Summer Fun with Nana Banana and Sport

As is the case with most places in the good old US of A, Memorial Day weekend represents the kickoff of summer. What better way to start it off than with a visit from Nana Banana and sport?

We were fortunate to have some really hot weather while they were in town, but that's what inflatable swimming pools and central air conditioning are for. After a brief foray to the Farmer's Market downtown and a little gardening, it was time to break out the swimsuits and the pool.

Callie and Reese were excited to have their Connecticut grandparents in town. The girls were quick to show off their aquatic skills, which consisted of a lot of running and jumping for Callie and a lot of drinking water for Reese.

And once they had gotten good and wet they got to choose whose lap they would sit on. In the above picture, Callie chose Sport as the lucky recipient of her soggy hug.

But Callie doesn't play favorites. She was more than willing to spread the love around, and Nana Banana got her fair share of pool water as well. And of course during the visit Nana Banana was a popular choice to read bedtime stories or make up silly songs. Callie and her grandmother are definitely on the same silly wavelength at this point in time. Callie has developed an appreciation for humor, and the sillier the better. And if you know Nana Banana, you know that silliness is her sweet spot.

Another benefit of having Sport in town is that he gets up early and is happy to take the girls with him on his morning walk. Callie and Reese loved getting to have their breakfast on the go while still in their jammies. Sport enjoyed having the company. And we reveled in the few extra minutes of peace and quiet even though we weren't really sure what to do with it. I guess we need more practice with quiet and relaxing mornings. We might get good at it in another fifteen years or so.

As always the visit wasn't long enough. However, it was a little bit longer for Nana Banana than expected, since her flight out of Lexington was delayed and then cancelled. So while Sport was down at a conference in Nashville we got an extra night with Nana Banana.

Even better, we knew that we would be seeing both of them in just a few weeks when we made our way up north for our family vacation on Cape Cod. But there were still a few things to get done before we got to hit the beach....

Remembering Karen

Only a couple of weeks after we returned from California to celebrate Great-Grandma Lucas's birthday, we received sad news that Sarah's cousin Karen had passed away suddenly. This news was completely shocking. Anyone who knew Karen would understand what a loss this was to our family, her community, and everyone she touched. Karen had such an infectiously positive spirit that lit up a room any time she entered. Her laughter, thoughtfulness, and sincerity will be missed by all. Although we were unable to attend her funeral, we feel extremely fortunate to have been able to see her and spend some time with her while we were in California. Losing Karen has certainly reminded us how important family is to us and how lucky we are to have the families we have on both coasts and in between. Karen will always be in our hearts.

Karen Ann Rocha
November 15, 1952 - April 28, 2012

G.G.'s 90th!

In early April, Sarah, Callie, and Reese flew out to California to help get ready for Great-Grandma Lucas's 90th birthday celebration. John followed them out there in time to make it to the party. We weren't going to miss the opportunity to both wish Hazel a happy birthday in person and to see all the Lucas family members who would be there as well.

Before the party officially started, the immediate family gathered to take a group picture. With eighteen people overall and five children four and below, you can imagine that this picture took some doing. Reese decided to make it extra challenging, however. What you cannot see in this picture is that Reese and Sarah smelled of fresh puke. That's right, we had just parked the car in front of the house when Reese decided to throw up on herself, her mother, and the car seat. Nothing says it's time to party like a child smelling of vomit.

Thankfully, we got a change of clothes for Reese. Please note, however, that the change of clothes came after the picture. She was dressed for a family portrait, and throw-up or no throw-up, that dress was going to be worn for the picture! Sarah also got a new outfit courtesy of Haley. The picture came out well, and Reese was fine from that point forward. Party on!

If you know Great Grandma Lucas, you know that the joys of her life are her two sons. And they are a photogenic threesome. Of course, this was one of hundreds of pictures Hazel smiled for during the party. Everyone wanted to have their picture taken with the guest of honor. And if you know Great Grandma Lucas, you know she was more than happy to oblige.

Callie had a great time at the party as well. GA doesn't miss any details in planning these events. There was a kids table equipped with dozens of activities as well as a blow up bouncy house set up in the driveway. All the little cousins had a blast. It was surreal to see the next generation of the Lucas family running around together while their parents sat around wondering when they stopped being the youngest generation.

