Just Another Day at the Park

Just a small update, compared to the last. Sorry, but in the last two weeks, I've only taken about 70 pictures. We haven't been up to too much. John started teaching on Monday, and I think he's gratefully to be back into his schedule, but also missing the relaxation of the summer. He had his first day of baseball practice today, so Maggie and I have more baseball games to look forward to.

I have been applying for part-time jobs. I've applied to a number of them, but I'm feeling picky and wanted for the right one. Unforetunately, I can't be too picky or wait too long. We would like to move out of this apartment eventually.

Maggie and I have been spending a lot of time outside walking and playing at the park. Daily, we walk (even Maggie walks) to the park around the corner, and before school started we would walk over to the playground at St. John's to visit John. Maggie especially likes the St. John's playground because there are more pieces to climb on. She is a monkey! But now that school is back in session, there are too many big kids to play there during the week. Maggie won't move, she just stands there and stares at all the kids.

The first few pictures are at St. John's. Maggie can now go down the slides all by herself, sitting up. (For the last few months, she was going down on her belly.) Then, once she gets to the bottom, she tries to climb back up. Unless of course it is the big, spiral slide, then she runs around to the stairs to go down again. I would say she's fearless, but lately she gets really freaked out by loud noises (like the Harley that regularly cruises down our street). Although, that has gotten much better lately.

Maggie enjoys the Merry-Go-Round also. She runs to the middle and stomps her feet to make loud noises.

Maggie is also becoming (more) independent. She refuses to crawl up and down stairs, but instead insists on walking up. Usually, she needs one of us to hold her hand, but at the playground the railings are just her size.
We had a rough week a couple weeks back. Maggie got her first molar. It was a hard week of very little sleep, plus at the same time she put herself on one nap a day. We spent good, long parts of the day snuggled up on the couch.
Another big step Maggie's taken is she has switched to the big swings. She no longer likes the baby swings, and luckily there are two big swings that are very low to the ground. She has only fallen off once, and it was a pretty mild fall. She also likes to push the swings herself (which usually makes her fall down) and push her stuffed animals.
The one big problem with the big swings is that she drags her toes.
Maggie has all of a sudden become very attached to a few stuffed bears, two are Bearista bears and one is a Beanie Baby. She carries them around the apartment and takes them with her wherever we go. She also feeds them her food and drinks and has recently learned how to soothe them if they're upset. (She pats them on the back and rocks them back and forth - adorable!)
Here she's pushing the bear. This may have been right before she fell, but I can't be sure.
Liek I said, Maggie is a monkey! She will climb anything and everything, her favorites... the chairs and the step stool. She climbs the chair by the computer every chance she gets. The other day I was doing the dishes and heard a banging. She had climbed on the chair and was playing with the drawers and the computer.
I think she was trying to write the great American novel.
Our little CEO can never be without her cell phone, even if she doesn't have a pocket.
Today, we took the ball to the park.

On our walk to the park, Maggie always has to jump over this.
She's trying to reach the pinecones in the trees.

Maggie, never without a rock.
Maggie is fascinated by everything around her, be it tree bark, rocks, butterflies, or ants.

Our newest game is "Put the Pinecones Back on the Tree." Maggie loves it, but it lost its appeal to me after the first round.
This is the sign for "Give Me That."
Big milestone: Maggie can successfully use a fork! (Although, most of the time, she still uses her hands.)
Tonight in the bath, Maggie enjoyed just laying in the water and humming. (Sorry, the flash didn't go off.)

2 more 4th of July pictures

These two pictures are compliments of Bobbie...

There's a lot to say and a lot of pictures to show!

The last two months have been a whirlwind. I'll start at the end of June and try not to leave anything out. While we were still in North Carolina, we visited a couple places. The first, in this update, was the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte. We went thinking it was going to be a library, like the name states, but in actuality it was a large museum based on Billy Graham's life and ministry. It was extremely interesting, but a little too much for Maggie. We missed seeing his parent's home, which was on the land, but Maggie did get to listen to the talking cow at the beginning of the tour.

We also made two trips to Winstom-Salem. Our first visit was pretty quick, we just drove around and spent most of our time trying to find a place for lunch. We took a quick walk around Wake Forest's campus, and while we were there Maggie found this bird. It was either hurt or very young because it didn't fly away as she approached it. Instead, it started to chirp really loud. I was afraid it would attack her, but as I went to get here, it flew away right into the cement wall in the background of this picture. Don't worry the bird was fine.
During all of our driving, Maggie had some problems taking naps. But when she was cuddled up in her blanket, she didn't stay awake long.
We went back to Winston-Salem later the same week, because I wanted to walk through Old Salem. It was a really cool area, half living museum and half residential area. There was also a college in the area, Salem College, which is the oldest women's college in the country. There were so many amazing old buildings. After Old Salem, we went back to Wake Forest to see a little more of the campus, and John wanted to see the baseball field.

Here's Maggie at Old Salem.

