Diwali Festival

This Saturday was the most exciting time for Ahlyana. Her first dance performance. Her and two other girls performed to Jai Ho (the 4th came down with the H1N1). There were many other groups performing, as well as some solo's. Music and a delicious dinner followed. The best Indian food we've had in quite some time. (As you may remember we don't have Indian restaurants that are easily accessible for us) Both Ahly and Dreyden found a new favorite, besides mango ice cream. Vegetable noodles - they were great..... nothing we had ever had before. I will have to search the web for this recipe. The evening was full of color and joy, all the women dressed at their very best, OK so the guys were too, but the women were beautiful!! I was lucky enough to have my Mom and Stepdad make it this year. Here are a few pictures of the festivities - hopefully a video of her routine will be coming shortly!

A very excited little girl.

Her first trophy - just for participating!

And of course the family

Movie

I just came across this movie called "The Waiting City". Here's the trailer http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/the-waiting-city/trailer

It's about an Australian couple who goes to Calcutta to pick up their adopted child. Only to find more red tape causing them to stay in India. It doesn't appears that it's really about adoption but more of how the process puts a toll on the couples marriage. I haven't seen any rating on this or even know if we can see it in the US now. I do know it will be available on Netflix at some point. Thought this may be of some interest to some of us. I know I plan on seeing it, I just hope hope it does both the adoption process and country justice.

India Festival!

Our local community had their annual Festival of India. It was great, as always. There is a group of us Indian Adoptive Families- that get together and discuss this and that. Most of them are Dillon Families! We try to get together and celebrate the holidays as much as possible. Hopefully, our lives will be a little calmer that we can get to them this coming year. Holi fest is one I am especially looking forward too :) During our meeting the kids got together and were given bracelets. As is done in the in Indian Celebration of Raksha Bandhan. (the celebration of the love between brothers and sisters) It was wonderful to see them tie bracelets on one another, since we feel as though they are an extended families of sorts. Ahly was actually comfortable enough to have Henna done so we both were lucky enough to have that done by a very talented lady.
Here are a few pictures of that day.

In two weeks the Indian community is celebrating Diwali. This year Ahly will be dancing with 3 other girls as part of their show. So in case I don't post before that, you can definitely look forward to some video shortly after the 24th.

Oh and by the way, we had 3 inches of snow yesterday! Yes, we are in Wisconsin but October 12th is even a little ridiculous for us!

This and that

Just thought I'd get a few of the cute things my kiddos do, documented. Things like this never get old!
The other morning during my morning scramble to get two kids dressed and feed and still squeeze time to get myself ready I over heard this conversation between Ahlyana and Dreyden.
(stage is at the kitchen table. Dreyden in his highchair, and Ahlyana feeding herself and insisting on feeding Dreyden. I have popped into the bathroom to brush my teeth)
D - Blah blah, blah blah blah blah, do, da dede
A - Really, Yes.
D - me, kere, do do do
A - do you think so Dreyden......
I burst out laughing because Dreyden has been a constant babbler in addition to his actual words. Todd and I constantly pretend that we are understanding him and try to have a conversation with him. Obviously, Ahlyana picked up on the fact that even if we don't understand his cute new languarge, it's great to pretend :)
Last night after Ahlyana's dance class we stopped at the store for a few items and for her ice- cream treat, which she was eating in the car on the way home. (one of those things I swore I'd never do with the kids - Ok, so things definitely change) First she was complaining because it was suppose to be chocolate, but there was vanilla in her Chocolate. And how she likes vanilla but not touching the chocolate. Then she got to the chocolate chips and "mmmm - Mama this is great. Mama this is really good - Mama, you really should have gotten one yourself!" Mind you I hadn't even tried hers, but she thought it was so great that I should have had one too. Hmmm where did the time go :)

And in another note - I want to congratulate all those that are soon to be traveling - may the passports come in record time and these families be united with their little ones soon! And bring on those new referrals :)
TTFN,
Michele

Summers over and School has started!

Well we are finally settled! What a summer of change this has been. Ahly is turning into such a little lady. Really taking to school 3 full days a week. Even Dreyden is doing well not having his sister at daycare with him all the time. Now time for pictures.....

One of the last days at the old house. This is Ahly's idea of helping.
(and yes my husband is a big turkey hunter - hmmmmm)



My Big girl - off to school - looking so confident!

This is a picture of Ahlyana with her friend Preston. He was also in her 3 year old preschool class last year (I also picked him up and dropped him off at his sitter). He's her one and only familiar face there. Unfortunately his parents had to drop him off before Ahly was there and he wasn't happy about that :(

Teacher Ms. Micki.

