Reese at 4 Months

So last week was Reese's four month checkup with Dr. Warner. We found out two things. First and most important, Reese is a healthy little girl. Second, our country's recession has affected more than just our pocketbook. Just like the housing market, Reese is experiencing limited growth. As Kai Ryssdal, host of NPR's Marketplace, likes to say, let's do the numbers. Her height is 23 3/4 inches, which puts her in the 28th percentile. Her weight is 11 lbs 7oz, which places her in the 10th percentile. And her head circumference is a whopping 41 1/4 inches, which is smack dab average at 50th percentile.




As you can see from the picture, none of these numbers seems to bother Reese. At the end of every long day she leans back and savors her hot baths while a team of two attend to her every whim. Indeed, the bath is her one consistent quiet time of the day, especially since she has learned to squawk in a very loud, high-pitched, and overall piercing manner. Think bald eagle meets velociraptor. It's quite impressive.

In any case, all's well with little Reese. Hope all is well with you.

The Balestraccis Visit

This April we were lucky enough to get the Balestraccis out for a visit. This was a particularly special visit because it was the first time all the Balestracci boys got to meet Reese. Once they survived extended delays at O'Hare airport on their way to Lexington, we had a great time together. We start with a picture that will only represent the grandchildren of Jay and Taffy Bowes for another five months or so. Reese's stint as the youngest grandchild will be short-lived, but we don't think she'll mind because she'll be gaining a cousin in Colorado.



The four kids were enjoying the sunshine in the backyard, and the weather was a huge improvement over the previous day when we lasted all of twenty minutes at Keeneland because of the strong wind, cold temperatures, and persistent rain.

Neither wind, sleet, snow, rain, wind, or sunshine has any bearing on Callie's love for her cousins. Brendan has a special place in Callie's heart because he is willing to give her the attention she so desperately desires. It was pretty amazing to see how much they entertained each other over the course of the weekend.



Michael also took advantage of the visit to get to know Reese. Even though he is finishing up his eighth grade year and getting prepared for high school, Michael seemed to enjoy hanging out with a baby and a three and half year old. As a true high schooler to be, he was a man of few words. But he was so good with Callie and Reese, and Callie made sure he received his fair share of hugs, squeezes, and attention.

When you look at the picture below, compare the heights of the members of the Balestracci family. Who knows exactly when it happened, but Michael is now the tallest member of the family, even without the baseball hat. This picture, by the way, was taken in the beautiful gardens of Ashland, Henry Clay's estate just a few blocks away. If you visit us you can also walk there while getting a history lesson on Henry Clay from John whether you want it or not.



You can therefore prepare for your visit by taking long walks and reading up on both the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850. We take our local history seriously in these parts.

The visit occurred the week before Easter, so we also had to take some time for decorating eggs. There was a lot of creativity at work around the table as we each had our own idea of what the perfect Easter egg should look like. To insure that we had enough eggs, we hard boiled two dozen. Although we had a lot of fun coloring them, we will be eating them for weeks. We'll have to keep that in mind for next year.


This was a picture we simply had to include. Chris is an amazing father and a terrific uncle. Just like he did with Callie when she was a baby, he enjoyed soothing Reese throughout the weekend and didn't let her crying intimidate him. And Callie enjoys Chris's silly side more and more each time they spend time together.


We have mentioned it a few times that Callie was born on Chris's birthday and Reese was born on Katie's birthday. But this recent visit provided us with the first opportunity to take a picture of the two cute birthday bandits and their hostages. Callie knows she has to keep a close eye on the shifty fella in the green vest. Reese is just wondering why the heck she's wearing a napkin on her face.



We cannot thank the Balestraccis enough for making the trip down to see us. We had a great time and it's crazy to think that we won't get to see the East Coast crew again until Christmas.

It's April? What Happened to March?

Remember the end of the last post where we mentioned Sarah was going back to work? That's our best explanation for what happened to March. It truly has been a whirlwind around here. But we are pretty sure we have established a solid routine that makes most of our days and nights enjoyable. We must admit that going from one to two has been quite a leap for us. This was the first time we missed posting at least once during a month's period of time. Oh well. We'll keep trying.

So let's start with some basics. Reese is growing. She is smiling. She is sleeping a bit more. And her cuteness abounds. We give you Exhibit A of said cuteness below.



This smile has made taking her to daycare manageable. John is always able to drop her off knowing that she is smiling away at her teachers. She truly seems comfortable with them and it is obviously comforting for us to see how much interaction and stimulation she receives from the women who work with her.

When Reese isn't at daycare she finds the time to kick back with some tummy time on the couch. She enjoys tummy time a little bit more than Callie did, but every girl has her limits. And Reese has no problem letting us know when it is time to end the fun. Another impressive activity to share is that Reese has already learned how to roll over from belly to back. Well, it has happened a couple of times, and it may be an accident, but we are counting it as developed behavior.


What follows is more than just another picture of Reese. It's a picture of Reese during the morning routine. John has become a champ. He is not a morning person, but mornings are his responsibility. And now that means both Reese and Callie have to be fed and taken to daycare each day. Reese is very cooperative, and Callie only needs a little prodding every now and then to get things going.



Overall, Callie has been great about the transition in the morning routine and helps out a lot with Reese. As we have said before, she is a great big sister. The real problem is going to arrive when John has to deal with two heads worth of pony tails in the morning. Then the real fun will begin.

We look at pictures like this and try to look into the future. How will they get along when they are older? If the past several months are any indication, their relationship will only get better with age. Callie certainly has shown increasing interest in everything Reese is doing. The best is when Callie squeals with delight after getting Reese to smile.



Speaking of smiles, here's one of Callie's biggest. You may also notice she is wearing a princess outfit. Callie and Sarah had a girls' night out towards the end of March with three other moms and their daughters. That's right, Disney's Princesses on Ice hit Lexington, and the town hasn't been the same since. Callie was incredibly excited about the whole thing and we talked about it for weeks leading up to the big night.


The night started out with a quick bite to eat at Desha's downtown. Of course the girls were already dressed up in their sparkly outfits. Ironically enough, there were two Sleeping Beauties and two Ariels. But no one cared about the overlap. In fact, several people stopped by our table just to get a closer look at the fearsome foursome.



The night was a big success. Once we entered Rupp Arena the girls took their seats and remained entranced for every minute of the performance that followed. The night was topped off when Vivie Ann's mom busted out spinning light toys for each girl. Because of this, we were able to bypass the cotton candy, ice cream and Disney merchandising stations that were strategically located at every exit. However, next year might be a different story.

Callie definitely enjoyed the princesses. But she really likes to be the one performing. And for a variety of reasons, she tends to express herself through the age old medium of song and dance. The two videos below came out of an extended video shoot intended to provide some trash talk before the University of Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team squared off against the eventual national champion UConn Huskies. Our vision of trash talking was never completely realized, but the videos below are pure gold.





By the way, we hope you noticed that we even place subliminal messages in the alphabet squares in Callie's play corner. It's true, we are a part of Big Blue Nation.


This final picture is a fitting way to end this particular post. Because starting tomorrow afternoon, this threesome will have to work together to make it through the next two and a half days without Sarah. Confidence is high and if there are any emergencies John is ready to dip into the strategic milk reserves that have been stored up in the freezer over the past couple of months. At the very least he'll be sure to take plenty of pictures of the whole experience.