Nana Banana Sport Visit 2013

Hiccups in short trips can certainly make them shorter.  Unfortunately Nana Banana and Sport had a long delay in Detroit and didn't get to Lexington until much later then expected.  But once they landed and got to our house, the girls couldn't be happier to get the weekend of fun started.  The weekend began at Joseph-Beth, where we spent a couple of hours looking at books, making chickens out of toilet paper rolls, feeding the ducks, and having a nice lunch.

Although it was still mid-March, the weather cooperated during the visit and we were also able to spend some time outdoors.

One of the great outdoor spots near our house is the University of Kentucky Arboretum.  And this is the second year in a row that we have purchased a membership to the Children's Arboreturm, where they have even more activities available.  However, since we got there before the children's part opened, we had some time to play around on the logs that they have set up for just that purpose.

The girls jumped at the opportunity to run around outside, especially with their parents and grandparents in tow.  It's amazing how two little individuals can order so many adults around.  And the cool logs they have set up at the arboretum provide quite a few good photo opportunities.  Sarah couldn't resist this one since it was amazing how many people you could fit inside this particular stump.

It's been neat to watch Callie grow over the years.  The physical growth is clear to see, but we have also begun to notice how much she is growing in terms of her desire to conquer her fears and declare her independence.  As the picture to the left shows, she is now willing to do things that only a year ago would have scared her to no end.  Now it is just John who is scared when she does things like this.



We also planned ahead and made the most of the day by having a picnic in the arboretum as well.  Although it was a little windy we all enjoyed the good food and sunshine.

And finally our patience paid off, and the children's section opened.  Now we could further enjoy all that it has to offer.

Although we visited a lot of usual spots in this section, Callie and Reese quickly spotted the newly furnished pioneer cabin that had been set up over the winter.  Here the girls are washing some pretend clothes and hanging them up on the clothes line. Too bad that this pretend activity couldn't be put to use at home.  Although they do like sorting laundry, we have yet to get them to do every load from start to finish.  Hopefully that will change in time.


Another great activity involved learning about the different birds common to Kentucky and the sounds of their calls.  This was a pretty influential lesson, since the girls are still accurately identifying various birds months later.

They also got to make a personal set of binoculars to watch the birds.  Not everyone was clear on the function of these toilet paper binoculars, as you can see in the picture above.  But Reese had fun with them regardless.  All in all, it was a great visit with Nana Banana and Sport.

Reese's Two Year Evaluation

Reese Harper certainly has grown over the past year, and so we have a lot to talk about for her second year evaluation.  Although she is still petite, she packs quite a punch.  Back in December at her annual doctor's appointment she came in at 33 1/4 inches, which was 40th percentile.  Her weight was 23lbs 4oz, for a consistent 5th percentile.  That is quite surprising since she is an eating machine.  A small frame that contains a whole lot of energy and personality.

Reese is a talker.  Sometimes we don't know exactly what she is saying, but she always has a lot of information to share.  She also is extremely expressive, so if she can't get her idea across in words she will definitely deliver the message through facial expressions.  Some of the most impressive facial expressions come at moments of great frustration, or when she is cooperating but still wants to let you know that the cooperation is occurring under protest.  We have also enjoyed the conversations that Callie and Reese have had well before Reese truly spoke words.  Now, there interactions have only become more interesting the more Reese can directly communicate.

From early on Reese has been clear about her desires to control her fashion statements.  Unlike Callie, who would put on any clothing laid out for her, Reese has a strong opinion and her opinion is that she should always wear dresses.  It's amazing that such a small child has such a powerful will.  The great thing is that those dresses are perfect for highlighting the scabs that she constantly has on her knees these days.  Reese lives life at full speed, and sometimes that speed gets her until trouble.  As her current teacher at daycare, Miss Cheri, has reported on the daily note, "Reese fell and scraped her knee, AGAIN."  Fortunately, Reese is very good at dusting herself off and rejoining the fray.  You would think that this indicate that she is not very coordinated.  However, she is very coordinated.  The problem is that she firmly believes she can keep up with her sister and the other big kids.  Very often she's correct.

