"Bubbles, bubbles, all around..."

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  1 year, 26 days

Family,

And a good Saturday afternoon to you from the Queen City, where the Munchkin is at the 2 hour & 15 minute mark of her "post swim, post bath" nap and the Bull is on the screened porch, soaking up this AMAZING weather.  I am very pleased to report that, after a tough winter (for Charlotte anyway),

Hark!  Skiers in danger!  Never fear, UNDERDOG IS HERE!

spring is officially in the air.  Flowers are blooming, leaves are returning to the trees, and the sound of lawn mowers blazing fills the neighborhood air.  And the best news is that it's not scorching yet (although we did hit 88 this week!), so you can really maximize the outside time.

And speaking of maximizing the outside time, the sneetch definitely did that this week.  She was an ANIMAL at daycare, spending almost every waking moment outside (excluding sleeping and eating, of course).  Daycare acquired a new "tunnel" this week (one of those nylon-slinky looking things), and whilst at first she preferred to just slap the outside of it, we got photos later in the week that showed her plowing through that puppy like the drill they used in Ocean's 13 - way to go, sneetch!

As for the week, K has just been TOO CUTE.  She is now waving at EVERYTHING.  Animate.  Inanimate.  Made of Carbon.  Made of plastic.  Made in the USA.  Made in China.  Familiar face.  Total stranger. Robin in the yard.  Flag in front of a building.  Swim lane for a pool.  Brick veneer of daycare.  IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE.  But she will NOT, mind you, wave hello or goodbye on command.  The funniest thing for me is that, the SECOND she wakes up and you enter the room, she does the following:

K's first round on the floor of the screened
porch - WOW.  The filth, the dirt, the future
conversations with social services...

1. Smiles a mile wide

2. Points to her book case

3. Waves at her books

4.  Says "ba"

Yes, the ubiquitous "ba" - the one syllable that K has TRULY mastered.  She says "ba" constantly right now, and whilst I was initially tricked by my daughter into thinking that she'd said her first word (I tried EMPHATICALLY to convince Jenny that K had pointed at a robin and said "bird"), I soon realized that "ba" was more a conceptual statement of "oh, that's interesting - please direct my focus that way, oh slightly chubby caretaker that wants to be called father."  (Side note to finish the "robin" story. No sooner had I told Jenny that "K DEFINITELY knows ba is bird - she knows that's a robin," then she pointed to our chandelier and said - you guessed it - "ba."  She then proceeded to rinse-repeat this with the window, door, table, my wife/her mother, a sippy cup, the staircase, the coffee table, all of her books, and her crib.  Needless to say I will NOT try and claim another milestone without Jenny present again...

Lovin' the splash, baby!

K was definitely tired this week (even had 2 one hour naps at daycare on Friday, which NEVER happens), and I think she's still working through a cold (shocking, that).  However, she's been very happy and very active both at daycare and at home, and so I am (sincerely) hoping that the tubes are working.

The sneetch decked out in her first
international t-shirt - courtesy of the Webbster
and her hubby Matt.  Thanks, guys!

Around the house, we've noticed that she's starting to entertain herself a bit more.  Now don't get me wrong, that girl LOVES to be picked up or walked with (two activities which mommy and daddy are still more than HAPPY to condone and oblige), but this week I did notice that she was more content playing with the toys in the living room.  The favorite of which is "bubbles the learning whale," a gift from the Parkhouse clan.  So here's the deal - this thing is
supposed to go in the tub and attach to the tile.  However, because bath time is so quick and K LOVES PLAYING WITH IT, we've just left it in the box and down in the living room.  It's VTech, so there are plenty of lights and sounds anytime you push something.  Her favorite button to push is the orange starfish (who, incidentally, is playing the triangle - HOORAY!), and after any 2-3 minute period of inactivity it begins

Purple Easter grass is AWESOME!!!!!  And so is shredding it - one blade at a time.

singing:  "Bubbles, bubbles, all around, popping bubbles up and down, bubbles popping to and fro, bubbles put on quite a show!"  And whilst the vocals won't win next season's "The Voice," K actual sways every time she hears it!  It is honestly TOO CUTE.  I push the button just to watch it.

Grammie came this week so Jenny and I could have date night (went to see "Ghost the Musical"), and once again my mother was AMAZED at how well K goes down for the night.  Her text to us at intermission was just priceless.  Fingers crossed #2 will be that well behaved!

It was mom/Grammie's birthday, and she got to keep K that afternoon and the following morning before she had to roll back to Tennessee.  It was a whirlwind visit (as was my father's the previous week), but we had a blast, ate some good food, and got to relax a bit - all good things. :-)

The only other news to report was that K had her school pics this week, and rumor has it that she stole the show!  She was apparently all smiles in her "St. Patty's Day" dress, and the photographer said that she got some great photos of her smiling and standing - two things we definitely did NOT get at Faith's for the one year.  I hope to see them next week - can't wait to see and hopefully have a new shot to post here soon!

The weekend has been great, as swim lessons went well again today.  Tonight we'll have dinner with our neighbors, and so if you're reading this and see a photo here, then you'll notice that I wrote ahead for that portion. :-)  Oh, and we also have K's passport photos on the docket for this weekend - that should be QUITE the adventure.

Okay, that's it for this guy, so I'll sign off for now.  Chat soon!

Love,

Sam and Jenny