Before school started, the school had a little get together with ponies and a bouncey house! Once she was past her fear of the horse - she couldn't get enough of the pony rides.

Before school started we headed to the WI Dells! Here Ahly and her cousin Sienna just hang out.

Dreyden all ready to get to the water (unfortunately no water shots)

Now he's all tuckered out.

Nani and Ahly - loving the tea cups :)

Daddy wasn't able to get to the Dells with us, so as soon as we got home Ahly had to try out the nail polish she won in the game room on Daddy. He is such a good sport!

Happy almost fall everyone!

Settled??

Well isn't that a loaded statement. We are in our house and functioning on a daily basis. However, we still have lots of boxes to unpack. And wouldn't you know it, God decided to play a little trick on us and make it 39 degrees yesterday morning!!! Yes - the last day of August and we had frost on our cars. (since the garage is still to full to park in) Nothing like scrambling to find the warm clothes.
We have met some of the neighbors who seem really nice. All the kids have been 6 and under - so it's a neighborhood full of little ones - which is GREAT! Ahly already wants to go "visit our neighbors". Dreyden has adjusted very well to his new room. Which really wasn't a shocker to us, but Ahlyana on the other hand is having a harder time. Her room is to "bright" she says. Mind you we moved from the country to a little subdivision closer to town, where a small street light is on the corner opposite our house but right across from her room. One of the things we failed to noticed when we looked at the house.
Ahlyana starts 4K tomorrow. 3 full days a week. I'm really unsure about these full days. I think it's going to be tough on her and Mom. I have a feeling bed time is going to be getting earlier too! Her school had an open house this weekend with pony rides and a bouncy house! She just loved the ponies (once she wasn't afraid of them). I'll post pictures as soon as I find my connecting cords :)
Dreyden is growing us so much. He will imitate almost any word you throw at him. His favorite now is Apple, MINE!, "tank you", More. It is so sweet when he says "tank you" it's even at the appropriate times.

Well I better go - I promise to post more when I can.

SOLD!

Well we have sold the house - officially. Whew... there were a few bumps these past few days but we seemed to have gotten around them. In a little over 2 hours, we will be owners of a new home! sigh... it's been a long process and longer 10 days of moving - we are just exhausted. I guess it's to be expected when you have two little ones, and it's pretty much up to you and your hubby to pack and move. Don't get me wrong we did get a few family and friends to help with the bigger stuff, but my husband is a perfectionist and hates asking for help. So if he had any chance of doing it himself he'd much rather do it alone. Last night we were up until 2-3am!!!! We both were suppose to be in to work at 7 - needless to say we both had to take the morning off, not only to try and get some zzzzz's - but also to still finish up on what we still had to get out. I sure hope it's much smoother doing the unpacking thing :)
When I got the kids to the sitters today, as we backed out of the garage - I told Ahlyana to say good-bye to the house, because we wouldn't be coming back, that we'd be in the new house tonight. She was very chipper and said "Bye House - Bye Bye House - Dreyden say good by to the house - bye(whimper) house(whimper) - bye bye house(sniff sniff)." Poor girls was really sad to be leaving. I guess I never thought that it would affect her this way. She is a very sensitive and sweet little girl and I suppose I should have known better. Let's hope she takes to her new room without any problems. Dreyden - well he didn't care - all morning he was running in and out of the rooms - loving the sound of his voice echoing through each room!

I'll post more as I can - may be a while though :)

Finally!

Well we have finally heard that we have officially sold our house. We close on Friday the 21st. Yes the 21st. So the next 10 days will be crazy!!! Thanks to everyone who's been praying for this with us. It sure is going to be nice to get my kiddos sleeping on the same level of the house :)
As for the rest of us we are doing well. I will post more later.
I also want to congratulate Jason and Liberty on the referral of their little boy!!!

Well we are back from our vacation, rested and ready to tackle the next endeavor. No that doesn't mean we've sold our house. As much as I'd like to say we have we are still in limbo - - - Argh!!! We hope to hear soon, of course, but we are done, exhausted and burnt out over this. We've never sold a house before and totally underestimated this process. So we will be patient for this offer to run its course - but after that we're done. Remodeling it is - not that this sounds much fun either ;)

But back to our vacation - it was great - good family time without distractions! I'm all caught up on laundry and now we've resettled into our daily routine.

Here are a few pictures.

Ahlyana and her Cousin Sienna, first day at the beach!

Ahlyana and her extended cousin, Briti (literally, I think they are like 4th cousins)

Briti is also from ISRC

Ahlyana (future biologists???) Loves clams, snails and frogs!

Dreydens future is so bright - he has to wear shades

(what a handsome man, not that a proud mommy may be a little bias)

Rainy day in the camper, this is life with the two of them. Ahly is so motherly, that the smothering is fairly constant. Dreyden is such a trooper with it, most of the time.

