Maggie's Can Walker

We spent 1,000's of dollars on a state of the art walker, and Maggie insists on using her princess popcorn tin!

Christmas Diddies

Our 2007 Christmas festivities began with a 12 hour journey to the great province of Garden City Kansas. Maggie watched out the window as we flew over the Candy Cane Forest, and the land of Swirly Twirly Gum-Drops, and the Lincoln Tunnel.
When we arrived in Garden City Kansas Maggie finally met her uncle Titus, who happens to be a dog, and Maggie absolutely LOVES dogs!!!

Weary from the journey, Maggie then ate a feast of bodatious brocolli.
By this point everyone was having a great time, but it was painstakingly obvious that no one amongst the entire group was made out of snow...so we made a snowman.
Then we decided that it would be a good idea to meditate on the birth of God into the world - as He humbled Himself to the point of taking on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, the second person in the Godhead, our Savior & our King. So we got dressed up and went to Christmas Eve worship service.
By this point we were all getting hungry, but we knew that no regular type of cuisine would do...so we made a ginger bread house. This is the ginger bread house pre-decorated.
This is the finished product. The architects/designers of the house are featured in the photo above, as you can see.
Then, in the spirit of the season (the spirit of giving), Maggie received presents!
Here is Maggie with an ark full of animals (no relation to Noah's ark), given to her by her Aunt Melodee.
Then we traveled one hour to the southeast to a land called "Dodge City" where Maggie played with a little man named Jordan!
In the land of Dodge City Maggie received an education from a man named Wayne about farming. Wayne is what you might call an "Expert Farmer" in these regions of the world.
Having received a thorough farming education, Maggie went straight home and began to practice. Here she is practicing her tractor driving.
The day after Christmas, Maggie came down with a serious case of K-State Christmas fever!
Finally, Grandpa D.O.G. gave Maggie some good old fashion Kansas bull riding training!

toys... who needs em?

Many people have asked us what we are getting our nine month old for Christmas this year. So here is a sneak peak of the type of "toys" Maggie is really into these days. Note the huge smile on her face at the end of the video. Be sure to turn up your volume. This is just a snippet of her fun with the doorstop, she played with it for probably two whole minutes, which is a lot in Maggie time.

p.s. Thanks to all those concerned in the last post about my mouth being closed or not. Rest assured it was closed, hence making the experience that much more enjoyable.

lessons in parenting.

High Pants, Shades, and Mail Call

Maggie is a fashion guru. Here she is sporting some high pants (that's the style in the Netherlands these days), and big shades (not to be worn of course, just to be held and chewed on).
Maggie received a thanksgiving letter from her Kansas grandparents last week. According to federal law we knew that it would be illegal to open Maggie's mail without her permission. So I gave the letter to Maggie, and as you can see she promptly read the letter, committed it to memory, and desposed of it. Will we ever know the content of these secret correspondences between the grands and the Mags? Methinks we shall, someday...but by then will it be too late? da dau don ~

Maggie & Sam

In this clip Maggie & Sam are acting out that scene from Zoolander where Derek and Hansel are trying to get the files out of the computer.

One Minute In The Life Of Maggie Dirks

This afternoon Maggie crawled up to me and said, "Daddy, I want to give everyone out there in cyberland a little taste of what I do everyday, because it's pretty dang exciting." So here's a little taste (one minute to be exact) of a day in the life of Maggie Dirks.

Christmas Maggie

This morning Maggie crawled up to me and said "Daddy, I have decided that since I don't have enough money to buy everyone gifts this year I would like to send myself around to the family." I was hesitant to allow such a thing a first, but then Maggie showed me this specially designed box she made, and she gave me a very elaborate demonstration as to how it would work. After much debate I was persuaded that Maggie's idea was quite holly, and jolly, and chalked full of yuletide spirit. So, keep your eye out for a Maggie sized package this Christmas season!
Brody & Maggie dawned their gamecock attire for the big USC vs. Clemson game. Unfortunately the gamecocks did not win that game, but the children looked fabulous regardless.
Maggie borrowed a USC jersey from her cousin Brody. Thanks for sharing Brodster!
Brody is quite the jokester...this is him doing an impression of uncle Peter.
Blue yo-yo to match blue eyes = fabulous!

