The Leaves They Are A Changin'

It has been a beautiful fall in Kentucky. All the rain over the summer and some rain over the past months has led to a bright array of colors all over Lexington. But as you well know, we are not the types to just sit around and look at the pretty colors. We tend to be on the go. And it all starts with our enjoyment of orchards.


We begin at Evans Orchard, where Callie had a play date with one of her favorite friends Iain. It is really cool to think that they have literally grown up side by side. And it gets better every day. Callie looks forward to seeing him, she says his name as we get close to their house, and always has to give him a hug/squeeze. It's still unclear if Iain appreciates the squeezing part, but he'll learn soon enough.


The play date entailed quite a few activities. First we picked some apples and then we took a rest while enjoying apple slushies and apple fritters.(It was probably more sugar in one sitting than Callie has had in the past three months combined) Then we moved on to picking pumpkins.




Callie and Iain loved the wagon ride to the field full of pumpkins. But the ride was even better once they had a few pumpkins in the wagon with them.


Because you can never have too many pumpkins, the search continued. Callie generously tried to give this small pumpkin to Iain. Unfortunately she dropped it at his feet before he even had a chance to grab it. They just have to work on their timing and their passing game. It will come with practice, and because we live down the street from Coach Calipari we figure he can give Callie some pointers once the basketball season is over and he has some time on his hands.


So did we mention that Callie likes pumpkins? She really enjoyed just climbing all over the piles of pumpkins the folks at Evans Orchard had on display.



This was also a lot of fun because it marked the first time Callie was willing to turn around and say cheese for her paparazzi mama. You would think that she would have learned this lesson a long time ago. But better late than never.


Iain also had a good time climbing on the pumpkins. His mother also happens to have a love affair with the camera, so he is used to the constant flashes and the snapping sounds of the camera in action. But it was also starting to get a bit late, and we all realized the time may have come to wrap things up at the Orchard.





But there was time for one last photo of the group involved in the excursion. All in all it was a fabulous day. It's a bit sad to think that the season for orchards is now behind us. And it will be another seven months or so before we get to go to Reed Valley Orchard to pick some fresh blueberries.





Of course October ends with a very special day. It's a day where parents of young children get to dress up their little tykes in the cutest outfits they can find. Then they use those cute kids to collect tons of Halloween candy that they will not be allowed to eat. This should be the perfect formula for the parents to obtain a variety of tasty treats for the next month. Therefore, we present to you this year's cute little tyke - Callie doggie. That, in fact, is how she referred to herself while wearing this outfit.




Unfortunately, the formula for candy collection was not bulletproof. Although we enjoyed a couple of festivities where Callie got to dress up, the night of our big score (Halloween), Callie got a slight fever and we felt guilty using her as a pawn. So we stayed in and now will never know if Coach Calipari and his family were giving away good stuff or just apples. Hopefully next year the plan will come together. The only problem is she might be old enough to catch on to our scheme.


We have often talked about how much we love our neighbors the Chrismans. One of the many reasons for this is the opportunity for impromptu activities right across the driveway. In this picture we see Callie learning how to make creme brulee with Sharon. This is obviously something she would not have learned from her mother or father, so it's good that she has other people to turn to for such domestic guidance. However we must point out that Sharon's creme brulee contains Amaretto, which explains the bottle in the foreground of the picture.



Another great thing about Sharon is that she not only teaches Callie how to make fancy desserts, but also believes it is equally important to teach Callie to clean up the mess that has been made in the process. And of course, Callie is far more willing to take such instructions from Sharon than from her parents.





But Callie doesn't only like to help Sharon. She also has a soft spot for Chris and was very excited to help rake leaves in their backyard. This is only fitting since Chris and Sharon gave her a small rake and broom for her birthday. Based on the amount of raking that needs to be done in our yard this time of year, we can't wait until both Callie and her rake are bigger so that she can pull her weight around here.



It's hard to believe it is November and we have already dealt with one major fall holiday. Next up is Thanksgiving in California, and you can be sure there will be plenty of pictures to share from that trip. Then before you know it Christmas will be here and we will all be in Connecticut. But we won't just be celebrating Christmas with the Bowes family. We will also be raising our glasses to toast the recent engagement of Suzy and Brian! So many things to look forward to...

Callie's Second Year Evaluation

Well, we did the fun part. We celebrated Callie's second birthday. But as with any big event in today's modern world, there comes a time for paperwork. Yep, you guessed it. It's Callie's annual review. And there is quite a bit to cover, so we don't want to waste any time.

We'll start with the picture Callie submitted along with her materials. Once again it appears that our young friend is confident in her ability to perform well in this evaluation. Or she just doesn't take it as seriously as we do.



