Henry's Weekly Reader

Henry's weekly reader project fell in March, and this included bringing the buddies home for the week and getting pictures with them doing the things he likes to do. He also got to help mom make the treat for the end of the week!

Henry chose the Berenstain Bears as his theme, and wrote a report on posterboard about the authors, the subjects and some fun facts.

Brazil!

In an effort to further expand the kids' tastes and palates, Jenn has taken them to the grocery store to pick out various food items and then has included them in the cooking process as they learn that the same items can taste differently when prepared in different ways. On top of that, she's even incorporating geography into the project! This past Thursday night it was Brazil night, as the kids made their own Brazilian flags, colored a map of South America, and learned about the Amazon river and the coffee & beef industries of Brazil. For dinner we ate feijoada (faze-wah'-dah) with plantain chips and agua de tamarindo to drink. Wow, was it good!
Jenn's latest cake creation was for the son of a friend, and it was very well-received.
And Lydia has been picking up a number of things lately. First, her ability to puzzle is beyond what we've seen from the boys. She doesn't start with the edges, but just works with finding matches, and she's really good at it. She's also been getting her letters lately, and it's something that just seemed to click overnight. And we've enrolled her in gymnastics again, and she's loving that.

#Gymnastics @RiverfrontYMCA.

A photo posted by @rggates on Feb 28, 2015 at 6:28am PST

January, Where Have You Gone?

Well, I figured I ought to get something in so I don't end up with my first blank month since this whole blogging adventure started.
Christmas was fun, with family Christmases here at our place, then a trip to Franklin to spend some time with the Hopwoods.
Lincoln's reading is really taking off, and it's a lot of fun to listen to him read to us and to Lydia & Henry. Jenn went to Universal Studios with Auntie Haley for a few days after the new year.

my main man gru A photo posted by haley parkinson ✨💥⚡️ (@haleyparkinson) on Jan 4, 2015 at 12:00pm PST

I became 100% owner at CFVC on January 1, and the transition has been interesting, challenging, and something that I'm getting used to. I have SOOOOOOOOOOO appreciated Jenn keeping up with our checkbook and finances at home, as this just isn't an area of interest for me, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do, and I'm staying on top of things at the clinic and haven't had any major fires yet. Kirt (Dr. Kirt, to you!) is working out well, and the staff hasn't missed a beat. There's no replacing ODG (Other Dr. Gates), but over time I ought to move into his role, and Kirt ought to assume my spot. In time. Only a few clients have had a really hard time with the transition.

Flashback to Dad's Retirement Party:

On the horizon is a trip to Zion National Park then Las Vegas for some continuing education. This means bonus grandparent time for the kids, and it also means Dad can get back to the clinic for some relief days. The staff is very excited. And Jenn and I are excited to see a part of the country (Zion) that's been on our list for a while, and another part (Vegas) that we probably ought to see once. But the conference is high on my list, as I'll be able to see some veterinarians in person that I've only ever met online.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I better get something up before Christmas so I can have at least 2 December posts.

The rundown:

Lydia's been making some goodies in the kitchen.

We took a trip to the North Pole on the Polar Express!

Jenn hosted Lincoln's First Grade class's Christmas Party. She organized some neat crafts, put together some good food, and the kids really seemed to have a good time.

And we're all getting into the Christmas Spirit. The kids want to have their stories in front of the Christmas Tree, Lincoln is learning all sorts of Christmas songs. Lydia and Henry can fill in the blanks on a number of Christmas books. And Oodles... he's up to his naughty fun around the house each day.

Virtual Twins

Lydia and Henry are getting pretty funny together. Today they wanted to sit in the crib and read books with their buddies.

Birthday With The Fam

Today we celebrated my birthday with my parents and Grandma Gates. The kids were in rare form earlier today coming off of a couple days of runny noses and less than ideal sleep. So a trip to Grandma & Grandpa's house was a welcome thing because everything always get's better at Grandma & Grandpa's house!

Here's a sampling of today's fun, concluding with a shot of the Goodyear blimp off in the distance. It was apparently coming back from the Cleveland area. Usually it passes directly over our house, but today it didn't. It was okay, though, because the kids got to see it as we drove alongside it on the way home after the festivities.
I've got to say, I love going over to my parent's house for family time. They're great with the grandkids, the food is always good, things are slow-paced which makes things as relaxing as it can possibly be with three crazy kids, and they're just so generous with their time and things. All of this makes Jenn and I look forward to our vacation time (along with the Hopwoods!) next summer.

New Lens!

A number of things have happened since our last post, so this is a bit of a hit-the-high-points catch-up.Last Sunday Jenn went to spend some of our Gym-Bucks while I occupied the kids at First & Main. I took bubbles to keep them busy, and that lasted about three minutes. Lydia spilled her's as soon as we got there, Henry was kind of into them, and Lincoln wanted to stand too close to me. Anyway... after that, L & L decided to run around the small square area, and Lydia has no fear of wandering too far away.Henry's big doctor's visit was this past Wednesday. He was evaluated on his progress (very good and really only lagging in the language department) and his health (nothing is a problem). We were supposed to meet with Dr. Degeorge, a psychologist, to talk about Henry, but because he's doing very well, we spent the time with him talking about us as parents for him. All in all, it was a very productive, positive time.

Jenn has kept the Play Date Agenda going with friends from church. On Monday of this week they all decorated their own cookies. Imagine what Lydia thought of that!Jenn gave me an early Anniversary & Birthday present: a Canon 10-22mm lens! I'm so pumped to use a real, good wide-angle lens with the kids!Also, Jenn is in full meal-planning mode as we get ready for Grandma Laura, Grandpa Dave & Auntie Haley's visit this weekend!

Henry's Room is Taking Shape

For starters, the kids got a haircut this past week, and for Lydia, it was her first. She's just a little darling!As we're in the home-stretch of Henry's adoption, we're looking for things to keep us busy as far as he's concerned, and right now, we're putting the finishing touches on his room.

First Hike of 2012

Today was our first real hike of 2012. The weather was beautiful, and aside from some muddy parts of the trail, it was very pleasant to be out there. We went on the Cross Country Trail, which is 2.5 miles, and Lincoln held up very well. It was his longest hike without being carried for at least some portion, and the fact that he did it on his first hike of the season impressed us.On a completely different subject, Lincoln is starting to gather some steam on the reading front. He's sounding out letters and making out simple words. Our teaching/learning bursts don't last long because he'll either get bored or frustrated, but he's making pretty good progress during the durations where we stay on task.