The best Mother's Day present EVER - K's first word...

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  14 months and 1 day

Family,

And a good Monday morning to you from Charlotte Douglas International airport in Charlotte, where the bull has gone mobile for this latest post.  Apologies for not getting to it last night, but as it was Mother’s Day (Jenny’s

Let's get this party STARTED!

2^nd!) and I had to pack for a work trip (heading to Canada this week), I just ran out of time.  Consequently I’m typing this is in word in the hope that I can copy-paste it once I touch down in Toronto.  At a minimum, I want to make sure I record everything while it’s still fresh in my mind, as it was another BIG week.

First off – the GREAT news.  Today was truly “week 1” of the new world order, with Jenny at home and me working out of the enclave in the bedroom.  While last week was her first week as “Domestic Entrepeneur,” the facts that a) K was sick and had to go to the doctor twice, b) I was out of the country, and c) she had to cancel a planned flight to London made it a less than stellar (to say nothing of normalized) start.  This week, however, I was home all week, K was healthy, and we were set to test out the new arrangement.  I am pleased to report that it was PHENOMENAL.

In all seriousness, we hoped (and expected) it would be wonderful.  The family would be under one roof.  We’d have an extra hour of sleep each morning (if the sneetch cooperated J).  I’d get to see K and Jenny more throughout the day.  K would get the chance to sleep better.  Most importantly, K and Jenny would get dedicated bonding time.  Well, I am thrilled to report that all of the above happened and THEN SOME.  Week 1 was, in a word, perfect.

Another new favorite activity - being hoisted
onto the bed and then running around on it
like a mad woman while mommy and daddy
tickle you senseless - she LOVES it.

For Jenny and K, it’s amazing to see how much the bond has already deepened.  K has of course always known who her mommy is, but she calls out for her all the time now.  In fact, we are officially giving her credit for her first word as of yesterday – “MAMA!”  Now granted, sometimes she says “baba,” but she’s already getting better at her “m’s,” and there is no question she equates that pair of syllables to her mother.  It is SO CUTE:  Jenny will say “where’s mama?”, and I will point or look at Jenny and say “baba.”  Jenny will then say, “Mama!”, at which point K will repeat “mama.”  It is just beautiful to see the smile that follows on both of their faces.  Incidentally, K is also saying “more” when eating.  She says it while she signs it, and so while the pronunciation isn’t stellar, there is no question that’s the word she’s saying.  It should be noted that she’s also saying “Boom Boom” when she walks up to the red ball and slaps it, but I don’t think Jenny’s too keen on giving her credit for that word yet. 

The rapid development of language along with her improved cruising (she’s up on couches, beds, and everything else at this point) highlights just how much her blocked ears were a hamper on her development during her first year of life.  True, there are days where she’s not terribly active physically, but there’s no question that she’s cruising and walking better, all of which has to be a direct correlation to having clear ears.  I am not sure when she’s going to take those first steps, but she did stand at the park for a good 2-3 seconds before she fell back on her bum yesterday.

The week itself was just fantastic. Jenny now heads out for a 5K each morning, walking and running with the stroller.  K is eating 5 times and is having 2 naps during the week and 1 nap on the weekend (we’re not sure if she’s transitioning to a single nap yet or not, but I do think it’s close).  I get to see her each time she wakes up, as well as throughout the day when I’m between calls.  On Monday we went out on the deck for a bit, and K fell in love with pushing the plastic chairs around – too cute! 

Tuesday was Jenny’s first time with the “meet up” group.  This group will become something of a staple in the coming months and years (we think anyway), as it’s a group of mother’s within Highland Creek who get together at least once a week.  The kids are spread across all ages, but there was one on Tuesday near K’s age (there were only 4 kids and moms present).  K wasn’t super excited about the “meet up” and apparently spent the lion’s share of her time eating wood chips (which is the same thing she did at the park on Mother’s Day yesterday).  But at least she was outside breathing fresh air, so I still call it a victory. J  Jenny will probably do the meet up tomorrow as well, and during the school year there are also readings at the local library (which I think is the actually UNC-Charlotte library).  On the whole, I think it’s been a good start to the transition, and JT said that she met some really nice parents while there.

Wednesday definitely had a twinge of sadness in it, as it was the day we officially said farewell to Primrose.  As

The amazing front desk staff at Primrose
wonderful people who REALLY care
about children and seeing them succeed.

I said previously, we are SO THRILLED to have the opportunity to raise our daughter at home.  That being said, this facility and its faculty were a very big part of K’s first year and a daily staple in our lives, and it was very tough to just suddenly walk in a final time and wish them farewell.  They have been comic relief when needed, advisors when we’ve needed support, and fantastic motivators/instructors for K’s development.  Truly, I think that so much of K’s progress this first year was due largely in part to their curriculum and (more importantly) the care and love shown by the staff, and we will certainly miss them. 

Ms. Dickson and Ms. Oliva - the afternoon
and morning staples of mine and K's life
for the past 7 months.  They were such an
important part of her first year - hard to believe
she won't have a memory of them.