This year Reese learned her ABCs and enjoys reciting them, and also has fun singing a variety of the basic songs like Twinkle, Twinkle, Row Row, or the Itsy Bitsy Spider.  Unfortunately she has not begun to identify her colors with any accuracy.  At this point you ask her what color an item is and her go to answer is "Blue?"  She's not right too often, in other words.  But she continues to charm at daycare, and loves to wave goodbye to anyone and everyone each afternoon as she leaves.  And everyone knows who she is.

Before we end on a more positive note, we need to address the biggest area in need of improvement.  Reese simply refuses to go quietly into the night.  Quite frankly, she is a nightmare to put to sleep at this point.  The engine doesn't stop.  It just doesn't stop.  It starts with the kicking and screaming and refusal to brush teeth.  She chooses three books when told to pick two.  And then once the lights are out the evening becomes a giggle fest with her and Callie.  Typically the evening ends with the two being separated and Reese finally succumbing to sleep between 9:00 and 9:30pm.  This makes her especially fun and grumpy in the mornings.

But while she might not want to go to sleep, there are a lot of things that Reese truly loves.  The first one is dance.  She loves following in her sister's footsteps but she definitely has her own signature mesmerizing style.  When Reese dances, it is difficult to look away.  Reese also loves the pool, and is fearless when jumping in.  She loves ice cream and asks for it throughout the day.  She also likes to point out ice cream shops around town just in case the person driving also has a hankering.  Another thing she points out even more often are horse statues.  Needless to say, in Lexington, Kentucky we have our fair share of horse statues.  Reese is in paradise and can't get enough of the thoroughbreds.

When all is said and done, Reese has flourished during her second year and has gained the respect of her colleagues around the office. (Home, daycare, and church)  We are happy to recommend her promotion to the third year.

Callie's Five Year Evaluation (Okay, Five and a Half)

We thought last year was bad when Callie's four-year review occurred five months late.  This year it seems that we are fortunate to post it nearly eight months late.  What can we say, life has been busy.  But our goal this year is for the review to be shorter and sweeter, so let's get right to it.

Fortunately, her annual doctor's appointment was two months after her birthday, so the following stats are only six months old.  Back in early December 2012, she was 44 1/2 inches tall, a.k.a. 3 ft 8 1/2 inches.  This put her in the 82nd percentile for height, her highest since birth.  Her weight was 38 lbs, which put her in the 45th percentile.  She has shown no sign of shrinking since December, so we imagine that the current numbers are higher, but consistent with the string bean look.

Overall, Callie is a great kid.  She makes us proud by consistently using her manners and showing a great deal of care and concern for others.  It's wonderful to see such compassion from such a young soul.  Shyness is certainly still there, but slowly but surely it's getting better.  One area in desperate need  of attention is her propensity to whine at the drop of a hat.  She's also still prone to throwing fits.  Therefore we continue to focus our efforts on learning how to respond better to every day situations.  Her sense of humor is still very evident, and this year she has been very interested in trying her hand at telling jokes.

This past year Callie has also expanded her participation in extracurricular activities.  She is nearing the end of her second year of dance and is very much looking forward to the recital.  And she just finished playing her second season of soccer, which has had its shares of highs and lows.  But she definitely ended the second season much better than she started the first.  And you could not tell Reese that she was not a part of both the soccer and dance.  She had to get dressed for dance class and had to be right there for every soccer practice and game.  And Callie loved it all.  The intense love between the two remains strong.  This year, though, they certainly have had many more opportunities to play together versus Callie simply dictating Reese's life.  However, this does bring the occasional argument or fight over the simplest of things.  Hopefully, however, love will always triumph.

Perhaps one of the biggest developments however, is that Callie is currently reaching the end of her time at daycare.  She has officially made the full circle of rooms in the center and is well known to everybody.  She continues to develop her pre-K skills (like counting to 100, identifying basic sight words, and coloring like nobody's ever colored before)  but is done with nap time.  Kindergarten will be a great opportunity for Callie, and because she will be one of the older kids she should be even more ready than we could have hoped to expect.

