Puddle Jumper

Has it really been a month? Wow.

Between the busy-ness of work, Lincoln wrapping up the 1st Grade, and generally keeping up with Lydia & Henry… yikes.

Just the other day Lydia left her room in the late evening and decided to have a camp-out in Henry's room. We didn't notice until the morning when they got up at the crack of dawn. That made for a pleasant day, given she'd lost 2 hours of sleep in the front end and another 1 hour on the back end.

Vacation Bible Camp started this week at CCC, and the kids are loving it.

The next couple of weeks are going to be big fun, too, for our family. Stay tuned!

Gymnastics, Cake & a Whole Bunch of Stuff

Jenn was out with friends, I was having Bible study in the kitchen with some friends, and a storm blew through. Henry always wants to get out of bed and go somewhere, so this is where he went... right outside his doorway.

And here it is, mid-August. 2014 is buzzing by. Tomorrow starts a new era at Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic as Dr. Kirt Yant begins. Wow. 24 years Dad was a solo practitioner, then we paired up for 9 years, and now Kirt is set to assume my role as I assume Dad's in the coming months. James 4:14 says...

What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

He was onto something.

Lincoln had another fun trip to Leesville Lake last week.

One of the very cool events of the summer was when Grandpa Doug received tickets to the Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club that he couldn't use. He gave them to me, and I invited Brandon, and after he posted something about it on Facebook, Michael made mention that he'd like to come up from Charlotte and go with us. Well, I had an extra ticket, and it just worked out really, really cool. The Schwab tent was over the top, with hotdogs, fruit, prime rib, all the desserts and Nature Valley granola bars we could eat. It was fun to have the cousins together (it had been a long time!), and the highlight of the day at the course was when Kevin Na gave Lincoln his hat as he came off the 18th Green and then signed it for him. What a cool guy!


Below...
The kids decorated a birthday cake for Grandma Paulette; Lydia stretches before gymnastics class; another year, another Men's Retreat (this time with just my Bible study guys, Manny & Andy, along with three invitees); Lincoln at one of the Cuyahoga Falls wading pools; Grandma & Brandon's birthday party w/ Jenn's latest work of cake art



I'll try to remember to tack this onto the end of posts. They'll always look the same if you scroll through the posts, but at least if you keep up with this on a regular basis, you'll see the progression of my updates.

Cookies in the Orphanage?

Lincoln headed south yesterday with Jenn to meet Grandma Laura and Grandpa Dave and spend the next couple of days with them.  After hearing what was on the agenda for him, he ought to come back home completely exhausted.  Just in time for our trip to Cedar Point!  He can sleep all day Thursday.It's just a different dynamic with 2 kids in the house.  Lydia and Henry have been hilarious with each other, playing all sorts of funny games and having conversations that crack Jenn and me up.

Lydia's transition to a big girl bed continues to be an adventure.  It's like pulling teeth to get her to use the potty in a timely manner and avoid having the bed-time routine take an hour.  She also has no qualms about getting out of bed and rearranging things in her room.  When she's supposed to be sleeping.  {sigh}
Over the past two weeks I hosted a University of Minnesota veterinary student at the clinic for an externship.  It's times like that that I really wish I were closer to Ohio State because I really enjoy having students around and giving them some real-world experience.  The goal is to be encouraging while exposing them to things that they'll see when they leave the teaching hospital, and we were able to do that over the two weeks.  It was an interesting week when Other-Dr. Gates was in Canada and I had my busiest solo week of my career.  The first Monday I saw 29 appointments, and the student said she went back to her parents' home that night (she related this to me a week later after she had time to process it... and her parents live in Hudson), and said, "Holy... smokes..."  It was a fast-paced week, but one that we got through in a very rewarding way.
Lincoln went bowling with his preschool class last Thursday and had a lunch of hotdogs, french fries and some kind of pop.  What's not for a preschooler to love?!

Jenn continues to crank out the amazing cakes, this time for Grandma Paulette's Birthday.  A Lemon Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Icing and a Chocolate Cake with Caramelized Banana Filling and Peanut Butter Buttercream Icing made for some good post-dinner sweet consumption.
Sometimes during dinner when the food is particuarly good (which is most evenings... which is why this story is funny for our family), Lincoln will turn to Henry (they sit next to each other at dinner) and say, "Henry, did you eat __{insert food here}__ when you were in the orphanage?"

And Henry often responds with a short, not-really-understanding-the-question, "Ya," or, "No."

The other evening we were eating a pasta dish with really good chicken meatballs and Lincoln asked his usual question, but this time Henry responded, "No.  We had cookies and dessert."  Ha!  Clearly he doesn't have an accurate memory, and that's okay with us.

His speech is developing unbelievably. He's cranking out complete sentences and thoughts with some degree of regularity, and while there's still catch-up space between him and Lydia, he's narrowing the gap.

Pre-Christmas Run-Down

I know it's been a while since I last posted. My apologies. There has been lots going on in the Gates Home, and finding the time to sit down and play with photos and write has been tough. Kid stuff is a bit overwhelming right now. Work has been busy in spurts. During the down times at work I've been writing an essay with colleagues from Kentucky and Pennsylvania with the goal of having it published in JAVMA.

