing this one to the server, but MAN has it been busy.  Plus, with weekends being so absolutely precious with the Munchkin and Muffin, I am finding it increasingly harder to pull myself away from the girls to make these entries.  That being said, this is an important historical record of this amazing time in our lives, and I do want to ensure I keep it up to date!

So the past week was another great one.  For starters, after 7 weeks of congestion, I think the munch might FINALLY be clearing up a bit.  We haven't had to use the nose-frida in the last couple of days, and bottle feeding has DEFINITELY been easier for her.  And whilst I'm sure it's just temporary, we do think that the temperature in the new day care is a bit warmer, which is (hopefully) contributing to her drying out somewhat.

K has a new obsession - monkeys.  She's quite fond
of looking at them, touching them...and eating
their faces.

And whilst the congestion does seem to be abating somewhat, another problem has resurfaced.  About a month ago, we noticed that K's head was definitely tilting (the crown of her head was pointing to the right, with her chin pointing to the left).  At first we just diagnosed it as "she doesn't have the strength to hold her head up," but the first daycare commented that she could have a stiff muscle in her neck, causing her to favor that one side.  They started her on some stretches, and the difference was almost immediate.  However, now that we've moved, it seems as though her head position has deteriorated yet again.  The technical term is "tortichollis," but we have no idea if it really is an issue.  JT and I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday to confirm (and K gets her second flu shot - lucky girl!), but I think it's safe to say that some stretches are in our future (and I get the sinking feeling that she won't like them...).

And in this corner, weighing in at 18 pounds, the undisputed
cutest kid on earth....KAITLYN TAYLOR!!!!!

Note to self - rolling now means "I will eat
everything."

As far as her disposition, she continues to be the happiest kid on the planet.  She ALWAYS smiles when we get her up from a sleep, and she always smiles at me when I pick her up from daycare.  Whilst at daycare, she apparently smiles all the time and is quite the inquisitive munchkin - two things that do a father's heart good.  I definitely think she's super alert - she's always watching the world around her (with those beautiful, big eyes), reaching for things, and feeling new textures.  And still the cutest thing is when I pick her up from daycare - she basically grabs both veins in my next, twists and squeezes (and rips my skin apart with her Wolverine-style nails), and then plants her open mouth on my cheek - too cute (as is the ensuing smile).  And whilst she's not napping much at daycare (we're talking 3 naps of 10-30 minutes each - NOTHING), she's still very active (and more importantly - crashing HARD in the evening).  She's been a bit fussy at times during feeding, and her appetite definitely bounces from day to day.  Yesterday (Monday) she ate like a champ, but typically she's right at the "Mendoza line" on bottle intake (about 24 oz + the 2 oz for cereal).  When it comes to solids, however - LOOK OUT.  That girl can EAT!  She loves them!  Fruits will start next week - take cover!!!

Hey mommy, please remember that, when you
make this demon face...

...I will rip out every last shred of hair.

We did make another VBGB run this week, and K definitely did NOT enjoy that.  JT ended up taking her home early, but the highlight of the night was the Bull and Striker (the first 2 folks at the bar) sitting in our car whispering to each other and waiting for the rest of the gang (whilst the munchkin slept in the back).  She'd been away basically 5+ hours, and she crashed on the drive to Uptown.  We let her sleep a good hour, but I'm not sure she ever actually woke up before we put her down at 6:45.  She was an ANGEL during the weekend, however, and it was a PERFECT, happy 2 days.  As JT said:  "This feels just like maternity."

Celebrating a BIG Vols win:  23-21 over
the Gamecocks!  And note the head tilt - that
is what we'll be investigating this week.

As for the big accomplishments this week, the first is that she is FINALLY jumping in the Jumperoo!!! What was previously a "sedentary apparatus" has suddenly become quite the active session for the Munchkin, and she seems to really enjoy it!  She's also finally started playing with the "honeycomb sliders" at the front of the jumperoo.  I am proud, as I've been pushing that particular apparatus for some time now.  In fact, she's now playing with everything on there except 2 items in the back (not really her fault since we never point her that way).  And yes - she still LOVES to throw and eat blocks.

The other accomplishment has been the vocabulary - the Munchkin is now saying consonants!  So far we can get a steady stream of "babababababababababababababababa" - especially when she's tired.  What cracks us up is not how long she can go but the face she makes when doing the sound.  She makes this adorable little frown - too cute!

Okay - that's it for now.  chat again soon!

Love,

Sam and Jenny