And we'll end by trying to sum up her favorite activities of her fifth year.  She loves riding her bike, which is a hand me down from the Abrahams, and she desperately wants to ride around the block by herself.  Callie also loves to spend time in the pool, and hopefully this summer will really learn how to swim.  She has become an expert cat caretaker, and is the go to person for Lily and Lola, Sharon and Chris's cats.  She learned how to play Uno and is a bit of a card fiend with a shady shuffle and a competitive fire that means every loss nearly leads to tears.  This year also marked Callie's first haircut, that resulted in a donation of 12 inches of hair to Locks of Love.

All in all, she has demonstrated remarkable growth in her fifth year as a member of Team Bowes.  She's a solid contributor and continues to blossom into best Callie she can be.

California Trip 2 - Northern California

Our family has certainly traveled a lot.  However, the idea of traveling by car from northern California to southern California was a frightening obstacle.  The girls are far more used to long plane rides than long car rides.  Fortunately for us, the Kettleman exit on I-5 in central California arrived just in time.  

We always have to get our In-N-Out fix when we are in California.  But this trip was especially exciting because Callie and Reese both demonstrated their love for the whole experience.  Callie wanted cheese but no onions and Reese, just because we know her personality, got her burger animal style.  They both demolished their meals, much to the awe of the people around us.

Finally we arrived at Grammy's house, and after a good night's sleep we jumped into the array of planned activities.  It began with a trip to the capitol building in downtown Sacramento.  We read the book Goodnight California often, so it was fitting to visit one of the many locations featured in the book.  And it's a pretty cool picture of Grammy with the girls.  We even got to walk around the building and sat in the viewing balconies of both the House and Senate chambers.  It was pretty breathtaking.  The girls just enjoyed the pulldown seats and the cool view from above the main floor.

Obviously every visit entails a lot of catching up with family, and both Reese and Callie love to hang all over their cousin Keith.  And Keith is always so good to them, it is great to see.  Because Keith is now living with Grammy, we got even more time than usual with him.  We enjoyed his culinary expertise and stylish ways.  But the all time favorite was the gallons of milk that he had purchased because he had heard that the price was going to skyrocket very soon.

Uncle Zac also made the trip to Sacramento from his new home in Benicia.  It was a packed house for a good part of our visit as a result, especially because when Zac travels so does his dog Hooch.  But we wouldn't want it any other way.

 Since this was our California family Christmas, we had several meals together and just got to hang out.  And we were able to get the whole crew together one night, as you can see in the picture below.

Grammy Gayle and the rest of the family had a great time spoiling the girls.  But we all got a few gifts and some stockings to open.

Thank goodness Grammy got the girls a new piece of luggage because they needed something to help them get their loot back to Kentucky.  You may not be able to see them in this picture, but the real gem of this gift were the little animal key chains that made high pitched sounds when you pressed a button.  Hours of amusement for the girls and head pounding pain for their parents.

You see here Reese is sporting the new PJs that Grandpa Dan got her.  Callie got a pair too, which means they each have pajamas that say, "Princesses Don't Have Bedtimes."  Of course, this picture also illustrates that Reese may have gotten more than just PJs from her Grandpa.  Those grins look eerily similar.

Although every year we try to fit in a visit to Sarah's friend Wendy and her ever growing family, many times we fall short.  Indeed, John hasn't seen Wendy and her husband since their wedding.  But this year we were going to get both families together.  Then little Emerson got sick, which meant only two Gardners, Wendy and Chase, could make it over.  It was great to catch up and we hope next time the whole crew can hang out together.


The next order of business was another big family gathering at GA and GU's house.  Once again, illness prevented the entire family getting together.  So Ryan and Skyler were not able to make an appearance.  But that didn't stop Reese, Callie, Brady, and Chase from a little cousin bonding.

This kids have only seen each other once or twice a year, but they are able to quickly pick up where they left off.

