Freezing Morning at the Beaver Pond

While Jenn went for a run on the Towpath yesterday, I took a walk with the kids to the beaver pond. It. Was. Cold.Jenn and I have been talking recently about how Henry's hand is going to be more and more of an issue as he shows initiatve in getting dressed, playing with more complext toys, etc. Of course he'll figure out ways to do these things, but it'll still be some kind of ordeal during the learning process. He continues to surprise us at how well he adapts, and one of those areas is with Legos.Jenn is not on Pintrest, but if she were, this photo would be posted. Yesterday she made little scrambled egg men for the kids.

Paging Cole Hopwood

There is a new fashion mall that opened across the street from our hotel, and though most of the stores are still under construction, they've got the coolest displays out in front.  The first person we thought of as we drove by was Cole!  So we took some photos to share with everyone, but especially for Cole. Some of them are over 7 feet tall, others are not over 3 feet. Check 'em out...
After checking out the Transformers, we went to a very nice park adjacent to the hotel.  It was hot and muggy today, so we were only out for about an hour, but it was still nice to see a pretty park.
On our way, we were walking in the midst of a big crowd on the sidewalk, I was in front of Jenn and Henry, and a girl a few people ahead of me turned her head and noticed that we were Westerners holding a Chinese child. It was as if a sea had parted, as the crowd of girls and ladies in front stopped walking, stepped aside, and allowed me to pass them so they could see Jenn and Henry.  Kind of funny.

Henry helped me dry some laundry this afternoon.Henry is in a hair-pulling phase, and it's driving Jenn crazy.  And there is almost no such thing as discipline on an adoption trip.  When Jenn looks him in the eye and gives him a stern, "NO!" he just smiles at her.  A preview of what's to come... we'll see.

We've enjoyed a steady stream of reports from Cuyahoga Falls keeping us updated on Lincoln and Lydia.  They're sleeping longer than usual, and hopefully that will continue.  Also, it is our understanding that Lincoln is telling everyone who will listen why when it is daytime at home it must be nighttime in China because the sun can't shine on both sides of the world at the same time.  We'd expect nothing less of him!  And Lydia is still getting stares and compliments on her beautiful eyes, and is no less of a chatterbox.  We're unmeasurably grateful for each of our parents for caring for them in our absence.  We're not sure how Henry would be part of our family without good family at home to care for L&L.

And Grandma Gates is back in NE Ohio after wintering in Charlotte, and just in time to catch Ella through town, and to spend some bonus time with L&L, and to see Henry soon after our arrival.  We're looking forward to seeing her again.

On our final evening in China, we enjoyed a Chinese dinner with three of our friends, the families from Minnesota, Kansas and Illinois.  As I mentioned in my previous post, we've all got a neat connection now, and because we're all bloggers, it'll be neat to watch each of our Asian Additions grow up.  They all left kids at home, as well, and we're all itching to see our other kids soon.

Chili Cook-Off 2011

This was a big weekend. Jenn and I had our Community Group on Friday evening, so the kids went to Grandpa and Grandma Gates' house. And with our 4th Annual Gates-Wingader Chili Cook-Off, the kids were going to be at their grandparents' house on Saturday evening, so Lincoln just stayed the night on Friday and woke up early with Grandpa for a Leesville Lake Day.

Grandma Gates said that in the morning, she wasn't sure who was more excited about the day, Grandpa Doug or Lincoln! After breakfast on Saturday, they went to Bierce's Hardware to get some gravel for the driveway. Lincoln got to watch the frontloader dump the gravel in Grandpa's truck! Then they went to the cabin, did odd jobs, spread the gravel, putzed, etc., etc. He came back pretty tired.

The Chili Cook-Off was another fun evening. Most of the folks who came this year were friends of the Wingaders, which was kind of cool, because while Jenn and I are friends with Patrick and Joy, our circles of friends don't cross much. This party is always a fun mix of people, and this year was no different. There were eight chili entries, along with some great corn bread and fantastic deserts. This year was also no different because Jenn won the Cook-Off for a second straight year. The choice this year was a White Chicken Chili, and it won with several points to spare. Patrick's chili, though it didn't place in the top three, was in my personal top 2, as it was with Jenn's. Sometime we'll have to have a chili party just between the two of us families because we each make some awesome chili!I haven't posted a swimming update in a while. Lincoln is doing well. Mr. Tyler is still his teacher, and he's becoming more comfortable in the water. Though he's not ready to swim on his own yet, we're very pleased with how he's doing with his lessons.Lydia has been putting more and more steps together. She still prefers to crawl when she needs to get from here to there, but the steps are coming better.

We're still waiting on U.S. Immigration for the next step in Henry's adoption. As we're butting up against Thanksgiving and Christmas in America and Chinese New Year in China, we'd really like to get this document so we can ship our information out to China. This is part of the waiting game.