Thanky Danky in VA Beach

We hope everybody had a greatastic turkey day. Here are a few pictures from the Dirks' thanky danky festivities.
Maggie met her cousin Brody FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!
Brody strikes a devastatingly seductive pose.
The Zaepfel Grands arrived at John & Christine's at exactly 11:53 a.m. Maggie is very sneaky, trying to abscond with Grandma's necklace without anyone noticing.
Maggie says, "Are you guys sure it's safe to be at the beach in November?"
On the way to the beach Maggie tells us the most amazing story about Eagle's eggs we've ever heard!

Thanks Suzanne...

We've been tagged by our friend Suzanne...this means you get to read a list of 8 random facts/habits about our family. So, here we go.

1- This is first and probaby most exciting. Last night Tyler and I ate dinner right beside Rick Flair at Zen asian fusion. WHOOO! While the night didn't go like this, here's how we wish it had. Picture this....Tyler and I seated next to Rick Flair....Tyler gets his spicy noodles placed in front of him on the table and he takes a bite...Tyler "WHOOO!!!"....Rick Flair looks over....Tyler "now that's spicy."
2-We have the cutest and happiest baby in the world, that has sort of learned how to wave...if the mood is right.
3-We watch on average 3-4 episodes of The Office each week (some may think this pathetic, but we think it is pretty cool). We have all the seasons sans this season on dvd, and we love it.
4-Tyler made banana and peanut butter pancakes this morning for breakfast. He has really stepped up his chef skills since becoming the RUF pastor at Johnson and Wales.
5-I (Carrie) have seen the following famous people in person...Keanu Reeves....Wayne Brady....Screech (from saved by the bell...yes he counts as famous)...Bono....Steven Tyler....Lenny Kravitz....John Stamos (?) (aka Uncle Jesse), Rebeccah Romain (?) (from Ugly Betty)...Stedman (Oprah's boyfriend)....Brittany Spears....Jimmy Buffet...and now Rick Flair baby...WHOOO! And, yes their are some very fun and exciting stories behind all these encounters.
6-Tyler and I are officially an "aunt" and "uncle" and Maggie a "cousin" all thanks to Brody Tyler.
7-We see dead people (when we watch the Sixth Sense)
8-I see the insides of peoples bodies farely often in the OR.

Tagged:
1-the Tylers
2-the Rhodes
3-the McCanns
4-the Kulps
5-the Hunts
6-the Dyers
7-the Howells
8-the Purdys

The rules:
1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they are tagged and reminding them to read your blog.

8 months old and lookin' good!

Today Maggie is the big 0.8, or something like that. Here are some shots from the day and the life of an 8 month old.
Play is critical at this time of life, and this pelican is oh so delicious. However, it makes a very obnoxious squeaky noise when Maggie chews on it, to me it is like nails on a chalkboard, but Maggie loves it.
Every 8 month old needs an impromptu visit from a grandfolk, in this case Grandma. The girls were so clever in planning matching sunday outfits.
And, what would an 8 month old do without a sporty new red coat? Look out Kansas we are ready for all the snow you can throw our way this Christmas.
Girlfriend time is critical at this time of life, check out these babes.
But, even more critical is precious daddy daughter time. I know, because I still have to get my quota on a regular basis.

Welcome Joshua Brody Tyler!

Our nephew is here! Check out this video of Maggie's adorable new cousin..
Congratulations Christine and John!

"From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother's womb. I will ever praise you." Psalm 71:6

and I proudly stand up...

With the chaotic holidays fast approaching our sweet little Maggie has decided to step up her game. And what I mean by this is that she has taught herself some new moves, namely standing. Maggie showed us this amazing trick the other night when she tried frantically to flee from the evil clutches of the bathtub. Sadly that is not on video, but here she is pulling up in her crib. Note that the sock attached to the diaper was not planned (you can kind of make it out at the end). Warning to grandparents: have tissues available this is a tearjerker.

Happy Halloween!

