Turkey Day '08

Everyone knows that a little bit of exercise before the big meal makes Thanksgiving much more enjoyable. That's why we are starting this post with a glimpse of the next great women's soccer star going to work in the living room.



She still has to work on her finishing ability, but that will come with time. She definitely has potential.

As many of you know, Thanksgiving for us means travel. And well before we even met we were traveling somewhere else to eat turkey. Sarah and her friends developed a great tradition in Hermosa Beach known as Thanksgiving Observed to make up for it. They would have all of their friends over for a big potluck meal before folks left town for the holiday.

Well we decided that the time had come for us to bring that tradition to Kentucky. So on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, we cooked a 19 pound turkey and had sixteen people over for dinner. Here's a picture for proof.





We had a lot of fun and for the first time we actually had a fire in our fireplace. Callie enjoyed playing with Iain, Eli, and Jackson. It's pretty obvious that she enjoys being the center of attention, or maybe she just enjoyed the ratio. Hard to tell.


But we finally got on the plane and made our way up to Connecticut for a good old New England Thanksgiving. Nana Taffy was very excited to pick us up, especially since we came in at a reasonable time. And Callie was happy to get some one-on-one time with her Nana.






Suzy was also able to make it in from Colorado, and she and Callie got to hang out quite a bit during our visit. Callie is not much of a morning person, but it is clear that Auntie Suzy can make mornings so much better. As for the gift from Suzy that is sitting in her lap in this picture, Callie has been playing with it non-stop ever since we got back to Lexington.


Holidays are all about relaxation, and we tended to stay in our pajamas as long as possible, as you can see below. What you can also see is that Callie is becoming more and more playful every day. You probably already knew that Sarah and Suzy were playful. Clearly Callie is following in their footsteps. Here the three of them perform the wave.





Did we mention that Callie likes to be the center of attention? She truly enjoys the time she gets to spend with her Uncle Chris and her cousins Brendan and Michael. The two Balestracci boys are so good with her. She has them wrapped around her finger and we're pretty sure she knows it. It is so much fun to see them all together.





But playtime was not reserved to the youngest members of the crew. There is nothing quite like a good tradition, and the adult kids of the Bowes clan are hoping that they have started a new one. It's called, leave the kids with Nana and Grandpa so we can all go out and have a tasty dinner and a good adult conversation.


So pictured here we have the crew as they prepare to head to the Stone House in Guilford. Not planned, but charming nonetheless, are the argyle bookends that frame the three lovely ladies in the middle. This hearth has been the site of many Bowes family pictures over the years, and it is good to see that tradition continue as well.



It was great that all of the Connecticut folks got time with Callie, and of course she loved getting some time in with everyone as well. Here she is with Auntie Katie, who apparently was able to push her own sons aside to get quality time with her niece.




Obviously Thanksgiving is all about family, but it would not be complete without friends. Here Callie plays around with Logan and Finn, the twin sons of Alex Gross and Mark Matlosz. Alex and John are good friends from high school and it is a bit crazy for them to have their kids playing around at their foot. And in that brief hour that the Matlosz boys were over, we realized how lucky we are to only have to chase one little one around.





Speaking of friends, we also got a chance to go over to the McBean/Conroy household down the road in Fairfield. It was a house chock full of little ones, and Callie had a blast with Jackson's toy car that had a horn and Hayden's little kitchen set. Here she and Hayden are hanging out in one of the rooms that is clearly built for kid entertainment.



Whether it was the travel or just the joy that is daycare, Callie came down with a post-Thanksgiving virus that did a number on both the poor little girl and her parents. We were awash in pedialyte as we tried to keep Callie hydrated while she refused to keep anything in her body. It was the kind of fun time you hope to never have again. Callie was a trooper though, and below you can see the shadow of a smile as she sits in what we dubbed, "The Sick Nest".




