Closing a Great Summer

This summer has been so much fun, it's hard to sum it up in words. But I will try with pictures! Maggie is now 18 months old. Some of the words she can now say inlcude: Mom or Mommy, Daddy, juice, pease (please), da (dog), ha (hot), Poppy, Bay (for Bailey). She also counts "one, two, tree!". By far her favorite word though, is NO! Which she manages to scream at the top of her lungs at the most unopportune times... Church, for example. How about a nice leisurely breakfast at Cracker Barrel? Don't even think about it with an 18 month old. Something about that place just throws her off. It's like we pull in the parking lot and Maggie gets this impish grin (some may call it a snarl).

Anyway, we managed to do a lot of fun things this summer, most importantly, just being together. We went to a carnival, visited our extended family at a cabin on the Loyalsock, made a trip to Erie to see Aunt Meghan's new house, had one visit from Grammy and one visit from Grammy & Grandpa, camped at 3 family reunions, and spent a week at Chincoteague Island with Gramma & Poppy, Aunt Megan & Uncle Rick, and Morgan & Bailey.

Lounging with Dad

Visit from Grammy

Mags & Mom

Eating chips & salsa with Poppy & Great Uncle Mike

Visit from Grandpa
Roller Coaster with Bailey
Too cute to pass up!

Maggie & Dad in Erie
She's smiling...we'll have to show her this when she's 13.

Helping Mom sort recipes

Maggie, Bailey & Morgan at Mr. Whippy in Chincoteague

Beach Pictures

In all, it was a good summer. Matt starts back to school tomorrow, and the period of mourning for summer he experienced this year seemed to be shorter than years before. He will be teaching the same courses he had last year, so he's all set. He's also taking grad courses, so we expect fall to be quite busy. This summer Matt really seemed to find enjoyment in woodworking; he built a nightstand to match the one we already have in the bedroom,he also built some extra storage in the basement. He and Dad also installed railing and bannister on our front porch.

I continue to work for Uppercase Living. Let me know if you want to book a party or place an order! I did run a 5K on July 4th, and I have two more coming up, one this Friday and one at the end of September. I'm also going to take a Yogalates class (1/2 Yoga, 1/2 Pilates) once a week, so that should be fun.

Hope everyone is doing well and you enjoyed catching up with us!

Sunny Days

We took advantage of the beautiful weather this past weekend and had a picnic. Mom, Maggie, Matt & I went to Marsh Creek and had a picnic while watching the many boats out on the water. It was such a nice and sunny day, we just had to be outside! Here are some pictures:

Maggie and Matt also had some time in the pool this week:

Wow

Well, I haven't been keeping up with this blog like I had imagined I could....and I fear with summer approaching it will be even more difficult! Today Matt is at the Phillies game so I now have time to write....and of course I'm going to write about Maggie!

Ms. Maggie Jane has such a great personality, but she is getting that Fisher-girl stubbornness I fear (for those of you who did not know me back then, yes, my maiden name is Fisher). I can't and won't even pretend that her stubborn side comes from Matt! Her favorite word right now is "no". Although she has picked up "wow" which is pretty funny. I love that Verizon commercial with that stupid flea that says "wow" and we're always mocking and laughing at it when it's on, and Maggie seems to have picked up on it and thinks it's pretty funny too. Hopefully we'll get it on video at some point.

Her favorite trick right now seems to be backing her little butt onto anything that even remotely resembles a seat and sitting down on it. Hence the pictures of her in her rocking chair that Kim got her and the other one of her in Bailey's Elmo chair which he so kindly shared with her.

Maggie is getting so tall! I wonder where that comes from? She loves to be and play outside, no matter what we are doing. Matt & I got bikes last weekend and we got an iBert bike seat for Maggie, which sits on the handlebars. It's nice because as you're riding you can talk to the kid. When we went out for the first time we biked part of the Struble Trail and had so much fun- Maggie was leaning back and kissing me and clapping through the bike ride!

Anyway, here are some recent pictures. Enjoy.

Need to Catch Up!!

We really need to play some catch-up with this blog. It's bound to get busier as the spring moves on and we get into summer....then we'll really be busy & get behind!