Callie and Brady found that they shared a love of silliness and making funny faces.  It took no time at all for them to pose for this picture.  But this was one of the few moments they stopped, because at other points during the day they were running around the house looking for monsters.  At least that's what we understood to be their mission.

Reese and Chase had no problems getting acquainted.  Well, at least Reese didn't have a problem.  Before you get too concerned for Chase's wellbeing, however, you should know that he more than held his own over the course of the day.  They are both tough, younger siblings, and it is possible that in Chase Reese may have met her match.  However, Chase is soon to be a middle child.  We found out on this trip that Sarah and Tyler are expecting a girl in July.  Very exciting!


One of the best parts of our trips to northern California is the time we get to spend with Great Grandma Lucas.  She is so full of love for the girls and for life itself.

This visit Sarah also got to see her new home and was able to help Teri organize her room and put up some pictures.  Great Grandma has had such a positive attitude throughout life, and this latest transition has not changed that approach.  It's great to see.

Although we didn't get to see Skyler and Ryan, we did get to see Haley, and she was able to secure some snuggle time with Callie and Reese.  You may not be able to tell from this picture, but Haley at this point was about 7 weeks away from her due date.  She was beaming and obviously could not wait to greet her second little girl.

Zac's girlfriend Zane was also able to make the trip, and it was great to see her again.  You can see both Callie and Reese have benefited from Zac's relationship - just check out the fancy outfits they got for Christmas from Zac and Zane.



Zane was also generous enough to handle the camera for a final group photo before we all went our separate ways.  We are a pretty good looking crew, that's for sure.

All in all, it was a jam packed visit.  But it certainly kicked 2013 off to a great start!

Southern California Extravaganza

There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but if you are under the age of 2, you do get to fly free.  But guess what, Reese, that's all over.  You had a good run of 9 round trip flights before you turned 2.    Impressive work, though it is less than your sister.  So pictured here is Reese in her very first purchased seat as we prepared to head to California just a couple of days after Christmas.  Unlike Callie's first paid trip, Reese's was a little bit more dramatic with a flight attendant who proved inflexible with the rules and refused to compromise with a 2-year-old who didn't understand why she couldn't sit on her Mom's lap even though she had done it three weeks earlier.  Good times.

Our first stop was in sunny Pasadena where we spent a couple of days with the Leshneys.  Fun was had by all, as you can see in the picture below.  It's amazing how quickly kids under the age of 5 can get comfortable with each other.  

They all had a great time playing together, and Callie even slept in the same room as Clare and Nora.

Reese also quickly became fond of Tyler's ability to speed her around the race course they have developed in front of their house.  As Callie, Clare, and Nora sped around on their tricycles, Reese led the way with a huge smile on her face.  Tyler could not push her fast enough.  Amazingly, there was only one crash during the time we spent outside.  It seems the car you see above might have been a bit too close to the second turn of the race course.  Time just flew by as we caught up with Tyler and Stephanie and their wonderful family.  Hopefully we can do it again soon.

Our next stop was Manhattan Beach at the Perrone's.  Everyone was excited to see Kate, Ashlyn, Auntie Lo, and JP, but one of the real stars of our visit was the recent arrival, Bradley Branstetter.  Here he is with Sarah, a big smile on his face.  Honestly, he is an extremely happy and mellow baby.  You might remember his parents from our blog - we went to their wedding September 2011 in Paso Robles.  Alicia and Bill are handling parenthood quite well and Bradley, no surprise with Alicia as his mom, is a bit of a fashionista.

Another new addition to the southern California family is Joy, Denise's new puppy.  Ironically enough, she is also a fashionista, as you can see by her matching scarf in the picture.  Joy has been a blessing for Denise, especially since earlier in the year she had to say goodbye to Puma, a constant companion of hers since college.  And because of that, Puma was a roommate to Sarah and many members of the clan over the years.  Indeed, if Puma could have only talked, the stories she could have told.  

Callie and Reese enjoyed their time with their Aunties.  It's pretty impressive how much spoiling can occur in a matter of days.  Although we wish we lived closer to them, it might be good for our family budget that the girls don't get too much fashionista time.  In the end, it is just fun to have these get togethers where the number of kids keeps getting bigger every time.

