Motor Skill Mania!!!!

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  6 months and 27 days

Family,

Nothing beats peas, baby!!!

And a good Monday evening to you from the Queen City, where my wife is currently getting ripped in 30 and (NO JOKE) jogging around the island in the kitchen.  I don't really know how to respond to what I'm seeing right now - but she sure is hot. :-)

This week was a BLUR for Team Taylor, but it was packed with milestones yet again!  It is AMAZING how alert Kaitlyn has become over the last few days.  Over the past weeks and months she's become progressively more alert and inquisitive, but this weekend has witnessed an explosion of activity!  This past weekend saw her roll over twice from her tummy, and she's made HUGE strides in the sitting department (wow - that wasn't really meant to be a pun, but whatever).  On Thursday I sat her up in the crib, and she was legitimately able to sit there for 90-120 seconds without any assistance from me.  She's now able to push herself back up when she falls forward, which means she's learned to "negotiate the breast milk belly" as our Peds would say.  And where she was previously lunging all over the place, she's now much more in control.

EGAD!  Why are the Vols wearing gray?

On the tummy time front, it is AMAZING the difference now.  She no longer gets tired.  In fact, she not only keeps her head up during tummy time, but she is now pushing herself up more and more.  Today was a new record - she was basically pulling up into Cobra - WOW!

You caught me - I AM little bunny Foo Foo.

Another VERY exciting development for us is that she's largely stopped tilting her head to one side when she's unsupported.  We'd noticed this several weeks ago, but last week one of the teachers at the daycare mentioned it as well.  I have to give Ms. Arriva all the credit in the world, as she instantly put her on "baby physical therapy," and it is CRAZY how dramatically things have improved.  During the day, every toy K reached for was on her left side, so that she had to look that way.  The teacher also did stretches to work out the sore muscle, and she even put her on her side to sleep (which is how she now naps - usually with her right arm slung over her face - too cute :-)).  She also told us to support her neck in the infant carrier and stroller, and we've started that.  The results, I am THRILLED to say, have been almost instantaneous - now it's up to us to keep monitoring her progress.  She definitely has the neck strength now, so we'll just ensure we're keeping her looking in both directions.

Wife Muffin getting "ripped in 30" - Munch,
your mom has traded in laps in a pool for
trying to turn her arms into a helicopter -
it's the ultimate sacrifice! :-)

In the food department, we've now added carrots to the regime, and she LOVES them.  Seriously - she finished an ENTIRE JAR tonight, and there was basically NOTHING on her bib.  I mean, her mother and father dog carrots like it's nothing on a nightly basis, so perhaps it was something in the breast milk.  Stay tuned, as green beans are the next food on the docket. :-)  I will say that, after trimming down pre-starting solids, the munch is starting to put a little weight back on.  She's getting her little rolls back, and she is SOOOOOOOOOO CUTE - peppy cheekies.

But I would be remiss if I didn't highlight one tough aspect of the week - leaving Gateway Academy daycare.  After a short 4 week stint there, Team Taylor had to say farewell to the staff, who are some of the nicest and most wonderful people on the planet.  I honestly can't say enough good things about the entire crew, and the best part was watching K's face light up each morning when she saw her teacher.  They called her "love love," and I heard more than once that she gave the best hugs.  It was tough saying goodbye, and they gave us a very nice farewell note that now resides in K's baby chest.  I'll talk more about daycare in the next blog (coming on JT's birthday next Sunday), but for now let me say THANK YOU, members of the Gateway Academy team.  You were terrific, and I can't thank you enough for how you looked after our little girl.

But in happy news, 2 events to report from this week.  First off - THE CONDO WENT UNDER CONTRACT ON FRIDAY!!!!!  After 90 or so days on the market, Team Taylor got a solid offer and accepted after a brief negotiation.  We close in less than a month!  Fingers crossed it all works out!  And whilst we are obviously THRILLED to be selling it (as that was the goal of putting it on the market!), we both definitely got a wee bit sad when thinking that the place we called home for half a decade and owned for 8 years was about to pass to someone else.  It was the first place we ever owned together, the first place we returned to as husband and wife, and the place that allowed us to live our dream of traveling overseas for so many years.  We have a TON of fond memories of "the way station," and I hope the new owners have as many wonderful adventures as we did whilst calling that place home.

The twins on their 3 month (quarter year)
birthday - Steve bought pumpkin pie to
celebrate, and the girls were gussied up.

Lastly, Sammy the Bull played hooky this weekend and actually flew down solo to Florida, where I crossed off a bucket list item - seeing a game in the Swamp.  That's right, sports fans, this guy even donned Gator Orange and Blue to watch the Gators beat the Hogs in an SEC showdown.  I went with cousin Steve, and it was an absolute BLAST.  And whilst my exploits aren't the focus of this blog, they can be included when I get to see family - ESPECIALLY THE TWINS!!!  It's amazing what a difference 6 weeks has made.  They are holding their heads up much better, the are growing like weeds, and one of them is even sleeping through the night (Malin - McKinley is still getting up 2-3x per night).  I only got to see them a few hours, but it was fantastic, and got some GREAT pics.

I know that was a quick one given how much happened and how many accomplishments there were to record.  However time is precious, and this guy's gotta get some food before bottle preparation begins!

Love,

Sam and Jenny