And the roles reverse - the Bull starts driving in to work...

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  18 months and 27 days

Family,

And a good Tuesday evening to you from the Queen City.  Another great (but tough!) week in the books, so let's get amongst it, shall we?

Please obey all traffic signs...

So this week was a tough one for the Bull, as something I'd been dreading for quite some time officially arrived.  For months now I've known that, for a bit at least, my job would necessitate more frequent trips uptown.  Now granted, this doesn't sound like that much of a change from the usual routine - I travel for work about once a month and go uptown about once every week or week and a half anyway, so on paper the change isn't markedly different.  What is different, however, is that the schedule on those days I'm uptown is now a lot more rigid, meaning I'm now in rush hour in both directions.  I must confess - I was NOT prepared for how long it would take to get into work (about an hour or just over), but that wasn't the biggest shock to my system.  Between getting up very early to run (4:53 this week!), working out 5x a week in the morning, having an increased workload due to myriad factors, and losing weekends due to personal travel (no complaints there - just highlighting that recovery time is pretty much nil at the moment), last week was one of those "you have reached your limits" moments of discovery.  Throw in some evening plans as well, and I was left running on empty long before I got in the car Friday evening for a 2.5 hour drive (again, that was for fun - visiting the boys in Chapel Hill for a game - but still, the Bull and Striker were exhausted).

But again, the exhaustion and realization that I might have to scale back some activities (and expectations - such as with my half marathon goals) wasn't the most difficult component of this week.  The toughest part was that, for a period of 2 straight days, I never saw my daughter awake except in photographs from Jenny taken during the day.  I would leave with K asleep and come home with K asleep.  I would sneak into her room morning and night to say goodbye and look down at that angelic little face, and each time I just found myself shaking my head.  Our schedule as a family has been amazing, and the current schedule is the first ripple that has threatened this arrangement.  Hopefully it's not permanent, but there's no question that it's rattled me.

Refueling post tackling all the slides.
Pumpkin and Spinach puree - snack of champions.

Last week was that moment when I realized what Jenny felt when she went back to work.  Just like I was last week, I remember her stories about scrambling to shut down and get out of the office so she could have some precious time with K.  I remember her trying to balance work, exercise, family, and friends (which she did an amazing job of), and I remember wishing there was something - anything - I could do to show her how fantastic a mom she was being - even if she wasn't able to pick K up or drop her off each day.  Now, the flip side has happened, and I'm the one who feels as though he's not around like he should be (and wants to be), and that's been tough.  However, it's still a good arrangement, and I need to focus on the fact that I'm still home 3 days a week.  Most folks would kill for that schedule, and I have to keep that top of mind and ensure I don't take a second of my time with K for granted.  It also means that I really do need to take inventory of my activities and either drop some or ratchet down the amount of time spent on them.  I am determined to see the racing schedule through until December (and pick it back up again in Jan or Feb), but I am now making peace with the fact that those mile times might not drop as low as I'd previously hoped.  But let's be honest - 20 seconds a mile isn't gonna put me in the money, so I need to just enjoy it. :-)

Because you're never too young for
Doritos...don't worry - we did NOT give her any.

On the K development front, she's really been babbling more and more.  And while she's not added any words to the vocabulary (although there was a rumor she added "one" over the weekend), I definitely think she's continuing to progress in how she expresses herself.  Also, in an effort to further expand her ability to play and imitate adults, Jenny bought K a stroller this week.  That girl LOVES THAT THING.  Seriously, there is NOTHING cuter than watching her push around Baby, Winnie the pooh, or another one of her stuffed animals - LOVE IT!  She's also really taken a shine to throwing things into the pack 'n play, after which time she wants you to put her in so she can chuck things OUT of the pack 'n play - talk about hours of entertainment at your fingertips. :-)  It has been interesting watching her, as she's definitely starting to entertain herself a bit more.  Looking at my buddy Chuck's daughter (26 months) this weekend, I can already see early signs of that same behavior - just amazing to watch really.



The weekend was another big milestone, as it marked Team Taylors first period of more than 24 hours without seeing K.  That's right, sports fans.  For the first time EVER, Team Taylor woke up and went

"Go Grease Lightnin', you're burnin' up the quarter mile..."

to bed without seeing the Munchkin.  Nanny and Grandpa watched her, and I'm happy to report that it went GREAT!!!!  Jenny had done the very smart thing and taken K to her folks' place last week.  K is really starting to get attached to Nanny (whom she calls "Nana"), and she was even calling for her and reaching for her last week when Jenny left their place.  Well, this past weekend they drove up to see her and stay here, and K was THRILLED to have them here.  In fact, for the first time EVER, she didn't scream when we told her good-bye.  Instead she just went about her business...which involved dragging Nanny to the pack 'n play while she chucked stuffed animals into it.

The new favorite past time - piling EVERYTHING she
owns into the pack 'n play

It was SO GREAT to watch her recognize (and enjoy playing with) her grandparents.  As Jenny mentioned a few weeks back - it's been really good to get into this schedule as of late, as we really do feel that we're getting more time with family and getting more opportunities for K to know each of them.  And I have no lie to tell - the weekend was AMAZING, as JT and I had very little responsibility (and by very little I mean NONE).  The one hiccup was the point about 10 seconds after our friend Dinger said "you guys have no worries this weekend" when the phone rang to learn that Bob had just locked everyone out of the house.  Luckily Karen had a key and got them in, but that was about the most stressful 20 minutes of my life (luckily K was outside and they were en route to the park - WHEW!).

Okay, that's all the news that's fit to print - speak soon!

Love,

Sam and Jenny