Sous Chef

Lydia put six steps together last evening. Wow.Lincoln helped Mommy make dinner yesterday, and he was quite the good sous chef. They made a new lasagna recipe, and Lincoln mixed up the sauce, laid out the noodles and spread the cheese. Lydia searched for containers to hold the leftovers.

Henry's Birthday

It's been a period of busy-ness with lots of little things. Not lost in the mix, though, was our remembrance of Henry's birthday on the 9th. Between his birthday, and the upcoming holidays, it's a very different feeling that Jenn and I have. We certainly want to enjoy these times, but it's a bit hard knowing he's living one day to the next in his orphanage.Lincoln watched the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving DVD a couple of days ago. The following scene, Little Birdie, makes Lincoln laugh out loud.Lydia's been taking one step lately. She hasn't put two together, but when she's motivated enough, she'll take that step. She's been standing confidently for about a week now. It's only a matter of time.

Let The Games Begin

Mid-October

We all slept in until 7:45 this Saturday morning. It was kind of nice. And after a breakfast of banana pancakes (one of them had "special treats" in it) and apple fritters, we went for a walk at Kendall Hills. Lincoln was on a major energy burst during our walk. Verbally, he's off the charts. The connections he's making and the paragraphs that fall out of his mouth keep us laughing. On this particular walk, he spent a decent portion "walking Betty." He also ran more than we've ever seen him.
Jenn continues to feel okay. As good as possible physical, ready mentally. Keep checking back for updates on Lydia's arrival. We'll let you know when she's here! We're continuing to learn the lesson of patience. Why not learn it with us?

Catch-Up, Cuyahoga & Christmas

It's been interesting being away from blogging for a while. With work, home, church, etc. taking our time, I feel bad that we haven't kept current photos up. That, and trying to recap the past two weeks will be tough. The main thing is that there hasn't been a lot of new stuff lately.

Something that has interested me a great deal is the number of hits I'm getting on the Clinic's photostream. We post photos of cute dogs and cats, as well as intersting surgical and medical cases. It fascinates me that a Joe Blow veterinarian like me can take photos that are useful to people all over the world. I just saw one of my photos on some webpage that was translated into Spanish about demodectic mange. Holy cow!

Ledges Trail Cuyahoga Valley National Park

For historical purposes: Lincoln is now taking about an hour to fall asleep at naptime and bed-time. He's becoming more defiant. He's confusing his, "I don't want..." with his, "I want..." Whenever there is something to do, he says, "I'LL do it!" Potty training has hit a snafoo as Lincoln's interest in independence has led to his not always wanting to ask for help with his pants. We've been able to counteract this a bit with increasing the reward for going without an accident as well as allowing him to stand up on the potty to go pee-pee (thanks for the idea, Kiels!).

Getting back to some fun news, a package arrived from Grandma Laura & Grandpa Dave with gifts from their Alaskan cruise. There were many thoughtful items inside (such as the John Deere knock-off with a moose instead of a deer... Lincoln loves it!) When Jenn told Lincoln who sent the package, he immediately responded, "That was nice of her." Crack. Up.

We've been on a number of hikes lately in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and those are always fun. Gretel's getting much better on her leash on the hikes.
Our schedule is getting pretty busy over the next couple of months. First, our anniversary is coming up in less than two weeks. SEVEN YEARS! Can you believe it? I love Jenn as much as I ever have and it's crazy to think about all that we've experienced together during these years. What a friend and partner!

As September heats up, Community Group and Edge get rolling. I lead a group of now-seventh graders, and Jenn and I lead our adult small group. They're time-consuming, but fun. Especially our adult group, which has really gelled over the past few months.

Buckeye Football is just around the corner and the Browns don't look like they'll completely stink this year, both of which I'm sure will take up some of my time on weekends. Our annual Chili Party that we throw with our friends, the Wingaders, is coming up soon. I'm not sure when Apple Picking will fit in. Jenn and I looked at the calendar recently and she said, "September is full, and that means October will be here before we know it." No kidding. And in the midst of all of the busy-ness, Lydia will arrive! The due date is October 12, but who knows when the day will actuall come. Hopefully Lincoln will not have an advisory role, or else Lydia will attempt for a November birthday!

And speaking of plans for the future, let's talk Christmas plans.

• The Donati Christmas is set for Saturday, December 18.
• Grandma Laura, Grandpa Dave and Auntie Haley are arriving in northeast Ohio from Scottsdale on December 18 and then leaving for Columbus on the 22nd. So we'll be doing Mullen Christmas at our place before Christmas.
• Our goal is then to get down to Columbus just after Christmas to see the Parkinsons.
• Yet to be determined is a date for extended Gates Christmas (hopefully on the 24th or 25th).

All of this planning is with the goal of having Lincoln wake up at our house on Christmas Day. So we'll see how this Christmas season goes as far as the planning and timing is concerned. I'm not sure Lydia will care one way or the other.