Sacramento Where You At?

Before we made it from Carmel to Sacramento, we made a stop in Santa Cruz so Callie could meet not only the Nice family but also two of her great great aunts. For the record, all of these pictures and the good times captured below occurred while John was back in Lexington teaching. Because pictures of John sitting home watching TV don't make for good blogging, he will not appear in this episode.

Here is Callie with her Great Great Aunt Mary and Great Great Aunt Lorraine. Both Mary and Lorraine went out of their way to meet Callie and showered her with love during their visit. You might also notice that Callie is wearing the handknitted hat that Lorraine made. It will come in handy as the Kentucky fall turns to winter. Callie's parents only wish the hat was big enough to fit one of them.


Santa Cruz, or La Selva to be specific, is home to Callie's Great Uncle Tommy, Great Aunt Isabel, and her cousins Sophie and Brian. Unfortunately the time together was too short. But this will be the first of many visits she will have with the Nice family because she will get to see them at either Thanksgiving or Christmas every year.


Once we finally got to Sacramento we had our first dinner at Uncle Zac's place. Callie was excited to hang out with Zac and her cousins Keith and RJ. They boys couldn't stop oohing and aahing over Callie and she didn't mind it one bit. Meanwhile, Sarah and Gayle were excited to sit down and eat Zac's tasty chicken tacos.




This is a great picture of Callie with the guys. She got a chance to spend a lot of time with them over the course of the week or so she was in Sacramento and can't wait to see them all again. Hopefully she will be able to give them a tour of Lexington soon.


Although Callie and Sarah spent a lot of time running around and visiting family and friends, some of the best time was spent just hanging out with Grandma Gayle. Here Grandma and Callie take a break from Snood to point out to the world who the Snood champ of the family is. For those of you who don't get the reference to Snood, it may be one of the most addictive computer games ever. Whenever we are in Sacramento there is always a competition over access to the computer and Snood.



And if time with Grandma was fun, time spent on the couch was even better. Everyone does say that you should take advantage of the opportunity and sleep whenever the baby sleeps. Indeed, the only one with eyes open in this picture is Cheyenne.





Grandma Gayle, Sarah, and Callie. These are the best kind of pictures. Hopefully Callie will cherish images like these as she grows older. It can be a bit tough having Grandma Gayle so far away, but everyone is doing their best to make it all work. In fact, Grandma Gayle made the trip back to Lexington with Sarah and Callie and the three of them got to spend more time together...oh yeah, John was there too.


Auntie Lauren flew up from LA to be able to meet Callie and spend the weekend with her. It was a wonderful weekend filled with great conversation, coffee, and diaper changes galore. And it's only going to get better since Lauren and her husband JP are expecting their first child in April.





Speaking of children, here's a picture with a few of them. On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, Sarah and Callie went to a get together that truly showed how times have changed. All of the fine women below were friends at UC-Santa Barbara, and I'm sure there are pictures somewhere that might provide a contrast to what we see below. Callie got to meet all of the following: Rachel with her son Braden and daugher Simone, Jen and her daughter Zoe, Jenny and her son Jack and daughter Megan, and of course Lauren. Not pictured are the wonderful fathers - Kent, Anil, and Brian - JP and John were not in attendance.





The above brings the blog almost up to date. Sarah, Callie, and Gayle arrived back in Kentucky on November 5th. Needless to say, John was extremely excited to see all three of them. Eight days of separation doesn't work well with the psyche of a new dad.

Stay tuned for more to come...in only two days Callie gets to meet more cousins as Aunt Katie, Michael, and Brendan hit town. The fun never stops!!!

Haley and Ryan's big day!

On October 25th, a mere three weeks and one day after birth, Callie made her first of what will be many flights to California. And she behaved so well, only melting down while in line to get on the plane. She had the other passengers thinking twice about their seat selection.

More important than all of that, however, was the reason for the trip. Callie made her first public appearance in California at the wedding of Sarah's cousin Haley. It was such an amazing celebration and one that we would not have missed for the world. Callie hasn't stopped talking about it ever since she got back. One of her favorite moments was when she got to have her picture taken with the beautiful bride.




You might notice in the picture above that Callie's dress is not only cute, but also matches the bridesmaid dress worn by her mother. This was all due to the amazing handiwork of Sarah's Aunt Teri, who is officially Callie's great aunt. Unfortunately Teri is not featured in this blog update since she was moving around too much that weekend and cameras couldn't capture her. We'll get her with Callie sooner or later.

