You spin my head right round, right round...

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  22 months and 15 days

Family,

And a good evening to you from the Queen City, where the Bull and Striker are taking it easy after a

wonderful weekend with the Sneetch.  As always, plenty to discuss - so let's get amongst it, shall we?

First off, K's vocabulary continues to grow at an exponential rate.  Some of the highlights:

1.  "Read!  Now!"  So there is no doubt about it, ladies and gentlemen - we have a bibliophile.  This girl officially LOVES books.  Now granted, we've always started the morning and the time after her nap with books, and usually I read to her both when I get home and before bed (we read some before nap time as well).  However, to date, it's typically been "parent led."  This week, however, K has started demanding us to read, following it with "now!"  She will say please (or "Pees" in her irresistibly cute voice) once prompted, but NOW has taken its place as the follow-on from the "read" command to her parents.  When she wakes up and we go into her room now, she'll immediately look up, smile, and then point to the chair and say "Read."  Also, twice this week she screamed at bedtime (and once at nap time) because she wanted more books.  Don't get me wrong - a love of literature is a good thing.  But so is a healthy appreciation for sleep. :-)

2.  "Oop!"  We checked out "The Sleepy Little Alphabet" again from the library a few weeks back (my favorite story we have in her arsenal), and we've been reading that to her lately at night.  She's really enjoying it, and in particular she now loves two pages.  The first is for the letters O and P.  They knock over the potty, and the page says "Oops!" at the top.  Well, K knows that when she sees the M and N page it's next, and she'll bounce on my lap and say "OOP!"  When I turn the page and look at her, the smile on her face is a mile wide.  Incidentally the other page is where "r and s read something funny," as she does a fake laugh.  What's funny is that she did this a couple of months ago, but I didn't realize she was remembering that page and anticipating it.  It wasn't until I read about this anticipation in the Baby Whisperer that I learned another development item for kids is their ability to predict what happens next in stories.  Apparently this ability to remember and predict is an important one (so says the unnamed doctor) and is the reason why kids enjoy the same stories over and over.  She's also doing this with "5 Little Monkeys," as she's now tapping her head when "one fell off and bumped his head."  Again, the smile is priceless, and I LOVE watching her facial expressions.

3.  "Hat!"  I mean, I'm trying to turn her into a tomboy, but there's no doubt about it - this girl loves her accessories.  She loves bracelets, bead necklaces, shoes, and hats - most especially her beanie.  She's actually been really good about keeping beanies on when it's cold, and I'm thinking we'll be good to go if we can just get through this winter with her still enjoying being stylish.

4.  "Football!"  I mean seriously - do I need to say anything more?  Brainwashed - check.

5.  "Jump!"  And let me tell you - this kid is LOVING jumping right now.  She's getting better and more confident every day...even if it still has the appearance of a person losing their balance during an earthquake.  What's cute is that, when she first started, she would get really low like she was about to

squat 400 lbs and then be completely unable to lift herself.  Now she's gotten much smarter and does more of a gallop.  She's not getting both feet off the ground at the same time all the time, but it's definitely half the time or better, and she seems to be really enjoying it.  She's starting to try and jump onto the couch, into her seat, you name it.

6.  "Cow!"  This one was a big one, as she's moved from saying "moo" when she sees a cow to actually saying its name.  She doesn't do it every time, but she definitely knows the animal by name as well as sound now.  Interestingly enough, she "milked" a cow at DPK the other day, and now she points to the utters every time she sees one in a book.

7.  "Tic-tac-toe" - there is a set at the playground, and she called it by name this week before going over to play with it.

Next stop:  the uneven bars.

8.  "Bee" - she's identifying those without being prompted in books now.  Apparently the ability to identify 3-4 objects within a picture is yet another of these mythical milestones, but K is ROCKING that one.  I've tested her on a variety of objects, and so far she seems to be differentiating and remembering things very well.

9.  "Tea" - My mom got her a little tea set, and she can now say it as she pours me and JT endless cups of Darjeeling.  It's amazing, I've played more kitchen, swaddled more plastic babies, and had more cups of fake tea than I EVER thought possible, but she's just too darn cute to say no.  Now granted, I often try to shift the focus back to "playing ball," but let's be honest - Sammy the Bull will spend a lot of time with stuffed animals and doll houses in the coming years.

10.  "Oh my!"  Because, well, let's face it - you can never teach a kid too many random expressions that sound adorable when repeated continuously for no apparent reason.

In terms of other development items, we definitely watched K turn the dial more and more this week.  For starters, she REALLY wants to put on her clothes now - specifically her pajamas.  She's had some success with the bottoms - the key is getting her to put the right leg in with the tag behind her (which is much tougher than one might think).  She can put her arms in her top once you get the shirt over her head, but at this point she's not quite at the point she can dress herself.  But I"m in no rush, as I love how she holds/hugs us while we try and get her situated for bed.

Every scholar needs a quiet cubicle -
literally in this case.

There's also no question that she's getting stronger - especially in her arms.  She's starting to hang from playground furniture, and she keeps trying to pull herself into the crib at night (just like Busy Timmy).  I've noticed her strength with the fan in her room, as this week marked the first time she was consistently able to turn the fan on (you have to push a button).  She can only apply enough pressure when using her thumb, but she's definitely capable now.