As we were leaving that morning for Winston-Salem, Maggie took a major digger on the sidewalk in front of our apartment. The following weekend, June 22nd, we drove to Raleigh-Durham to visit Alex and Allison. Alex, John's friend from high school, just started his medical internship at Duke, so we figured we better meet up since we all happened to be in North Carolina at the same time. We were meeting at the Feix place for dinner, so we spent the earlier part of the day driving around Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. On the outskirts of Raleigh, we stopped at Meredith College (another girl's school) to eat our picnic lunch. John and Maggie fed the geese what was left of our sandwiches.

In Raleigh, we also visited North Carolina State and St. Mary's Boarding School (where Union soldiers camped on the front lawn).

Then we found our way to Durham and Duke University. Duke was an amazing campus, no doubt the most amazing I've ever seen. It's huge and wooded and old. I loved it! Maggie and I spent some time walking around and taking pictures, while John took a nap.

Maggie at a Duke dorm, at a Duke fountain,
with a large root, trying to pick up rocks,
and walking on a hill (apparently confused).

We had a period of time where we had to switch out our bed, couch, and dinette, which were all rented for us by the league. Maggie had fun playing in the empty bed frame, while studying the Scrabble dictionary. Scrabble World Series, here we come!
She also liked to sit on the 2nd couch and watch her favorite show, Blue's Clues.
Over the July 4th weekend, Dave and Bobbie, John's parents, came to visit. On the 4th we went to a AAA game, the Charlotte Knights vs. the Durham Bulls. Maggie made friends while we were there, of course. After the game, there were fireworks. At first Maggie was amazed, then a little scared, and finally uninterested. It was really late, but she was a trooper and was barely crabby at all.
Maggie and Daddy playing catch.
John made a fort for Maggie out of the couch cushions.
It was even fun after it fell down. Super Baby!

On July 11th, Maggie and I flew home for what was supposed to be a week long vacation, scheduled to overlap with our family camping trip. We also stopped by Grammie and Grandpas for a Kinzel dinner.

Maggie and Anna.

Maggie on the hammock.
Maggie being cute, like always.

Maggie played for a couple hours with rocks, cups, and water. Who needs toys?

AUNT Karen, Anna, and Maggie.
From the 13th to the 16th, Maggie and I met up with my mom's side of the family for the annual camping trip at Lake Du Bay. Maggie had a blast with so many people and things to do.

For all of the camping pictures, click here.

Maya was her first bubble friend.
Becca took her into the lake, which was really cold, but Maggie didn't seem to mind.

This tube was more fun on the land than behind a boat.
More bubbles.
The big hit of the week was the wagon. I lost count of how many times I walked around the campground with little girls in tow.

Maggie played at the beach, not quite the same as the ocean, but I prefer it.

This was a monumental moment. Brooke is horribly afraid of dogs, but she was brave and became friends with the little dog (only the little dog).
Here we go in the wagon again.
Maggie liked the little dog, too, but not so much that she wanted to share the wagon.

Maggie & Becca.
On the last day we were there, the uncles created a treasure hunt, complete with a treasure map in a bottle (found in the lake) and an "x" to mark the spot. The little kids had a lot of fun with it.
They even painted on mustaches, scars, and uni-brows (that one was my idea).
Three boats (I'm in one) on the way to the treasure.
Digging at the "x".

Wednesday, when we got back to the Meulendyke's, where we were staying, Maggie and I played in the puddles for a while.


Maggie discovers the exo-saucer again.

Owen, look at that smirk! He's gotten so big; he weighs the same as Maggie now (and is 6 months younger). He's crawling and pulling up on furniture. It won't be long before he and Maggie are causing all sorts of trouble.
The cousins' picture. I think this one is funny. The motion in Maggie's hand looks like she's going to punch Owen.

Maggie teaching Owen to read.
John's season ended earlier than we had expected due to injuries and a team in their league forfeiting the rest of their games, so he packed up the NC apartment and met us in Wisconsin. Our 1 week trip turned into 3 weeks. So, since we were around, we went to Eagle River with my family.

Maggie finally got to go for a ride in the boat. (During camping, any time I went out was while she was napping.) Grandma even let her drive.

Maggie playing outside the condo with her uncles (and sticks).



Back at the other Grandma's, enjoying the big yard while we can.

And of course, Maggie picked some flowers.

And she tried to escape and run away.
Grandma put up a swing in their backyard.


On our last night in Wisconsin, before heading back to Nebraska, we went to the Brewers-Cubs game with some of the extended Meulendyke family. Thanks, Aunt Sue!

For all of the pictures of the Brewers game, click here.

John and Owen.

Owen trying his first sugar snap pea.
What a face!
Maggie found a new friend in Nicole. They were also best friends at the horse races in Arlington the Sunday before!

Maggie trying her hand at bags. We better start her young, maybe she'll make the 2016 Olympic team.

Maggie got a huge kick out of the cheering crowd!

Finally, before we hit the road on the 31st, we spent the morning at the WI state fair. Maggie really liked the horses and the sheep, but was less impressed with the cows and the pigs.

Finally back home and settled, Maggie gets comfortable with a good book. She absolutely loves her giraffe chair now that she can get in and out of it.
This past weekend was the Seward County Fair. Again, Maggie liked the horses and the sheep best. She laughed when the pigs snorted at us, and she gobbled back at the turkey.