And for the record, there are also no pictures of what happened shortly after the picture above. Long story short it involved Dad and what was supposed to be a routine diaper change. Callie and her father were lucky to make it to the ceremony.


It's not every day that a girl gets to meet her great grandmother. Great Grandma Hazel had quite a weekend as she celebrated the marriage of her granddaughter and spent time with her new great granddaughter. They make quite a cute couple.





And now we have four generations of strong, beautiful and witty women. Here they sit, relaxing and enjoying the wonderful Hawaiian themed evening that was all part of Haley and Ryan's rehearsal dinner. The food was delicious and the setting was gorgeous at Holly Farms in Carmel Valley.



The rehearsal dinner was a good warmup for Callie as she was passed around all evening. She met many of her relatives, but it was only the beginning. The day of the wedding would only bring dozens more into her life.



One person who could not keep his eyes off of Callie throughout the weekend was proud Grandpa Dan. He held her every chance he could get, and she loved every minute of it. And he lived up to a promise made to his daughter, and refrained from pinching his granddaughter's cheeks.





A wedding just wouldn't be a wedding without seeing the bride and groom gazing into each other's eyes. For all that Callie made a splash, Haley and Ryan were truly the stars of the weekend. All of their planning and efforts paid off in a big way. The weekend was beautiful, and as everyone present can attest, there were tears of joy aplenty. (Mainly shed by the groom) We cannot thank Haley and Ryan enough for allowing the three of us to be part of their special day.




More to come...Callie hangs out with Grandma Gayle, Uncle Zac, and countless other aunts, uncles, and cousins in northern California.

Fall is here

Sorry it has been so long since our last update. We promise that this post will be the first of many we write this week in order to catch up. Callie changes so quickly and it is tough to keep up with her.

So where were we? When last we saw Callie, she was hanging out with some of her first visitors. This post captures the last part of the first visit of Nana Taffy and Grandpa Jay. We'll start with a new baby/fall tradition - the pumpkin patch. Below we see the happy family hanging out with a mess of pumpkins at Evans Orchard. Doesn't Callie look cute in her pumpkin hat? Thanks to Hannah Flynn for that seasonal accessory.




Well, the family may be happy overall, but the picture below indicates that Callie does not like to be sized up with a pumpkin. There may be other explanations for her demeanor, but who knows at that age?


If you have spent any time with Callie, you may recognize this face. Fortunately she only resorts to this face rarely. But it happens often enough that it has its own name. We refer to it as "The Alien" and we have learned to recognize when Callie is about to bring the Alien out for a visit.




Not appearing in the above pictures are Nana Taffy and Grandpa Jay. They were in town together for about 4-5 days, and they could not get enough of their granddaughter. We took lots of walks, got a new water heater, and just enjoyed our time together.

And it's clear from this picture that Callie was quite happy to hang out with her East Coast grandparents. It is only a matter of time before she will start learning Nana Taffy's fun little songs and will start undergoing Grandpa Jay's rice puff versus Cheerios breakfast table experiment. It was great to have them here and Callie can't wait to see them at Christmas.



As we have mentioned before, Sarah and I are pretty competitive people. Although we try not to put too many expectations on our daughter, there are certain things that needs to start working on before her peers. We fully expect that she will know more about Black Hawk and all other aspects of Native American history before too long.




Stay tuned for the next post where Callie takes her first flight to California and wins over her West Coast family at Haley and Ryan's wedding.

First Visits

Well it did not take long for Callie to feel at home. Within a few days of departing the hospital she was ready to kick her feet up and relax on the couch with her parents. We thought the couch got a lot of use before, but now we don't ever seem to leave it. So here she is, ready to greet her first visitors.




The first visitor arrived all the way from Hermosa Beach, California. In fact, her bags were packed before Callie was even born. We were all so happy to have Gretchen fly in and spend time with all of us.


Of course, as you can see from this picture, Gretchen was focused on one little person in particular. She and Callie got to know each other through long naps on the couch. Here Callie demonstrates one of her favorite napping positions that we have dubbed The Frog. Somehow this is comfortable for her. Go figure.


