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