Really, the whole nest was a simple safety precaution to keep all manners of liquid eruptions off the couch and us. Is that too much information yet? Trust us, that's nothing compared to what we could have told you about.


It was clear when Callie was getting better, because she was soon up to her old, and new, tricks. We learned she had an obsession with paper bags a few weeks ago. It started with her trying to carry a paper bag that was just as big as she is. We intervened and gave her more size appropriate bags. Witness the joy those bags bring in the video below.





Although the director yelled cut and the cameraman complied, our viewers should know that Callie jumped up quickly after the above spill and made her way to Sarah with a smile on her face and her bags in hand.

To truly turn the corner from Thanksgiving to Christmas, a visit to Santa is necessary. Needless to say, this also entails a trip to the mall.


Some parents hope their children won't cry on Santa's lap and some hope their child will sit still. It's not clear what we were hoping for, but this picture truly captures the spirit of the moment. First, the Fayette Mall Santa is a very nice man and he has a very gentle smile. Second, Callie was not quite sure what to make of him. Callie likes hanging out with strangers as much as the next person, but it doesn't mean she won't stare at that stranger to get a good sense of their character.


With the visit to Santa concluded, we visited the local toy store where Callie had fun hugging some stuffed animals. We truly enjoy this age because she gets excited about playing with the toys but we don't have to buy anything. Unfortunately we don't think this will last much longer.


And now we sit here in Lexington listening to a quiet house. Callie is asleep, the TV is on mute because we can't focus with the volume on, and the sounds of freezing rain/sleet/who knows what comes and goes. Apparently we are in winter storm warning mode, which means the Bluegrass is truly at Defcon 5 high alert. And in five days we will be getting on a plane for Sacramento, where we will spend eight glorious days and possibly eight crazy nights with our West Coast family and friends. Life is never dull and we wouldn't want it any other way.

Callie's promotion and tenure review

Although Callie turned 1 nearly two months ago, the bureaucracy at the Bowes household has taken a bit longer to review her paperwork. The results finally came in this past weekend, and based on the information that follows, two decisions have been made. First, we will allow her to turn one and maintain that age for the following year. Second, we will keep her for another year at which point we will conduct another evaluation. The following addresses the highlights, and some unfortunate but correctable lowlights of Callie's recent development.

This is a recent photograph of the subject in question. Notice the confident smile she had when submitting her materials.






We'll start with the basic numbers and medical reports. At the beginning of November Callie visited her pediatrician. They found that she weighed 19lbs 9oz and stood at a grand 30 1/2 inches. That means she is the 75th percentile for height and the 20th percentile for weight. Still tall and a little bit heavier than in the past. Her noggin is still tracking large, and is in the 75th percentile.

Unfortunately, Callie also had another first-year medical evaluation. This one entailed a catheter, x-rays, and an ultrasound. All of this was to monitor the progress of the kidney reflux that had been diagnosed even before she was born. The good news is that the level of the reflux in her right kidney has decreased. The bad news is that they found evidence of reflux in both kidneys. Prior tests had led us to believe that only the right one was effected. As you can imagine, this was hard news, especially since we had grown to rely on the idea that you can live with one kidney. At the same time, it is important to note that both of our doctors are positive and have told us multiple times that this is a problem that can be easily repaired if Callie's body doesn't take care of it naturally over the next several years. Just as important, this has had no impact on Callie's day to day life. She takes her antibiotics every night without complaint and beyond that, shows no physical discomfort.

So with that aside we can now move onto other matters crucial to this review. They fall into three basic categories - daycare, development, and social skills. In daycare, Callie has now transitioned from the busybee to the waddler classroom. Unfortunately they gave us limited time to prepare her for the skills necessary for waddler survival, a.k.a. sippy cup use, finger food, and designated nap time. Needless to say, there was a period of adjustment involved. It took about three weeks for her to accept the sippy cup, and she still expresses some reservations from time to time about the absence of the bottles. Up to this point she has still had two bottles a day at daycare, although we just used the last of the formula, so that ship has sailed. Finger food has gone much better. She loves noodles, bananas, dried fruit, and obviously Cheerios. Unfortunately the finger food veggies have been less of a hit.

