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