Another big milestone is her progress with the 2 shape sorters in the house, as she's REALLY improved at that.  Each day last week saw her putting the correct shapes in faster and getting frustrated less.  She still has a bit of trouble remembering to keep the sides flush as she slides them in, but there's no question she understands the concept and can get every single piece into the sorter - really cool to watch.

Lastly, K's starting to buckle herself in now.  She can finally open the clasp on the baby stroller, and with help she can clip herself into her high seat and car seat.  The next phase of the evolution is proper alignment of the clasp, as that continues to prove elusive.  I think it must be something with toddler depth perception, as she always wants to overshoot with blocks as well.  She can still stack a pretty good tower, but more often than not it collapses because none of the blocks are directly on top of each other.

In terms of other activities, JT and K discovered a new playground in Highland Creek this week - the Clarke Creek playground.  JT said it's geared more for her age, and apparently she was a monster on the climbing ropes this week!  I definitely want to get down there and see her in action, as she and Jenny spent TWO HOURS there Wednesday morning - nice!

Aside from climbing and exploring her arm muscles, K is starting to practice a lot of new motor skills.  For starters, she's walking backwards a lot now.  She's also spinning around (and around and around and around...) until she's so dizzy that she staggers as if she's just pounded a fifth of Grey Goose.  She's doing this before nap and bed some, too - running around her room in a tight circle and then running in a (semi) straight line toward the chair for reading time.  Her other big running activity right now is running naked to and from the bathtub.  We strip her down, ask her what's left (she says "dipe dipe"), take that off, and then send her running into the bathroom. I simply must get the Go Pro out one of these nights to video it - HILARIOUS!

Lastly, she is LOVING "This little piggy" with daddy during dinner.  Honestly, I bet I've done it a hundred times this week, probably 15-20 times in one sitting!  When you grab her big toe, her little smirk will pop out, and by the time you've wiggled through her toes and gone "wee wee wee all the way home," she's got a full on smile blooming - LOVE THIS KID!

Lastly, Team Taylor watched "Elmo Potty Time" for the first time on Sunday.  We're not potty training K yet, but we figured there was no harm in introducing the concept to her.  The video is really pretty cute, so I'll be curious to see what K thinks of it after a few more viewings (provided we can cut down on Mickey and Peppa).

Okay, that's all the news that's fit to print.  Chat next week!

Love,

Sam and Jenny

A milestone for the parents - starting discipline...

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  22 months and 9 days

Family,

And a good Tuesday evening to you from the Queen City, where the Bull and Striker are enjoying a

quiet night in after a terrific weekend with family.  I'm happy to report the Bull is finally thawed out after his time in the Great White North - perhaps all the eating I've done this past weekend has helped give me the necessary insulation.  But as this blog is about the Sneetch and not her father, let's get amongst it, shall we?

The week itself was another great one, albeit short for me on the family front given that I was traveling a bit.  Honestly, life with Jenny and Kaitlyn is so great right now that it's hard to describe any week without sounding euphoric.  But hey, when you feel that way, you feel that way, right?  The Sneetch and Muffin spent Monday and Tuesday at her parents, where K continued to add words to the vocabulary (the most notable being "beads" and "down," the latter of which we think she's actually said previously).  However, the new words weren't the highlight, but rather the fact that K suddenly started saying "Mommy-O" and "Daddy-O" whenever she referenced us.  She's still doing this a bit, and it is HILARIOUS (she did add Nanny-O once my mother showed up this weekend).  This weekend she added "puppy," and tonight she actually picked up a book with the word "Puppy" on the front and said it (however, as it would have been her 10th book before "night nights," we didn't end up reading it :-)). And speaking of books, K is LOVING "Elmo Says," which is a book JT found at the library.  K's biggest achievement so far is learning the characters - she can even say Big Bird.  The biggest achievement for her parents was learning that "random muppet" is actually a muppet called Zoe.  I'm going to stop there and see if Jenny and I have any memory of this in 20 years time when we read this again.

K is loving the bath more and more as well.  We've finally gotten to the point that she loves splashing around and does NOT want to get out.  Getting her into the bath is no problem.  She runs to the tub while you get the water warm, and then you strip her down right there and let her jump in as the water fills up.  Considering that she's FASCINATED with the faucet and loves to catch the water with a cup, it's easy entertainment.  Once in the bath, she's getting really active and loving when we blow bubbles during the washing.  K's even washing herself now - she'll take the cloth from you, try to scrub herself, and then pour water on herself.  The funniest part for me is definitely watching her try to wash her "girly bits" - let's just say the nether region is ALWAYS sufficiently clean the way that girl goes at it.

K has started to lay flat in the bath, and she's kicking more and more.  This is exciting for Jenny and I,as we're hoping that will translate into fun in the pool when Jenny starts taking her for some water awareness.  She's also blowing bubbles in the water and starting to put her face under.  She finds this hilarious (and her laugh is developing more and more each day - too cute!) - until she accidentally swallows water and then finds herself in a coughing fit.  But every day she's getting more and more confident (and stronger!), and it's been fun watching her adventurous side come out more and more.

