Another week of discovery and development for the sneetch

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  17 months and 29 days

Family,

The Sneetch has discovered that you don't need to cut or
peel pears - you just consume them whole...leaving a trail
of juice deeper than Lake Huron in your wake.

And a good Tuesday afternoon to you from the Queen City, where the Bull is fighting a cold post his return from Vegas.  I must confess, Vegas is AWESOME - but as this is the 3rd time I've been sick in the last 4 trips, I think I've finally accepted that I'm not the young man I once was and need to live by the creeds/edicts/proclamations I've made the past year or so to "slow down and take it easy." It's funny, when K was born, life really did slow to a crawl - we didn't venture too far afield, we were more day-by-day, and we kept things simple.  Once she settled into a routine, we did get a bit more adventurous (dinner out, a few trips), but not until recently have we really ratcheted it up in terms of travel.  And now, as I look back over the summer - Jamaica, Amelia, the training schedule, Boone and the race - I realize that we might be pushing a bit too hard.  Throw in an international trip once a month as well for work, and this past week the Bull has come to realize that at some point - something's gotta give (and if you're not careful, it will be you).

The scholar...poised on the edge of her future...but not
there unless she gets a full scholarship. :-)

This was a bit difficult for me to accept, because at first it felt like I was "admitting defeat," but the reality is that I think I've been trying to cram too much in as of late, and my body is paying for it.  Between the morning workouts, the travel schedule, the workload, and everything else, the Bull can tell he's a bit broken down (I'm on cough meds as I type this), and the truth is that I need to just stop, slow down, and enjoy our house, our area, and most importantly - our family.  And don't get me wrong - I do think we have done a great job of traveling as a family, staying connected with friends, and really spending quality time with K.  I just also think that "Batman has found his limits" and consequently need to scale it back.  As a result of this, JT and I have taken 2 trips off the books for the fall, which I think is a great thing.  We'll save a bit of money, get a chance to enjoy the new grill and lots of football, and recuperate from what has been quite a busy last few months.  That being said, we do have a big trip planned for JT's birthday and 4 more races on the calendar, so it's not like we've completely.  Going forward, I think we'll look to keep the travel/big activities to 1-2 a month, as I'm also conscious that we want a lot of time on the weekends with K doing things locally (Discovery Place, for example).

But enough about me - that's not why you came.  :-)  Let's talk about the sneetch instead, as she's had quite the week!  We kicked off the week at Davidson.  It was Labor Day, and we'd always wanted to visit the campus and the little downtown area there (we're talking 1 street).  It turned out to be a great day, as the weather was perfect, the campus gorgeous, and the restaurant we ate at (Brickhouse Tavern) turned out to be FAB.  Seriously - this place is a hidden gem, and we will DEFINITELY be back there!  For K's part, she LOVED running around the campus - especially all the stairs (she seriously spent 30 minutes going up and down the stairs and ramps of the life sciences building too cute!).  

I was in Vegas Wednesday evening until Sunday evening, but JT and the Sneetch stayed plenty busy in the interim, visiting the library for the first time and making the inaugural trip to Discovery Place.  JT took some GREAT pictures, and I got a chance to experience it vicariously through her eyes.  Sounds

like K was lukewarm at best on the library (yet she has a new stack of books now that she LOVES) but absolutely LOVED Discovery Place.  JT said that it was set up like a city with all kinds of different businesses, cafes, shops, etc - K apparently loved the vet's office best - I mean, how can you go wrong with all those "ruff-ruffs" running around? :-)

We were concerned about K sleeping, as there's no question that she's now teething (and they are the big ones - the canines).  However, JT reported that K slept GREAT the entire time I was gone.  That was a relief to me, as K has been waking up quite early over the past few weeks, and I didn't want my poor wife muffin exhausted!

Since discovering that she can power herself, K is all about
motoring around the house in Scout - without parental assistance.

Another new item this week was the introduction of OJ into K's sippy cup.  Basically, as the child will drink ZERO water (total antithesis of her parents), JT had the rather brilliant idea to add in a bit of OJ.  the results were INSTANT:  K suddenly became a water fiend!  It's funny - last night she was wrestling me for the water - she wanted to take the sippy cup to bed with her.  THAT, sports fans, is a first.

In terms of things that make K the cutest kid on the planet, we had some doozies this week:

1.  "Kissing Bunny:"  So I must give Gail Rice a lot of credit, because K's 2 favorite things on earth right now both came from her - the Golden Book Collection by Eloise Wilkins and her bunny seat.  And while she's definitely enjoyed sitting in it recently, as of late she's even started kissing bunny when she sits down.  What's funny is that, aside from daddy, she will kiss anyone and anything on command.  Daddy, however, is apparently to be avoided like the plague.   That being said, she did kiss me on the cheek once when asks - that was enough to melt my heart and keep me content with regular shunning. :-)

 K also thinks of bunny as the "safe zone" when she's running around the couch from "Mommy Monster" and "Daddy Dragon."  Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking - we are warping our child and shouldn't act surprised when she becomes obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons.  Details...

At Coldstone - and NO - we didn't give her
any ice cream.

2.  "We're here!"  So as is normal for kids, K can get fussy from time to time in the car (wouldn't you strapped in with nothing to do?).  JT and I have long made a joke about "almost there, Kaitlyn," and then we we do arrive somewhere we put the car in park, take a huge gasp of air, and say, "We're here!"  Well, funnily enough, we pulled into the house this week and K sucked in more air than a Supernova.  We heard this "AHHHHHHHHH" in the back and turned around to see her smiling.  She now does this EVERY TIME WE STOP, which is HILARIOUS!  It's clear that she thinks that's what you're supposed to do when you arrive somewhere, and now it's a given that we'll hear it.  The excitement on her face is palpable - too cute.

3.  "The nod" - so K is now nodding yes when she wants something.  It usually is accompanied by the sign for please, but there's no question she's now nodding.  If you want to see this in action, hand her a cheese stick. :-)

K helping daddy pack for the Meadows.

4.  "Stinky!":  So I may have mentioned this previously, but JT has now taught K how to hold her nose when she poops.  It is PRICELESS - K will hold her nose and squint while JT and I cackle.  Now granted, this was all funny until this morning.  I came in from a 10.3 mile run and was covered in sweat (looked like death), and K ran up to me and put her arms up.  I bent down to pick her up, lifted her in the air, pulled her to me, and she instantly grabbed her nose and patted my shoulder - HILARIOUS.  No filter in an 18 month old!

5.  "Where is the brown monkey?"  So I NEVER saw this coming, but we were in the bonus room when Jenny asked Kaitlyn to find the brown monkey.  K looked at her stash of toys, found the brown monkey (the rally monkey from the Anaheim angels), and picked it up!  We did this with dogs, cats, pigs, other monkeys, owls - you name it.  K can identify all of them!  I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY - I just didn't expect that.  This means that there's no question she understands what we're saying...which I reckon means I'll need to tone down my language.  Oh well...it was a good run while it lasted.

Okay, that's all the news from this past week.  Speak soon!

Love,

Sam and Jenny