We said goodbye to the front office folks first before moving into the infant room and saying farewell to her teachers.  One of them (Ms. Gutierrez) was on a mission trip, but the other three were present.  Ms. T was the newest addition to the room (new as of March), and so there wasn’t as much of a parting sadness with her.  For Ms. Oliva (the morning teacher) and Ms. Dickson (the afternoon teacher), however, it was definitely a weird experience.  They are both so wonderful (and were so wonderful to K each and every day), and I had planned on having that last week whilst JT was in London to say my goodbyes at my own pace.  Instead, however, there I was, thrust into a sudden farewell, and for once I was at a loss for words.  After all, how do you sum up a thank you to the folks who looked after your daughter 8-9 hours a day for 7 months?  Jenny and I did give them cards, and I just have to hope that they know how thankful we are for all that they’ve done and wish them all the best.  I think the strangest thing is that, even though they’ve been such an important part of K’s life up until now, she won’t even have a memory of them.  That’s another reason why I think this blog is so important, as I want her to know about all the people who looked after her and helped her (and her parents) along the way.

The Sneetch on Monday - she was ALL ABOUT moving
between the chairs...and pushing them like a walker when
the distance between them proved too great.

"Please, mommy!"

"All done, mommy!"

And perhaps the farewell to Primrose was more than just saying goodbye to daycare, as closing that chapter has, in effect, ushered in a new era for Team Taylor (and by extension for me).  Yes, I will now see K throughout the day and see her every time she wakes up.  Yes, in total time I will probably see her more each day than I did previously.  And yes – most importantly – the family unit is growing stronger than ever and will continue to do so with each passing day.  However, there is one thing that cannot be escaped:  just 2 weeks in, K no longer reaches for Daddy now – she wants her mommy.  Now don’t get me wrong – this is a GREAT thing.  It will just take some adjusting, as I no longer have that dedicated time in the morning and afternoon.  Jenny’s been great about letting me put K down in the evenings, and I still get a lot of quality time with her in the afternoon.  However, it has changed, and I am definitely sliding into the spot where most dads fit in the family unit.  I now very much understand how Jenny felt when working, as you can see how quickly they grow up and therefore want to be present and connected to every moment of it.  The good news is that I still am, as I’ve got both my girls under 1 roof.  I just need to make sure that I am doubly focused on every second I have with the Munchkin.  And again – for me, seeing how much closer the two of them have grown in just this short span of time is nothing short of amazing and fills my heart with happiness.  This is why we made the decision to raise K at home, and I am thrilled that we’re seeing such wonderful results so quickly.

Thug life! 

In other sneetch development news, it is AMAZING how well she signs now.  She has got “please” down cold and does it on command (SO CUTE the way she rubs her belly when you give her the “say please, Kaitlyn” request J).  She’s also got “more” down pat – probably because she uses it ALL THE TIME.  We are so thrilled and lucky that she eats so well – she took down 18 grapes in a sitting yesterday and then an entire garden v

eggie burger for dinner!  I think she still prefers the black bean burgers (there are some oats in the garden burgers, and they are a bit tougher to chew), but we introduced her to chicken jalfrezi yesterday and she ate it without missing a beat.  What is interesting is that, once K’s done eating, she’ll start tossing food onto the floor around her high chair.  However, once you take her out of the chair and stand her beside it, she’ll drop right to the floor and commence with eating everything she’s previously tossed!  Kudos to Jenny to buying this little $8 plastic mat that surrounds the immediate “tiny bomb quarantine zone,” as it’s made clean-up MUCH easier.

The new have toy...a filthy rug.  YES -
we spare no expense on our daughter.

K’s 2 favorite toys at present are an old magnet that was on the fridge when we arrived (dated from 2010 or something like that – it’s a calendar from a realtor) and our dirty rug that sits at the entrance to the screened porch.  For some reason, she is FASCINATED by these 2 things, which has consequently kept Jenny quite busy keeping them clean.  K will push the rug all over the breakfast nook, much like she’s now doing with chairs, Scout the “doggie walker” and anything else for which friction isn’t all that powerful.  Jenny rightly noticed that K is now able to turn and adjust her walker once she collides with a wall or object – definitely moving in the right direction (no pun intended)!

Thumbs UP for being at home with mommy!

Sunday was K’s 14 month birthday as well as JT’s second Mother’s Day, and the day was perfect – great weather, wonderful food, time in the park, and lots of laughs.  K is all about climbing (and drooling) on our couch and the spare bed at present, and it is SO CUTE to watch her sign “please” when asking to be lifted to the bed.  We tickle her, and she laughs constantly – such a happy baby, such a happy family.  In fact, life was so good this week that JT and I sat on the deck more than once after K was down to just have a beer and reflect on how well it was all going.  Life is guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud. J

Okay, this has been a marathon post, and I’m glad that I didn’t try to wedge it into last night’s schedule.  It’s now off to Canada, so we’ll chat with you next week.

Jenny – Happy Mother’s Day to a wonderful mother and the best wife EVER.  I love you so, so much, and I couldn’t possibly be happier with our life together. 

Love,

Sam and Jenny