Thankfully we were out in California for a week so we got the opportunity to hang out with GG several times. In fact the day after the party she came over to Gayle's house with Dan for breakfast. Callie was quick to invite GG to sit on the couch and play with her. They make a pretty cute couple.

We could share numerous pictures of GG playing with Callie and Cinderella, but the above photo says it all.

Reese also had her time with GG, but she enjoyed getting to know Grandpa Dan. And Grandpa Dan was very happy to entertain all of her requests and get her smiling. He certainly got a kick out of her extra spunk and determined attitude. It's tough not to appreciate how she holds her own.

Grandpa Dan certainly didn't want to show up empty handed, and he brought a couple of containers of bubbles for the girls to play with. As you can imagine these entertained Callie and Reese for a good chunk of time. And what's great about bubbles is you just sit there and blow them while the kids do all the work by running around after them. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

Another treat that we got during our stay was the chance to meet Zac's girlfriend Zane. She joined us for breakfast as well and we give her a lot of credit for her willingness to be a part of the family circus. It was wonderful to see how happy they both were and we hope to get to spend more time with the two of them in the future.

Clearly the previous day's encounter with the paparazzi did not deter GG from sitting for more family portraits. Here she is with her son Dan and her grandchildren, Sarah and Zac.

It is not very often that the four of them are in one place together for too long these days, so you have to take advantage of those moments. Thirty years ago a picture of these four fine folks would have been taken in front of a Winnebago in Wyoming. Times have certainly changed.

Although the primary focus for this trip was to celebrate GG's birthday, Grammy took advantage of having her youngest grandchildren around for a week. They got to spend a lot of time together and had a lot of fun. And it was great knowing that it wouldn't be too long before the girls got to spend more time with Grammy when she headed to Lexington.

Happy Easter!

Last year the Easter Bunny put together an elaborate scavenger hunt for Callie and Reese. Primarily for Callie, since Reese was barely able to roll around much less follow clues. This year the Easter Bunny decided to be a bit more direct but just as practical. The girls loved their baskets, or plastic storage bins, depending on your perspective. The bubbles and the books were especially big hits. All in all it was a fun Easter morning.

Although we don't have pictures from the big Easter egg hunt at church, there is at least one wonderful story to tell. Miss Carol, who taught Sunday school with Sarah for the 3-4 year-olds, had to do some quick thinking when one of the 4 year-olds announced quite loudly that the Easter bunny was dead. The parents were aghast, while the kids were so busy anticipating the egg hunt that they didn't really tune in to the implications of the whole conversation. Apparently that is the type of knowledge you can bring to these occasions when you have an older sister. Look for Reese to enlighten her classmates in similar ways in the not too distant future.

Every holiday we always have to rotate which family we visit. However, this marked the fifth year that we enjoyed Easter brunch with the Chrismans. They have even stated that if we were ever to leave the Lexington area that they expect us to travel to spend Easter with them every year.

And that explains why this family Easter portrait was taken in the Chrisman's back yard, and not in ours. Besides, their lilac bush has a much better shape to it.

You may notice that Callie and Reese have a variety of matching outfits, and their Easter dresses are a good example. Callie certainly enjoys matching her sister. We are sure this will change in the future, but we have embraced it and will continue to do so for as long as the two are willing. It is probably Reese who will want to shake things up first, but you never know. In any case, they had a lot of fun chasing each other around the Chrisman's yard in their cute dresses.

Easter also marks the fifth year that we have taken the traditional bunny ear shot with Callie. It is amazing how fast she has grown. We hope to continue this tradition every year, but we may have to get a new pair of bunny ears. These ones have certainly seen better days.

And with Easter at its end we looked forward to spring and all the fun it would bring. At the very least it was going to bring some opportunities to travel.

End of a warm winter

It is sad but true...we are about six months behind when it comes to posting updates on our family activities. When the updates involve people in their 30s, six months doesn't matter all that much. But when it comes to a one-year-old and a four-year-old, six months is kind of a big deal. Thankfully the problem isn't that we stopped taking pictures. We have a bunch to share. It is just a matter of sitting down and making it happen. So here is what should be the first of many posts over the next couple of weeks that will bring us up to date.

To start this post, we need to go back to January. To be honest, however, the attitude and joy captured in this picture could have been taken earlier tonight. Reese is bigger now, but she still loves the bath and water in general. Pour it over her head and she loves it. Let her lie down in the bathtub and she's happy. Tell her to stop drinking the bathwater, and she gives a mischievous grin and goes back for more. At least it isn't a fight to get her into the bath.

