It's been a big week for us here at the Gates Home. If you're connected with us much at all, you've probably now heard that we're expecting a little girl in October. While we've not yet chosen a name, we will be choosing and announcing one soon, as we want everyone, especially Lincoln, to refer to her by name. Stay tuned.
Then on Friday, Jenn, Grandma Paulette & Lincoln went to the Boston Mills Depot of the Cuyahoga Valley Railroad line for a day with... wait for it... THOMAS THE TRAIN!!! What a day!
The view from the train is very pretty through the National Park.
Another fun thing lately has been Lincoln's new Pirate Ship Sandbox that Grandma Laura and Grandpa Dave gave him for his birthday. I haven't yet put the sand in it, but he's having fun with in anyway!
Dad and I have been busy at work lately, the weather's been nice, so we've been busy outside with work & play, Gretel's growing up and starting to be less naughty... we've just got a lot going on!
Lincoln took a great early nap so he was a total and complete All-Star for his whole show. The food was great and the company was wonderful. There are a number of principles and ideas that Jenn and I will instill into Lincoln (and his brothers and/or sisters) over the years and one of them is: appreciate family and friends. Jenn, Lincoln and I have been so wonderfully blessed with great family and friends... Praise God!
Here is a sampling of the fun:
Meng gave Lincoln a beautiful Chinese pen, much like an ink-brush.
And then Lincoln started to wind down a bit.
He never made much more than a short fuss, though, until I had to take him up for bed. The last thing he said to me as I left his room was, "Bicycle!" Jenn and I gave him a Radio Flyer tricycle that he can't yet use properly, but he loves to climb on it. Anyway, tomorrow ought to be a fun day as he really gets to play with his new toys.
Thanks so much to everyone who extended birthday wishes to Lincoln. Jenn and I are so proud of him and blessed to have him be a part of our family. We can't believe it's been two years. At times it seems longer than that, and at other times it seems like just yesterday we were at the hospital with him. Time flies, and from what I hear, it only goes by faster as we all get older.
Lincoln and I went to Kidz Kutz to have his hair cut. He got to sit in a great Tractor Seat and watch Spongebob... but he cried anyway... the whole time. But the lady was very nice and understanding, and his haircut looks great. So then when I got him out of the seat to go pay, he pointed to the Tractor Seat and said, "Sit in tractor!" and then started crying again to sit in the tractor. I couldn't win.
Jenn finished his cake and it looks simply awesome! She's getting better and better and better with cake decorating. It's scary to think about what Lincoln's 16-year-old cake will look like!
The excitement will continue through they day. Come back tomorrow to see the recap of all of the fun!
There's a lot going on at the Gates Home and we're not going to leave our extended, out-of-town family out of the loop. The big news since this morning's post has been Jenn's unbelievable work on Lincoln's cake. If you know Jenn, you know that she doesn't do anything half-way. Lincoln's been into Thomas the Train, and when Jenn asked Lincoln if he wanted a Thomas Cake, a Percy Cake or a James Cake, he informed her that he wanted a Percy Cake. She spent most of the day decorating and it's looking fantastic! Here it is in its not-quite-yet-finished state:
