Christmas Pics 2008

What a fantastic Christmas - I've finally got the pics posted! We feel so lucky to have been able to spend it with all of our family! We started out by traveling to Galena, then back to Kansas City and then to Iowa for the extended weekend. Logan did fairly well with all the traveling and seemed to be the entertainer everywhere we went! In Galena, he took along his infamous reindeer antlers and was pleasantly surprised to find out both his Grandma Jill and Great Grandma Jean had some too! He went sledding for the first time and loved it! He was able to meet new family members as well as see another cousin around his age - 4 months! He began crawling on all fours - finally! He ate more clementines, of course. He entertained us all on the piano Christmas Eve but wore himself out and couldn't even wake up to leave milk out for Santa! He got to spend lots of great time with his Aunt Dana and Uncle Brandon as well as Granny Franny and Papa D! And of course received so many books, toys and other gifts! We're off to the Lake for New Year's and will post an update in 2009! Happy New Year Everyone!!

Christmas Is Coming and We're Back in KC!

After a fantastic long weekend in Galena, we're finally back in Kansas City and ready for Logan's first Christmas. It's fun because it's kind of like we get to celebrate twice - and with both of our families! In addition to lots of other goodies from family, Santa brought Logan this awesome roadster car - he loves it!!

The weekend was great but brought along with it a lot of adventure. My parent's house lost electricity while they were gone because of the weather and Jason, Alex and my Dad had to travel back early to start a fire and keep the pipes from freezing since it was so cold - lucky them, sleeping in the 40 degree house! We've got lots of pics from the weekend but will wait until after Christmas to post them all together. We'll be in KC for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and then off to Iowa!! Happy Holiday's Everyone!!!

Let It Snow!

We're celebrating the holidays this week/weekend in Galena, IL with my side of the family. We were able to stop by Iowa City yesterday for a bit, which was fun and then got here early in the day. It's a good thing we did because it snowed almost 8 inches overnight! Jason went out to shovel this morning and came back with an icicle for Logan - he thought it was pretty cool. We'll be opening some of the presents later today and tomorrow morning, which should be fun for Logan considering how much he loves to crinkle paper!

The Dippels Are Jammin'

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Piano Man

Logan loves the piano! Jason and I went to CostCo with Granny Franny & Papa D the other day and Logan was with the Grandparents. We were looking all around for them when we heard Logan jamming out! He was giggling and thought it was so funny. Unfortunatly, we didn't get the video until the end when he was getting bored with it, but you get the idea. Too funny!

Thinking Outside the Box...Or Should We Say Inside?

What Is B Up To?

Well, considering that the site is ThreePlusB, I figured it is time that Braisy made an appearance. I haven't mentioned much because he doesn't do much anymore as you can see from the pic :) He celebrated his fourth birthday earlier this month and is really starting to show his age. Logan loves him and gets really excited to crawl around on the floor and climb on top of him. Braisy licks him all over his head and he just giggles. Anyway, it's pretty cute and should be fun watching them become best buds as they both get older.

Our Little Reindeer Has Been Busy!

We all went to the Mission Tree Lighting Ceremony on Friday and Logan was able to see Santa for the first time. Unfortunatly, the tree was only about 10 feet tall (we were expecting something slightly bigger!) but it was fun to get out and about. The KCStar was there too and took our pic - CHECK US OUT!

Logan and Jason have been reading about the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Logan was very interested, but liked pulling dad's hair too :)

Pics from Thanksgiving and More...

Here are pics from Thanksgiving as well as from the last month for those of you who like to save them on your own computer. I've decided to switch to Picassa since Kodak Gallery no longer allows you to right click and save them. So, feel free to just watch the slideshow on here or click on it and you can view it directly from the Picassa website in a larger view. Enjoy!

That is One Fat Squirrel!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that this is what we came home to on our front porch. Before we left, we had noticed that some of our pumpkins kept disappearing and realized that it was a nearby squirrel. We never in our wildest dreams thought that he would have a bigger feast on Thanksgiving than all of us put together! What a mess - and this pic does not do the mess justice at all!!

Logan Loves Clementines!

We Made it Home...Finally!

Okay, okay, so the title is a little misleading - we've been home since Sunday. As you can see, Logan got us home safely :) It's been a little hectic though as we were hoping to get our Christmas tree as well as all the inside and outside decorations up before the week began. Grandma Jill talked us into staying an extra day, which was nice to spend one more day relaxing. We got our tree on Sunday after we got home, which was really fun because it was Logan's first snow - he was amazed! We also finally have the inside decorations up and will probably wait for the weekend to get the outside decorations up since it's dark by the time Jason gets home from work.

Overall, the week in Macomb was great. Logan was able to meet his great grandpa Bruce (A.K.A. Alexander the Great) and visit more with the rest of the family as well. He began babbling different sounds and moving even faster than he was before. He also started doing this really funny thing where he scrunches his face up and if we laugh, he just does it over and over - probably something only his parents will think is cute :) Jason was able to hunt with the boys and unfortunately didn't see much, but was treated to an old fashioned barbers strait razor shave which sounded awesome.

Now that we're home we're working on getting everything ready for Logan's first Christmas and I am desperately trying to keep Logan out from under the tree and away from all the cords! Let me tell you...this is an all day task!

Happy Thanksgiving from Logan!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We're visiting at Grandma Jill and Grandpa Ron's house this entire week, which has been really fun and special for Logan to spend so much time with his grandparents. He's tried many new foods and has found a new love for Clementine tangerines, which we have a fantastic video of and will post after the weekend. It's been a special week and we hope everyone has had a great day. More later...