January marked a very important transition in our household, and it wasn't simply a matter of a new year. Pictured below are not just sisters, but roommates.

That's right, Reese was evicted from her parents room, and not a day too soon. The transition has gone extremely smoothly. However, the only kink in the bedtime routine is Callie falling asleep in her parents room. Our room should be kid free some day soon.

Morning time has become defined by routine, something that John has employed happily and effectively. Of course, if he doesn't get to shower before the girls get up, then the bathroom gets a bit crowded. The girls love their morning time with Daddy, and most days there is a good combination of playtime, mealtime, and getting ready time. Of course, one of these days Reese will need to have her hair brushed too. That is going to change the routine a bit.

We certainly did not have a great deal of snow this winter. Fortunately we were able to take advantage of the one substantial snowfall to build Callie's first snowman. She had a lot of fun getting outside and putting it all together. The eyes and mouth were made of blueberries and the nose was your classic baby carrot. The snowman did not last too long, but was fun to have around for a couple of days.

Callie certainly was excited about the mild winter, especially when she received a hand-me-down bicycle from the Abrahams. We were able to break it out in early March and spent quite a bit of time riding around the block. Callie absolutely loved riding it. Although she was cautious at first, she got pretty confident maneuvering around corners and down hills. Hopefully she'll keep progressing as time goes by.

The warm weather brought everybody out, including our fine neighbors. Sharon spent a lot of time planting her new garden in the back and was always willing to allow Callie to help out. But she was always interested in taking breaks to get some giggle time in with Reese. Reese is learning quickly from her big sister that getting in good with the Chrismans has its benefits. As of March Reese had yet to get ice cream from them, but that is sure to change.

Warm weather plus the Chrismans equals opening the patio. It is always a great occasion when we can all hang out in the Chrisman's backyard to catch up on life, eat together, and watch the girls play.

And the smiles you see above are a clear indication that everyone is happy the warm winter led to an early spring. An early spring also has allowed us to maximize our new membership at the children's garden at the Lexington Arboretum. We made our first visit shortly after it opened for the season and took advantage of a beautiful day.

The great thing about the Arboretum is that kids can do all sorts of things. This trip the top activities were digging in the endless pit of dirt, playing on old tree trunks, and of course planting flowers.

Callie not only got to plant flowers at the Arboretum but also received two different pansies to bring home to plant in our garden. We would like to note that six months later at least one of them is alive. Remember, it's July and it is hot down here.

Reese's First Year Evaluation

Although Reese turned one in December, we are only now able to look back fully on the year and provide a good sense of how the newest member of Team Bowes is faring. The theme of this evaluation is going to be that Reese is petite, powerful, and independent. She has all the makings of a great Bowes family member. But she is definitely feisty, so don't let the demure picture below fool you.



We can start with the petite aspects. At her one year appointment, Reese came in at a height of 28 inches(15th percentile) and a weight of 17 lbs 4 oz.(below 5th percentile) Her head was at 46cm (62nd percentile). Based on those numbers one might imagine she looked like a bobble head doll. But she didn't. Three months later, at her 15 month check-up, it was clear that the holidays had treated her right. She shot up to 29 1/2 inches (20th percentile) and packed on almost two pounds to weight in at 19 lbs 2 oz.(5th percentile) And her head gained 1 cm in circumference. (75th percentile). One of the main reasons why we like Dr. Warner as a pediatrician is that whenever we bring in our daughters he tells us how beautiful and healthy they are. And this time around, in response to Reese's numbers, he simply said, "She's growing like a Bowes girl. She looks great!" One area in which Reese's numbers are certainly exceeding expectations are her number of teeth. At the moment she has twelve, and even a recent face-first fall onto the corner of her parent's bed frame did not lessen that number, thank goodness.

Just as important, we have not heard anything from daycare about Reese using her chompers on her classmates, or vice versa. Indeed, overall Reese has been having a very good experience at daycare. At the beginning of the year she made the big move out of the busybee classroom and into the waddlers. This transition was apparently more difficult for her parents than for her. And it has also shown us that Reese is either extremely sweet or incredibly strategic. She has quickly developed a special rapport with Mr. Fred, who happens to be one of the owners of the family run business. That relationship makes Fred's wife Pam adore Reese, and in turn their daughter Amy thinks Reese is great. Perhaps by this time next year Reese will have a system in place where she gets the best seat at lunch and first shot at the new toys. We shall see. When it all comes down to it, Reese seems to have a blast at daycare and waves goodbye with a smile on her face every morning.