What has not been as much fun, however, is the realization from Team Taylor that the Terrible 2's could be approaching and with it the need for some discipline.  A bit of back story here - K's getting stronger, taller, and bigger, and some things (like changing her diaper) are becoming tougher when she's not a willing participant.  We see a bit of this trying to get her out of the bath as well, as she just becomes a rag doll and refuses to let you pick her up.  Knowing that we need to get in front of this, I started reading about different discipline techniques to try on toddlers, and I am very happy to report that some of the earliest attempts have worked!

The book gave several different options for managing tantrums.  The first one is one I've tried several times, usually with mixed success - ignoring the toddler until the fire is out.  Another one is explaining that "daddy and mommy" have to talk about something and then ignoring her until the conversation between the adults is complete.  The goal is that she'll learn to entertain herself a bit more while at the same time realizing that she's not always the focus and center of everything (even if she is 99.3% of the time at present :-)).  She is learning to occupy herself a bit more I've noticed, which is a double-edged sword.  You want to foster that sense of creativity, but you don't want to discourage her too much from asking to play with mommy and daddy.  After all, this time is precious, and it goes by too quickly.  Hopefully we're striking a good balance, and one of the compromises I've tried was another suggestion for helping them learn independence - do an activity of your own (i.e. stacking blocks) near them while they do something else.  That way they know you're there but still feel comfortable exploring the world and playing on their own.  That's had success as well so far - all the way up until K comes over and SMASHES my block tower.  Details...

Back to the discipline front - some of the suggestions tried have include immediately suggesting alternatives when that which K desires (usually Peppa or Mickey) aren't something you want to allow.  This weekend I tried "let's throw balls on the couch!", which she loved and has now done a few more times since then.  We also did a bit of hide and seek, both of which served to get her mind off her current cartoon obsessions.  We've also started playing the "let's clean up!" game, and I'm happy to report that's been a win for EVERYBODY.  K isn't always the most active participant, but it does keep her focused and certainly helps us keep the house from looking like a bomb went off.

The biggest things I've learned from reading the book are two-fold.  First off, always give them options so that they feel like they have a sense of control and independence.  Don't overwhelm them with choices, but rather let them select between 2 options.  I was doing this previously with clothes, and I'm starting to apply it to other areas as well.  The second thing was that you have to give very clear instructions and remember - children really don't know how to do anything.  If you want them to do something, you must always show them first how it's done.  Once I realized how demonstrative you need to be, things definitely got easier.

Now granted, all that discipline went out the window this weekend.  Why, you ask?  Well, because Nana and Grand Pooh were in town!  Talk about letting K get by with murder (by our standards, at least).  She ate food in every room in the house.  We always changed her diaper in the room she was in (brought the travel mat to her vs. taking her into the changing room).  We let her play with Nana's smart phone.  We ate all kinds of good food.  You name it - this house was like Havana in the 20's.  For my part, I loved it, as watching K and Nana bond is something you just can't describe.  She absolutely LOVES her grandparents, and it's so sweet watching how she plays with them.  From the time my mom arrived until the time she left, K would NOT leave her side (and we're talking more than 6 inches away).  She would lead her by the hand everywhere.  Nana had to be in the bath.  Nana had to be at the arts and crafts table.  Nana had to read her bedtime stories.  Nana had to at least watch her diaper be changed.  Nana was the first word she said every morning - it was just too cute.

It was also a wonderful teaching experience for me, as mom is SO GOOD at playing and interacting with kids of all ages.  Mom and K spent HOURS with her doll house and the new kitchen set, and it was really eye-opening for me to watch how mom played with K, in essence teaching her how to play with her toys and how to better mimic adults.  It made it so much easier for me to see the way K wants to handle the toys and what she has picked up on, as well as how to show her about other aspects of imitation.  Obviously I didn't grow up cooking or playing with dolls, so I must confess that to date I've struggled a little with teaching her how to play anything other than soccer, football, or hide & seek.  That's changing now, I think, as I felt much more comfortable playing with her tonight at her new kitchen set.

So there you have it - a wonderful week in the books and FINALLY a reasonable length blog. :-)  That's all the news that's fit to print from Crown Town - chat with you all next week!

Love,

Sam and Jenny

Finally getting around to it - the "word list"...

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  22 months and 3 days

Family, And a good Wednesday afternoon to you from Pearson International Airport in Toronto, where Sammy the Bull is currently waiting to board the Air

For some reason every pic is going to the center - that's what I get for writing in Word...

Wisconsin flying pencil for his journey home to the CLT.  Not exactly the first grand flight you want to make the year you return to Gold Status, but hey – at least it’s a quickie.  :-)

 So my goal for this post is to make it shorter than the previous 4.  Given that all the December and New Year’s posts rivaled a Tolstoy novel, I don’t think that will be too difficult.  That being said, I’m also conscious I’m eating up page space by expressing excitement for brevity.  So let’s get amongst it, shall we?

Tell me I don't look like a drunken woodchuck with an IQ of 46 in this picture...

