Ella's Second Birthday

Our niece, Ella, turned two and we enjoyed a birthday party up here in Ohio with the Hopwoods, Hertles and the usual crowd. Of course Jenn made the cake; a wonderful strawberry cake with strawberry buttercream (her best yet) with a layer of ganache for a jolt.
And just to spice it up a bit, here's a sample of how Lydia dresses herself in the morning. She loves wearing tights, saying, "Pants don't look pretty. Princesses don't wear pants."

Wrist Bones

Lydia takes in "Finding Nemo"

It's been freezing here in northeast Ohio. Not much play-time outside, play-time and movies inside has been the strategy lately.

That, combined with the sick bug that hit Jenn the hardest, me the second-hardest, and worked its way a bit through Lydia, has led to an indoor kind of start to January. Lincoln had his round before Christmas, and we're half-convinced Henry just doesn't get sick.

Henry is learning to put on his underpants and pants by himself. This is a big, big step, and not only is he gaining patience and confidence in his abilities, he's also getting closer to not needing diapers overnight. The biggest reason I still have him in a diaper is because to this point he hasn't been able to work with his pants to get them back on after he takes them off. This is starting to change.

When Henry gets focused on play-time, not much distracts.

Lincoln continues to be an All Star Kindergartener. His reading is coming along nicely as well as his math. Right now he's at the cabin with Grandpa this weekend, and he'll certainly come home tired.

Funny story from the other evening. As we were reading our bedtime stories, Lydia noticed the bump in Jenn's wrist (her ulna, you have one, too), and said, "What's that?"

Jenn said, "Thats one of my wrist bones." For the anatomy sticklers, remember we're trying to explain this to a three-year-old.

Lydia looked at her chubby wrist and said, "Why don't I have one of those? I want a wrist bone."

Then Henry, as he often does, repeated what Lydia said, as he waved his *right* hand. "I want a wrist bone."

Jenn and I looked at each other with an, "Awww, gee," type of frown. He still has not acknowledged his difference, and it's neat to see him do what he needs to do with what he's got to do it with.

I came home yesterday to find Jenn "getting her hair done" by Henry and Lydia. Guess which side Lydia worked on first...
Plans are in the works for an October vacation to Disney this year. Jenn, in her typical travel agent fashion, has most of it planned out. There's also a stack of Disney vacation books that she's been working through. Not surprised.

Events have been set in motion, too, as far as it relates to me hiring a new associate later this year. I posted at Ohio State and got a response from a senior student that looks like it'll at least be a promising interview. I haven't yet advertised in places where seasoned vets might see, but that'll come soon. Also, I'll be blogging my hiring experience on my friend's (Eden Myers) blog, JustVetData.com. Big changes are coming to the Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic. At least as far as personnel. It is my plan for no big changes to come as far as the clients' experience is concerned.

After taking a couple of weeks off from running, I got back on the treadmill (it's way too cold outside even with the fantastic cool weather running gear the Parkinsons gave to me for Christmas) and the break was good thing. Jenn's been tired lately and a break, especially following her illness, would be a good thing.

I'm trying to whittle down my 5k time, and then a vet-buddy posted this story:

Galen Rupp Sets U.S. Indoor 5000-Meter Record of 13:01.26

Holy. Cow.

And a little digging provided this guy's 10k time at the 2012 US Olympic Trials: 27:25.33

Um. When I crossed the finish line at the Great New Year's Eve Race, the clock said 27:22, and my official posted time was 27:27. So if this guy had started 5,000 meters behind me at the start, we would have crossed the finish line at about the same time. Wow. I've got goals, but that isn't one of them.

Dressing Like Mommy & Daddy

After the kids woke up from their nap today, they ate their snack well and played well for a while with only minimal bossiness and tears, and then I decided to do a little photo fun...We're going to have to teach Henry to smile on command. You're used to seeing the big smile often found in the photos I post. But sometimes he's not smiling...And other times he gives a medium-sized smile...Currently, when I say, "Henry, smile!" this is what comes out...And getting Lydia to hold still for a good photo is darn near next to impossible. So today I put her on top of a step stool where she couldn't run around.

Water Fun & China Plans

It got HOT here today! After working the morning in the AC at work, I went out to the car to go home for lunch and started sweating. Where did this day come from? Then I got home in the evening and the kids are bopping around on the bed in their underwear/diaper. So we went outside and had some water fun.

Then we went for bath time to find out that there was no hot water. So Blind & Sons will be coming out tomorrow to get things straightened out.

Time is fast approaching for us to go to China. We officially bought our tickets today, so we're officially going on May 13. We'll meet Henry for the first time on May 21, and then he'll officially become a U.S. citizen on May 31. We'll immediately hop aboard a train and jump on a flight home so I can get back to work on Monday, June 4. It'll be a lot, and we're praying for Henry and that he'll make adjustments well. Jenn also found out that we'll be travelling with seven other adoptive families, so travelling with other Americans who are in a similar position and are understanding of our noisiness and fidgetiness will be a very good thing.

Jenn is in full-blown getting-ready-for-Lincoln's-birthday-party mode right now. The cake is going to look awesome, and we can all attest to the fact that it's going to taste really good. We're looking forward to the arrival of the Great Grandparents Mullen tomorrow, and then the Parkinsons on Saturday. It'll be a nice little get-together.

Finally, this is what happens when (left) Lydia gets to watch a The Dad Life after dinner, and when (right) Lydia insists to her mother that she wants to wear her mother's clothes.