oh, that eyebrow

be sure to click on the picture to enlarge the stroesslerness.

or click here to see an earlier episode.

cleveland christmas

you wouldn't believe how much santa loves shu & the cousins:

how can you not??

he stopped by on christmas to personally hand out
one last round of gifty goodness:

shu was decidedly unsure about the big man at first...

but was willing to receive a little something :)

he was only able to get so close, though...
so we jumped in on the North Family picture:

the Sobieski Duo:

Lusnias of Forest Ridge:

the Greats!
(GreatNana & GreatGrandma)

so, dear Santa,
should you happen to read this blog
(or, say your lovely mother does and directs you to it...),
please accept this
big huge thankyou
from all of us.
you are the best :)

Christmas Eve

our new decoration: a painting from mark's dad, hans.

helping dada

eating "bug" cookies
(one particular cookie-press shape that baked out
to be more Paramecium than Snowflake.)

cheese, literally and pictorially.

coloring with uncle spud

kyle judges the coloring contest

shu scores a dino!

santa makes a surprise dropoff!
the doorbell rang & when the kids opened the door,
there was a bag full of fun left by the big man.

aunt carol passes out the presents...

...shu tries to be nice and give it back...

...but eventually decides to open it.
(sidenote: anyone seen christmas on sesame street?
shua opens his presents like bert.
"now, let me see...if i take a scissor...")

a new dino book

alison helped shu unpack his new Tubby Tater.
thanks, great grandma!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE.

puppies like avocados, too

thankfully, they don't like the pits.

GiGi bells

the movie Elf is much loved
here in stroesslerland.
among the many quotes we
use year-round, we love:

"the best way to spread Christmas cheer
is singing loud for all to hear."

our child, like a good little man,
has taken this elfin principle to heart.

what we 'humans raised by humans' love is that,
in his little two year old brain,
the words to Jingle Bells are slightly altered
to spread some cheer to one particular person.
his grandma, Gigi - marks' mom.

Merry Christmas, G!

the tree

on the way to the farm

refusing to walk. again.
although it is hard to resist when he asks,
'dada, hold you?'

stroessler men: the profile.

tree, warm car, requisite book in hand. roll out.

post-tree snack.
plus, The HICCUPotamus by Aaron Zenz.
order today. its fantastic.

hat head.

our leggy, too-big-for-his-own-good, please-bear-with-me puppy
looking quite mountainous by the tree.

** question: has anyone seen a wall or tabletop ornament display in any stores this year? we held off putting up the 'good' ornaments (for two very young, very accident prone Reasons), but i'd still like to have them out...

homework w M

the thinker

there are some mornings

wherein the delight of a homemade waffle

pales in comparison to the thirteenth airing

of a Sid the Science Kid episode.

on the upside, how cute is his hair? i cut it myself, thank you very much. just don't look too closely... or you'll take my clippers away. and i need them. at least until this kid looks at a stranger holding scissors near his head with anything other than pure animosity.

wake-up call

that would be me,

buried under blankets, pillow,

oh, and 50-something pound puppy.

good morning.

library day

i have this great friend

who is counting down the days

to thanksgiving

by listing out things big and small

she is thankful for...

one of mine for today

is the public library system.

(and their killer toys.)

i think my first children's book should be titled:

If You Give a Shu a Train Table

all business.

ahhhh, chocolate

yes, its 10 am.

but these cookies are Really Good.

meet # 12

the littlest cousin:

Caroline Marie.

8lbs 2.5oz

sweet caroline

roscoe update

there are any number of things i should be doing right now:

cleaning.
baking some promised chocolate chip cookies.
laundry.
grocery shopping.
dinner options.
dressing myself or my child.

but, my sister is literally having a baby right now.

so i'm sitting at my computer,
cell phone on loudest setting
(right next to me),
occupying my son with Bear
and his big house of blue,
thinking the best possible use of my time
would be to update you
on the size of our pup.
obviously.

he's huge.

or "uuuuuuJEH," according to shua.

waiting for baby O

for the Jaj

my dad retired last week.
we threw a big family dinner
(is there another kind with us?)
to celebrate his new found freedom.

shu and his cousins that were present
sang a little song for the Jaj.

then, a complete surprise:
lessie and steven worked hard
learning the words to a song
that reminds us all of my dad.
Elvira.
you know,
by the oakridge boys.

do enjoy.

click here
to see lessie and steve

happy halloween!

we were worried about halloween and the requisite costume.

did we outdo ourselves with last year's gnome? it was nearly perfection.

joshua, like a garden gnome, was small, rotund, had legs to stand on but useless for walking. plant them in the garden (or stroller) of your choice, and they won't go anywhere.

so this year, we went with something just as appropriate: the Terrible Twos.

cute, touchy, colorful, willful, funny, cranky, opinionated, giggle-y.

basically, our son is a pendulum.

terribly endearing but terribly two.