Can I get a "Wha, WHAT?!?!?!?!"

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  22 months and 29 days

Family,

And a good Monday evening to you from the Queen City, where the Bull and Striker are relaxing at home after another wonderful weekend.  Plenty to cover, so let's get amongst it, shall we?

Let's start on the vocabulary front, where the Sneetch continues down the path of explosive learning.  New words for the week:

1.  Boy

2.  Clean - usually said after she finishes bath time or while reading "Pig Takes a Bath"

3.  Dump - said after she watches Pig get dunked in the tub during "Pig Takes a Bath."  I will say "Big Dump!" just like mommy does before dousing K with water from a cup, and K will respond "Dump!"

4.  Pop - she knows that's what bubbles do (and we blow bubbles over her while she's in the bath)

5.  Bite - this is one she's learned from us saying "you want a bite?"  She's actually developing quite the food vocabulary - she's got multiple ways to beg for food, and she'll do a combination of saying and signing please should she be desperate enough for whatever tasty treat Jenny and I are consuming (this week it was hummus - DESPERATE FOR IT, she was...)

6.  Eat - see above - this kid doesn't PLAY when it comes to calorie consumption

7.  Thumb - I mean, she should know this one, for crying out loud...

8.  Green (dean) - she actually knows this color as well.  SCORE!

9.  Red (ride) - again, she knows this one and (usually) gets it right.  Okay, granted - there are times when I ask her what color an apple is and she replies "YELLOW!," but still - she does know the color. Genius, I tell you!

10.  White - she definitely knows this color (even though we also give her credit when she says white and points to beige, tan, or taupe - I mean, come on, I didn't even know what taupe was until I was 25...

11.  Bottle - this is one of the words that gets used every time we read (insert me cringing as I type this) "Bitty Baby and Me" (now insert me rolling my eyes in misery).  The bottle is at the dinner table on page 2 and is the first thing she says after spoon (poon), usually followed by mama.

12.  Plate - this is another word that is said during page 2 of Bitty Baby, after the above three words and bowl.  Honestly, if I have to read one more time about the damn mermaids having a tea party with the porcupine, I might lose it...

13.  Day

14.  Cone

15.  Plum - she rattled this one off while reading "The very hungry caterpillar."  It's pretty darn cute - we go through moon and sun on the first 2 pages before getting to the fruits the caterpillar eats through. K will say "Apple!"  And flip the page, saying it again as she puts her finger in every hole.  She'll then say "Plum!"  twice and repeat it when she flips the page.  This is followed by "Pear! (Pee-uh)," which she says three times.  This is then followed by strawberry (which she just said tonight for the first time). Full disclosure - "strawberry" is currently coming out something like "wawabana."  I mean, at some point adorable covers for enunciation, right?  LOVE THIS KID!

16.  Attic - NOT KIDDING - the child said attic this week.  She pointed up at the trap door in the ceiling and said "ATTY!"  I mean, how the hell did she know that was the attic?  We have talked about it maybe twice in her life, and we didn't mention it in the month of January.  Mind like a steel trap, I tell you...

  

17.  Cry - so this one is a little disconcerting, but K loves to make her little baby cry.  It should be noted that the baby also possesses the capability to laugh, and you can get her to do either by pressing on her chest (it just alternates).  K could care less when she laughs - she does NOT want this child happy.  Instead, she keeps saying "more" when you make the kid cry because, well, I THINK SHE ENJOYS HEARING THE KID SUFFER.  Another point to raise - she is all about the child being comforted...just not by her.  She wants you to swaddle the baby and rock it (oh, and make it cry AND stop the laughter as soon as it starts).  Such a sweet and innocent child, we have - just watch your back.

18.  Fire truck - I know, I know, you think there's no way.  But I'm telling you - THIS KID SAID FIRE TRUCK this week.  Again, the pronunciation wasn't great, but she definitely knows the difference between the fire engine and a regular truck, and there were definitely 2 syllables there.  It counts, by crackies...