In the new class, everyone is supposed to sleep from noon to two on little cots. Callie has a hard time following suit. This has resulted in a few days without naps entirely, and a few discipline notes home. Our nurse called Callie petite, but Miss Donna at daycare has had to inform us of Callie "bodyslamming" a classmate when she was supposed to be napping. Our little nutterbutter has also apparently put her six teeth into not such productive use by attempting to bite a classmate on the forehead. We still think she was trying to give a gentle kiss. Finally, Callie's production of fine art has skyrocketed since entering the waddlers. Since the end of October she has come home with a number of fall-themed art pieces. Quite impressive, Miss Donna.

Now for Callie's general development. Her level of communication is on the rise and indicates some of the most important aspects of her life. She is beginning to verbalize, but has some trouble finishing. Duck becomes "duh" and dog becomes "do". Ending consonants appear to be low on her priority list and we have suggested that she do a bit more work on that.

Callie's sign language has also improved, and she now signs milk, eat, more, all done, bath, book, and ball with some regularity. Some have equated Callie's sign for bath with the universal sign for the chicken dance, but we know what she means. Outside of those signs, Callie also likes to give high fives, hugs, and kisses. She even blows kisses. The main place for improvement here is she needs to close her mouth when she goes for a kiss. She shows every sign of self-confidence, and has taken to clapping for herself any time she does something deemed worthy of praise. Fortunately she is not skimpy with such praise for others, and even clapped for every item her father removed from the dish washer and put in its proper place this morning.

There are few things that fall into the social skills category. She continues to be very comfortable with people and enjoys spending time with just about anyone who will pay attention to her. She has also shown increasing comfort in the house the more she walks around. Callie goes to her own cupboard to get her sippy cup and knows just where her play corner is and what toys are there.

Overall, Callie has shown clear signs of progressing towards becoming a little girl. Even her fits of crying and frustration normally are due to wanting to be more independent. We continue to be overwhelmed by how much we love her and love spending time with her. And we can't wait to have you see the above developments for yourself as we begin our annual holiday road trip.

Callie for Change in 2008

We are not the people in your neighborhood with signs in the front yard even though we are passionate about politics. But Callie is a different kind of political animal. She was not going to be satisfied until she made her feelings known on the blogosphere. So we have this post.

It is a gorgeous day here in Lexington. Not only is the sun out and the leaves are in full autumn display, but it is also much sweeter because John and Sarah have the day off. So we had a leisurely breakfast, got dressed, and walked to our polling station. Here is Callie, making sure we know the right direction to go to vote.




We left the polls to head to our local Starbucks for a free tall coffee, and along the way passed numerous signs indicating support for the various candidates. Callie could not resist striking a pose next to her favorite sign.





Now, Callie is obviously the type who wants everyone to vote regardless of who they are voting for. But she comes from a long line of strong women on both sides of her family who have never just sat on the sidelines, so why should she?

Lions, horses, and ducks, oh my!

Happy November/day after Halloween! There was a bit of a disagreement over the best way to open this post as you can see. At this point Callie is so active that we can barely keep up with her. October was filled with many events here in Lexington. We will start with Callie's first official Halloween. As you can see, she was an adorable little lion.




Although we worked on it for several weeks, she never really perfected the roar. She did manage a sort of angry cat sound, but we still need some time to make her a proper queen of the jungle. We had a wonderful Halloween night. We trick or treated at the houses of some neighbors we know and had dinner at Buddy's, where all the waitresses oohed and aahed over Callie.


Now Halloween was not the first time Callie showed off her costume. The previous weekend while John was on his way back from Salt Lake City, Sarah and Callie went to a local park for a harvest festival. It was a really cool event where we got to play games and trick or treat along a trail through the woods.