Speaking of getting bigger, here is the whole crew, including Joy of course.  You can tell from the facial expressions how much fun they had on the entire trip.

Kate, Callie, Ashlyn, and Reese are quite a handful when they are together these days.  We imagine it's only going to get crazier as the years go by.

One day we took all of the girls to hang out in Auntie D's neck of the woods, Palos Verdes.  Our first stop was a small maritime museum built on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  The museum itself wasn't necessarily all that incredible, but you certainly couldn't beat the setting.  They let you exchange your driver's license for a pair of binoculars so you can look at the ocean in case gray whales happen to be swimming by.  And yes, while we were standing there, a man told us to head to the bluff because someone had spotted a couple of spouts.

We all ran to the fence to look out.  And even if you did not have binoculars you could clearly see the whales when they spouted.  Just another day in southern California.  It's moments like these that make living in a landlocked state so difficult.  Thank goodness we have friends and families on both coasts to provide us with the opportunities to meet our ocean air quota a couple of times a year.

Our visit to Manhattan Beach coincided with New Years, and in typical fashion Lauren threw an appropriate party that embraced both parents and children.  There were a lot of children at this shindig.  A lot.  It was loud and it was fun.

Reese definitely had her party face in full effect, and Callie, as shy as she is, was well warmed up by this point and happy to be in the mix.  As sad it is, the next day we had to pack up and prepare ourselves for a long drive to northern California for the next stage of our trip.

But we couldn't leave without one last visit to the ocean.  If we were going to spend hours driving through the central valley of California on I-5 (and if you have done it you know what we are talking about), some quality time on the beach was necessary.  Reese and Callie both loved getting their feet wet.  Not surprisingly, we had to put them into new pants once we got back to the car.  Wave jumping will do that to you.

It's funny how the world looks different when you have children.  John lived for about two years in an apartment right along this stretch of beach.  He never noticed or used the swings.  Sarah, in her many visits to this beach, never noticed or used the swings.  But within moments of pulling up to the beach, both of the girls shouted "Swings!"  It's fun to see life through the eyes of a two-year-old and a five-year-old.  You never knew how many swingsets, slides, fountains, horse statues, and so on were around until you hang out with those two.

It means a lot to us to bring the girls back to the place we met.  They seem to love it so much, but they don't truly understand quite yet how important this particular area is to their own existence.  One of these days we hope it will make them realize how cool their parents once were.

Fortunately for us, our road trip to northern California included a quick traffic free getaway from the Los Angeles metro area.  Our next stop was Sacramento!

Christmas 2013

This year was a big year for us because we finally made the decision to celebrate Christmas at home before traveling to see our families.  So it meant we had the opportunity to experience Lexington during the holidays before we headed out to California.  

It all started with preparing for Santa and the reindeers before the Christmas Eve service.  Callie is somewhat of a pro and knew exactly what to put out.  Reese had fun tagging along, but thought that the carrots were for her.  Hopefully the reindeer didn't mind a few slightly nibbled treats.  The need to do this before service came about because we had plans to have Christmas Eve dinner at our good friends, the Abrahams.

The girls could not have been more excited to spend an extended period of time with Claire and Ella.  We could not have been more excited to spend time with Kirk and Kelly and the wonderful chocolate covered treats that Kelly prepares.  But the best part of the evening came when the Abrahams busted out the Wii and played Dance Revolution, or whatever the game is called.  Reese was giddy and just jumped up and down.  But Callie tried to hold the beat and match the dance moves.  As long as she didn't think we were looking, she let her inhibitions go.  It was pretty fun to watch.

After a fun night at the Abrahams we came home, put the girls in bed, and made sure all was ready for the morning.  When morning finally arrived, we all had had a good night sleep.

But we were also very excited.  John made sure everyone waited at the top of the stairs so that he could make sure everything was ready for the big entrance.  It was obvious that Santa had made an appearance, so the time had come to let the girls see for themselves.