In other news, K can now name the "Disney 6."  Daisy and Donald were elusive for a bit, but they are spoken for loud and clear now.  Toodles is still proving tricky, but she says "Oh TOOTEEEEET!!!!"  about 457,000 times per day.

The speed demon in full stride on the way
out - looking just slightly happier than
she did on the way back.

In terms of development milestones, Jenny has been a rockstar working on K's A-B-C's and colors, and K is slowly starting to learn some of time.  On the letters front, she's saying "A-B-D," but D=C in her pronunciation (I've got the words from her vocabulary to prove it), and she can identify T, K, A, B, D, P, & O.  It's been crazy to watch how fast she's picked it up this week - things that have just been objects to date (the bath letters, blocks, etc) are now being recognized as letters and numbers.  Very exciting!

The trickiest color for her right now is orange, as she constantly calls it "YELLOW!"  In fact, yellow is about 70% of the visible spectrum right now, but we are chipping away at that.  As a volunteer fan, it's important she be able to recognize orange from an early age.  I mean, she always knows the T in my man pajamas - it's just time to take it to the next level. :-)

One of the cutest moments this week was when I in passing as a joke said, "Wha-what?"  Well, K thought that was the greatest phrase EVER and proceeded to repeat it about 5,011 times.  When we started laughing, she knew she had comedic gold in her vocabulary, and she then continued saying it for about 20 minutes.  There were many different variations - sometimes the "Wha" component was used four times before "What" ever actually appeared.  I vowed I wouldn't say it, but let me tell you this - sometimes you don't really how often you leverage a phrase in your daily life until you're trying to NOT say it.  Consequently, K has probably said "Wha Wha Wha Wha What!!?!?!?" no joke a thousand times in the last 96 hours - THUG LIFE!

"Hi, my name is Kaitlyn.  If you're reading
this, then you see how my dad dresses.
Help me, Obi-wan.  You're my only hope."

The weekend was great, as the weather was PERFECT!  On Saturday we took the munch over to the greenway for a walk. It was the first time she'd been there since I took her by myself in June (the day she almost overheated, had a meltdown, and drank basically an entire sippy cup of water the second I got her back to the car) and the first time altogether as a family.  The first hour was AMAZING - K actually walked - scratch that, RAN - for 1.5 miles!  Seriously, this kid was in a full-on gallop at times, and she never seemed to tucker out!  She didn't want food.  She didn't want water.  All she wanted was to kick and/or throw a ball on occasion, push the stroller for us, and run like the wind blows.   Oh, and she also wanted to poop - which she did announce to us, for the record.  In fact, not only did we have the distinct privilege of changing our daughter's near blowout on the greenway (where she was an angel, for the record), but I also had the joy of feces on my fingers, as it was quite the mess.  I did use a wipe or two, but let's be honest - when it gets on your fingernails and fingerprints, it's there to stay until you scrub it off (which wasn't an option, as there are no bathrooms on the greenway - details...).

Fast forward to an hour later.  We've found a playground.  We've played on this playground for a good thirty minutes.  It's 11:30.  We are 1.5 miles from our car and it's lunch time.  We tell K "time to go!"...which she chooses to ignore.  We tell her she can go down the slide 1 more time, but she has to take the stairs.  She doesn't like this plan and instead tries walking up the slide.  After we try rationalizing and helping her, she starts pouting.  We then pick her up and carry her to the stroller, thinking she'll be fussy but all will be well.  HOLY (INSERT STREAM OF EXPLETIVES HERE) - that child had THE BIGGEST MELTDOWN TEAM TAYLOR HAS EVER SEEN FROM OUR
DAUGHTER.