Although our world has changed, we have not given up our devotion to College Gameday on Saturday morning. Especially now, since for the first time ever, Chris, Lee, and Kirk will be spending their Saturday only a mile or so from our house in Lexington. C'mon Cats!! (University of Kentucky is currently ranked 7th in the BCS standings, for anyone who is interested) Who knew we would become such huge fans of UK sports? In honor of Gameday, John decided to strike a Heisman pose with Callie.


Apparently, Callie is not ready to shower by herself. And from what this picture tells you, she isn't all that excited about her first bath either. In fact, we have noticed two things in particular that Callie does not like. Baths and sleeping through the night. But really, doesn't she look cute here?






This past Saturday, Callie's Nana Taffy flew into Lexington Bluegrass Airport to meet her first granddaughter. We are fortunate to have her in town for over a week to help us out as we get used to life with a newborn. And Nana Taffy is getting the chance to spend some quality time with little Callie. They make a great couple, that's for sure.



As we write this, Callie is now over 12 days old. She seems to be handling the double digits well. The picture below shows her chilling in her hip seat that vibrates, plays music, or vibrates AND plays music. Clearly a must have for any newborn.



Stay tuned for more pictures as Grandpa Jay rolls into town and Callie prepares for her first trip to the West Coast. Oh, and if you tune in College Gameday on Saturday morning, it's possible she will be the little baby in the front row with the face paint and a huge foam finger, yelling, "C'mon Cats!"

From Hospital to Home

So here we are with the second installation in the life of Callie. The following photos will give you a glimpse into her first few days at the hospital and her venture home.

As you can imagine, being in a cramped space for nine months would give anyone a good reason to stretch out. You can see how long she is...and there is a definite resemblance between her long skinny legs and those of her father. Hopefully she'll be able to put them to use on a soccer one day.



There was a lot of time to get acquainted during our stay in the hospital. Callie stared at us when she was awake, and we stared at her just about the entire time. An incredible experience through and through. What's nice is that John looks somewhat okay in this picture despite the fact that he had not showered in a while.


Well, we had to stay in the hospital an extra day because Callie had jaundice. We decided to spare you the pictures of her yellow skin, but we had to show you what she did during that last day at Central Baptist. This was a long night because she is definitely a wiggle worm, and the mask she had to wear to protect her eyes continuously fell off. It also lit up the entire room like a Christmas tree. But all in all, it was worth it. Just so you know, the pediatrician stated that her response to the treatment "exceeded expectations." Callie's competitive parents were quite pleased.


With the blue light treatment complete, it was time to head home. We are obviously biased, but this is a pretty cute picture of a baby in a car seat. Really.









Being at home made all the difference. We were able to get more rest and the environment made it easier to address Callie's needs. And now that we are home we can introduce Callie to some of our little traditions. Here are John and Callie on the first official outing of the Bowes family on a hot Sunday morning in Lexington.


Believe it or not, this is only day 4 of Callie's life. It is hard for us to believe that it has only been 4 days. She is sleeping quite a bit, but when she is awake she has her eyes opened wide and is full of expressions. We constantly watch her in amazement.







As we mentioned earlier, she spends a lot of her time sleeping. And one of her favorite sleeping spots is the beautiful Moses basket made for her by Grandma Gayle. Although she is quite long, as you can see she still takes up barely half of it.




The final picture shows Callie at her most casual. When she's not sleeping, feeding, or getting her diapers changed, Callie likes to chill with her pacifier on the couch. Clearly she takes after her parents in this regard.



Stay tuned for more pictures to come. We are less than a week into this wonderful new life and can't wait to share more of the adventure with you.

She's Finally Arrived!

Well, the big day arrived this week. Callie Alexis Bowes arrived at 5:56am on Wednesday, October 3rd, and her parents could not be happier. She was a robust 6 lbs. 15 oz. and measures 20 3/4 inches. Right now we are still in the hospital but get to go home in about 24 hours. We have a few pictures to share and some stories to tell.


Here is Callie, our little burrito of good times. She does love being swaddled. And she also apparently enjoys keeping her eyes open. In the first 24 hours of life she may have slept 4 hours all told. I seem to remember someone saying that newborns would sleep quite a bit on the first day. Interesting.



And here is our first family picture. Sarah looks fantastic, which is especially impressive since this picture comes after 25 hours of labor. That's right, Callie, your mom dealt with 23 hours of contractions and 2 hours of pushing. And after all of that work, this family moment was a brief time together before the doctors had to take Callie away for observation. Callie's umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck at birth, which made her head a dark shade of purple and her doctors and parents a bit nervous. And she did not get to our room in the hospital until about five hours after the birth. Not so much fun for Mom and Dad, but it was all for a good reason.


