The Munch rolls 16 months...

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  16 months and 3 days

Family,

And a good Monday evening to you from the Queen City, where the Bull returned from a day of working Uptown just in time to read K a few stories and put her to bed.  And, in a rather amazing turn

"And I'm proud to be an American, where
at least I know, I'm free..."

of events, I actually got a KISS!  The funny back story on this is that lately K has REFUSED to give daddy a kiss or cuddle.  In fact, any time I say "Can daddy have a kiss?", she immediately shakes her head and says no.  And if I lean in to kiss her cheek anyway, I basically get the 16 month old equivalent of bitch-slapped.  Yes, she's adorable even in frustration and flat refusal of affection. :-)

What an AMAZING week we just had - soup to nuts one of the best weeks of the year, and not just because of all the fun times and laughs we had with K.  As I mentioned in the previous blog, Tuesday was a BIG DAY for Team Taylor, as Jenny and I officially celebrated 8 years of marriage.

Now K, I know this blog is all about you, but I do feel it is important you know how important this week was and how much mommy and daddy love each other.  Your mommy and daddy have been a couple for 11 years and married for eight of those years, and it has been THE MOST amazing journey. We really can't believe how blessed and lucky we are, and just when we thought things couldn't get any better - you came along and took it to a whole new level.  Our lives were wonderful before you, but after your arrival they have become perfect, with each day being a new voyage of discovery, laughter, and adventure.  Now don't get us wrong, our minds worry about all kinds of new things now with you running around, but those concerns are only because we love you and want nothing but the best for you.  You have helped to make the house we love so much the home we've always dreamed of, as the pitter-patter of little feet on the hardwood is something that transforms a house into a cathedral of memories, nearly all of which have been better than we ever thought possible.  And while I realize some (or all) of this might sound cheesy, it is the truth and how I feel.  I love my wife more than ever, am in love with a daughter who's given me more joy than I ever thought possible, am in a job I enjoy with the freedom to work from home, and truly feel roots growing in the Queen City.  Life.  Is.  Good.

As for K, this week saw some very cute new milestones (to say nothing of the fact that she's now rolled

1.33 years of life).  For starters, she has become a shoe FASIONISTA - that girl LOVES wearing shoes!  My personal favorites so far as these UT squeaker shoes that Rice gave us (hand-me downs from Sam), but there is no doubt that the most poignant pair in the closet were given to me the Thursday Jenny returned from London - a pair that I had when I was 16 months old, scuffed to pieces at the front but still functional.  I haven't put K in them yet, but it's only a matter of time - can't wait to send those photos to mum.

K has tried on a bevy of shoes to date - sneakers, slippers, Crocs, aqua shoes, and the most recent additions as of Saturday - BABY TEVAS, BABY!!!!  Seriously - tell me the shoes in the photo are NOT the cutest things EVER?!?!?!?  $8 on clearance at REI, baby!  Granted, they look like something off a Blake Shelton video, but details... :-)

The next big update is that K tried peanut butter this week!  We gave it to her last Sunday after returning from Atlanta (so I guess technically it was last week, but I'd run out of steam recording and tracking things by that point :-)), and no surprise - she LOVES it.  JT mixes it in with some whole wheat bread, and K goes CRAZY for it when it's her main.  I have to give Jenny credit - she's really got K on a terrific mix of food, and that's helping to keep everything fresh on her taste buds.

Another cute moment is that K now officially has hair ties and sported her first pony tail this week!  It was SO CUTE to watch her walk around with her hair back, and it's amazing how much hair she's actually got!  JT bought rubber bands for her bangs (it is CRAZY how long her hair is in the front), but the pony tail holder was just too cute to not try.  The picture says it all, right?

A new favorite activity - wearing mommy's
sports bras like the world's brightest necklace.

Another fun new to do - eating crayons...
writing and coloring with them?  Eh...
not so much...

K is also loving playing on mommy and daddy's bed in the morning.  She has figured out that you can fall back without hurting yourself, and she does that pretty much non-stop.  Granted, she doesn't realize there are EDGES to the bed yet, which is the reason one of us has to be guarding her at all times.  On a similar note, she's figured out that if you fall back in the swimming pool, one of the parental units will catch you before your head goes under.  We actually made it to the pool twice this week, and K really enjoyed it.  On Sunday we even got her into her Baby Bands (the polarized goggles) - we think these are going to come in VERY handy in Jamaica.  Plus, well...they're pretty much the cutest thing EVER. I will say that K has become much stronger and sure footed in the pool - she can walk the entire pool and keep herself upright (when she chooses to do that vs. walking to the water fountain and making mommy pick her up to touch the cold water or doing laps around the ladder, that is).  She doesn't seem to like the float we recently purchased (loved it the first time, won't touch it since), but we're still gonna take that to Jamaica and see how we go.

"On the next episode of Baywatch..."

On the development front, K has 3 new teeth!  Unbelievable how they come in all together, but she's got three MONSTERS in progress at present.  Luckily all three have broken through, so that should mean less pain (and she has still been sleeping good, knock on wood).  Also, this week marked a big hygiene milestone, as Team Taylor officially bid farewell to the plastic bath tub.  K is now in the full size tub, and it makes life SO much easier.  She seems to enjoy it, and it's definitely easier to get her clean.  Lastly, that gal continues to get stronger, as this week was the first time she managed to pull herself into our brown Adirondack chairs on the deck!  They had always been "a bridge too far" until this week, but now pretty much everything outside is fair game (including the hanging baskets - which she loves to touch if you pick her up - and the hammock).

Other than that, not much to report.  I'll get a post out this Friday as well, because after that it's vacation time for Team Taylor.  Chat soon!

Love,

Sand and Jenny