Learning to play - the munch begins her next set of milestones

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  18 months and 11 days

Family,

And a good Monday evening to you from the Queen City (for the record, I've recently heard the phrase

Pensive - Rodin's next muse, perhaps?
Either way - LOVE THE HAIR!

"Crown Town" as well, and I quite like that), where the Bull is still in recovery from his most recent half-marathon.  Munchkin - I am THRILLED to report that you slept much better this go-around (probably helped that you were in your own crib), but you still woke up at midnight and 4 AM on race day!  Luckily your mom was a saint and took care of you both times - I am a very lucky man.  But I digress - let's get amongst it!

"Let's do this thing, baby!!!!"

So this week was another great one, with the highlight being K's 18 month appointment.  Unfortunately it was the ONE DAY this week I had to go Uptown, and so I missed it.  However, as per standard, JT and I worked on our question set together, and we went in with our usual litany of items to work through.  And while I think it went well, JT definitely seemed a bit upset when I arrived home from work.  In listening to her retelling of events, it sounded as though the Peds spoke to her in a manner that suggested we weren't working hard enough on several developmental milestones for K - something obviously no parent wants to hear.
Jenny and I talked about it, discussing the answers to the questions we had and the milestones listed out for the next 6 months, and after talking I think we both felt (and feel) much better.  Also, I think there are a few realities here.

1. First off, I love, love, LOVE our Pediatrician and the entire facility.  From the greeting to the

K PASSED OUT on one of Jenny's stuff animals.
Just when you thought the "Coke bears" from
Pirate's Cove would never see the sun again,
they receive new life. :-)

checkout, it is a fantastic experience.  However, I also feel that they have hyper-aggressive milestones for kids.  As my mother rightly pointed out - NONE of these "milestone lists" and targets existed when I was growing up, and kids have turned out fine for centuries.  Kids grow, learn, and develop at their own pace, and I do feel there is something to be said for "letting kids be kids" vs. always trying to ensure they fit into a certain box.  Coming to that realization (as I did some months back, with this most recent visit solidifying that position) has certainly eased some of my concern and by extension worry.  Now don't get me wrong - I want K to continue to develop and stay in line with her peers.  However, is she doesn't have 50 words by age 2 but still clearly understands what we're saying and is effective at communicating what she wants, then I believe she's fine.  Others may disagree (certainly their prerogative), but I firmly believe guidelines are just that.

K discovers Nala - 

2.  When we started this journey, Team Taylor was CLUELESS about what we were doing.  I mean, I rang the nurse call button to change our first diaper, for crying out loud!  And while I still admit that a lot of what we do is accidental parenting, there is no question we are much, much more confident (and better) at being parents.  For starters, we know our daughter now - her routines, her likes, her moods, her noises - you name it.  We can anticipate her needs, and the schedule we've built has given us an air of confidence to try and guess what the problem is when she's upset.  It's not perfect, and sure - it's more witchcraft than science, but we are definitely getting there.  Secondly, as babies get sturdier and you get more experience, you start to realize that "you can do this."  Life gets easier, the shock of being a parent starts to subside, and you too develop rituals and routines that work for you.  This is another reason why I'm willing to listen to everything a doctor tells me, knowing full well that some elements are being diagnosed based on a 5 minute evaluation every 3-6 months, whereas JT and I see our child all day, every day.  That HAS to count for something.

Love at first sight!

K giving "dada" a bath...while still
wearing a beanie.

3.  I think Jenny (and I'm guessing here) was most rattled by the insinuation that she wasn't working enough with K on a) speech development and b) learning how to play through simulation.  Honestly, I CANNOT SAY enough how amazing a parent Jenny has been.  She has K doing TONS of stuff during the week - the library, Discovery Place, daycare at the Y, the park, play groups with friends, you name it - and that's just the stuff outside of the house.  K is always working on motor skills, learning new things at home in books, and constantly being read to.  And the results are clear - she can identify so many things when asked, can understand lots of commands, and definitely knows what we are talking about.  Case in point was last night when I asked Jenny if we thought K should "have a  frozen yogurt," at which point K started signing please and nodding her head like it was on a swivel.  Note to self - start spelling things more often. :-)  But seriously, we read to K all the time, and you can tell she's following along.  And while she doesn't have a ton of words in her vocabulary yet, there's no question she's building the word bank in her mind.  She'll speak when she's good and ready.  Totally works for me.