Let's start off this evaluation with the basics. As of October 20, 2009, Callie measured 34 1/2 inches, which places her in the 75th percentile. Last year she was also in the 75th percentile. She weighed 24 lbs, which was the 20th percentile. Last year she was also in the 20th percentile. Clearly, young Callie believes that last year's numbers are good enough for this year. There may be some concerns relative to her ambition. Unfortunately they stopped measuring the circumference of her head so we can't give any numbers here. But we think her noggin' is looking pretty good these days.

Her pediatrician, Dr. Warner, thought Callie was developing well. He is such a good doctor for Callie and for us. He always wants to know if we have any concerns or questions. But even he wasn't quite sure what to say when Sarah mentioned our concern that Callie wasn't reading yet. John thought it was quite funny, however.

All joking aside, we also should provide the latest on Callie's kidney reflux. Unfortunately, Callie's annual check-up with the pediatric urologist did not provide good news. Although her kidney issues have not worsened, they have not improved either. And based on the fact that she has a duplicated right kidney and had a breakthrough UTI this past year, our doctor has recommended surgery. It took us a while to come to terms with it, but we have decided that it is in Callie's best interests to have the surgery. At the moment it looks like the surgery will occur in early January. The good thing is that it has a 98% success rate and our pediatric urologist has a great reputation. Obviously we will keep folks updated as the process unfolds.

But now back to the really important stuff. Last year we focused on three main categories - daycare, development, and social skills. Those three categories still apply, so let's start with daycare.

Overall, Callie has been doing quite well in daycare and loves Miss Donna. Unfortunately Miss Donna has not officially been her teacher for the past several months. But this can't keep them apart. Miss Donna still takes Callie every now and then for art projects and other fun activities. Speaking of art, Callie certainly has done her share this year. We never knew how many projects could involve a painted hand or foot. For example, this past week we received some of Callie's feet that were in fact ghosts. In other words, our house is filled with pieces of paper covered in Callie's hand and foot prints. While the year began with concerns over Callie's improper use of her teeth (a.k.a. biting her friends), it has ended with Callie being more in control of her emotions. She has even learned to squeeze inanimate objects when she is frustrated or mad as opposed to squeezing her friends. Callie's musical knowledge has also expanded during the past year in daycare, and she will start singing while her parents struggle to name that tune. But when we are all on the same page she really gets into it. Her napping is going quite well and unlike last year, there have been no reports of her bodyslamming anyone. Overall, therefore, she is meeting expectations when it comes to daycare.

The next category is development. It is tough to know where to begin. However, within the last month it is as if a switch has flipped in her brain. She starts talking when she wakes up and hardly stops until she goes to bed. It is quite amazing to say the least. The following are some of her favorite phrases: Wait just one second, Where did it go?, What's that?, Baby stinky (this one comes with proper hand movement over the nose), Bagel?, Callie do it (yes, she refers to herself in the third person), No night night, My daddy (we'll deal more with this later), Oh no, and the list goes on. Language skills are clearly coming along. Her motor skills are constantly developed by her insistence on picking the vegetables out of her meals, puzzles, and consistently using her spoon and fork. We have also been impressed with Callie's ability to count to ten. She has been able to do this for a couple of months now, though as of late she tends to forget the number 5. She can say her name when you ask (Callie Bowes), knows how old she is (2), and can identify the location of her femur. Unfortunately she has taken a bit longer to identify the humerous, but we are still working on it. One bone at a time. Callie enjoys walking, running, and jumping. The jumping has taken some work, but she is catching on. And not only does she like running, but she enjoys getting into a three-point stance, saying on your mark, get set, go, and then running. Indeed, at any given point this past year you may have seen the three of us traveling from one gate to another in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport in fits and starts as we all had to get down in the stance before we could start running along.

Last, but certainly not least, is the category of social skills. We are pleased to report that Callie consistently uses words like please, thank you, I'm sorry, and excuse me. Now she often says excuse me while in the process of pushing you out of the way, but it's the thought that counts. When exposed to a new social setting she tends to be shy and clingy. It does take her a little while to warm up to folks. But that is not exactly a bad thing, and we are happy to see that she has a healthy respect for strangers. For better or worse, Callie is currently in a phase where she is undoubtedly a "Daddy's girl". Or more accurately, John is "My Daddy." It's pretty funny, because Sarah is not even allowed to sit next to John when the phase is in full gear. While cute in small doses, this is clearly something that Callie needs to work on. We'll be keeping an eye on this in the year ahead.

When all is said and done, it is been a strong performance by Callie over the past year. She is growing up to be such a wonderful little girl and her parents often look at each other and smile about something she has done or is doing. If she continues to stay on course she has a bright future with this family. At this time , therefore, we can say without reservation that we recommend Callie Alexis Bowes be admitted to the two-year-old community.