Family,
And a good Wednesday evening to you from the Queen City, where the Bull is HOME ALONE for the evening while the Munchkin and Striker have a night with JT's folks. K was quite excited about
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| Absolutely THE MOST fun you can have for $4 - just ask my wife. |
seeing Nana and grandpa, and I hope the evening has been filled with cartoons on the computer, good food, and K constantly trying to steal Grandpa's chair.
So the week was another great one, and the principle item to cover is, without a doubt, the EXPLOSION of K's vocabulary. Seriously, Jenny and I cannot believe how many new words she's adding on daily basis. We're trying to keep up with it, but at this point it's almost impossible to catalogue and keep a word count. Also, her pronunciation is getting much better. New additions this week:
1. Sun - which she is always great to point out while reading books
2. Towel - she recognizes the towel we put down in the bathroom before we play "Run Nakey Baby" - such good parents...
3. Duck - this is a big leap (like cow), as she now knows that the animal is a duck and "quack quack" is the sound it makes
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| Finally LOVING the slide at DPK - she did it over and over, always smiling at dada as she crawled through the clear tunnel. |
5. Pear - she's back to enjoying eating them
6. Game - this one was cute, as she now knows that you can play games on the i-Pad. At one point she actually carried the i-Pad over to us and said, "Game, game, game", rubbing her chest in the please sign with increasing vigor. When we told her know, she had her usually strop - which consists of her laying peacefully on the ground in silent protest and sucking her thumb. I don't think she yet differentiates between a game and a song on YouTube (like Wheels on the Bus), but after requests for "Mickey, Peppa, and Elmo" (always in that order, mind you), "Game" is now the next request in the pecking order.
7. Top
8. Spoon - she can identify this in the word book we just checked out from the library, but she also asks for it whenever she sits down for dinner.9. New
10. High
11. Mud - said while reading a book about pigs in mud (not Peppa this time!)
12. Tractor - Granddaddy would be so proud
13. Hay - again, Granddaddy would be so proud
14. Barn - Yes, yes - overachiever and champion of farm to fork. What can I say? :-)
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| Kaitlyn meets the Octonauts...whoever the hell they are. |
16. Mowing - said when she pushes her little Fischer Price lawn mower around the driveway
17. Bone - repeated when I said "don't hit your bone head" and now a word she uses when she points to her head. Grandmother would be so proud...
18. Bumpy - said when reading the "That's not my pig" book (it's the hooves that are too bumpy)
19. Bow (as in hair - the thing she'll NEVER let us put in her gorgeous locks)
20. Mop
21. Broom - this one is particularly hilarious, as this week she just started asking for the "BOOM" and playing with our antiquated little cleaning utensil. Jenny send me video of K running all over the house
22. Ink
23. Moon - this one is a favorite currently, as she points to it anytime we are out and she sees it. She also points to it anytime we see it in our books.
24. Gate - this one shocked me, as I'd never really pointed one out to her before. We were reading a "Sophie book," and she said "gate" and then opened the gate to reveal...well, whatever was behind it (I can't remember because I was reeling from hearing her say gate).
25. Van - and YES, she is pointing to an actual van when she says it
26. Choo-choo - she knows it's a train, so I'm counting it, damn it.27. Vroom vroom - she knows it's a car, so I'm counting it, damn it.
28. Pup pup - she knows it's another name for a dog, so...you get the point.
29. Go - she first said "Go Go Go" while reading a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse book, but now she's saying "Go" when getting to the green light page on "Go Dogs, Go"
30. Stop - same as above, but with the red light page in "Go Dogs, Go" - she also throws up the "talk to the hand" gesture.
31. "Do it" - pronounced "DEWWWWWEEEEEEET!!!!", I started saying this to her at night while walking up the stairs. She now believes this is the battle cry for rapid stair climbing, and she will say "DEWWWWWWEEEEEEET!!!!!" over and over as she scrambles up the stairs - too funny.
32. Fly - this has been our favorite game, where we pick K up, lower her like she's about to be shot out of a canon (we get her completely horizontal), and then we run around the room, swerving all over the place like she's flying. This is then followed by her dropping to the floor and laying on her back. Our parental duty at that point consists of picking her up by her ankles and lifting her upside down. We then do 3-5 lifts (depending on how strong we feel) before setting her back down. She LOVES it.
In terms of development items, this week saw a lot of progress as well. For starters, K's really kicking the ball well right now. When you ask her to throw it, she will. When you then ask her to kick it, she absolutely understands that's a different motor activity and resets to kick the ball to you. She's actually taken a shine to dribbling Big Red Ball all over the house, and this week she even expressed and interest in shooting hoops on the basketball goal. I was excited about this, and consequently Team Taylor is going to buy her "baby's first hoop" for her second birthday (HOW IS IT POSSIBLE SHE'S ALMOST 2?).