Callie wanted to help Reese with her gifts right away.  The very first present provided many oohs and aahhs, as well as a clear indication that Santa is a smart man.  Reese received her very own bitty baby, which meant she would no longer have to fight with her sister over Bella.  Later, Callie and John would devise a plan so that Reese's new doll became Bella while the old Bella became Zoey.  Then when Reese wanted to have Zoey all the time, the plan was reworked so that new Bella became the new Zoey while the old Zoey became the reborn Bella.  And if you can follow that you will be allowed to babysit.

Callie quickly turned to her own presents from Santa and found a great deal to smile about.  When she was told that she could not have an American Girl doll because she was too young, she stated that she would not mind Barbie and some Barbie clothes again.  Santa was happy to oblige by giving her Belle, from Beauty and the Beast.  It turns out that she is not a big fan of Belle necessarily, but she was still pleased Christmas morning.  Sometimes it is tough to be Santa.

It was extremely fun to watch Reese open up her stocking, because she reacted to every new gift as if it was the best thing she had ever seen.  This in part explains the joy she is displaying here over a granola bar.  This fact will particular please both of her grandmothers who enjoy loading up stockings with toothpaste, batteries, and other extremely useful products.  Callie also enjoyed her stocking stuffings, but also got a huge kick out of watching Reese soak up the Christmas experience.

It was obvious that Santa hit a home run by bringing Bella to Lexington for Reese.  She also received a stroller, which got just as much affection.  Like her older sister, Reese also displays that tendency to express her love with enduring embraces, a la Pepe le Pew.  This love affair has continued ever since, and a day rarely passes without Reese, and for that matter Callie, spending time with their bitty babies.

However, the most magical Christmas moment this year came when Callie saw the cardboard house that Santa left for her and Reese.  When asked what was her favorite gift, she said the house.  "Santa knew exactly what I wanted even though I couldn't say exactly what it was!"  Who knew that $10 could bring such joy?  Both Callie and Reese loved the fact that it was a house they could decorate, and also it was big enough that they could get inside.  It continues to provide hours of entertainment, and it is quite amazing how many things they can fit inside that thing.

Since Christmas Eve was spent at the Abrahams, it was only fitting that they came to spend Christmas day at our house.  All four girls quickly went to work on the house.  They play so well together, and the only real problem was isolating Reese on the house, since she is the least accomplished artist of the crew and has an unfortunate tendency to color over what others have so painstakingly worked on.

Here is a picture of the fearsome foursome in all of their Christmas glory.  We tried our best but could not get a good picture without at least one of them with their eyes closed.  Perhaps this is what too much holiday sugar and excitement will do to you.

We are very lucky to have such wonderful friends like the Abrahams in our lives.  It was a lot of fun to share the holidays with them.

For us, however, the fun didn't end there.  The day after Christmas it was our good fortune to have a visit from the Hannen clan.  Suzy, Brian, and Zoey were spending Christmas with Brian's family up in Cincinnati and were able to fit an overnight trip to Lexington into their schedule.  It was great to see them and the girls could not get enough of Zoey.  They wanted to hang all over her and Reese definitely loved seeing her old high chair put to use.

It's also safe to say that Zoey is not exactly a shy, retiring wallflower.  She held her own with her cousins and seemed to enjoy the visit just as much as they did.  In fact she wanted to stay up as late as possible.  This picture was taken around 10pm after Suzy and Brian had tried to put her to sleep twice.  It was great for Sarah because she had to work during the day.  But the smile on Zoey's face was not exactly echoed on those of her parents.  Oh well, such is life.

The next day Suzy, Brian, and Zoey were able to hang out for quite a bit before they had to head back north.  And this meant that Callie and Reese got to spend even more time soaking up the Colorado love.  Based on our travel schedules, it is a distinct possibility that we will be able to do this any year we don't travel to Connecticut after Christmas.  That is another great thing to look forward to.

The day after this picture was taken, we boarded a plane for sunny southern California.  But that's a story for another post or two or three.