You can see from the last two pictures that Sarah took every opportunity to photograph Callie in her costume. Unfortunately we did not capture Callie as a lion at her daycare Halloween party where she and four of her tiny classmates sat around a table and celebrated the day by eating fruit and whipped cream. It was so cute to see a little Scooby Doo, two princesses, a devil, and our little lion enjoying their time together. In fact, Callie was having such a good time she was sweating too much and Miss Donna had to take the hood off her head for a bit.


October isn't complete without a trip to the local pumpkin patch. We visited the same orchard we went to last year when Callie was only three weeks old. We must admit that it was a totally different experience this year. Callie was so into riding in the wagon, playing with the pumpkins, and just looking at all the people. Here we see John and Callie heading to select our pumpkins.


Of course Callie is walking all over the place these days, so she was also happy to get out of the wagon and stroll through the pumpkins. Unfortunately she had an attraction to the pumpkins that had either started to rot or were damaged in one way or another. Fortunately she is still young enough that we could easily lead her to the ones we liked.


Callie is developing an independent streak and wanted to help out. Some of the pumpkins proved a little too big for her. But that didn't stop her from doing her best to put her arms around each one she saw. We finally found a little one that she could carry all by herself.





Once she had her own little pumpkin it was time to try and get the ultimate picture that would combine cute child with classic autumn setting. At the very least we wanted something different from last year where the pumpkin sat next to a screaming three week old baby.



We are pretty happy with the results. Callie was much happier this time around and was willing to sit on the hay bales and hold her pumpkin. Mission accomplished.


Although Callie had already made the requisite trip to Keeneland's fall meet on her birthday, the family still needed to go for breakfast with the works. Nothing is better than heading to Keeneland at 7am on a Saturday morning for some eggs, biscuits, gravy, and sausage. Oh, and you also get to watch the horses training.






John loves the breakfast, Sarah loves the biscuits and gravy, and Callie absolutely adores the horses. It was so fun to watch Callie's excitement when she would see a horse run by. And a horse ran by about every five seconds, so she was excited most of the time. Pictured here is one of the rare quiet moments of the morning, most likely because her back was to the horses.





Now that we have been in Lexington for over two years, we are definitely getting into a seasonal pattern of sorts. And we also have some favorite spots. Below you see the whole family at a spot where we have often taken pictures of Callie. It's the Bowes clan and the jockeys of Keeneland.



One other thing to point out. The adorable hat that Callie is wearing was a gift from her Great Aunt and Uncle Teri and Ronnie from their trip to Australia. Nothing says love like lugging a gift home from halfway across the world.


We have reached a point at which Callie gets excited when she hears the water running for bathtime. In fact, she does the sign language sign for bath and starts walking toward the bathroom. The downstairs bathroom also has a mirror, and Callie is able to combine two of her great loves. Bath time and looking at herself in the mirror. Here's a perfect example of her love affair with her own image.






Now it's time for yet another video from the vault. It's almost silly for us to remind you that Callie likes ducks. But in case you forgot, she likes ducks alot. In this video you will not only see her playing with her numerous ducks, but you will also see perhaps the coolest duck of them all. Take a peek.




Seriously, have you ever seen a duck that lights up, quacks, and spits water like a fountain? Callie owes her Auntie Lauren big time for this thoughtful and generous gift.

How many duck pictures and duck references could be considered overkill? No one knows for sure, but we are positive we passed that threshold a long time ago. However, we conclude this post with duckie overload, otherwise known as Callie's heaven. Enjoy.




And now we enter the holiday season, which will mean cross country flights in both directions, catching up with friends and relatives, and lots of good food. We can't wait to see you and Callie can't wait to show you all how much she has grown.