DUCK!!! (that one's for you Poppa)

A visit from Corrie

Last wednesday our good friend Corrie flew in from Arizona for a visit. We really loved having her here. We enjoyed doing all sorts of fun things like watching movies, cooking, playing scrabble (yes we enjoyed this thoroughly), shopping, discovering Trader Joe's (Corrie introduced us to this amazing store), driving all over Charlotte, touring the Billy Graham library and so much more. Here are a few pictures from our time with our sweet friend. Thanks for coming Corrie!
Saturday Corrie had a wedding to attend, so we had to entertain ourselves. We headed to our church's annual corn maze and picnic in the country. It featured an exciting petting zoo and a fun "hay ride" for us to enjoy (sans the hay).
Maggie really enjoyed looking at the animals.
Father and daughter enjoy the country air.
Corrie and Maggie were instant buddies.
We toured the Billy Graham library tuesday and it was great. A very fun and enlightening free activity for any out of town guests. I was a little embarressed that I hadn't been before. This is a picture of Maggie, Bessie and me. Bessie is the talking cow that Billy Frank milked in his adolescent years while he practiced his preaching. Don't worry she didn't talk to him, they rigged it up to talk to us tourists. Maggie loved listening to it moo.
We spent a good deal of time in the car and Corrie thought a picture of her view of Maggie from the front seat during our outings needed to be captured. Maggie has a little mirror in front of her rear facing seat so I can watch her from my rear view mirror, and this is the picture Corrie took.

One final note: Maggie's second tooth has surfaced! Needless to say Maggie is loving her tylenol and orajel, but not nearly as much as her mom and dad.

Be Encouraged Christians!

If you have a moment today read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11! It has really encouraged me this morning especially vs. 16 and 17...which read "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever!" Isn't that so exciting! I get so wrapped up with this life that I forget that our time in this life is compared to the length it takes to take a single breath and the true eternal life with Christ the King is coming and will be more incredible than we can fathom. It really pumps me up and I hope this encourages you all too!

Sundays

Lately, we have found that our sunday afternoons have fallen into a lovely routine. After church and lunch we normally take naps and then head to the park. The fall weather has been most inviting and we have thoroughly enjoyed spending our sabbaths together as a family in the outdoors. This sunday we took the two cameras (video being one) to capture some shots for the grandparents and here are a few of the pictures from the kodak.
Well, this isn't from the park, but this is a picture of the start of our sunday. Maggie is modeling one of her sunday bests.
Maggie really enjoys swinging by herself, but she's too cute not to hold on your lap and swing tandem.
Daddy and Maggie hit the trails.
Maggie thought the leaves and ground under her feet were so fascinating.

Christine's shower

Last weekend Megan and I threw our sister Christine a baby shower. It was a lot of fun and Christine got a lot of great baby stuff for Brody, and some excellent fellowship was had by all! Here are a few pictures of the day.
Lots of goodies for Brody!
Megan and Maggie enjoy the festivities by a plant.
Cousin Brody sure makes a cozy seat.
Some of the ladies laugh, lounge and look while lucky Christine opens her lovely gifts.
Some new kicks for the laddy.

Random pics and news updates

Maggie helping with the laundry.
Dance time with daddy.
news update #1: The new bathtub has finally been installed upstairs and I'd like to say that Maggie loves it but the fact is she is scared of it. She is putting on a brave face for this picture and finding much comfort in chewing her toy, but the cold hard truth is that bathing in this new contraption is going to take some getting used to.

news update #2: Maggie's first tooth is budding into place in her gummy grin. You can almost make it out in this picture. I was so excited to find it the other day after leaving arbys.
Welcome fall!
Maggie and Lucy went for a car ride together the other day after a most enjoyable, however pricey, stint at the Shout Charlotte festival in Uptown. This is not the first time the girls have made a public debut together and it is not the first time that we have had people ask if they are twins. Odd, yes I think so too. Sean said it best when he said, "yes they are twins but we just feed one of them more (Lucy is approx. five months older than Maggie!)." But, to all you strangers out there making your opinions known, know that we are complemented by the mix up.