First off – our Sneetch is TWENTY-TWO MONTHS OLD this week.  HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?  We’re talking SIXTY DAYS until we’re actually giving people her age in years vs. months – THAT will take some getting used to!  In my mind, this weekend marked the countdown to the 2 year appointment, and consequently a focus on ensuring all those “toddler milestones” are still on track.  It’s funny when you think about how you prepare for this appointment as a parent (and how the child, who is the focus of the appointment, has absolutely NO IDEA what’s going on).  It’s almost like a project deployment:  where you might have dilly-dallied in the run up to “Go Live,” now that it’s upon us (and we know that our Peds will be merciless in her questioning), you can feel Team Taylor starting to ramp up their game in terms of ensuring the Sneetch is where she needs to be (according to some book written years ago by someone who’s never met our daughter, for the record).  

Now don’t get me wrong – I view all of these milestones as nothing more than VERY general guidelines and feel our daughter is COMPLETELY on track.  Actually, at the risk of sounding like “that  parent,” I will venture to say that I think K is ahead of her peers in terms of her comprehension, what she can understand, and how effectively she can communicate with us (even if it is non-verbal in some instances).  It’s AMAZING how much of what we say she can understand.  And while I’m sure not every word is soaking in, I can tell she’s responding to more than just inflection in my voice. 

Today - Richard Scary.  Tomorrow - The Iliad.

With all that said, apparently K’s supposed to have 50 words in her vocabulary by her 2 year appointment.  I have absolutely NO IDEA why that’s the magic number, and to be honest I think it is completely irrelevant.  However, because Jenny and I know we’ll get the question, last night I put pen to paper and listed out all the words we know she’s said and can associate with an object.  I decided animal noises didn’t count (who makes the rules, anyway?), but at time of writing, I have the Sneetch sitting squarely at 45 words.  She’s adding words daily at this point, but the ones I can now confirm: 

1.       Up (which was probably her first word) – it’s extra cute when she throws her arms up for you to pick her up
2.       Out – she knows this means outside the house and outside the room
3.       Dipe Dipe – while it should really be diaper (and this is my fault), I am giving her credit for this, because she knows exactly what it means
4.       Bath bath
5.       Night, night (so yes, she does like to double words up – got a problem with that? J)
6.       Mama
7.       Dada
8.       Bubble
9.       Nana
10.   More
11.   Milk
12.   Wawa (water)
13.   Please
14.   Honey (it’s what Winnnie the Pooh eats...)
15.   Happy – new word as of Tuesday, so I’m conscious I’m stealing this week’s material 
16.   Beach – new word as of Tuesday also
17.   Rompy (one of her stuffed animals – she knows who it is, so I’m counting it)
18.   Mickey (YES, the mouse) – more to come on that one later in the post
19.   Ball
20.   Light
21.   Hop
22.   Book – new word this week
23.   Oh, Wow (don’t argue with me on this one, damn it – she knows how to exclaim excitement)
24.   Pooh (as in Winnie the Pooh)
25.   Poop (at which point she grabs for her “dipe wipe”)
26.   Bye
27.   “Uh-oh”
28.   Egg
29.   Elmo
30.   Pea
31.   No
32.   Yeah
33.   Now
34.   Grandpa
35.  Ice (which she LOVES to eat now, by the way - good job me introducing her to that...
36.  Peppa (don't hate on me counting all these names)
37.  Baby
38.  Whoa (again - she KNOWS when it's impressive, scary, a close call, etc)
39.  Ap-ap (apple)
40.  Nana (banana)
41.  Hot
42.  Cheese
43.  Wipe
44.  I'm done (that's right, baby - her first FULL SENTENCE!!!!!!)
45.  Pop

I left our “Num, num” for food and the following animals:  elephant, monkey, horse, pig, cow, cat, goat, sheep.  I also left out the fact that she knows “Timber!” means fall backwards and can give the “touchdown!” sign on command.  Something tells me the Peds won’t count those either… So there you have it – we’re almost all the way home with 2 months to play and her vocabulary exploding on a daily basis.  And whether she hits 50 or not (which I'm certain she will by anyone's standards), I know that K’s doing

"All around the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the Sneetches..."

great and feel VERY good about her development and progression.  The biggest jump for me linguistically was her actually verbalizing “Please” vs. doing the sign against her chest.  This one was HUGE, as it means she definitely understands what you are asking for when you tell her, “Say (insert word here).”  Mentally that was a big jump for her and something Jenny and I haven’t pushed – especially since she’s signed “Please” so well on command for so long (and we haven’t wanted to withhold anything after she’s technically “said” it), and so watching it happen was a big thrill (and she’s since dropped the sign, which is pretty interesting). In looking at some of the other milestones (most of which I didn’t know were milestones until this week, when I FINALLY started reading “The

Baby Whisperer:  The Toddler Years”), K seems to be right on track or ahead of schedule.  One of the milestones is her taking my hand and leading me to something.  I didn’t realize this was a development item – I was just loving it when she took my finger and walked with me!  But she’s been doing it with increasing frequency – normally to the formal living room so we can play in the curtains (K will go behind the sheer curtain and I will pretend I can’t see her – she loves it). So check that one off the list, baby!!!
 The next one is “toddler can stack 6 blocks on their own.”  Now again, as with the 50 word threshold, I have NO IDEA why 6 blocks is the magic number.  All the same, I’ve been working with her and have already seen an improvement on this one in terms of how she stacks.  She can now stack 6 on her own, and she’s also getting more of the “upper block” in place on the “lower block.”  At first it would be quite top heavy and  collapse at 3 or 4 blocks, but as we’ve continued to do it, we’ve seen marked improvement.  I also think the “quality” of the block has helped, as she’s had much more success using the blocks that Adam and Casie gave her (wooden blocks vs.