Logan Loves Cabela's

Jason has been getting ready for his big weekend of deer hunting so we ran out to Cabela's to grab a couple things the other day. While we were out there, Logan loved all the animals and would have stared at the ducks and fish for hours! After getting home, Logan was infatuated with the bright orange hat, resulting in this hilarious picture. :)

He Hasn't Flown Away Yet...

This is a quick clip of Logan in his Jumperoo. While it's a tamed down version, it gives you an idea of how crazy he gets when he flaps his arms and gets so excited!!!

6 Month Check Up!

Logan had his 6 month appointment today and we were told he looks totally happy and healthy! He currently weighs in at 16.75 lbs (26th percentile) and is 25.5 inches long (16th percentile). He had to get his immunization shots again, but was a tough guy and didn't cry much at all - we were all shocked! We also got the okay to keep exploring more and more foods, so I think we might try some chicken soon - fun, fun!

Go Tigers!

Jason and I headed to Columbia to spend the weekend with my parents and brother at a Mizzou football game. We had a great time as a family together and had excellent food at the tailgate, thanks to Ron Dog and Jill (also known as Martha Stewart to the random hungry college boys)!

Logan stayed home with Jason's parents and seemed to do pretty well despite his first cold :( He seems to be feeling better and getting lots of rest. Thank goodness he didn't start crawling on all fours while we were gone, but let me tell you...he is well on his way!

Click here to see more pics from the weekend!

A Life Changing Moment in History

How proud I am to live in a country where truly anything is possible. I can not wait for Logan to grow older to be able to share the history of Barack Obama becoming the first African American president of the United States - and the best part, to hear the surprise and confusion in his voice because he'll never have known anything different.

Despite the fact we are a house divided, the evening of Nov. 4th was a good one. Mostly because my guy won, but don't worry -- I made brownies for Jason so he could drown his sorrows in chocolate! :) But honestly, I'm so happy about this victory and couldn't be more thrilled and hopeful about what is to come in the future of our country. Until next time...

Rock the Vote!

We went as a family early this morning to excercise our right to VOTE! We packed granola bars, water and lots of toys for Logan to play with as we were expecting the lines to be really long. To our surprise upon our arrival, there were four cars in the parking lot! We got in and out quickly and Logan even got an "I Voted!" sticker! It's a good day as we wait in anticipation for the results of todays election as a house divided :)

We're Never Leaving You Again!

Jason and I got a nice Sunday afternoon off this weekend and were able to go to the Chief's game with some friends while Logan stayed at Aunt Carla and Uncle Dennis's house for a while. We had a blast and while it sounds like Logan was a little off his schedule due to day light savings, he had a great time too.

Last time we left him overnight with Granny Frany and Papa D while attending a wedding, he began inching across the floor -- this time when we came to pick him up, he was on all fours rocking back and forth. So, I say...I'm never leaving him again! Yeah, I say that and this upcoming weekend Granny Frany and Papa D are babysitting again ... he better not be crawling when we get home! :)

Happy Halloween!

Well, Logan's first Halloween was a hit! He was a busy boy and exhausted by bedtime. Early in the afternoon, he had a Halloween party and went dressed as a puppy. Unfortunatly, I don't have any pics of that but am hoping to get some from friends soon. He had a great time and enjoyed seeing other little ones his size - I was relieved to see other parents torture their children by dressing them up in ridiculous Halloween costumes just because they are too cute as well!

When Jason got home Logan was happily waiting to go trick or treating in his pumpkin costume. We were so excited because the costume was so warm and cuddly -- we weren't expecting it to be 70 degrees, but Logan was a trooper considering how warm it was! We walked around the neighborhood and then visited a couple of friends while Uncle Justin handed out candy at our house on the porch. When we got home, Logan fought it and wanted to help hand out candy to the other trick or treaters but was just too exhausted and had to hit the hay. Overall, the night was a hit and Logan had a blast. The cutest part was how smiley he was all night; several people commented on how happy he seemed. I think he was just having too much fun not to smile!

Click here to view additional pictures on Kodak Gallery. Also, if you are one of the few that like to order pictures directly from the site click the above link to order. Enjoy!

Peekaboo, I See You!

Logan has been having lots of fun playing peekaboo lately...check it out and make sure you turn the sound up! :)

"Pots and Pans!" said the Little Man

Well, today Logan found his new favorite toy - a pot. My mom always said banging on the pots and pans was one of my favorite past times as a baby, so I figured it was worth a shot with Logan since he's beginning to get tired of the same old toys. We pulled out one pot with a wooden spoon and he was all smiles...until it was nap time of course!

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

I've already received several messages from people worried that we will no longer be sending photos through Kodak Gallery as we have been over the last several months...don't worry, I'm still taking pictures of Logan every 10 minutes and will continue to do so! :) It's an addiction, I tell ya! Because I'm new at blogging, I'm still working on how to connect our Kodak Gallery Slideshow to the website - eventually I'll figure it out! And in the meantime, I'll continue to email the photos as I've always done.

It's just so funny because of course I never get tired of taking pictures of Logan/Braisy and looking at them again and again, but I never thought other people would want to see them too! So, crisis averted - the photos will continue! :)

The Leaves are Falling and the Blogging Begins.

After much thought, we decided that a blog would be a fun and easy way to keep everyone informed and updated on what the Dippels are up to. Since much of our family live out of town and we are always being asked about what's new this week and what little Logan can do, this seemed like such a great solution to bridging the gap of distance.

With the leaves falling and the weather getting colder, we've still been out and about and Logan is really on the move at almost 6 months. We went to the park for a picnic and hiking this weekend and Logan loved the leaves on the ground so much, he inched right off the blanket towards the leaves - he was amazed!

Because our family and friends are so important to us, we are hopeful that this can keep us all in touch with one another. Feel free to leave comments and we truly hope everyone enjoys our new way of communication. We are thrilled to be able to share Logan's new adventures and growth through the upcoming months.