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

Couch-to-5K

By letting you all in on my newest committment to myself, my hope is that making this public will help encourage me to keep at it. Ever heard of Couch-to-5K running program? It's basically a smart method to get yourself up and running- starting out slow and working your way up to a 5K. If you're interested, the link is http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml . Since having the baby I have recommitted to myself to get into shape; the weight is coming off :) but I also want to be a healthy role model for Maggie. Running is not really my thing, and I hope my knees can take it. I'm starting out on the treadmill, in the hopes it is kinder to my knees than the sidewalks. Wish me luck & encouragement, all you runners!

Molly the Cat-Dog

Over the last week, our very energetic and happy dog, Molly, morphed into a Cat-Dog. What does this mean? As I was preparing to leave the house for work one day this week, I heard a crash down in the basement. I ran down to see what Molly got into, and found her sitting proudly over a dead baby mouse. I can handle a lot of things but for some reason the sight of a mouse turns my knees into jello. After I finished the first round of screaming, I ran upstairs to try and gather my thoughts, all the while realizing there was a good chance the dog would have eaten the little mouse by the time I got back downstairs. This thought just led me to freak even more and my body was literally shaking. The only rational thought was to call Matt (who was on his way to school) and see if he had suggestions. The problem was, he didn't pick up, so the message I left for him was a great one- part laughing, part screaming, crying a little, trying to get the words out of my mouth. I can only imagine his face when he heard the message!

I managed to put on my oven mitts and get a broom and venture back downstairs and get rid of the mouse. I choose not to think about this part because it still freaks me out. If there had been a camera on me we surely would have won on America's Funniest Home Videos.

This may seem like a strange happening to some of you, but such is the life at 3 Court Drive. If you have a mouse problem, let me know and I'll send Cat-Dog over. No charge. Just don't expect me to come along.

Maggie Turns One

Yes, Maggie turned 1 on February 18, 2008. No, we can't believe how fast time has gone by. When you're a new parent, many people like to tell you (multiple times) how fast kids grow up, but until you've lived it, you don't get it. We get it now. I remember when we first brought Maggie home from the hospital and it seemed like all she did was sleep, eat & poop, and I recall Matt asking, "when is she going to do something?" Well, now she's doing many "somethings". Yes, time has gone by quickly but we really take pride in spending quality time with Maggie, and enjoy every minute of time with her; we know how blessed we are to have her along on this joyride.

Maggie has been walking since about 10 months old, and boy does she get around quickly. Her favorite things to play with are cell phones and tupperware. Oh yeah, and the dog's food and water dishes. And the dog's bone. And stuff in the trash (what is it about kids and dogs liking to play with tissues?). Did I mention that she likes to unroll the toilet paper from the roll? Basically she favors the items we thought we had baby-proofed.

The real treat though is that she now has a few words in her vocabulary. "Dada" seems to be her most-used word. Occasionally she's kind enough to throw in a few "Mama's" but that's just because that word seems to make her giggle. She's getting close to saying "dog" but right now it comes out as "da" when she sees Molly or another neighborhood dog. She also knows "ball". However the word she uses the most comes out as "sht".....we hope it's not what it sounds like and we really try NOT to be entertained when we hear her say this. We hope she's just playing with different sounds!

Maggie's party was a lot of fun and family celebrated with us: Aunt Megan, Uncle Rick, Morgan & Bailey; Grandma & Poppy; Grammy & Grandpa; Aunt Meghan & Tommy; Aunt Judy & Uncle John (guess that would be Great Aunt Judy & Great Uncle John). It was great to have everyone there to celebrate with us, and we know there were some special people who were celebrating with us in spirit if not in person.

Our First Blog

There have been many "firsts" for this family in the past five years. A marriage, a house, a dog, a Maggie, and now, our first blog. Whether you like what you see or what we have to say, or you're still trying to figure out what the heck we're doing and thinking, we hope you enjoy reading this and keeping up with what's going on in our lives.

I have to give my friend Jen credit for introducing us to this whole blogging world (or should I thank Rob?) because after seeing the Jones' family blog, I thought "why can't I do that?" Now, I don't pretend to be as creative a writer as Rob, but we'll do our best to keep you updated!