Ok, so full disclosure - that's not 100% K's handiwork.  But give it time, damn it...she'll be like Frank Lloyd Wright.

foam).  And in the spirit of full disclosure – stacking on hardwoods now (vs. carpet) has probably helped move the dial a bit. J I also think she’s starting to recognize some letters.  That’s not a milestone, but I do think some of the letters in the bath are at least familiar to her.  We also started “flying and spinning” this week, where I’m scooping her up and

flying her around the house like Superman.  I can only do this for limited spurts, as all the spinning and twirling gets me quite dizzy.  However, I am loving it because now I have a physical activity with K just like Jenny does (K climbs onto Jenny’s back and rides around the house – to date that has NOT worked well for she and I).  K usually likes to be carted around the house before laying down and having me pick her up by her feet and treat her like a weight.  It’s a blast as long as Jenny keeps me straight and reminds me NOT to pick her up right after dinner. J As has been the case for some time now, K’s personality continues to really come out.  She does seem really, really happy (LOVES to smile and is now smiling on command), and I think she’s going to be more of an outdoor girl (she will if I have anything to do with it!).  She remains quite introspective and quiet when placed into new situations, and I love watching her survey the scene and take stock of everything before deciding where and how to engage. 

Thinking about genetics, this doesn’t really surprise me, but the thinking behind it might surprise some readers.  While Jenny is definitely the quieter of us, I took am a bit reserved and cautious when entering into a new setting.  Now granted, most folks don’t see that – and that is actually by design.  I sometimes have a role to play and an expectation to me, and I’m always happy to oblige that.  However, it is true that I do like my quiet time (I’m an only child from a town of a hundred people – how could that NOT be the case), and I see some of that in K as I watch her.  


Part of me does wonder if the "Terrible 2’s" are coming, as K has been VERY fussy this week.  She’s also had a strong reluctance to accept any help from Jenny when I’m around.  She wants me to always change the diaper if I’m free (which is fine), and there have been plenty of other instances where only I’m allowed to comfort or read to her.  However, we even had an instance this week where she wouldn’t hand her milk to Jenny but only to me when done.  We put our foot down at that point, and the tirade that ensued was rather impressive.  So we’ll watch this space – I think it’s a combination of teething, wanting more independence, and testing her limits (as well as perhaps being tired), but all the same – I won’t have her disrespecting her mother!  I have started doing a bit of discipline research, as I know that time is rapidly approaching.  I’m also conscious that the best thing we can do as a family is set a good example and be very specific in our requests and explanations when we tell her “no.”  I think it’s just fair to say that a) it’s early days, b) we know that some form of behavioral control is on the horizon, and c) it won’t be a success overnight.  But hey, no complaints from this guy, as the journey will be an adventure and more than worth it when we come through on the other side (knock on wood). J  I am making a conscious effort to be more demonstrative in how I say things, making explanations more informative and instructive.  I mean, when you see someone learning at such an explosive rate, you want to capitalize on that momentum.

Another bit to note for the Sneetch is that she had her first church daycare experience this past weekend. We tried Freedom House church near the house (and LOVED it, for the record), and on the whole I think it went well.  It didn’t start with a bang, however, and I’m conscious that was largely my fault.  You see, going into the church investigation, a critical component for me was the daycare/nursery.  Well, I am happy to report that churches around us have an AMAZING system in place whereby you actually register your child and are given a randomly assigned number that is attached to your kid (a sticker – not a tattoo).  This code is the method to contact you during the service if something goes sideways and is also the way in which you “claim” your child at the end of the service.  The part I like the best (but didn’t fully consider) was that no adults are allowed in the child rooms, meaning you physically hand your child OVER A WALL to the daycare stuff (whom K obviously had never met).  Well, suffice it to say that handing her off last Sunday involved me PEELING her from my shirt and physically opening her fingers clutched around my collar.  Yeah – that was sub-optimal.  But the good news is that, as with NOMAD and everywhere else, 5 minutes later she was fine and seemed to be happy as a clam when we returned. Lastly, I don’t know how this happened, and I have NO IDEA how quickly it goes from something fun to something kids cannot live without, but our daughter now officially has a Mickey obsession.  That’s right, sports fans, she is OUT OF CONTROL right now, begging for Mickey all the time and throwing an EPIC tantrum anytime we turn it off.  This literally came out of NOWHERE, and one thing is for sure – it ain’t a light switch.  But hey – we’ll manage it as we manage everything else…complete with a lot of Bull and Striker “Hot Dog” dancing along the way. 

Unless they are playing "Elmo and the Beanstalk" I'm not sure what's going on there...

For my part, 2015 has continued to be a voyage of discovery.  The church service on Sunday was really good for my soul, and more than once I teared up thinking about the message and their story.  True, I probably was in need of a good cry, but I really think God spoke to me during that service.  And the message I took was that, if I want Kaitlyn to be better than me and be a better person than I am, then I have to be better.  I have to lead by example, and it needs to meet the exemplary standard I want her to achieve. 