Callie's first birthday weekend

Welcome to the post to end all posts. This is a multi-picture/multi-video/multi-media extravaganza that only partially captures the weekend celebrations honoring the arrival of Callie Alexis Bowes on October 3, 2007. So grab a seat, grab a drink, and enjoy.

Although we wanted to keep Callie's first birthday mellow, that was hard to do once Callie's California Aunties got involved. Most people capture the birthday festivities in a single day, but Callie chose to emulate her Auntie Denise by going for the whole weekend. Not quite up to a Denise birthday week, but she's working on it for next year.



You can't tell by Callie's action in this picture, but she was loving all the extra attention from Auntie Alicia and Auntie Lauren. For this photo Callie finally got to wear the onesie that, according to its label, was sized for 0-3 months. Clearly it was perfectly timed to welcome these Kentucky visitors.


Auntie Lauren also brought her daughter Kate, who makes her second appearance in this blog. Kate is now a whopping 6 months old and is cute as could be. Although Kate and Callie officially met three months ago in Monterey, Kate actually seems a bit more interested in Callie this time around. And yes, Callie is wearing a pink tutu in this photo. It was a generous gift from Callie's Great Aunt and Uncle Teri and Ron. She loves wearing it and, as Teri has reminded us, this tutu is sized to fit Callie for years to come.


It was so fun to see Callie and Kate hanging out and starting to play with each other. We see a budding relationship for years to come. And if Sarah and Lauren have anything to do with it, the two might be college roommates 18 years from now. And if John has anything to do with it, their room will be located within the walls of Jonathan Edwards College at Yale. If John is the master by that time, he can keep a close eye on both of them.



The official birthday celebration started Friday morning. The girls (Alicia, Lauren, Sarah, Kate, and the birthday girl) headed off to Alfalfa's for a nice breakfast before they made the pilgrimage to Keeneland Race Track for the opening day of the fall meet. What could be a better celebration for a Kentucky girl? Auntie Alicia insisted on betting on horse number 1, 3, 6, and 10 in every race. The number one for Callie's age, the number 3 for Callie's birth date, the number 6 for Kate's age in months, and the number 10 for Callie's birth month. You can imagine that when you bet on half of the horses you almost always win. We are still not sure how much money Alicia spent and if she came out ahead. But it was fun to win every race.


The next day we continued the festivities with a trip to Reed Valley Orchard where they were having their fall festival. We had a great time enjoying the wonderful weather, the bluegrass music, and good company. When we headed to the petting zoo it was quite obvious that we had the LA girls with us. Alicia kept taking pictures with her and the animals and texting them to her friends and family back in California.


After the petting zoo we headed to the apple orchard. Reed Valley has a vast array of apple trees and it was almost too hard to figure out where to start. From the picture below you can see that Callie not only enjoyed picking a couple of apples but also found herself drawn to the Fuji apples in particular.





She has become very independent over the last month and insists on holding her own apple. It's pretty fun to see.


Here is the birthday family at Reed Valley. John missed out on Keeneland because he was teaching, but we all were there for the apple picking. Now we just need to get Callie to realize how important it is for everyone in the family to look at the camera when we are attempting to capture a family photo. We should also note that this marked our fourth trip to Reed Valley since spring. We have now successfully picked raspberries, blueberries, peaches, and apples. Hopefully we will go back in a couple of weeks for pumpkins. We do love our Reed Valley.



Phase 3 of the birthday extravaganza started with very patient parents. This was our first time organizing a birthday, and our scheduling left much to be desired, especially since the party was due to start at a time when all the kids were supposed to eat. Here we see Callie, Kate, and Iain in various parts of the living room eating their meals so the true fun could begin. It almost looks like a how-to brochure that shows parents the various approaches to feeding your child. Intriguing.

Now we enter the interactive portion of our blog. At the risk of repeating ourselves, Callie likes ducks. Really likes ducks. So it was only fitting that she had the opportunity to play with a duck pinata on her birthday. Hopefully you will enjoy the following video as much as Callie enjoyed hitting that pinata with a wooden spoon.