You read that correctly... I'm working on getting a piece published in a scholarly journal. I recall my high school days when I was writing term papers and preparing Works Cited pages and saying, "Why do I have to do this? I'm never going to have to do this again." The answer was always, "You'll need to know how to do this in college." Then, by the time I got to vet school, the answer was, "If you ever publish, you'll have to know." And my answer was always, "Yeah, right. I'm going into private practice and never entering the realm of academia again." Well, guess who has been managing the Works Cited page. That's right, and it's been a blast from the past.

So, catching up...Lydia got moved to a toddler bed. After climbing out of her crib for about a month and not caring a lick when we'd tell her not to do it, we bit the bullet, got the toddler bed (Craig's List... speaking of things I swore I'd never do again...), and now she can climb back into her bed....... except when she doesn't want to.Lincoln had his Christmas program at preschool. And on the note of preschool, we received a glowing report from his teachers about his progress and abilities. They're challenging him, and he's rising to the challenges.Oodles continues to stalk the kids. Sometimes they care that "he's reporting to Santa." Most of the time they forget about it and naughty sibling behavior rules the day.After purchasing an artificial tree for our family room, Jenn, Lincoln and I still wanted to continue our family tradition of going to the tree farm, so Lincoln and I cut down a smaller tree today and lit it for our front porch. He and the other kids wanted to put lights up on the front of our house, so this was a compromise I was willing to make.And then on Saturday evening, Jenn and I went to our annual ABF Christmas Party. Jenn looked stunning (and her gold shoes didn't make the photo, but... wow!) and I was more than happy to be seen with her.

A Thanksgiving Coda

Yesterday, after the glorious finish to a punished season, we all went down to the Riverfront to see the lighting of the Christmas Tree and the fireworks show. This was the twins first experience with fireworks. Henry loved them, Lydia... let's just say that she's reminded us at least a dozen dozen times that, "Fireworks too loud!"The Hopwoods were there, along with Grandpa Dave and Auntie Haley... it's just been a fun family long-weekend these past few days. Haley went back to school and Dave went back to Columbus this morning, and while they probably won't miss the madness here, we'll miss them. It was great to play catch-up after the past few years with them being so far away. It is our understanding that Grandma Laura is chomping at the bit to get some grandkid time.And here's a flashback to Thanksgiving the other day...At the end of a fun long weekend, Lydia and Henry are put to bed, and Jenn is reading to Lincoln, and it's not yet 7:00pm. Life has caught up to the little ones, and an early bedtime proved to be necessary. Just in time for the Christmas Season.

Autumn at the Beaver Marsh

Yesterday was cold, but I still took the kids on a walk around the neighborhood, and Lincoln was glad we did because the oil pumper at the end of the street was working!!!!Today was much nicer, and after a morning of getting over the end (hopefully) of runny noses, we decided to get out of the house again and take a walk to the beaver marsh.Jenn and I enjoyed a date night last evening as Grandpa Doug and Grandma Paulette put the kids down for bed at their place. We've taken baby steps with Henry, first with Grandma putting him down at our place at the end of August, then I put him to bed at their place last week, and now this. The report was that there was a little bit of light crying, but overall he's done very well. Interstingly, as well, Henry has had no trouble with us getting him up and then going to sleep immediately after arriving back home. We knew we were fortunate with Lincoln and Lydia being very good in this area, but we can no longer lay claim to a genetic reason for this. And have we just been lucky with three kids? I think not. We believe it has to do with a variety of factors, but getting into those details here will bore most and make us sound disconnected from reality to the rest. If you're interested in knowing how we do it, message us.

But like the rest of life, when one area is going well, you can count on another area not... and there have been lots of tantrums, disobedience and assertive wills in our house lately. Chalk it up to stage-of-life, starting pre-school, a pair of two-year-olds, etc. And would you believe that Henry has been the best behaved of the three lately?

So back to our date, we went to Sushi Rock and had a fantastic dinner of eel, shrimp tempura and a shrimp/crab/salmon/tuna roll. Yum. And we got dressed up and walked around the snooty Beachwood Mall. We looked like high rollers! Or at least Jenn did.

More Little Developments

There are two things in particular that Henry does that are interesting to us, one that is very curious.  First, he is very good about having his teeth brushed.  We were dreading a wrestling match, especially when we saw his initial bath behavior, his diaper changing behavior, and his lack of cooperation when getting dressed.  But he actually likes having his teeth brushed, and sometimes he laughs as though the brush is tickling his gums.

The second item is a behavior that seems beyond his developmental age, and one that Lydia has not shown us in her 19 months.  If a behavioral psychologist happens across this blog, I'd like to think they might have an explanation for it.  He carries around a bag wedged between his right harm and his body, approaches both Jenn and me, reaches into the bag with his left hand, and then it is as if he's pretending to pull out an item and hand it to us.  This goes on for long periods of time and he gets a big smile on his face when we "take" the object and say, "Thank you!"  Perhaps the behavior can now be chalked up to positive re-enforcement, but he still showed the behavior before he saw us respond positively the first time.  It's very interesting for us to observe and participate in his pretending behavior.
I'm not sure why we brought any toys for him beyond the stacking cups.  He wants nothing to do with stuffed animals.  And along with the cups, he's busying himself with empty water bottles, his Tupperware dish, paper, the hotel slippers, and occasionally a balloon.  Prospective adoptive parents: don't be afraid to pack light in the toy department.