Okay, not sure if that was shorter, but that’s all the news that’s fit to print.  Chat soon! 

Love, Sam and Jenny

Farewell 2014 - What a year to remember!

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  21 months and 25 days

Family,

And a good Monday evening to you from the Queen City - no more Monday Night Football means

more time to blog at the start of the week!  Looking over my notes for this past week and taking into account that I'm due an EOY summary, this one might be a bit long-winded once again.  After this, however, I promise I'll try to scale it back a bit. :-)

This week's post is focused not so much on individual moments and experiences (although there are plenty of those to go around) but mores on the fact that this week, as has been the case this entire year, I continue to be AMAZED with K's development.  And I know that a) I'm biased, b) have no basis for comparison, and c) probably see a bit of "what I want to see," but K's milestones are dropping like FLIES right now as she continues to mature and grow.  For starters, I think she's SO CLOSE to actually firing out her first sentence.  While I can't quite understand what she's saying yet (although tonight was actually the closest I've ever come), there's no question that she's putting words and phrases together and on the verge of expressing coherent thought.  She's added several new words to her vocabulary, most notably "wawa" (she said it earlier in the week, but on Sunday she finally said "wawa" for the first time to indicate she wanted water instead of milk - she did this again twice at bedtime for me tonight) and "home" (which Jenny's apparently heard quite a bit when she pulls onto Fairvista but I'd never heard until yesterday - for me it's crazy that she now recognizes not only our street but remembers which houses have stone "hop hops" as we drive past - GENIUS!).  My personal favorite is when I show her the plush dog from Romp 'n Roll and ask her who it is.  Her sweet little voice saying "Rompy" is just about the cutest thing you've ever heard (same with when she says "bubble").  Oh, and when she gets up in the morning, it's a sure bet that she'll only utter 1 word when

you see her:  "Elmo!"  Man, she LOVES that guy.  And while I love Elmo and enjoy hugging him as well, that fella drinks the batteries like he's powering a small city.  Come on toy makers - install an auto-kill switch!

But it's more than just an increase in vocabulary, as I'm amazed at the connections and associations she's making.  One example was during nap time - we were going through a "lift the flap" book, and one of the flaps was a window.  When she pulled it back to show a darkened window, she said "night, night."  When I point to a darkened window in a story now, she can do this as well, which is just crazy to me.  She's communicating better, and it's getting much easier to understand what she needs.  An excellent example was today (and yes, I'm conscious I'm spilling into this week's notes but so be it) - I went in to tell her good morning before heading to work, and she sat up, tried to say something (which I swear sounded like "I need a change"), put her hand between her legs, and pointed to the changing table.  Sure enough, there was a poopy in there (she was REALLY red, so I'm not sure how long it had been in there), and she was definitely able to explain what she needed.  In a similar (and less disgusting) fashion, she is now adamant about 6:40 every night that she wants to go "up!"  When you go to the stairs with her (which she can now go up and down without our help, for the record - but I still offer my hand because I want to feel important.  I mean hey, I know how quickly this time goes...), she says "bath bath!"  She is LOVING the bath now - especially the running water as the tub fills up.  So we've now started the practice of letting her play in there long and sitting in the tub while it fills up.  We basically take her up, get the water to the right temperature, strip her down right there, and then plop her in.  She loves it, and now it's gone to a new level, as we have tear free bubbles to rain down on her.  So in addition to "bath bath" and constantly playing with the cups in the bath, she now says "BUBBLE!" the second you strip her down - TOO CUTE!

In terms of other milestones, Sunday was a big one, as K jumped for the first time!  This was one of the last great hurdles in the run-up to her two-year appointment, and I'm so happy that both Jenny and I

Shake what your mama gave you, baby!!!

were there to see it.  We were at Discovery Place Kids, and the last 15 minutes features a dance party for all the kids.  K was definitely the youngest of probably 20 kids on stage, but it didn't scare her!  At first she got up there and just looked around at everyone, but as the music picked up, she started bobbing up and down, and then bouncing, and then finally jumping!  With each passing song (and between running on and off the stage), K would get closer to the mosh pit - too cute!  She's now running like a bullet, capable of jumping, and starting to dance (more to come on that shortly) - thank goodness we've got the Go Pro now and can start videoing some of these moments, as they are PRICELESS.

Thinking about K's "first jump" as I started jotting notes for this blog really helped put into perspective how much has changed over the past year.  If we wind the clocks back 365 days, K had JUST CRAWLED FOR THE FIRST TIME, moving about 2 feet over the course of a minute (I still have the video on my phone and have no plans to EVER delete it).  Now, 1 year on, she's gone from barely crawling to standing to walking to running to climbing to jumping!  She's growing like a weed (there's not a countertop in this house that's safe from her now), is communicating SO much better, and has truly gone from an infant to a toddler.  I think I noticed it most when we got back from Tennessee, as it just felt like she matured SO MUCH on that trip.  She didn't even cry when Jenny took her back to NOMAD this past time!  She's still cautious, but she's getting much more confident and comfortable

around other kids.  Her attention span is getting longer, and she's starting to learn the art of play.  Jenny and I are noticing this more and more with K's new toys (most notably the little people doll houses), as she's loving the doll house and all the sounds it makes (her favorite is the baby and the mommy that sings the lullaby - funny, since all she says is "NO" repeatedly anytime daddy starts singing).  She's also stacking blocks more (vs. just destroying my creations), and I'm trying to stimulate her imagination with the blocks when we're in her room.  I've started telling stories about "The Mythical Kingdom and Canal of Khasan" and using the blocks to talk about how they were amazing builders.  And then, whenever K comes in and smashes my Dali-esque artwork, I simply incorporate her into the story as "the giant who roamed the land, destroying all of their works and forcing them to rebuild and think about how to further fortify and strengthen their architecture."  Yeah, yeah, I know - it probably sounds crazy.  However, I think this kid is SHARP and understands A LOT more of what I say than I'm giving her credit for, so I figure I might as well teach what I can, right?