Let's start with our trip to Erie. Last weekend we went to Erie to visit the Miehl family. It was a nice trip, we even had great sunny weather! We made a trip to the Erie zoo and even had a get together with the Anderson cousins. I was able to visit Pleasant Ridge Manor and some former coworkers, and have a nice long "coffee talk" that night with Kathy, whom I don't get to spend enough time with! Here are some photos from that trip:

Today Matt & I went to Philadelphia for the day. The plan was to see the Star Wars exhibit at the Franklin Institute, but when we got there at 11am the only time we could get into the show was 4pm. We kept ourselves busy by walking....and walking...and walking....from the FI all the way to Old City and Independence Hall.

The best part of the Star Wars exhibit was the characters walking around. We actually heard a little boy ask one of the Storm Troopers "are you here to invade the Rebel base?" Yes, he was very serious when he asked this. Also when Matt had his picture taken with bounty hunter Boba Fett (I have no idea how to spell this) the guy called Matt a Wookie. I guess he is tall, but he's not that hairy!

This picture I had to add because it's just too funny not to:

What Happened to Our Baby?

When I was pregnant, I can't tell you how many times I was told "it'll go by so fast". And now that we're living it, I see how true it is. It seems like one night Maggie went to bed a baby and the next day she woke up a toddler. She's walking and running, saying her version of "thank you" and giving kisses. She says "Mama" and her favorite word, "Dada", and "dog". Her newest thing is spoon feeding herself, which she does when she feels like it. And she loves pudding! She loves carrying blankets around with her, especially the one she sleeps with, but she will even go so far as to take off of you the blanket you are using! She also loves electronics of all kinds- cell phones, calculators, computers, and remotes, and she knows which ones are the toys and which ones are real. She is a purse lady too, always taking my purse and carring it around with her. It's so cute.


Maggie is still mostly easy-going and laid back, and a very happy little girl, but she has that Fisher-girl temper that I can't even pretend could have come from Matt's family! I hope to teach her how to turn that around into becoming a strong advocate for herself and for others who can't or don't speak for themselves.


Each stage she goes through seems more and more fun, and there are days we are still astounded that we created this beautiful girl.

Just By a Hair....

Yesterday was a big day for us. Maggie had her first haircut! We do want her to grow it out but unfortunately this first round of "real hair" that has sprouted from her head was just too fuzzy & fine to do anything with. Even after it was combed it sprang back up and just wouldn't stay put. So we decided to get her hair trimmed with the hopes it grows in nicer....who knows. We took Mags to this newer kids-haircut place called Snip It's- it was pretty neat and well worth the experience. While the hairdresser snipped away, Maggie was entranced by the other little kids in the store. She is such a people watcher.

It's nice to actually see her beautiful face now! We never ever get tired of people remarking how cute she is......

Happy Easter.....and More!

What an eventful few days we have had here at the Miehl household! Our Easter weekend celebration started Thursday night with the arrival of cousins from Meadville, Barry, Tricia, Brighton & Caleb. The rest of the "Dave Anderson" crew was spread out at my parents' house and Megan & Rick's house for the weekend. Good Friday the Barry Anderson & Miehl crew made it to Chucky Cheese, which was a surprisingly fun and non-sticky experience (my memories of Chucky Cheese are of snot-nosed kids running around barefoot on gross carpet). Saturday started off with Bailey's birthday party...yes, he is 2 years old!! After the Elmo-fest at Bailey's party all the kids (and admittedly so, most of the parents) took naps and then it was on to Mom & Dad's for an egg hunt, decorating eggs, and fun. On Sunday we all went to church together, had lunch at Mom & Dad's and then the Andersons headed home for their long drives. I have tried to choose just the very best pictures but it's hard to narrow down!! The entire weekend was hectic and at times chaotic but so much fun- those mental snapshots keep me smiling still.

Our Day Today

Happy at Breakfast

Funny Face for the Camera!

Shopping

Nap in car, yes she took off her shoes & socks

Maggie playing

Matt playing

Maggie & Molly

Naked Girl

Bath Time