A long awaited post...

Clearly we have had some trouble getting pictures up on the blog. Indeed, it is unclear if anyone ever really checks it anymore because they don't believe we will ever put up a picture again. Well here I am to say that we are back. For the first time, this is a solo post. I, John, am sitting at home watching the Oscars while Sarah and Callie are in California having fun with all the California aunties. Truth be told, fun apparently has not been the order of the weekend, since everyone has somehow caught what has been dubbed, "the Kentucky Plague" that I gave to Sarah and she has passed along to the Hermosa Beach Crew. If any of them will ever want to see me again I hope to be able to make up for the chain reaction of illness I set off.

In any case, the true focus needs to get back to Callie. I am sure most of you have been wondering what she looks like and what she has been up to. Hopefully the below photo array will help slake your thirst for all things Callie.


We start with a classic pose. Callie is nothing if not graceful. This is a move she is looking to incorporate into a future beam routine. Unfortunately, the beam will have to wait for the whole balance part of her development to work out. She may be graceful, but she has yet to stand independently. No rush I guess.





Callie knows that accessories make the young girl, and nothing screams accessory like a good hat. At the same time, Callie is a mellow child, and nothing says mellow like some good reggae music and a good rasta hat. She wears it well, don't you think?





Callie does enjoy a good bath every now and then. Here you can get a sense of how she relaxes as she is pampered through and through. She has yet to understand the joy of a splashing while in the bath, that is sure to change in the not too distant future.






What's that, you say? Something other than breast milk? Could it be? Here we have photographic evidence of Callie's first rice cereal adventure. It gives you a sense of how delicate the young digestive system must be if rice cereal has to wait until about 4 months of age. I mean rice cereal does not seem to have any substance. And yet it has seemed to help her sleep a little longer during the night. So I have no reason to criticize it.


In a scary sign of the future, Callie's daycare had a Valentine's Day party. Nothing like having to get little cards for infants. Sarah had a great time writing phrases like, "Can't wait to see you by the swings later," and so on. Much to my surprise, this card exchange really did occur. Here Callie tries to gnaw on her favorite card. I'm still coming to grips with the whole experience. I had to run to the store at 8pm at night to get Valentine's Day cards for 6 month old children. Wow.


This picture illustrates a current problem of ours. Callie has a wonderful smile. It is one of the greatest parts of my day to see her smile. And since she smiles often I have a lot of great moments. Interestingly enough, the smile tends to disappear when the camera comes around. We think the flash gives her a bit of a deer in the headlights look. This picture is exhibit A. Another cute outfit, by the way. She definitely wears stripes well.


Tummy time is seen as an important thing. One way to fight the bald spot on the back of the head that comes from so much time on the back, I guess. And it should theoretically encourage some time of crawling or perhaps rolling over. No such luck so far. Callie has become a bit more content with tummy time, but rolling over has only happened twice accidentally. And I am convinced she will walk before she crawls. She seems to enjoy being on her foot more than anything. I guess time will tell.


What do you think is going through her mind here? That is truly the most important question. These exersaucer contraptions of craziness are something to behold. We are so thankful to our friends Stephen and Lynda who were generous enough to lend us this and other fine toys. But wow, Callie is just sitting there wondering what to do with it all. Which button provides the rice cereal?


And we end with a picture that I think is absolutely adorable. I miss these two so much at the moment and can't wait to get them back to Lexington.





Oops, forgot a thing or two. Just some basic stats from Callie's latest doctor's appointment. 12 lbs 4 oz and 25 1/4 inches. That is correct, she is maintaining the Bowes body type with the 85th percentile in height and 20th in weight. And I really don't think the rice cereal is going to alter that too much. It won't be until the Cheerios start entering the diet. Then we will see the ratio shift a bit. Until next time...