Let's be REAL clear - ain't nobody eating
until Elmo's had his breakfast

As for the week itself, it was a GREAT one and another one of realization for me.  Going back to work today I definitely felt refreshed, meaning that mentally and physically this felt like a long break from


work (and more importantly from thinking about work).  K was fussy on a few of the days, and we're not sure if that's just a) entering the terrible 2's, b) fighting off an ear infection (she's been digging in her ears a lot lately and even - I think - tried to show me where she was hurting this week), c) teething, or d) just being a kid.  And while that wasn't always great, I can confirm that she is LOVING DADDY right now.  I can do no wrong - if she won't eat for mommy, she'll eat everything for me.  If she won't sit on the changing table for mommy, she'll actually lay down, say "dipe dipe" for me and then pull her legs up to make it easier.  Daddy is finally getting hugs, kisses, and all the smiles he can handle.  AND. I. AM. LOVING. IT.

Saturday we started putting away the Christmas decorations, and K discovered a new part of the house - the attic.  She was MEZMORIZED and kept trying to climb up the ladder to see what was up there.  When we wouldn't let her go up, she SCREAMED BLOODY MURDER.  Needless to say we did the rest of the cleaning up when she was in her high chair and didn't know what I was doing, but I already can't wait for the look on her face the next time I pull the door down.

You know, perhaps happiness really is
a flat pack. :-)

Other items to report for the week - FAREWELL DIAPER GENIE!  That's right, sports fans, after 22 months of storing poop in the same room that our daughter sleeps in, Team Taylor hit a wall (well, actually, the wall hit us, as that room was starting to STINK) and pitched the genie.  We're now on to the old "blue plastic bag" method, and the room has never smelled better.  Rice told me that, at some point, the smell would be too much, and let me tell you - he was NOT joking.

Clearly I am an AWESOME storyteller.

K also climbed into her high chair for the first time this week.  It's funny, she's now started feeding Elmo in her high chair before she's ready for food - he gets a plastic egg and some broccoli (courtesy of Vol Nana).  Also, K's hair has gotten SO LONG.  She is CONSTANTLY pushing it out of her face (those bangs are the stuff of legends) but still refuses to let Jenny put it in a pony tail.  It's gotten to the point of habit now - she'll even try to brush it out of her face at night while I'm reading to her even after Jenny's brushed it back and it's tucked neatly behind her ear.  We really don't want to cut her hair yet, but we might have to do a little bang trimming at some point.

Lastly, K has now FALLEN IN LOVE WITH MICKEY MOUSE.  I mean, give those jokers in the Disney Marketing Department some credit, as IT IS AMAZING how they do what they do.  I mean, seriously - there are a BASQUILLION cartoon characters on this planet - how does every child instantly fall in love with the mouse?  We're now taping the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and when that joker walks out at the start, she says "Minnie!" (even though she means Mickey) every time.  She won't
actually sit through an episode of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but she LOVES the opening song and the Hot Dog Dance at the end.  She bounces up and down to the Hot Dog dance like a Jack Russell Terrier - it's HILARIOUS.  The whole "Mickey" thing caught me off guard, but I had my Disney Marathon shirt on Monday, and when I went into K's room she just pointed at it and said "Minnie!"  She's now doing the same any time she sees his picture on a book - and so it begins.

"What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?"

But speaking of pictures, she's now also recognizing both Nanny's, Grand Pooh, Granddaddy, Granny Alice, Grandpa, Aunt Kim, and Uncle Matt in pictures.  She can point them all out and is even identifying herself in photos despite the different ages depicted.  And Aunt Kim will be especially happy to know that we're currently getting a lot of use out of the football that she gave K for Christmas!  We've had a lot of fun with it over the past week.  Basically I pretend like I'm the quarterback, snap the ball, and then hand off to "the true freshman Kaitlyn Taylor."  K's great about taking the handoff and then running around the house.  I give her the play by play until she drops the pigskin, at which point we have a "fumble on the play!"  Moments like that are just another example of when I wish I had my Go Pro permanently attached to my head, as I want to photo EVERY SECOND of K's life right now.  She is SO CUTE every second of the day - even when she's fussy.  From that unbelievable smile when she wakes up, to her raising her arms and saying "Up!", to hearing her new words, to her asking for Elmo, to her saying "Rompy", to her doing the hot dog dance, to her exclamations of excitement every time we park the car (REGARDLESS of the location), to her
snorting when she wants Peppa, to her begging for bubbles in the bath (and getting SO excited that we now let her run naked back into her room) - life is just an incredible adventure right now.  JT and I are doing better about trying to film moments vs. just taking stills, and this week we're planning to buy a display for the Go Pro (which I think will be hilarious, as I cannot WAIT to see how bad my playback is from just "filming from the hip."

