The bomb drops - Wife Muffin is coming home!!!!!

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  1 year, 1 week

Family,

The Sneetch playing with one of her birthday gifts (courtesy)
of the Markham clan.  She is GREAT at pulling the puzzle
pieces out - it's putting them back in that's proving tricky.

And a good evening to you from the Queen City, where the NCAA Tournament has just kicked off and Sammy the Bull is ready to watch some hoops.  But before we devote 100% focus to the epic battle between Mount St. Mary's and Albany, let's turn first to an AMAZING week in the life of Team Taylor - truly one that will change Team Taylor's (Party of Three) for the good forever.

So let's just start with the BIG NEWS.  On Thursday, Jenny dropped the bomb and gave her 6 week notice at work.  That's right, sports fans - WIFE MUFFIN IS GOING TO STAY AT HOME WITH KAITLYN!!!!  We are SO thrilled about it (and consider ourselves so blessed to be able to do it), and it really does feel like a dream come true.

Now before anyone goes thinking that this was a "willy nilly spur of the minute" decision, I can confirm

that this has been something in discussion for 7 months.  Originally, during JT's maternity leave, we considered it.  However, after running the numbers, we just thought it was too tight.  I remember Jenny breaking down and crying on the screened porch thinking about leaving K and going back to work, and it just about killed me.  However, at the time we still had the condo on the books (without renters) and her new car, and the reality is that it would have been a bridge too far to make it happen.

Munch Munch in her new bathing suit, ready
for session #2.  I'm sure Missy Franklin sucks
her thumb before each meet as well.

Fast forward to February, however, and you have a sold condo and no car payment.  Now I had been running numbers on possible scenarios for awhile (some more dramatic than others in terms of lifestyle changes), and I knew that it was possible.  However (and she will verify this), Jenny just didn't think we could do it.  There were a lot of factors in the mix, but the more we discussed it, the more we knew it was the right decision.  Key factors:

I can't wait to play at home with you, mommy!

1. Jenny was concerned that she was a "weekend mom."  Whilst this has NEVER been the case (as JT is an AMAZING mom), Jenny felt bad about having to split so much time between her daughter and a job she wasn't passionate about.  Now don't get us wrong - the company has always taken care of us (and certainly did once again with this role), but there was a reality that Jenny was spending the majority of her time somewhere she didn't want to be.  The tipping point on this was a Facebook article titled "They're growing up and I'm missing it."  I want to thank whoever wrote that, as that really set the wheels in motion.

Tell me this isn't a "ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel" moment.

2.  Jenny was concerned about perception, which is fair (especially given some comments that we've heard from not to be named members of family).  We talked about it and continually came to the conclusion that people would always judge us in some form or fashion, but that should NOT rule our decisions - especially when family matters were concerned.

3.  There was also the guilt of walking away from a good job and playing with K whilst I was at work.  I had to assure her that a) there was no job better than the one she would be taking, b) we have enough money, c) I like my job, and d) she will be a rock star "stay at home," whereas I wouldn't be.  This was a pretty easy sell given all the work she'd been tackling later, with mornings getting earlier and evening work creeping into the equation at least once a week.

4.  Financials were obviously a concern, so Jenny and I ran multiple scenarios and tested them out against my income.  The EXCELLENT news was that we came away in the black on all scenarios, which was another factor that set her mind at ease (especially when those scenarios didn't include lifestyle changes and - I hope - factored in all possible expenses).

Somebody is quickly becoming a
MASTER of the sippy cup.

5.  Socialization for K - now it's no surprise that I'm a fan of daycare, as I very much approve of the socialization aspect (as well as outsourcing some childcare to trained professionals).  However, between  Montessori books, mommy groups, and all of our other friends who are at home with the kids, I feel VERY confident we'll be able to raise the Sneetch as good or even better than if we'd left her in a school with a curriculum.  We did toy with the idea of part-time daycare, but then we reverted to our original decision - we gave life to this little miracle, and we intend to raise her.