For the record, no candy was in the pinata, and no ducks were hurt in the filming of the above video. It is also important to note that all of the children had their chance to hit the empty pinata. To show that no one had any hard feelings when all was said and done, the duck pinata chose to pose for this picture with all three children.




As you probably noticed, Charles, Fiona, and Iain joined in this phase of the birthday celebration. Iain is now 5 months old and really enjoyed being with the two older ladies. He's not a completely smooth operator at this moment, but he is working on it.


What is a birthday celebration without singing and cake? Well we figured that it just doesn't count as a birthday party unless those elements are there. Of course this does not mean that the cake was selected and ready to go days beforehand. No, the selection of the cake involved multiple trips to various bakeries and stores in the greater Lexington area. There were also some philosophical differences within the selection committee. Alicia pushed for the Barbie cake, Lauren thought a football cake would do, and Sarah was just mad at herself for pre-planning. John loves Alicia but is very glad she did not win this round. So enjoy Callie's first real encounter with fire, cake, sugary icing, and the paparazzi.





Just in case that video was not enough, here are three still photos that capture the various phases of operation destroy green cupcake.








Now we enter the final phase of this post. It is known as the we cannot thank our friends and relatives enough for their generosity towards our little girl.


Callie received quite a few cards which, as you can see, she enjoyed immensely. And yes, we made sure she opened the card first if it was accompanied by a present. However she seemed to really enjoy the cards. We had to remind her at times that no one had sent an edible card and therefore it was unnecessary to chew them. And if you ever doubt us when we say she gets excited about these things, this picture should remove that from your mind.



Callie definitely enjoyed and appreciated the numerous gifts sent her way from all across the country. She is still trying to understand the difference between the actual gift and the paper the gift was wrapped in, but we are sure that time will come. Every morning when she heads to her little play area she now has a wide selection of toys from which to choose. She does not know yet just how lucky she and her parents are to have such wonderful people in their lives.


This last picture highlights one of Callie's gifts from her Auntie Denise and it officially welcomes her and Kate into the girls' night out club. Although both little girls are a couple of decades away from those nights out, we can only hope that Callie and Kate are able to have the good fortune of friends like their parents have. We think they are off to good start.





So that's the whole shebang, or at least all that we are capable of doing at the moment. Callie has her one-year doctor's appointment on November 6th and we will provide a full report of all her statistics, abilities, and skills shortly thereafter. We hope everyone is well and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible during the holiday season.

One week to go

Let me set the scene for you. It's been a long week and I finally finished grading over one hundred papers so I could start grading exams. I'm sitting on the couch as I hear the back door open. Sarah comes rushing into the room, shouting, "Quick! Grab the camera! Callie just ate her first piece of dirt!" Which answers your question of, is that chocolate on her mouth? No, no it is not.



On the positive side, it appears that she does not mind getting a little dirty. By next summer we hope that she will take over the responsibility of weeding our flowerbeds. She certainly couldn't do a worse job than we have done.

But enough about eating dirt. We have another post because so much has been going on and we need to get these pictures up before October 3rd arrives. That's right, Callie Alexis is turning 1 on Friday. But first things first.


Here we see two dads of the 21st century with their little girls. Nothing accessorizes a man's outfit like a baby bjorn and a baby. John and Callie are standing next to John's cousin Dan and Dan's daughter Lucy. We were up in northern Indiana for the weekend, checking out the Trail of Courage Festival and hanging out with the Peltier clan.






There were a variety of intriguing things to do at the festival. Instead of entering Callie in the tomohawk throwing contest or having her show her skills at the musket firing range, Sarah decided the time was right for Callie's first official craft. And what a perfect setting to be able to do it with her cousin Lucy. Nothing says the perfect first craft for babies like hot wax, a sharp stick, and a little movement. We are happy to report that no one was hurt in the making of the candle.