Our morale, as well as that of our new friends, has improved considerably this week.  I believe the reason for this is three-fold.  First, we're starting to understand our kids and they're starting to understand us.  Secondly, our accommodations, and everything that goes with them are significantly more pleasant in Guangzhou as compared with Zhengzhou.  Thirdly, home is on the horizon.  Also, Shamian Island is a ¥20 ($3.35) taxi ride away, so enjoyable shopping, good Western food, and a nice place to walk is very convenient and affordable.  In fact, Jenn went over to the Island with Mrs. Kansas and Mrs. Illinois to get massages.  They paid less than $20 for a foot massage that turned into a near-full body massage, and Jenn loved it.

Henry continues to both open up overall and to get more comfortable with me.  Jenn was gone when he woke up from his nap, so after we Skyped with Aunt Beth & Uncle Mark, we spent some time playing in new ways: I tossed him up in the air a few times, and then I swung him around a few times.  On each occasion, after I set him down (trying to be careful to not over-do it with him) he leaned into me with his arms raised asking to do it again.  And then Jenn returned, so she and I took care of some odds and ends around the room while Henry motored around as though he were hard at work.  He really works up a sweat when he's "working." Then this evening, he started resting on me a bit during our playtime as he has done with Jenn over the last eight days.  Little bits at a time.

And speaking of sweat, Henry's Wednesday dinner consisted of noodles that were quite spicy.  The kid doesn't complain an ounce... he can tolerate way more spice than his dad.  After a few minutes I looked closely at his hair to find that he was starting to sweat.  He wasn't sweating before dinner; it was the spicy noodles!  As each minute passed, he was getting more and more sweaty, so Jenn got a wet, cool cloth and cooled him off.

Passport Delivered

Today was truly downtime in Zhengzhou.  We had been told on a number of occasions by CCAI why this trip would be so long, and we've now experienced why it is that our trip is longer than some other China adoption trips: Henan's beaurocracy is mind-numbingly slow and tedious.  At this point, it is what it is, so we're just rolling with it.  We're missing the kids at home, I'm missing work, and today Jenn reached the point that I reached two days ago:  while I'm not down on the people, I'm ready to be home from Asian culture.  As I pondered this realization of ours, it gave me a real appreciation for missionaries, such as my Aunt Beth and Uncle Mark, who leave their familiar Western culture to live in very unfamiliar cultures for a cause from which they may or may not see fruit on this side of Heaven.

Henry is just the happiest kid.  He loves just motoring around the room or hallway or lobby.  And when he falls down or bumps his head, he doesn't fuss or cry... he just gets back up and keeps moving.
Today was the first day that we put Henry down for naps instead of relying on him to fall asleep on a bus or in the Ergo, and those two times as well as bedtime tonight went shockingly well.  We're phasing out his formula, and Jenn is spending about 5 minutes of wind-down time with him and then simply setting him in his crib.  On all three occasions he fussed a bit, but then settled down, talked to himself, played with his hands and/or feet, and then fell asleep.  And he's been catching up on his traumatic front of the week.

Henry and I are making baby steps of progress.  At times, he'll let me hold him for very short period of time if I'm feeding him animal crackers or goldfish.  He's also steadily opening up with me during playtime.  Jenn and I have been joking that he either refers to me in his mind as "the snack man" or as "the stranger that sleeps in my room."  One of these days...
And he's eating his meals very well.  He's becoming more and more picky about fruit, but eggs, noodles, breads, ec., he's great with.  He's a very messy drinker, but a surprisingly clean eater.  He's not yet using silverware, and it's okay with us to have to feed him because that helps the bonding process.  But whatever he eats, he keeps nearly all of it in his mouth to the point where I don't have to wipe his face much.  This is a very differs experience on the heals of Lydia recently going through this stage.  As Jenn says, he's in for Boot Camp when we get home because it'll be a high chair all the way.  We can't have him making a scene in the restaurants, and they won't let me bring a high chair up to our room (one of my several problems with this hotel), so he'll have anoth week of eating on the bed or on Mommy's lap.

What has really kept us laughing are the faces he makes when he's concentrating on something, his walk (left hand up, right finger up; both making tomahawk motions), and his "I'm so proud of myself smiles."
Tomorrow we leave for Guangzhou by flight, and it will be Henry's first time on a plane.  I anticipate he'll do fine with most things, but I'll be curious to see if he'll sit in his seat or insist on climbing into Jenn's lap.  We're bummed that the White Swan hotel is closed.  That's the adoptive family tradition, and it was located in an area that catered to Westerners.  Our hotel will not be in that area.

We received Henry's passport today, so everything but his visa home is official.  This time next week we'll be in the midst of our journey home.