Mom has had some quality time with Callie throughout the first 24 hours of her life. Sarah is an absolutely amazing mom, and she has been tending to Callie's needs with tremendous amounts of patience and love. And it should also be said, Sarah is tough. This comes as no surprise to most who know her, but I figured I would point it out again. I could not have done what she did over the past 72 hours, much less the past nine months. Wow.


Finally, here I am with Callie. I have the easy job. Indeed, I got more sleep last night than Sarah and Callie combined. Granted it was 3 hours and then 2 hours later on, but that is a good night's work in our new world. I just sit back and watch in awe as both Callie and Sarah do their thing. And I just want to add a quick shout out to the folks at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington. If our families on both coasts are worried about us, no need. We are being taken care of extremely well by the nurses and doctors here. If you happen to be in labor in Lexington, you could not choose a better place than Central Baptist.

So there are the first of many pictures. We have been snapping away, trying to capture Callie when her eyes are open and when she does not look moody. Obviously we think she is the cutest thing ever. More to come.

Final Preparations for Nutterbutter's Arrival

Here we are on the night of September 25th, or as we might call it, Nutterbutter Eve. Tomorrow is the official due date for her arrival. No signs of labor yet. But below, as you will see, the house is ready. And we are ready too. The excitement level around here is pretty amazing.


We start with an assortment of clothes, almost all of it the result of the incredible generosity of family and friends. We cannot put into words how much we appreciate it all. And John finds it difficult to think about how all of these clothes will no longer fit by spring. Unreal.



And here we have a picture of the three items that John will constantly put on Nutterbutter. Do you really need all of those clothes when you have a Mets t-shirt, a Who onesie, and a Yale onesie? I mean, really.




And no blog post would be complete without some good old fashioned belly photos. For those of you (John included) who might have thought the belly could only stretch so far, here we have proof of the wonder of the human body. Sarah's belly is a constant source of movement and joy. Apparently it is also a source of heartburn, or at least that is the explanation given for the late night runs to Dairy Queen for blizzards.


Sarah's size is one thing, but last week when we visited the doctor and got our final ultrasound, Nutterbutter's weight was estimated at 7 lbs 9 oz. And apparently she will gain another pound in the last week. Holy mackerel! This is a great excuse for the belly size, but a scary thought when it comes to the actual delivery.


Has there been a demand for pictures of John's belly? No. But really, all of those pictures of Sarah's belly over the past months have made it necessary to give at least some time to the other belly in the house. No significant difference over the last nine months. And as you will see, no six-pack either.



We have the clothes and we've got the bodies, but do we have the room? That is the question on everyone's mind, right? Well, it may not have been keeping you up at night, but it has certainly been a big concern here. The baby's room needed to be painted, furniture needed to be assembled, and everything needed to be properly arranged. Much to John's surprise, much of this involved baskets. Who knew?


Our first photo shows the alcove in Nutter's room. The first item that should draw your eye rests in the right corner. It is a beautiful Moses basket that Sarah's Mom made. The white ruffle you see is actually taken from Sarah's wedding dress. Grandma Gayle is also waiting for word of Nutter's actual name so she can finish the tooth fairy pillows, also made from the wedding dress. Needless to say, we are all very impressed with and thankful for Grandma Gayle's handiwork.


The second picture also represents skilled handiwork. And no, this is not another reference to how we put together the crib. Take a close look at the crib bumper and bedskirt. Those items are the work of Nutter's Great Aunt Teri.




Here's a closer look at the bumper. Great Aunt Teri didn't stop there, however. There's also a quilt and a cute pillow that matches. Sarah and John love it all, and are happy with the way it has all come together. And John is excited that part of this process included finding where all the great quilting stores in Lexington are located.


And the last picture highlights the place that we expect to spend a lot of time with Nutterbutter, reading her stories and rocking her to sleep. Don't worry, all visitors will have the opportunity to sit in this chair. It is very comfortable and rocks very smoothly. And in case you haven't already noticed, the walls have changed color since last they were on the blog. John was able to get this room painted once school started. That means one less room left to paint in the house. Good times.

So there it is, the last post before Nutter's arrival. We are very excited and can't wait to share her arrival with our family and friends!