So here is a picture of Dan, Lucy, and Carrie Peltier. Lucy was born on June 19 and is a very sophisticated young girl. Some impressive statistics include the following: she had her own facebook page before she left the hospital, was born in Illinois, moved to Indiana at 3 weeks, and has just moved to Kansas as we write this. This wild and wooly journey will end with a final move to Minneapolis in November. She is clearly the darling of the Midwest. Her parents are darling as well, just so you know.



We spent Saturday night in South Bend with John's Uncle Charlie and Aunt Mary Gay. Mary Gay not only made us a phenomenal dinner, but she also pulled together some pancakes the next morning. She allowed Callie to take part in the pancake process. It is not completely clear how helpful Callie was, but she enjoyed getting to spend some time with her great/Great Aunt.





Finally we have a picture of Callie with Charlie and the dog of the house, Debbie. As noted in previous posts, Callie loves dogs. If you click on the picture so it is bigger, you can see the huge smile on her face. However, Callie's love affair with Debbie took its toll. Quite simply, Debbie would walk over to Callie and lick her entire head. On the one hand, Callie enjoyed every minute of it. On the other hand, she smelled like dog breath for the entire ride home. We say it was completely worth it and Callie enjoyed it far more than she actually enjoys a real bath.

So there you have it. The final post while Callie's age is still counted only in months. Unless, of course, she eats something interesting in the next couple of days and we get a picture of it.

Too Good to Wait For

Usually we give an update once a month on what Callie is doing. It gives us the time to build up a good collection of pictures and stories. And we don't exactly have the time to update more frequently. But there comes a time when you just have to share a few things, or in other words, boast shamelessly about your child.

We start with another video. We have titled it "Brilliance", but we can also see how one might title it, "Early Uber Organizer". Either one works.



Tonight we were looking to have our dinner without having to get up every second to run after Callie. We decided to combine the high chair with some of Callie's favorite kitchen supplies. Who doesn't like colorful little bowls? Twenty minutes later, we were no longer hungry and Callie had stacked and restacked those little bowls over and over again. In fact we had to pull her away from them so we could put her to sleep. We'll keep you updated on what else she likes to stack. We are hoping this skill will allow her to reorganize either the basement or our linen closet.

Next we have a brief picture interlude. Callie has always enjoyed her stuffed animals, that's for sure. But now she has discovered the pure joy that comes from sitting in a big basket surrounded by them. It doesn't get much better.



We are also happy to point out Callie's name puzzle we got at an art fair in Berea this summer. In any case, Callie loves spending time in her room with her animals and books.

Last, but not least, another video contribution. Our next door neighbors, Sharon and Chris Chrisman, have been very good to us, and to Callie. We have enjoyed spending time with them and they are certainly one of the reasons why we like Lexington. But we digress a little bit. We mention this because in the video below, Callie is sitting on Chris's lap as she goes for her first taste of ice cream.




Who knows when she will develop a taste for ice cream. If she knew just how good Graeters ice cream is, she would definitely change her mind. So there you have it. Just a quick little update. Summer ends this weekend and fall is in the air. It is the best season of the year, don't you think? Until next time...

Steppin' Into the Fall

It is hard to believe that in less than a month fall will be here and Callie will be one year old. We will finally be able to calculate her age in years and not just months. Everyone told us that this year would go by fast, and boy were they right. We have truly enjoyed watching Callie grow and develop into an adorable little girl. With only five teeth and some wisps of longer hair here and there, she can sometimes look a little crazy - but she's still adorable to us.

But we start this post with one of the more exciting developments of the past year. She may not be able to talk the talk yet, but Callie is on her way to walking the walk. (And sometimes faceplanting the face) The following video provides proof of her latest accomplishment.



Not too shabby. And we are sure that if we could just get her to stop focusing on the ducks all the time she could be an even better walker. But time will tell.