Food remains an interesting adventure when Reese is involved. She moved from bottles to sippy cups with no problem, and in fact she can even drink milk through a straw out of a cup or a box. This makes going out to eat much easier for everyone involved. Speaking of going out to eat, if you ever have to take Reese somewhere, we highly recommend Chipotle. You have to see it to believe it. She turns into an eating machine and takes down a kids' meal including the spicy corn salsa that even scares away her dad. As far as the rest of her meals, like most kids her age it is touch and go. Yesterdays favorite becomes today's rejected fare. There are a couple of mainstays, including cheese, yogurt, and oatmeal. And she is quickly developing the ability to use a spoon to eat the oatmeal and yogurt. Her father has her on a tight leash though, and she only gets the spoon once the food is on it. Unfortunately we have noticed some potential food allergies, and we might have to start keeping a journal of what she eats to see what causes her facial rashes. Some testing might come into play later. Strawberries have led to hives, and in a blow to omelette lovers in the family, she might be allergic to eggs.

Reese is a very vocal little one, but she has yet to lay claim to a clear spoken word. With that being said it is obvious that she understands what we say to her. In fact, she is very good at following directions, especially when it comes to putting things back in cabinets and closing doors. She has mastered a few of the basic sign language words, like please, thank you, and more. But she has also always been a big fan of responding to pictures of animals and making animal noises. She is particularly fond of elephants. And of course, for months she has enjoyed the game of "Where's Callie?" in which we ask the question and she makes the universal gesture of "I don't know - where could she be?" It's great fun for the whole family.

What Reese may lack in language skills she more than makes up for in her physical mobility. She started walking at ten months and now you can't turn your back on her. She wants to run and she wants to climb. Leave the room for a second, and she has used the stool to climb onto the coffee table. Take a little too long in the kitchen, and she has pushed one of the little chairs next to the couch so that she can climb up there, sit down, and smile proudly at her accomplishment. And John simply shuts the upstairs bathroom door in the morning because every chance she gets she is climbing the stool so that she can hang onto the sink. All of this highlights how she earned the nickname of "Muscle". She is more than willing to push Callie to the side to gain access to whatever it is she desires. And she desires quite a bit.

Our review ends with the all encompassing category of miscellaneous activities and things that come to mind when we think of Reese. She is a hair twirler and a really good snuggler, especially if you want the person you are snuggling with to rub the back of your neck or twirl your hair. She also loves the camera, and is ready with a great big smile whenever we break it out. Over the past several months we have also begun laying the foundation for that wonderful time in the future when she gives up diapers. At least three times a week, and sometimes more if we are really alert, Reese takes care of her business while sitting on the toilet and looking at an animal picture book. It's never to early to start the process of removing diapers from our household, and every success is one less stinky diaper we had to change. Speaking of the bathroom, we should also say a thing or two about bathtime. Reese loves getting in the bathtub, which is great. But she also loves either standing up when she shouldn't or drinking the bathwater, which is never a good idea. It is possible that she takes in a couple of ounces of soapy water a night. Seriously. It's gross.

Nevertheless, Reese has been a joyful addition to our family. She is adored by her sister and can bring a smile to the faces of her parents in an instant. And Reese has not only had to take on the intense love of her sister, but also of the older kids at daycare and at church. She is a tough cookie and tolerates being lugged around by six-year-olds quite well. But she also is quick to let you know when she is done with it. In short, she's a keeper. We love her immensely and are lucky to be her parents. We can't wait to see what this year brings and are happy to recommend her promotion to year two.

Callie's Fourth Year Evaluation

What can we say? The crazy year that was 2011 has managed to fully overflow into 2012. There are simply no signs of life slowing down for us. All of that is our way of apologizing for the fact that Callie's annual review is a little over five months late. And the saddest part is that somewhere in those five months some of Callie's paperwork must have been misplaced. We do not have any record on Callie's height or weight in terms of numbers and percentages. Looking at her, she is still both tall and thin. But what is especially apparent is that Callie is no longer a baby or a toddler - she is clearly a little girl.