Finally, Dreyden has realized he LOVES ketchup!!

this and that

Well I've already not met my goal. Sure thought I'd be able to do one update a week and now it's been almost a month.
To my defense it's been beyond hectic. We are still in the midst of trying to sell our house. Actually it is considered sold, but the buyer is using a government loan and YIKES, what paperwork and ridiculous amount of inspections and mandates. I know these are suppose to help people get housing they may not have been able to afford otherwise, but my gosh it requires a lot from the sellers - especially when we both work and have two little kids. This last month has been nothing but cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning. Juggling of schedules to make sure we are out of the house when we have to be and there when they need us. I have to apologize, to all those super effecient Moms that work out of the house because I just find that there are days where this just isn't time to make a bed in the morning! Kudos to those that do :)
Anyway, it appears that we are closing on the 14th, so things will only get more hectic I'm sure. But first of all we are taking our annual vacation. We leave tomorrow for 10 days of camping. I know some of you are saying - 10 days!!!! But yes, 10 day of family time, no TV's! Just family, sun, hiking and lots of swimming. Unfortunately, everything with the house requires us to take the cell phone!!! (darn) This is typically so much fun - actually more of a reunion - it started at least 30- years ago with Aunts and Uncle, with all the kids. It has turned into about 25 families on my Dads side all getting together. A cool part of this is that my 3rd cousin and his wife have also adopted a little girl from ISRC - she is now seven - so her and Ahlyana have the best time together. This year we get to throw Dreyden into the mix, which will prove to be an adventure in and of itself - since he is a real go getter - seriously this boy isn't afraid of anything!
Oh yeah, one more thing, my husband decided that at 41 years of age he has to play softball like the young pups! Anyway, this last weekend he dove for a ball and has either broke or severly sprained his thumb! Of course he can't go see a Dr to find out! - what is it with men anyway????? We need to finish packing the camper and need to start packing up the house - the one armed-bandit isn't proving to helpful in this situation :) I feel terrible for him and it could be worse - 2 years ago he broke his leg. (Love ya Honey - but what timing)
So any way, it will be a while now before I post but I will try and get back at it as soon as I can! Happy remaining summer everyone.

Ahly's graduation

Camping Memorial Day and Ahly's new found love of toasting marshmallows! (Dreyden already in bed) Bad mommy ran out of batteries right after these! Then Preschool graduation OH MY! What a day it was, our little girl and her first of many graduations. After a really cute ceremony of singing and diplomas, it was followed by a day of golfing. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of Dreyden, but believe me they too are coming :)

Notice Daddy's hand on Ahly's back, just in case she reaches a little to far!


YUMMY!






Don't anyone show me how to hold a golf club! I can do it myself :)

New Goal

I have decided that I don't post here quite enough. So I am going to try and get some type of update 2-3 times a week. Let's hope that I can do it.
Well for those that have followed for a while, you will remember that we had decided to sell our house and find a 3 bedroom ranch instead of our 3 bedroom bi-level with 1 bedroom down. It just wasn't what we thought it would be with two little ones! Who knew 10 years ago that we were going to be blessed with two wonderful kids :) So we've had an offer on a house since March, contingent on selling our house. This offer is good only until the end of this month, then it's anyones guess. As luck would have it, we have a promising option in the works. I am hoping that by the end of the month I will be able to post better news on that front! Extra prayers of most definitely welcome.
The kids are doing great. Dreyden cut 3 molars this past weekend - YIKES - poor boy had a low fever, runny nose and drool every where! He only wanted mashed potatoes and to be held. Sleep was completely out of the norm, so we all had a very challenging weekend. But yesterday, he seemed much better. Nose is doing good, drool is down and we have our little dancer back. Have I even mentioned that this kids loves to dance with his sister. It is the most adorable thing to watch. With any luck maybe I'll get some video of that and can post it for everyone.
Ahlyana is growing up to such a little lady. (most of the time) She loves to help fold clothes, empty the dishwasher and "tattle" on her little brother. But watch out when it's bed time - the girl fights it to no end. It really started when we got back with Dreyden. Of course she had to sleep with us, since it was only fair. But now that Dreyden has transitioned to his room - she hates to go into her own. The whole drama of another book, using the bathroom or being thirsty. It's almost comical some nights - Mainly because if Todd is gone I can get her to down fairly decent. But if Todd's home, she can play him like a fiddle (and she knows it). I hope that changes soon, since at the age of 8 or 9 we could have much more intense drama.
Our summer has been spent mostly camping, maintaining the house for selling and yard work... Working full-time with two little ones and keeping the house perfect for showing is proving to be a huge time consumer. But this too will pass.
Well I think that's about as much of an update as I can give now - I really will try and post more often.

