Teens to Toddlers: Adventures of the Haske's

It is just so hard to imagine that my beautiful curly haired little girl is now nearly 17 and a beautiful young woman. This past weekend it was prom and Nikki went with her very good friend Connor. She looked just beautiful..and yes I know I am the mom, but she just sparkled. She had her One Act performances on thursday and friday and then Prom on Saturday. Junior year is almost over and then she heads off to Europe for her exchange program. Time has just flown by and I am just so proud of the young woman she is becoming. We love you so much Nikki, and we are just so proud of you. I can't wait to see what the future holds in store for you. Enjoy the photos.
Michele

Annabelle has been having the strangest thing happen with her permanent teeth. Her permanent teeth are coming in before her baby teeth are even loose. But the two teeth never seem to connect so we have had to pull 4 of her baby teeth because they just won't fall out on their own. She has been such a trooper about this but this last time she was just sick of the whole thing. Enjoy the photos.

So today is my dad's birthday. He isn't here to celebrate it any more but I can't let the day go by without a Happy Birthday! It has been 8 years since my dad made his last trip to Germany. I have adopted two kids since then. Ryan, has graduated high school and started his first year of college. Nikki has been inducted into the National German Honor society and will make an exhcange trip to Germany this summer. He just would have loved that. It is so amazing how time can go by just so quickly. I miss my dad at the oddest times now. Not just at holidays or birthdays, but mostly when my kids reach milestones and I know he would like to have seen it..been a part of it. When Ryan graduated High School. When Nikke carried the German flag in the homecoming parade...and to watch Sebastian, a grandchild he never got to meet, play soccer. Sebby is wicked fast and an aggressive little player. My dad would have enjoyed it. And Annabelle would have just made him laugh just as Nikki did when she was that age. Annabelle would have loved a twirly Dirndl dress! Dad you gave me the two greatest gifts after you left us and you never even knew you did it.
So Happy Birthday dad, may the heavens sparkle just a little brighter tonight!
Ich liebe dich. Michele

Wow as usual we have been so busy since the first of the year. In February, we celebrated Ryan's 19th birthday. Then it was Sebastian's 9th birthday followed by his 3rd gotcha day....then we celebrated Annabelle's gotcha day followed by her 7th birthday 3 days later. I just don't know where the time goes. Some times it is just scary how fast the days go by. It still seems like yesterday Ryan was just a toddler with his white blonde hair running around in his firefighter outfit. Now he is a freshman in college and over 6'3"!

Sebastian came home 3yrs ago and he has made so much progress. We certainly have some issues to overcome but he does amaze me with how much he has learned and how well he has done. He is the best helper and is the first one to want to buy for his siblings when it is a birthday or christmas. He is turning out to be quite the athlete and is as fast as the wind. Happy birthday Sebastian, you are just the cutest little boy and have a heart of gold. You humble me with how much you have gone through in your young life and still keep trying and smiling!

Annabelle had a big week with her birthday, kids party and of course the Daddy daughter dance she looks forward to all year. Annabelle you just make us all smile. You are truly the happiest little girl I have ever met. You just sparkle! I can't believe you are now 7yrs old. You love fashion, jewelry and anything that sparkles...we are just so blessed to have you as our little girl.

So enjoy the photos of birthdays, dances and just some of what what we have been doing for the past few months!
Michele

One of the sweetest moments of our disney trip was when Annabelle met Mulan. We had just finished our princess lunch where Annie and Sebastian got to meet, Belle, Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, and we were walking through "China" in Epcot when Nikki spots Mulan in the corner greeting kids and taking pictures.
We hustled over to get in line. Honestly I think I wanted the kids to meet Mulan more than they did...but there we were waiting in line and watching Mulan take each child aside have a chat with them and then take a picture. But when it was Annie's turn Mulan took Annie aside, knelt down and chatted with her a couple of minutes and then she leaned in and gave Annie a kiss on the cheek. It was just so sweet..and she didn't do that to any other child in line that we saw. Annabelle was just mesmerized and told us afterward she didn't want to wash off Mulan's kiss ever. It really just brought tears to both mine and Rich's eyes. Needless to say, Annabelle
is now Mulan's biggest fan. It's funny because one of the things we purchased when we were in china for Annabelle's adoption was an original water color painting of Mulan. It has hung above Annie's bed since we came home. We love you "Mulan" thanks for making a little chinese girl just glow. Enjoy the photos.

O.K. They didn't text all the time but they did text alot of the time. I do draw the line and meal time. I really enjoy the benefits of texting at times but these teens have to learn to talk to people again. LOL I will admit they did join in the fun and Nikki even got some photo ops with some very cuddly friends from the Hundred Acre Woods! And as you can see even Ryan did have fun, especially with Annie. It is funny Annie's teacher told me that of all her siblings, Annie talks about her brother all the time...she must really miss him. I thought she was talking about Sebastian, but no appararenly her absolute favorite is RYAN!! Go figure...lol

On our second day we went to the magic kingdom. Since Annie and Sebastian had no idea we were even going to Disney until 4am the morning we left, everything was a surprise to them. That included Sebastian being turned into a pirate and Annabelle becoming a princess...her dream come true. Sebastian was overwhelmed by the whole experience and just tried to keep up with all the responsibilities of being a pirate.
Annabelle was just in heaven. To sit in the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique and be turned into a princess was just a dream come true for her. I don't think she could have smiled any bigger. Enjoy the photos. They had a blast.