Callie by the numbers

A third update in less than a week?!?! What is happening? Well, there have been a few other developments that we wanted to talk about before too much time has passed. But first, here is a picture of Callie taken just a few days ago at Fiona and Charles' house.



This is a cute picture of a big noggin. And that is only fitting, because Callie had her 9 month appointment on her return from California. Here's a quick look at the numbers. Speaking of a big noggin, Callie's is in the 90th percentile at 46cm. That melon is propped up by 28 3/8 inches of body, which places her in the 73rd percentile. The only question is what is in that head, because her weight is a whopping 15 lbs and 12 oz, which places her in the 7th percentile. From a distance she is starting to resemble the letter "i" in appearance.


Clearly, though, the grey matter in her brain is working overtime, because just this past week she has started to demonstrate some sign language skills. She is using the sign for "milk" at appropriate meal times. We are extremely impressed with her new skill and excited for more signs to come.




Another big transition for Callie is her new play corner in the den. We finally switched out the pack and play/diaper changing station and put together an area that holds some of her favorite things. It's been fun to watch her sit and entertain herself with blocks, books, and other assorted toys.

The summer is still young, so more good times are ahead. Hopefully we will continue to be good about posting updates. Take care and always wear sunscreen - especially if you are fair skinned like Callie and her dad.

Trip to California Part II - It is all about the family

Hello again! Clearly it took us a while to get to the second post...the Graeter's ice cream was just that good. And away we go on the second portion of our California trip. Most of our travels revolve around family, and this trip was no exception. It continues to be important to us to have Callie know her amazing relatives on both coasts and everywhere in between.

Grammy Gayle could not wait to get her hands on her granddaughter after not seeing her for almost five months. So it is fitting that we begin with a picture of the two of them and Sarah. Or as Sarah labeled the picture, "three feisty women".




Grammy Gayle is very happy that Callie is showing signs of feistiness - perhaps Sarah will soon understand what it is like to raise a daughter with some spunk, as they say.


Feistiness is not the only possible hereditary link here. If Callie takes after her mother and grandmother, a love of candy will also be a factor. Here Callie reveals her potential sweet tooth in a candy shop in Old Town Sacramento. John had to stand outside the shop with the stroller while this was going on. "Old Man Bowes", as he has been called, is no fun in the candy department.






Although Uncle Zac has been busy traveling all over California for work, buying his first house, and starting renovations on said house, he certainly made time for his niece. The two of them were joined at the hip whenever he was around, and Callie loved every minute of it. Here he is reading her a story before bedtime.





We also got a chance to hang out with the Nice family in La Selva. For the non-locals, that is a cute community outside of Santa Cruz. We had a blast hanging out on their patio, catching up with all the latest news, and eating some good bbq. Callie enjoyed not only hanging out with her cousin Sophia and Great Aunt Isabel, but also could not get enough of Louie and Dusty, the two dogs. As you can see here, she just had to hug the dogs and love on them. If this is more than just a phase, we will either have to get a dog or convince our neighbors to get one.




This next picture is of Callie and her cousin Brian. She did her best to impress Brian by wearing her pink Vans. Hopefully one day Brian will think she is cool enough to take down to the beach and teach her how to surf. First she'll have to learn how to walk. But it's always fun to look ahead.



Callie is no longer the youngest cousin in the bunch. All three of us were lucky enough to meet Brady Anthony Lucas, pictured here in the arms of his dad, Tyler. We must admit not only is he adorable, but seems to be a very well behaved young lad. This probably is due to the fact that his parents, Tyler and Sara, seem so comfortable in their new roles. Sometimes, though, Sarah [Bowes] has to do a double take when she realizes that Tyler is both married and a dad. Clearly he is not her "little cousin" anymore. One thing that this visit highlighted is how much fun the holidays are going to be in the years ahead when we all get together.


For those of you long time readers, we finally managed to capture Great Aunt Teri and Callie together on camera. Although it was difficult to tear her away from her new grandson, Teri was happy to get the chance to talk to Callie about all the latest news. Callie doesn't have the manual dexterity to start quilting just yet, but when she's ready she'll know who to talk to.





Tyler and Sara weren't the only ones introducing new family members to the crowd. Haley and Ryan also have started a family and introduced Ziggy, their new goldendoodle, to everyone. Ziggy was also very cute and Callie spent the afternoon wrestling with her. Both little ones seemed to have no fear, and Ziggy was fortunate that Callie's teeth haven't grown in just yet.


We have saved the best picture for last. Great Grandma Lucas was in seventh heaven surrounded by all her family. But she was especially excited to have her three great grandchildren around her. She is Callie's only living great grandparent, and the two of them love spending time with each other.




We can't wait to see everyone again at Christmas time. Family is so important and the time always seems to go by so fast. See you soon!

Trip to California Part I - Monterey

Here we are...the first of a two part report on our trip to California at the end of June through early July. So much happened on the trip and we saw so many people that it is going to take the two posts to tell all about it. We begin with the first part of our journey - the six days we spent in Monterey. By the way, there are 17 pictures in this one, so make sure you are well fed and hydrated before you sit down to read.