Pictures as promised

Yes, they are very late, I just don't know where the time goes. I hope you enjoy!

Ahly looking so grown-up at 4.

(cake made my Mom - Thanks Betty Crocker!)

Strawberry Shortcake was the theme!

Loving her Bangles!

Monkey see Monkey do - Ahly is pretending to be texting!

What are we in for :)

Easter Egg hunt!

Finalization (Do I see a tear in his eye)

If you missed my previous post, our Judge also adopted from ISRC 9 years ago!

Princess Ahly "lov'n her brother"

First nice day out doors - Ahly giving Dreyden "mowing" instructions.

The family at Dreydens Baptism

Finalized!

Monday was our court date to finalize Dreydens adoption. As we expected the Judge came through and issued his Adoption Record. Looks just like a birth certificate. His name is finally, officially changed to Dreyden George !
For those who are with Dillon you will appreciate this! The Judge we had, adopted a little girl from ISRC, thru Dillon almost 9 years ago. What a small world! It almost seemed as if he had a tear in his eye during the proceedings. I'll post pictures later so you can see for yourself.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Michele

Finalization

Well before I even had time post pictures, I have found out that we are able to finalize Dreydens adoption on the 27th of this month! Yippee...... For some some reason I didn't think we could finalize until after 6 months and 3 home visits. But the 6 month/3home visits is a requirement by our Agency and his birth country. I guess we could have finalized at any time, as long as our SW was in agreement. I don't believe that this necessarily applies to everyone, but is more driven by your States laws. So we now have another celebration this month!! What a God filled month it is. We of course have Easter, then Dreyden's baptism is the 19th and finally his Finalization on the 27th. Things really do come in 3's. (let's hope that God wants to add in the selling of our house for a 4th blessing!!!!)

There are also many families that are either currently traveling or soon to be traveling. We wish them all a very safe journey - - - and hope that more referrals are coming for the families still waiting for their little boy or girl.

Michele

Happy Birthday Ahlyana!

Yesterday was a big day! My first baby turned 4 years old. Where has the time gone?? I am so proud of this little girl, she is so mature for her age, most days, then there are the does where she is very trying........But that is with any preschooler! I am absolutely treasuring these days. Just the thought of this being her year to start 4-k is amazing to me. She has grown so much in the 8 hours a week at preschool that I'm sure she is going to blossom even more in the next year. Her new thing now is doing math. Or sort of. She loves to count people/things. Then when the amount changes she's really quick to say something like "now there's only 5 Mama". Amazingly she's right most of the time. When I get excited and congratulate her, saying she just did subtraction - she give me a look like OK - soooo. She is doing great with her little brother too, but getting to the point of needing her own space. Hence our decision to look for a new house. Actually we've found one, but now we have to sell ours - and this is where the fun begins- wish us luck - It would be great if it could be done by early June!
At any rate, I'll post birthday pictures soon!

Everyones favorite - pictures!

First, this is one of my favorites of the Ayahs and the babies. You can really feel the love!


This is our return flight into Detroit, where Dreyden met my Sister and her family.
Here Todd, Dreyden and myself are with my Sister and her son Hann. (Who by the way just added to their family today - another little boy - who just doesn't have a name quite yet) Congratulations Balbach family!!!!


The family at Dreydens first birthday!


Dreyden not sure what to do with the cake!



OK, now I got it! This is delicious!

Ahly and Dreyden - inseparable!

OK, so we're in WI, we have to ice fish :)

And finally, Ahlyana and Dreydens first photo opt! Both these outfits were bought in Calcutta at the AC market (for those traveling and staying at the Kenilworth - it's right around the corner)

so sorry.....

That these updates have been far and few between. With me being back at work time has been very precious. I thought I could do these over my lunch hour and then blogger was blocked! So I will get here as much as I can. Dreyden is doing great. Big sister is absolutely loving him :) We are currently running into our first ear infection, with him, which really isn't surprising since we went from 45 degree weather back to the minus zeroes! He is a real trooper though. Tired, but hardly ever cranky. He has gained 2.2 lbs in 6 weeks! I love to see it. Amazingly he is just 7 lbs lighter than Ahlyana, 3 years difference and only 7 lbs. hmmmmm She is a muscle woman though! She loves to pick him up and carry him (under the arm pits) to where ever she wants to play, if he's not cooperating. At times a little to smothering, but it's all out of love :)

His Birthday was great! The cake was hilareous He has also started walking which we love to see. Still prefers to crawl since he's like lightening!

Here is a new family picture. I promise to post more pictures of his birthday and other items soon.