Getting ready for Phoenix

Tim and I are getting ready to leave for Phoenix, AZ, for a conference, the annual meeting of the Association for Behavior Analysis International. GaGa and PaPap are coming in on Wednesday and will stay with Madi and Henry while we are gone.

We are still getting used to the world without Uncle Charlie. It was good to see Grandaddy and Tetsuyo on Skype and hear about things there in Japan.

The Gardener's Market has been open two Saturdays now and we love going. Here are the kids weekend before last on the swings. Sorry for the iPhone photos (but they sort of have their charm, don't they?).

We have been spending a lot of time with our friends lately during this time. Last Wednesday we went over to the Twohig's for dinner. Here are Maggie and Henry playing together in Finnegan's room. They were born the same day in the same hospital! The kids all play so well together.

This past Friday we went over to the Bates-Domenech household for dinner. Henry got some special treat time with his Tia Mela. She is trying to sweeten him up. We are going to miss Mela and the girls when they leave for Puerto Rico soon.

Saturday night Sarah and Andrew came over for dinner at our place. After dinner everyone went outside and checked out the chickens. They looked the same as they always do, you'll be relieved to know.

Henry and Madi love reading. Reading to them both is a bit of a challenge, because Henry grabs everything. Sometimes if you give him enough stuff he doesn't grab the book and Madi as much. Here he is holding his favorite stuffed animal, Dutch. That's what he calls him at least, and we're going with it.

It was really warm here today. It was in the 80's for the first time since August probably. Can't remember for sure. Henry looks so big to me dressed in summer clothes. Thanks to Finnegan for this entire outfit!

Here is Henry tonight 'coloring'. He wants to do simply everything Madi does. It is very cute. Some things he does better than others, though. Like coloring. He just can't help trying to eat the crayons and we end up having to take them away and he yells at us.

Madi loves to color. She spends a lot of time coloring these days. Yesterday we went for a hike in Green Canyon, and Madi seemed like she was really dragging. We started to get concerned when she started complaining that her belly hurt, her teeth hurt, and she was really tired. (Kate - look out below! Caution!).

That evening, she didn't really eat dinner and ended up throwing up! She threw up on the couch. And Tim. And Jack. Jack ended up going in the washing machine and has made a full recovery. This morning Tim took Madi to the doctor and stayed home with her. Turns out she has a sinus infection as well, just like Henry did. She is really perking up fast with antibiotics and we expect her to be back at daycare tomorrow. Whew!

Henry loves reading, as I mentioned, and has started identifying things in books. Here he talks about a cow, among other things.

He also likes to give 'five' now. It is really amazing how fast he is growing and changing.