As many of you already know, Katherine Elyse Perrone was born on March 18, 2008 to her proud parents, Lauren and JP. It took a little over for three months for Kate and Callie to meet, but they finally did. And from the way that Callie cried every time she was separated from Kate, it looks like there might be a lifetime of friendship here.



So we did everything we could in the short time they were together to keep them next to each other. Here Lauren manages the two little ones. It really was incredible how much Callie was into Kate. She certainly likes other babies, but not quite in the same way.




We (and by we I mean Sarah and Lauren) also managed to do a photo shoot of the two young ladies in their swim wear. Due to the forest fires in California and the ashy skies, this shoot took place inside. Nevertheless, the results were fantastic. Both Callie and Kate are very photogenic.



Making an unannounced and quick visit was Callie's Auntie Gretchen. She arrived on Saturday afternoon and left early Sunday morning for a flight to the East Coast. But Callie loved every second she got to spend with her and can't wait for her next trip to Kentucky.







We were lucky enough to get a good number of Callie's other California aunties together while we were out there. It was definitely a full house and we had a great time. We went to Cannery Row, enjoyed a bottle of wine or two, and watched Denise's stand up comedy routine once or twice. Keep an eye out for her at a comedy club near you.



All in all, it was great having everyone there. Of course, the days passed too quickly and it was soon time for most of the crew to head back to Los Angeles. But before everyone left, we had a few more visitors.


Pictured here are three generations of Yee women. Lauren's parents took the opportunity to drive down to Monterey and say hello. Since Sarah and Lauren were college roommates and have known each other for seventeen years, it was a great opportunity for the Yees to meet Callie as well.




As all grandparents can imagine, Grandpa Dan enjoyed every moment he could with Callie. He hadn't seen her since she was three weeks old. And now that she is a whopping nine months, she is very different. She is crawling, making lots of noises, and loves to play.



As Grandpa Dan also found out, she also loves to read books. No Herman Melville quite yet, but she definitely likes to sit down in an easy chair and have a good book read to her. It was so great to see the two of them together and Callie can't wait to hang out with her grandpa again.




We also got some time to just hang out as a family. One of Callie's newfound joys is pictured here. Although she cannot walk yet she is beginning to train to be a fencer. We are starting with straws and working our way up from there. In just a few years she will be ready to learn the real basics from her Uncle Chris.




It was amazing to be able to take Callie to the Monterey Bay Aquarium since Sarah went there when it first opened. It is such a wonderful place and they have so many things for little kids to do and learn about sea life. In one interactive room, Callie and John used different shaped blocks to learn about what different sea animals like whales and dolphins like to eat. Please note that these animals do not in fact eat blocks. Just a learning tool for the kids. We try to be educational as much as possible.



But there is more than just one interactive room. That's just how good this aquarium is. Here we see Sarah dressed up as a sea horse while Callie is dressed up as a clown fish. It is going to be so much fun to take Callie here as she gets older.






How is everyone doing so far? You hungry? Thirsty? We are over halfway through this first post, and we are a bit tired. But once we finish typing it is a reward of Graeter's mint chocolate chip ice cream. Trust us, it is worth every typed word.



Although we didn't get out to the beach a ton, we were able to take a walk along the seashore. This picture is hopefully one of many we will take in Monterey over the years. At this point, Callie hasn't realized how many times she will have to put up with the "this is where we got married" stories. You can just see the innocence in her eyes at this point. Poor girl.



We also got the opportunity to visit Sarah's cousins Heath, Ola, and Bella. Not only did we get together one night for happy hour, but we also took a fun road trip to Roaring Camp in Felton, CA to take a steam train through the redwoods. This first picture shows the two dads trying to assert control of their daughters before the train had even started. Good luck with that.



The train ride was a lot of fun and even though we claimed to be doing it for Callie, she had no real clue of what was going on. She did like the breeze in her hair, and we were fortunate that the random spider/wasp/or other stingy thing chose to bite John and not her. We chose not to include pictures of John's slightly swollen right ear. Seriously, it hurt!




This picture shows the growing Rocha family - Heath, Bella, and Ola from left to right. There is another baby due to arrive in December. This time a boy will be joining the family, and it looks like someone will finally snatch up the name Lucas. Sorry, Haley.




Any good family attraction has a gift shop, and Roaring Camp is no different. Sarah couldn't pass up getting Callie a little engineer hat. As you can see, she is absolutely adorable in it.





And we end this post with one more family photo. In this picture we see John, Sarah, and Callie the train engineer. Just so you know, there was another picture with Callie facing the camera and a train going by in the background. Apparently, however, it did not show off the engineer hat well enough. Just thought you would like to know.



We should also note before we end that all of the above was made possible by the generosity of Sarah's Aunt Teri and Uncle Ron. Without them we would have been staying in a tent in the park where we got married. And we would not have looked so good in many of the pictures.


Wow. Are you still with us? Impressive. On to California post number two.