Most of the pictures that follow come from our Labor Day trip to New England. As usual, we managed to pack quite a bit of excitement into a mere five days, including a visit to Lexington, MA, a trip to a medical clinic in Guilford, CT, a vacation in West Yarmouth, MA, and of course time in Madison, CT. Why don't we start in Lexington, MA.



Here is a picture of the Bowes family enjoying a wonderful breakfast with the Basak clan. Pictured around the breakfast table, starting at the left, are Maya, Anjin, Amit, Sachin, Una, Callie, and Sarah. It is tough to find the words to describe how much fun we had. Amit and John have been good friends since freshman year of college, and it has been too long since we have all gotten together. We enjoyed some good food, good fun, and good political discussions once the kids were asleep.


It was so much fun to see Callie interacting with the boys and Maya. She could not get enough of them and all the Basak kids were so good to her and gladly shared their toys. Now we just need to make sure that we see these folks more often. As with everyone, we are trying to lure them to Kentucky with talk of horse racing and bourbon.



Next we took a drive down I-95 to hang out with the fine folks in Guilford and Madison. Callie slept the whole drive just to make sure she was ready to play with her cousins.


Pictured here is Callie showing off her stair climbing abilities. Captain Caution, a.k.a. her father, stands ready to prevent any mishaps, while Brendan enjoys the fact that there is another wild child in the family. One can only imagine what will happen as Callie gets even more mobile. Keep an eye on those two.




Callie spent her first weekend away from her parents. Although this was extremely hard for her Mom in particular, she was well cared for by Nana Taffy, Grandpa Jay, Aunt Katie, Uncle Chris, and the two fine gentlemen pictured with her here.





As mentioned above, this was the first weekend away, and Callie decided to add a little drama to the mix by running a high fever, which obviously stressed out her parents and forced a trip to the Yale Medical Center conveniently located in Guilford. Two great results from this visit were the green light that Callie was just fine, and second, Callie received a stuffed animal now known as Barry the Magical Flying Octopus. Although Callie can't talk, he is sure this is what she wanted to name it.


Next stop on the tour was the Green Harbor Resort in West Yarmouth, MA. For the third year in a row, there was a gathering on the Cape of five couples. All the guys are friends dating back to elementary school. All are now married, as of October 22 all will be parents, and all are living far apart. Seattle, Pasadena, Lexington, New Haven, and Fairfield were all represented. Needless to say, it was a fun time. And when we returned from the Cape some of us got together at the Surf Club to get the little ones together.




The above picture shows four of the next generation. On the left, Jackson McBean holds onto his beautiful sister Hayden. Callie sits in the middle, trying to take it all in, and Wheeler Dowling sits for a brief second before he goes running after his ball. That boy has some serious energy. And if you have seen pictures of Ted, there is no doubt that the two are related.


Here is John and Callie with the McBean family. This is certainly a playdate we could get used to. We just have to figure out a way to live closer to each other. It will happen eventually. Just a quick note - you may notice that John's hair is pretty short. Let this be a warning to all. Never use hair clippers before you have had your morning coffee. Seriously. And always check those clippers twice before putting them to your head. Oh, and if you happen to make these mistakes, best not to do it while your daughter is napping. When she wakes up she might be confused about who you are.


But enough about that. Let's throw in one final picture before we end this post. Callie has been eating a variety of pureed foods for a while now, and Sarah has been great about keeping up with the ravenous appetite of Callie. She is making food like nobody's business. In any case, the next step is get Callie to feed herself. She eats Cheerios by herself, but is it time to go to the next level?




This picture would appear to tell us that the time is not quite right for Callie to be in complete control of her food intake. But if she can absorb nutrients through her skin, maybe she's on the right track.

All in all, things are going well. We are making plans for the fall as time continues to fly by. Stay tuned - if the University of Kentucky football time keeps playing well Callie might get another opportunity this year to appear on College Gameday. Come on CATS!