And what kind of a little girls is she? Let's start with something illustrated in the picture below. She has a tendency to be shy, especially when she doesn't want to do something. This picture definitely highlights that aspect of her personality. We have also been lucky enough to experience this shyness/attitude when interacting with dentists and doctors. But what is even more fun is when we have a little girl who does not respond to our friends saying hello to her or trying to interact with her in any way. It's never good to start off an evaluation on such a note, but this is an important area in which she will need to improve as she approaches her fifth birthday.



One of the biggest changes in Callie's life this past year was the entrance of her sister. As we have stated so often in previous posts, Callie has exceeded expectations in her big sister responsibilities. The intensity of her love and concern has not diminished. If anything it has increased. For example, it made her extremely happy when Reese no longer took a morning nap, because it meant she would have more time to play with her. Indeed, she has taken to referring to Reese as "Boo" and does everything she can to help her little sister out.

The love for her sister is only one part of her greater interest in and love for her whole family. Sarah is her "Best Mommy" and John is her "Best Daddy". These are titles we accept with great pride, knowing it can't last forever. Who knows what will happen once she gets tenure? Amazingly enough she has an incredible ability to remember all of her relatives on both coasts and talks about them constantly. It probably helps that we have spent a lot of time traveling to see those folks this past year. At random moments she will refer to something Grammy has done or Nana Banana has taught her. It's fun to talk to her about stuff like that.

All of the travel and the general craziness of our lives has also made Callie a trooper who has the ability to turn any unfortunate situation into an adventure. Let's do a quick review. From the time she turned three to now she has - eaten a waffle after midnight at a Waffle House in northern KY while waiting for a tow truck and a taxi, she has slept on a bag of dirty laundry in the Las Vegas airport during the course of a 21 hour journey home from a trip to California, and she has made a flight out of LaGuardia after arriving at the rental car drop off site 45 minutes before take off. And these are just the major things we can remember. Indeed, she now gets a little upset if we are going to have an ordinary day in which she just comes home, has dinner, takes a bath, and goes to bed. Apparently she needs a bit more excitement in her daily routine.

Another significant development this past year was Callie's venture into the world of dance. She has taken dance lessons once a week since August and it has become one of her favorite days of the week. She is currently preparing for a recital in June that will be held at the Lexington Opera House. She loves to dance and at times interrupts her dinner so that she can step away from the table and spin a few times. However, if she doesn't do something about the shyness we mentioned above, her first recital could be interesting. We hope the confidence that she has when she requests us to introduce her as "Callie Alexis Bowes from Kentucky (or Alabama, depending on her mood)" will carry over into the big performance.

When Callie is not dancing, she is often singing. On Wednesday nights, as part of a weekly program at our church, Callie takes a music class. As a result of this class we have been introduced to an incredible number of songs. Callie loves to sing them all, and we are so grateful to Matt and Christi Gabbard who have passed along this love of music to her in the weekly sessions. It's pretty safe to say that few four-year-olds are able to serenade you with a pretty good version of Dona Nobis Pacem.

When she's not traveling the globe, dancing in her class, or singing at church, Callie is at daycare, where she continues to develop a variety of skills. Callie has two particularly strong loves at daycare. The first is, always has been, and always will be her friend Maddie. They continue to be inseparable, which is fun. The second love is for her teacher, Miss Michelle. Although Callie has learned a lot, her favorite activities to also do at home are cutting with scissors, spelling her or her sister's name, or doing small number math. It is clear that Miss Michelle makes a point of keeping her charges active and engaged.

Overall, Callie is a wonderful little girl with a great sense of humor and tendency to be goofy at the drop of a hat. In other words, she fits in very well with this family. She loves her friends from daycare and from church. And while we knew it was likely to happen but didn't want to admit it, our four-year-old girl loves princesses. She also loves her babies, and spends a lot of time making sure Bitty Baby, who has finally received the illustrious name of Harper Reese Vixen Bowes, is taken care of well. We sincerely hope that the inspiration of the doll's name is a combination of Callie's sister and one of Santa's reindeer. We don't want to think of the alternatives.

Although there are still a few areas that could be improved, overall Callie has once again exceeded our expectations by leaps and bounds. And we mean that quite literally, because she spends a lot of time jumping around the house. Often when she is "resting" for 40 minutes on the weekends when her parents just need a break. We have very strong feelings about this little girl, and fully expect that she will be a part of this family for a long, long time.