6.  EXHAUSTION.  Seriously - JT was (and still is) getting up at 5:30 in the morning every day, settling in at her desk by 6:45.  This was wearing us both out, as getting workouts in was tough, we were losing sleep every night, and by the weekend we were zombies.  The reality was that something was going to have to give soon, as neither of us could keep up this pace (and kudos to all those out there who do it - you have my utmost respect).

After a few rough weeks at work and K continuing to be sick at daycare, Team Taylor finally reached the tipping point and called it.  And consequently, here we are with less than 6 weeks to go before JT hands in the laptop and picks up the Sneetch from daycare for a final time!  SO EXCITED!

On the sneetch front, this past week was one that saw her REALLY cruising.  She pops up SO QUICKLY now, and she is definitely working her way down furniture when she sees something she's interested in.  Now granted, crawling is still a bit faster for her, but she is ALL ABOUT pulling up on daddy's pants and standing there.  When she sees me, she will just put her head down and come at me like a rocket, stopping to grab my pants and pull herself up. TOO CUTE!  And there is nothing like picking her up and kissing those sweet little cheeks - man, I love that kid.

In terms of activities, this week was K's 1 year doctor's visit.  The good news - she got a GLOWING report from the doctor.  The Peds was very pleased with all of her motor skill progression and didn't seem concerned that she wasn't yet talking.  Part of her lack of concern was tied to the less than stellar news, which is that K's ears are still infected and look back despite completing a THIRD round of antibiotics.  Consequently, we now have an ENT appointment on 26 March, and the Peds feels that K is a prime candidate for tubes.  We have no problem with tubes, as we are desperate to get her on the mend and get that fluid out of her ears for good.  The doctor said that it could be affecting her balance (which is probably true, but we have noticed that is improving), but the bigger concerns are around hearing and speech, as fluid in the ears continually can affect hearing and can ultimately lead to hearing loss.  We were instructed to continue reading and speaking to K, which is something I think we do very well.

She weighed in at 21 lbs, 9 oz, putting her in the 70th percentile.  Height-wise she's climbing up the dial a bit, now in the 25th percentile (so yes, still a setter vs. an outside hitter - but hey, that means she can play back row libero as well!), and all other developmental milestones looked good.  Her iron levels were good, and she was AMAZING during her 3 vaccinations (literally 1 big cry - that's it!).  That girl is rough and tumble like her mama. :-)

Our next appointment is in 3 months, at which time K should have 3-5 words (other than mama and dada), be walking, and should still be growing like a weed.  She's certainly been eating like a champ over the last week, and that's been an interesting transition for us, as she's officially moved from Formula to whole milk (can someone say windfall savings?).  I was in Vegas this week, and so JT was on bottle/baby duty.  The interesting thing is that she was able to phase out formula in about 2-3 days, and the bottle vanished by the end of the week.  K is now 100% on the sippy cup!  That has actually been a bigger transition for me than her, but we'll talk about that part next week. :-)

After K's appointment, she was treated to a 1 year birthday cupcake.  Unlike the cake that was apparently too intimidating for her, K LOVED the cupcake.  Seriously - JT took about 600 GREAT shots from the feeding - they'll be great for her wedding someday! :-)  The recap:

Part 1:  Kaitlyn wonders why this particular pastry is so much smaller than the previous installment.

Part 2:  Investigation and Analysis - what exactly is this white thing on top of the good stuff?

Part 3:  Icing.  Is.  AWESOME.

Part 4:  And so is the paper the cupcake comes in.  You guys gotta try this!

And lastly, Part 5:  I mean, the icing was good, but the wax is EPIC!   

Other than that, not a lot to report.  JT and K spent Saturday at her folks' house, and then we had all day Sunday together (although I wasn't good for much considering I'd just come off a red-eye from Sin City!).

That's all the news that's fit to print in this first blog of Year Two.  Chat soon!

Love,

Sam and Jenny