And while kicking the ball is great, CATCHING the ball is even more amazing. I think for the longest time I didn't know quite how to throw it to her and instruct her on the best watch to catch a ball, but this week she's really started catching balls of varying size when tossed to her. Now granted, you can't whiz the damn thing, but if you do a simply toss, she's becoming increasingly adept (and interested) in catching them.
She's also getting a lot better about entertaining herself when we are in the room. Jenny and I are noticing more and more that she's starting to stack blocks, play in her kitchen, or even flip through books without requiring adult interaction. We are typically close, but it is interesting to watch her slowly start to form this capability. Let's hope it doesn't grow too fast. :-) Oh, and did mention now that, when she's upstairs and wants Milk, the conversation goes something like this:
K: "Mil"
Mommy or Daddy (MoD): "Your milk is downstairs sweetheart. Do you want water?"
K: "No - mil"
MoD: "Okay, well let's walk downstairs to get it. You want to do that?"
K: "No - mil"
MoD: "So you want to stay up here and play while I go get the milk"
K: "Yeah." (insert huge nod and smile here)
She is also starting to remember stories better - most noticeably "Pat the Bunny." The book I'd read about development mentioned the need for repetition in stories, and so I've tried to keep the stories consistent at nighttime (at least for a week at a time). I'm not sure if it's that approach or the fact that she's getting older, but she's definitely anticipating pages now (and getting excited as they get close). She also knows when she's turned one page too many, and she MUST flip back to ensure all pages are viewed. What can I say - that's gotta be my kid...
Another interesting item of note is that K now has a name for herself - "Tati." While that in no way, shape, or form resembles the word Kaitlyn, I chuckle because I was called "TT" as a kid.
On the color front, K definitely knows yellow now. All of the other colors are (I think) still a bit fuzzy, but yellow is front and center in her mind. Colors, numbers, and ABC's are next, and we're feeling extremely motivated as we watch how quickly she's absorbing things. More proof she's getting smarter is that she's getting better about delaying bedtime. We've actually moved bedtime to 7:30, but K has been doing a nice job of asking for more books, then taking time selecting multiple stuffed animals, then asking for a drink of water - you name it. She is a wily one, that little Sneetch! Oh, and in case you're curious, the ONLY animal she's wanted this past week is Dumbo (or Mumbo as she calls him). She's gone from 4-5 animals to a single animal, and she is ALL ABOUT that guy right now.
On the parenting front, Jenny took a tour of the day care we're planning to utilize in the fall. It's only 2 days a week from 9-1, but we're really looking forward to it and thinking that it will be a great chance for K to build her socialization skills. Jenny actually put down the deposit and first month's "tuition" yesterday, so we're officially locked in! We're very excited about it, as to us it's one of the big milestones we have planned for her 3rd year. Next up - water awareness. Our other parental activities this week consisted of moving the nightlight in her room to make it darker (so far that's not been met with any resistance, so we feel good about that) and introducing Sesame Street (which was NOT looked upon as favorably as Mickey).
Lastly, Team Taylor had another big moment this weekend. As you've noticed from the posts, Team Taylor has started attending a local church recently. The messages have been fantastic and have really spoken to us, and this past week's service was about the importance of giving - not just financially, but also of your time and energy. It was a statement about how blessed we are and how God is trying to put us in the "sweet spot" to achieve what he's called us to do (which by extension will help us fulfill our purpose and make us happy as well). The following day we went to a different church to visit an exhibit called "the Compassion Project." Now I will be honest, I didn't know ANYTHING about these guys, but apparently they are an organization that offers education (both secular and Christian), food, medical assistance, and general aid to children in dire, dire situations all over the world. We walked through the first exhibit (there were 3 stories) and were blown away - it was, as is often the case, a reminder of how good we've got it here and how desperate (or worse) life is in so many countries. As you come out, there is a wall of children waiting for sponsors. Jenny and I hummed and hawed, but in that moment a force I can only describe as God said, "Let go and do what you know you need to do." I will save that story and how deeply I heard that voice for another forum, but I do want it said that Jenny and I both truly felt that, in that moment, we needed to pick a child off that wall and "change their story" (to quote the exhibit). Consequently, I am THRILLED to report that Team Taylor now has a fourth member and the start of an extended, international family - an 11 year old boy named Charles in Tanzania. More to come on this, I'm sure, but for now let me just say that we are thrilled about this new experience and the chance to touch a life.
Okay, time for this guy to get some dinner. Chat soon!
Love,
Sam and Jenny
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