Spring has sprung!

We are barely on track to make an entry a month. Looks like this one is coming in just under the wire. Hopefully spring has arrived in your locale. We did have some snow flurries today, but it does appear that spring is on the doorstep. The birds are chirping, the daffodils are blooming, and Callie is making some crazy faces. Wouldn't you love to know what is going through her mind in the picture below?




Tough not to start out with that picture. But we have a whole host of pictures to show how much our little monster is developing. Seems like something new happens every day.


This photo is courtesy of Sarah "Ansel Adams" Bowes. Notice the use of shade and light to capture the wonder of a little girl looking at the snow falling outside her back door. And yes, Callie is standing up and holding herself up by grabbing the door frame. Pretty crazy.







This should give you some idea of what Callie was looking at in the previous picture. About 5 inches fell in Lexington a few weeks ago. John dutifully shoveled the driveway, because anyone who grows up in New England knows you have to shovel it quick before the snow can turn to packed ice and make your life miserable. If he had grown up in Lexington he would have known there was no need to shovel because it would all melt in a couple of days. All the neighbors knew this. Interesting.




Two weeks ago we drove to Dublin, Virginia to hang out with some friends at a state park. Three couples and four kids ages five months to 4 years. Definitely a different kind of vacation. This picture shows Callie and her new friend, Ella Skonieczny. Ella was a big help all weekend and she did everything she could to make Callie's visit fun.






And now for an incredibly important picture. This is an action shot of John and his friend Mike playing a board game called Pro Conference Football. It came out in the 1970s and the two of them used to play it for hours on end when they were kids. It has been twenty years and they still have the same passion. Sarah was a bit frightened at this glimpse into John's childhood. John, on the other hand, was bummed that he and Mike were only allowed to play one game.




You might be asking yourself, why a picture of food? Well, Callie is starting to eat solids, and her tastes are moving beyond the simple rice cereal we started with last month. Pictured here is the vast array of delectable foods that will be pureed for her culinary pleasure. Sarah is on the ball with this and is doing a fantastic job making sure Callie is eating well. Soon she will be eating far more veggies than her parents.



Everyone needs to pitch in if the household is going to work like a well oiled machine. And you are never to young to start.



Unfortunately, Callie has yet to learn to fold properly. The creases aren't perfect. So we just have her sit in the basket and hand us the clothes. Okay, so she can't do that either. But seriously, how do you not include a picture like this. We are so unbelievably biased, but her cuteness is dangerous.


Although Callie has grown quite a bit in the past five months, there is still some room for improvement. So far she has only made it to John's knee. We are hoping for big things in the near future and are tempted to sit her down in front of the NCAA Women's basketball games so that she can get a sense of how big she can grow if she eats all of the veggies Sarah purees for her. It's worth a try.





Who's that cute kid in the bunny ears? This past Easter Sunday we were fortunate to be invited to lunch at our neighbors. Both Sarah and Callie were dressed for the occasion and we were able to take the first of many Easter-mother-daughter pictures. They make quite a couple.



We end with another picture of Callie in bunny ears. Again, the cuteness is dangerous. What is also cool here is that she is sitting up on her own. That is another recent development. Although every once in a while she tumbles over and makes a thumping noise, we think she should move beyond that pretty soon.




So from all of us here in Lexington we hope you have a wonderful spring. In just about a week the horses start racing at Keeneland, which means the Derby is right around the corner. You can smell the excitement in the air...it's mixed in with the bourbon. Hope to see many of you this summer!