Friday, January 16, 2009

A few tidbits...

I was going to log on last night to give you a short but funny "Angie-ism". But by the time the kids were down to sleep and I'd done a few things around the house and finally sat down, I was TIRED. So I decided to go to sleep instead...I think that was a good decision! :)

Last night when I picked up Angie from daycare (we are just finishing the 1st week of Angie in full-time daycare. She is adjusting well but it is killing Mama! Hope we don't have to do this for too long...) and had to bundle her excessively due to the ridiculously cold temps up here in MN. Yesterday it was a regular temp of -25 with windchill of up to -47!! Today isnt' much different. So Angie had a long sleeve shirt on, a thick sweatshirt and I was putting on her coat, big fluffy hat and thick mittens. Soon she stood there like the little boy in 'Christmas Story' that can hardly move due to all the bundling! This was not making her happy - she gets a bit claustrophobic with too many clothes on. It made it worse when I strapped her into the carseat...with the layers and the seatbelts, she was really stuck. She was crying and kicking and carrying on with a good ole meltdown! She was talking too - about school and supper and all sorts of things. I can't remember what she was saying, but I had asked her something about it. She didn't answer, so I asked again. She put her mittened hands up to her face, wiped away her hair and tears and said in a sighing 'giving up the meltdown' voice "Mommy, I can't talk anymore...my brains are breaking" I'm pretty sure this meant her head was hurting from her crying & fussing...but oh, what a great description! I'm going to use that sometime... :)

Here are a few pics from Robert's graduation in December. He graduated with his Masters of Business Administration from Bethel University. Juancho came with us to the ceremony while the girls enjoyed 'girls night' with babysitter LaDonna. Juancho was super intrigued by the whole ceremony and the whole concept of college and advanced degrees. He has told us he wants to be a chef and a teacher and a principal. Who knows, maybe he'll be all 3 someday!



Sunday, January 11, 2009

Angie's 4th Birthday!

Angie turned 4 on Friday! We had a quiet family celebration at home (minus Laura - she was off on her FIRST overnight retreat with her girls Awana's group - she had a blast!) on Friday. Saturday evening we had a Dora the Explorer birthday party for some of Angie's little friends and their parents! It was a lot of fun. Before I get into those pics - here is a blast from the past pic of Angie at her 3rd birthday, about 2 months after she became our Forever Daughter, in January 2008!


ABOVE: Angie in January 2008 - turning 3 at her Elmo birthday party

AND NOW, ONE YEAR LATER...


ABOVE: Angie at her Dora Birthday Party celebrating turning 4 in January 2009!


ABOVE: We made a homemade version of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey", but Dora-style! In this classic party game, the kids had to Pin the Backpack on Dora!






ABOVE THREE PICS: Being a Dora the Explorer party and all, naturally Angie got a fair share of Dora gifts...and she loved ALL of them!


ABOVE: Angie has been becoming more and more "girly" as she gets older. Her nearly daily request is to wear a dress, but living in MN in winter means that temps are generally not too much higher than the single digits (if that high!). However I was able to find some warmer jumper dresses that long sleeved shirts and thick tights or even leggings could be layered underneath. So while her wish to wear a dress won't be fulfilled EVERY day, she may get it at least once a week with these new provisions!


ABOVE: Kudos to Robert - he made the Dora cake! Our friend Ty's mom happens to work for a baking company and was able to set us up with all sorts of great Dora cake decorations. Good job making the cake honey - it was a hit!

Now I'm going to try uploading a video or two...it has never worked for me before...but here's to hoping!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

New Year's Resolution?!

To update this blog once a week at a minimum! Main reason is to have a journal by which I can go back and re-tell the story of my children's first years with our family. But I also love to keep our friends and families updated too!

Here's a few pics to enjoy since it has been a while!


ABOVE: Our family Christmas photo - December 2008
Robert & Holly, John (age 11), Laura (age 9) and Angie (age 3), also PJ our faithful and loyal dog!


ABOVE: Angie showing off one of her hand-made ornaments when we were decorating the tree!


ABOVE: John & Laura decorate the tree on a snowy Minnesota December day


ABOVE: Daddy & his girls


ABOVE: Our family on Thanksgiving - it was a special day for us all!


ABOVE: Angie decided to cut her hair one day when working on a craft with Laura. Even though they were kid scissors, she still cut a chunk out of the middle of her hair, thus inspiring the pixie bangs! Laura loved them so much, she wanted some of her own. So I took on the role of hairdresser for the night! It was much more successful than the time I tried to be a hairdresser for Juancho - click HERE for a refresher on that really bad hair day! :)


ABOVE: Another "New Haircut" picture


ABOVE: Having a 3 year old means I see the expression above on a daily basis. I call it "Miss Sassafrass" :)


ABOVE: Having girly girls means that we get all sorts of fashion shows regularly (note that Angie is wearing Laura's winter hat and Laura's tennis shoes...on the wrong feet!)

There is a snapshot of the Dressel's over the last couple months. If I keep up on my resolution above, you'll hear more from me by or before next Saturday! :)