Family, I cannot describe it in terms other than "volcanic," galactic," "something you would read about during the Salem Witch Trials or Spanish Inquisition" - it was that bad.  K screamed NONSTOP at the top of her lungs for 30+ minutes while we tried to hot foot it back to the car.  People passed us with "Good morning!" and a chuckle, so at least folks were good humored about it and didn't act like we'd shattered their perfectly tranquil morning.  When we got back to the car, I picked K up and held her, trying to calm her.  That worked for about .000000007 seconds until I tried to put her in her car seat.  HOLY (ONCE AGAIN - TAKE YOUR PICK OF WORDS THAT SHOULD NOT BE SAID IN PUBLIC) - the child went into rinse/repeat.  Only this time we had the added bonus of being confined to our car.

K and Francisco playing - I have this feeling K is going
to be a gear head, as she LOVES the Matchbox cars.

We got the sneetch home and even managed to get some food in her, but her nap was much quicker than expected.  The good news is that this let us get on the road for the featured event of the weekend - dinner with the Puma and family!  Now a bit of backstory here - the Puma and his family moved to the US in November (they are from Costa Rica), and we've worked together for about 3 years.  He and his family are great, and they treated us to a DELISH meal - complete with some proper Tico trimmings.  We spent a good 3+ hours there eating like kinds, and just before we left K decided to drop bomb #2 of the day, once again COVERING MY HANDS in feces when I went to check her diaper.  Can I just say BOOM GOES TEH DYNAMITE.  That kid's excretory system was in overdrive on Saturday.

Sunday was great as well, as we got tons of time in the park (it was 70 degrees!).  I got a run in, JT got a walk in, we got a church service in, and we ate like kings all day (including some Gallo Pinto from the Puma - so guuuuuuuuud).  All in all, another perfect weekend in the books.

Last item to note - as we've discussed in blogs previous, I've come to the realization that, if I want to help K be the best person she can possibly be, then I have to work to be the best person I can possibly be.  This desire, coupled with the recent blessing in our life of finding Freedom House Church, has put in motion a desire to codify this improvement, the culmination of which is something Team Taylor is affectionately calling "The Altitude Project."  Simply put - I am trying to put goals into my life every month to make myself better, as well as goals in K's life to keep her growing and developing.  These goals are a mixture of physical, mental, and spiritual, but the net effect is (I hope) that I am a better husband, father, and Christian in the years to come and all the remainder of my days, so that not only my words but also my actions can help teach K what is right.  I've started tracking my goals (don't worry - I won't bore you with them), and I'll be calling out when we introduce an "Acclimator" for K as well (the first of which comes tomorrow, so stay tuned!).  More to come on this, but suffice it to say I'm really excited and feel good about what we've been able to do so far.

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

Love,

Sam and Jenny

I mean, this kid must be related to Noah Webster...

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  22 months and 24 days

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

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

Finally LOVING the slide at DPK - she did
it over and over, always smiling at dada
as she crawled through the clear tunnel.

4.  Tape - she took to this one like a duck to water.  She learned it while Jenny was doing something and using clear USPS tape.  K enjoyed playing with it for a bit - costing us about .07 cents in tape that was summarily wadded into a ball

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? :-)

Kaitlyn meets the Octonauts...whoever
the hell they are.

15.  Airplane - I must confess, the inflection on this one (A-pin!) is really cute...

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

sweeping and playing with "boom," which was hilarious - for about 10 minutes.  You see, after K tired of the game, she moved to her new favorite game - WATCHING DADDY SWEEP THE FLOOR WITH "BOOM."  Needless to say daddy does NOT find this game entertaining, even after trying to share the sweeping responsibilities with K and running around the house like the Icelandic curling team.  It should be noted that, when K wants to play "boom," she becomes a person of SINGLE FOCUS.  This means that, now matter WHAT you are doing, you should stop it to play "boom" and sweep for her entertainment.  Case in point - JT was actually making her dinner the other night, but K went into a screaming fit because mommy wouldn't sweep the floors.  Gotta love it - why buy toys?

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

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