Where to start?!

or should I say continue?? I am back from my ridiculously extended hiatus from blogging and the like. I did a little soul searching and have yet to uncover the meaning behind my procrastination tendencies when it comes to sharing life stories via the blog. So kudos to you diligent bloggers and here's to me getting back on the horse :D

Joyeux Paques!

The Easter Bunny (AKA the Fed Ex guy...AKA my parents) brought many US goodies to put in the kid's Easter baskets. (Thanks sooo much Noni and Papa - you ALWAYS send the best stuff!) Madi was so excited about the thought of an Easter Bunny that she asked if he could put her to bed at night instead of me, and every morning since then when she wakes up she says, "I'm awake! It's time for my Easter!" Drew, on the other hand, is so strong and so fast that I couldn't even take a picture of him with his basket before it was completely torn apart :)

The best part of Easter morning had to be when we looked outside and saw snow, and a lot of it. We moved to Switzerland to enjoy a snowy winter for a change and ironically, we hadn't gotten any until Easter. I kept reading on blogs that there has been snow in TX, TN, AR but none in Lausanne....BIZARRE! Unfortunantely, the snow came and went all day and never really stuck, so I'm guessing we are out of luck this year :(

Views from our dining room window at 8am:

Same views 2 hours later - just as we were going out to do the snowman, snowangel thing...eerrr!

We spent the evening having a traditional french Easter dinner at our good friends and neighbor's house. Madi and her adorable BFF Theo danced, had an Easter egg hunt and ate a ridiculous amount of chocolate while Drew slept. Although we all had tons of fun, we of course missed our friends and fam back home! Happy Easter, we miss you!

Happy Birthday Drew!

1 year old!

He literally downed his B-day cupcake in one bite!

It's so hard believe that Drew is already one! Here are a few things about our little guy that we just love:

-He screams with excitement whenever Brad, Madi or I come into the room.

-He loves books but he likes to "read" them (turn pages) by himself. He's not crazy about being read to.

-Every time he wakes up he likes to snuggle for a least 5 minutes before he is ready to play.

-He loves peek-a-boo

-He likes to feed me, comb my hair, brush my teeth, etc.

-Whenever he gets hurt he will immediately stop crying if he can see out a window.

-He takes his shoes and socks off as soon as he gets in the car.

-He likes to turn things upside down, bang things on the ground and make a mess - (it drives our little clean bean -Madi-crazy!)

-He has a very contagious belly laugh

-He gives sweet kisses and hugs

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DREW! We love you so much!

Friends we miss...

Madi was so excited to get to see all of her friends from home! In fact, EVERY night after I tuck her into bed she says, " Maybe we can see Lisie, Avery, Eden, Ian, Baby Zane and Baby Chloe soon. And then she adds, "AND Nora even though I didn't get to see her at Christmas." Yikes! What a heartbreaker! Although she has friends here, it's just not quite the same...we miss you all!

Christmas in February?!

Could it have been Santa's enormous venires that freaked Drew out??!!

Let's see, the last post was Thanksgiving...hmmm only 3 months ago! Well, for those of you who hung in there with me through my extended hiatus, I am all set to recap the last few month's events. With Brad off skiing in the Alps for 3 days with friends (errrr!), I have plenty of time at night to catch up.

First of all, I had an amazing time in the the US for about 6 weeks! It was so great to see family and friends and I loved taking advantage of all of the conveniences that I miss over here. As for Christmas, Santa hit both Brad and my family's houses hard this year and the gifts just kept on coming! The kids loved it and it was so wonderful until we had to bring it all back with us....(I will save that story for a future post. The trip back REALLY does deserve a post all it's own!)

The Dunbar Christmas:

Madi did not play this year while opening presents...she was on a mission!

Drew was just chillin' in the wrapping paper...what more can you ask for?!

Madi's signal that she's tired is putting her hand on her cheek. She says that it relaxes her - ha! Here she is snuggling with Nana.

Again "relaxing" with Pawpaw.

Drew with Mimi xoxox

Aunt Amy with the babies and the rocking sheep that Mimi and Pawpaw brought Drew which is currently on its way from the US to Switzerland!

Sweet pic of Uncle Chris and Drew

WE LOVE YOU Mimi , Pawpaw, Nana, Uncle Chris, Aunt Amy and of course LuLu! Thanks so much for a wonderful time and all of the Christmas loot!

The Sipkowski Christmas:Believe it or not, Madi was 100% convinced that this was Santa! (Thanks Dad, we owe you :o)

Seriously, what's not to love!

The magic of Noni!

Noni and Papa

Boogie and Sissy xoxox


After the kids go to bed... ;o)

Madi's BFF Lisse

Dado and Cutsie-pie Lisse

Aunt Jean :)

1 month old baby Zane and his brave mommy Corrie - thanks so much for making the trip!

Madi said that she wants another baby....ahh - not quite!

With 11 adults and 4 kids, under the age of 3, all staying at my parent's house for Christmas it's amazing we survived, but we all had a blast and I can't wait to do it again next year! Love you Mom, Dad, Boogie, Sissy, Aunt Jean, Uncle Steve, Daniel, Cor-Cor, Keith, Lisse and Baby Zane!