Babies, Kites, and Bunnies

Welcome to spring and another fun-filled blog post. About three weeks ago Elizabeth Ann Gipe, better known as Libby, arrived in this world. She is the daughter of Sarah and Alex Gipe and the granddaughter of our neighbors, Chris and Sharon Chrisman. It is amazing to see a newborn. It seems like forever since Callie was that size. Everyone told us time would fly by, and we didn't believe it. Pictured below we see Callie, Sharon, and Chris looking adoringly at Libby.





It was so fun to watch Callie say "baby" over and over while looking at Libby. Meanwhile Callie's parents were saying "gentle" over and over. It was quite a scene.

Here is a picture of the happy family. Of course, if you look closely, Alex and Sarah look happy, while Libby is less than pleased with the situation. But we can guarantee that many nights the smiles you see here aren't so bright when Libby is exercising her lungs. In any case, they are a very cute family and it's been fun hanging out with little Libby and her parents.


This year we were able to make it to the Kite Festival at Jacobsen Park. The weather was beautiful and it was a blast. To be honest, we weren't really sure what to expect, but as you can see from this picture there were quite a few kites in the sky. And this picture definitely doesn't do the whole scene justice. Callie loved looking all around at the colorful kites.




We met up with Fiona, Charles, and Iain at the festival. Charles had prepared ahead of time by researching how to make your own kite. One piece of paper, a staple, and some string tied to a toothpick were all he needed to make it happen. It was quite impressive. Here, Callie and Sarah fly Charles' kite. Callie was quite pleased with the results.


We also met up with our friends Zac, Claire, and Niah. Niah is only a couple of months older than Callie, so we had three little ones all less than a year apart enjoying the kites. Pictured below are the three kids with their moms. The dads were manning the kite, holding the sippy-cups, and taking the pictures. All in a days work.




The kite festival was on Saturday and the next day was Easter. This year, Easter was a lot of fun because Callie enjoyed a number of different Easter egg hunts. The first occurred at church, which was fun, but not very picturesque. Fortunately for us, Callie was more than happy to have multiple reenactments in our backyard.


While John played with Callie inside, Sarah hid the eggs outside. Then we let the experienced egg hunter loose. She very much enjoyed picking each egg up and placing it in her cute blue bag with the duck on it. Then when she got all the eggs she promptly dumped them out.




As you can imagine, this provided a great deal of entertainment for Callie and her parents. It is possible we could have done this all day long. But we had to get ready for Easter lunch at the Chrismans.




Take a moment and go back to our blog post from last Easter. You will see a picture of Callie very similar to the one below. Similar in that she has on bunny ears and is holding a stuffed pink bunny. But wow, does she look different! It is crazy how much a year can change a kid. She is not a baby anymore.





Another important part of Callie's Easter experience this year revolved around sweets. Thanks to Nana Taffy and Grandpa Jay, Callie had the opportunity to sample a jellybean. Unfortunately, we do not have a video of that moment, so we will have to try and provide a brief description. Just keep in mind, up to this point Callie has had no candy and has only had ice cream or cake a few times. The moment that jellybean hit her taste buds she was overcome with joy. She started stomping her feet, clapping her hands, and yelling, "Yeah!" We were quite happy that we had already hidden the bag of the other jellybeans or it was going to be a game of tug of war.

In any case, the jellybean was not the last of it. As a special treat we decided to get Callie her own Easter cookie. It was a big cookie, but Callie was not intimidated. Sarah has titled the below picture, "Cookie Love".





After Callie had a few bites of her cookie and the rest of us had eaten dinner, it was time to relax and hang out in the living room. We could chat, watch the Masters, and watch Callie make the social rounds.


But Callie definitely thought Libby was the most intriguing person in the room. She wanted to look at her, touch her, and talk to her. Sarah Gipe was very kind in letting Callie have some time to bond with the little baby. It's pretty cute to see Callie looking intently at Libby.


But before we all get too caught up in the cute factor, we need to remember the rambunctious and crazy girl that resides within this 18-month-old body. I don't think we need to say anymore than that the title of the below video is "Jail Bunny". Enjoy.




We are definitely looking forward to many more sun filled days as summer approaches. And it's going to be a fun couple of months ahead as we catch up with both sides of our family. Visitors are on their way and we will be heading to California and Connecticut. Although this means more airport time, being able to see our family makes it all worth it.