Thursday, August 18, 2011

This is Avrum Matthew Thomas Bates. His first name is pronounced with an A like apple or an A like Abraham. Sometimes we call him Peanut. He was born on August 10, 2011 at 12:56 pm through cesarian birth at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn IL. He weighed in at 8 pounds and 4 ounces and stood 20.5 inches long. He has been a very laid back baby. In fact sometimes it's hard to wake him up to eat. Nevertheless he is eating plenty and gaining weight at a good rate. His mom is recovering well. We want to unofficially thank all of our friends and family for all their love and support. We will get around to posting more photos of him as time goes on. If you would like to see more photos of him, please include your email in the comments section below and I will send you a link to a place to see more.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Scout Camp, Here I Come!

This is Mosiah on the morning he left for his first year at scout camp. He turned twelve only a day before he was supposed to leave. He was so excited and nervous he didn't sleep a wink that night. Right before his mom took this picture he said "I don't feel so good. My stomach kind of hurts." We should have listened to him. He threw up all over the inside of the van on his way to camp. The driver called us and told us what had happened. After talking to his mom over the phone, Mosiah decided to continue on to camp. He passed his swim test and went on to complete all his requirements for the rank of First Class. He even managed to earn the Leather Working merit badge while he was at it. We couldn't be more proud of him. Good Work Bud!
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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Baby on Board.

What you are looking at here is a picture of Mosiah and his soon-to-be baby brother. That teal blank spot in the photo is actually my wife's pregnant belly. My wife's belly is so big that if she were to lift her shirt and position herself just right, and the sun were to hit it, she could reflect that light back onto a nearby planet. As of this posting the small fetus growing inside her "5 foot even" frame is not so small anymore and has surpassed 7 pounds. He is moving a lot and is doing well. However, my wife is NOT. The baby is Due to arrive on or before August 10. We have not picked a name yet but we call him Peanut.

Spinach... in dip? Brilliant!

July 25th was our third wedding anniversary. To celebrate we decided to go out for pizza at a local pizza franchise here in the Chicago area. While I had heard rave reviews about this place, I had never been there myself. We decided to try it out. 
We got a stuffed crust pie (which is what they claim to be famous for) with pepperoni, onion, green pepper and tomato. It was OK. Yeah... just OK. It looked better than it tasted. However this spinach dip appetizer that I have pictured here was to die for. In fact we ordered two. We could have gone for a third but we decided to save room for the pizza. We should have gone with a third.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Man's best friend.

This is my dog Kaya. She is part Austrailian cattle dog and part something else. Technically she belongs to our son Mosiah, but I love her like she was my dog. She's a pretty good dog. She doesn't bark unless she's alone in the back yard and someone is passing by or someone is at the door. Two very good times to bark if you ask me. She knows and obeys several commands, sit, lay down, get in your bed, wait, get your rope, drop it, and leave it.
She has what doctors might call a little bit of a weight problem. If we don't watch her she will sneak into the kitchen and eat any and all food left out on the counters and table. Pizza is her favorite. Butter sticks are a close second. Nothing is refused. She will even eat zucchini.
My family had a few dogs while I was growing up and I couldn't stand most of them. They always seemed to be more trouble than they were worth, always running away and getting hit by cars. But this dog is different. Even with all her faults we love her and wouldn't trade her for anything. Except maybe a slightly more well behaved version of herself.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Strawberries in the park... ing lot???

After a gruelling hour of shopping, Marisol treats herself and Mosiah to a fresh strawberry.