The one casualty to report for the week.  After 10 states, an international trip, endless drives across the

state line, and 17 trillion journeys up and down the stairs...our monitor finally gave up the ghost this week.  Truth be told the charging mechanism had been on its way out for awhile (and we'd already bought a backup charger, but this week the charging point in the monitor actually broke off and rattled back inside the shell.  There's still a little battery left, but let's not kid ourselves.  When it's gone, it's gone. :-)  This week we're sleeping with K's door open and the upper child gate closed - both of which are sub-optimal.  We'll be ordering a new monitor this week as well (once we get my new credit card, as my other one was just hacked - AGAIN), after which time we should be back in business.

Looking back on the week, it really was a great one.  For starters, it just felt SOOOO GOOD to be back home.  Seeing family was amazing, and there's no denying that my love for TN and the roots I have there tug strongly at my heartstrings.  However, Dorothy said it well:  "There's no place like home," and the Queen City is my home and where Kaitlyn will grow up.  Walking back into our house, I felt so thankful for what we have and how blessed we are, and the last week and a half have been very calming and relaxing for me.  Yes, work has started back up, but 6 days into 2015 (probably 7 by the time I publish this), I am feeling calmer and more at peace than I've been in a long time.

You know those moments when lightning
strikes?  Yeah - this was one of those.

I actually talked to Jenny about this very thing on Sunday night, as watching K at Discovery Place I think it all FINALLY clicked.  For the last couple of weeks, I've felt restless, as though there was something nagging at me in the corner of my mind I couldn't name.  In December I dismissed it as not having any to-do's left for 2014 and being anxious to get onto 2015 and start cranking out new goals and activities.  However, it took me watching my daughter filling a pail shaped like a duck in a waterfall in Huntersville to realize the truth about why I've been feeling restless and have had trouble (for the first time ever, mind you) working on 2015 goals and goals for my 40's.  The reality is that, despite having an almost incurable wanderlust for the first 3 and a half decades of my life, there is NO PLACE ON EARTH I'd rather be than within 3 feet of my girls at all times.  I think I've had trouble

with the fact that I don't want to travel right now, but finally that realization has come that I am living the life I've always imagined and need to truly heed one of my favorite quotes:  "Be where you are - or else you will miss your life."  And I don't want this to sound like some cheesy Facebook style post about how great my life is.  I just want it stated on this piece of "paper" that I can't believe the "5 year plan" for 35-40 is working so well and has in fact already worked, making me happier than I've ever been.  Jenny and I have been so blessed and fortunate to live our dreams and see so many places on our bucket list, and now we are actually able to do what we wanted to do when we decided to buy a home - make it so wonderful that we never want to go anywhere else.  And readers, even though that's what we'd planned for and have been working to achieve, I think a part of my still fought the notion that settling down was what we'd been wanting to do for years.  I was still trying to shoehorn trips on bank holiday weekends (like the Key West idea).  I was still trying to organize Caribbean trips (even after learning my lesson in Jamaica).  I was trying to replicate a past life while trying to love every aspect of my present, and the truth is that, while they are not mutually exclusive, they cannot completely co-exist.  And when I realized that the first part (the travel) paved the way for the second part (being able to afford a home and actually wanted to plant roots), a lot suddenly clicked into place.  And while I know it's only been a few days, I'm happy to report that I have not thought about a 40-50 goal since that moment - aside from trying to do the Leadville 1/2 when I'm 40, of course. :-)

Photo taken in September of 2012 before
I was even a father.  I'm comin' for you, baby.

Don't worry, K - the squinty eye isn't
hereditary. 

And so there it is, the first post of 2015, talking about the last week of 2014.  Looking back over the year, it was truly incredible.  K went vertical.  Then she went mobile.  Jenny quit work for her "dream job," and we've never looked back or been happier as a family. Her decision to quit was without a doubt one of the strongest, bravest, and best she's ever made, and I'm so happy and proud of her.  We hosted a 1st birthday party.  K got her first passport stamp.  I made good on a promise to send Jenny back to Europe.  We started trying to #2.  We had our last traveling Christmas, and it was one for the ages and a great way to close that chapter of our lives.  Work was an emotional roller coaster, and I cried openly in the office for the first time ever i
n April (when we went to Costa Rica to shut down the office).  I hit 10 years with Bank of America, and while I may moan about it from time to time, there's no question that I still really enjoy my job.  I turned 37 - which sounds old.  Jenny turned 36 and looks hotter than ever.  Friends had kids.  My stepbrother got married and had a kid.  My sister changed colleges.  All of that fits into 1 paragraph, but the emotions, memories, and stories that come with it couldn't be contained in a hundred volumes.  And that's another reason why I'm still writing this blog - I want there to be at least some small record of the events as they happened, as so many of these events will shape who we are 20+ years down the line.

Okay, that's more than enough for this round.  Next week's post will be shorter - I promise!  Happy New Year!

Love,

Sam and Jenny