On the "play" front, we learned that this is the time when kids need to be given toys that allow them to simulate and imitate what they see their parents doing.  We didn't know this, and so I do feel this was a great takeaway from that session.  They recommended things like cookware, dolls, etc, and we're now on the lookout for some of that stuff.  In the interim, Jenny got into her old box of stuffed animals and pulled out her 30+ year old cabbage patch kid, and let me tell you - WOW, THE WORLD HAS CHANGED.

So this is crazy, but Kaitlyn has become INSTANTLY attached to Jenny's Cabbage Patch Kid.  She calls him "dada," which basically means I'm a second class (or less) citizen these days.  Seriously - if she's screaming for "dada," it is NOT the six foot male in the house.  It's the 2 lb stuffed doll that was in a box until Wednesday morning - AMAZING.

The newest member of Vol Nation.

What's also amazing is how quickly K has taken to her.  K is now SLEEPING WITH THE DOLL.  The first night was HILARIOUS, as she basically PASSED OUT on top of the doll - looked like something out of Monday Night Raw - too funny!  But it's more than just having her in the crib (which she didn't have last night and I would personally like to avoid if possible since she now realizes she can throw baby out of the crib and ask mama and "the dude in the house" to fetch it for her) - she now gives it a bath before her bath (uses her old plastic tub - even uses a wash cloth on her!), changes her diaper, and even puts her in the bassinet before her nap (although she then wants baby back out).  She's fed her at the high chair a few times (although she prefers to feed Harrod the Bear), and she's even learned how to burp her.  For Harrod, she actually tries to CLIP HIM INTO THE HIGH CHAIR - just NUTS how quickly they pick things up.  However, it has been great, as we now realize how much she's learning by watching us and via her own experiences, and we soon plan to further augment that with a few new additions to her toy collection.

One funny note is that "dada" isn't her only attachment.  She also LOVES her rubber duckies in the bath tub (she calls them "baba," which we think is her trying to say quack quack), and sometimes she has to have those with her on the changing table before bed.  A first it was the white polka-dot duck from C-Web and Eagle One, but now she loves the Camo duck (NO IDEA where we got that one).

And wrapping the 18 month appointment, we received good news in that she's now 80% in weight and 75% in height, meaning that a) she's good size for her age and b) she's now much more proportional.  Jenny actually just finished a photo book of K's first 18 months (which is AMAZING, by the way - way to go, Muffin!), and it really is crazy to see how much she's slimmed down in the last 6 months.  All that running is melting the rolls away!

Dinner time!  Best 14 quid I've ever spent.

For the next 6 months, K apparently needs to have 50 words under her belt, master the spoon, learn how to jump, and be able to handle stairs without assistance.  She's pretty much to the stairs figured out, and jumping isn't far off (same with the spoon).  We'll see on the words - I bet she'll be pretty close when the time comes.

The only rough patch this week was early, when the poor thing threw up in the bed.  She was sick and ran a fever a few days last week, including some diarrhea and general discomfort.  She seems back on the go now - is actually in daycare at the Y as I type this.  Also, we did get the change to get to Discovery Place Kids Friday afternoon, and it was a BLAST!  Some of the highlights:

Step 1:  K grabs her favorite toy in the whole place:
a lawnmower!  Where was this energy when I
contracted a lawn service!?!?!

Step 2:  only buy organic.

Step 3:  COVER EVERYONE IN WATER...
except the gal with the plastic cover.

Step 4:  No Carolina girl is truly "Tarheel bred"
until she learns to appreciate NASCAR, baby!

Step 5:  last call for departures from "Huntersville
International Airport," featuring flights to Lima,
Hong Kong, London, Tokyo...and Greensboro.  Nice.

Okay, that's all the news that's fit to print this week.  K - your daddy posted a 1:52:08 in his 26th half marathon this weekend.  Remember that there was a time he was in shape! :-)

Love,

Sam and Jenny