Finally some stretching! Future bud sites are appearing and the first small sugar leaf trichomes are coming in, along with a faint sweet smell. Damn it smells good!
I defoliated the plant heavily in the beginning of the week. I removed several of the lowest side branches and almost all of the sun leaves. I only left the topmost two pairs on each cola. I was a bit afraid I removed too much (again), but now it looks pretty good! The light can reach lots more buds now. The leaves have also grown back pretty well already.