Magsamillion

I realize it has been a long time since we posted any pictures of our Maggie, so to make up for my slack I am inundating this blog post with tons of Maggie pics. I mean give the public what they want, right?
This picture may simply look like a little girl sitting on her couch in her pjs, but it is so much more...look closely. As you can see Maggie is making the sign for more and the reason for this is bc sometimes after her bath and after pjs have been applied Maggie will often sit on the couch and be fanned with her towel by her father. This could go on all night if we would allow it, she absolutely loves it. She just sits and Tyler fans it's as simple as that but what fun.
Some nights pjs don't make it all the way on before a break is needed. Here Maggie is having her "Bi-bah" (Bible) read to her before donning the rest of her night time attire.
This pic was taken right after waking up. The hair is tossled the thumb and blanket are providing comfort and life is good.
This picture is for you Grandma. You might recognize this little water octupus. We tried it for the first time a few days ago, and it really shoots out water. Maggie was out in the back with it when I turned it on and she ran quickly back into the house and we shut the door as it proceded to saturate our entire back area. She much prefers it off, but is highly intrigued by it.
When not playing with her octupus Maggie finds great comfort in playing with her rocks. And she is very lucky because there are plenty to play with. While she is not allowed to run with sticks (for the most part) rocks are indeed allowed.
We are thinking of giving all her toys away and simply filling the toy box with these gems. Okay maybe not, but look at the intrigue in her face.
Sorry no story for this picture, I just thought it was cute.

A weekend in Baltimore

This last weekend Tyler and I had our first trip alone (without Maggie) in quite sometime, at least a year! So, we chose to go to Baltimore of course. Well, not exactly, but if we had known how much fun one could have there we might have chosen this grand location. We actually headed to Baltimore, sans Maggie Dirks, so Tyler could officiate his first wedding for our good friends Lauren and Patrick Kelly. We headed up on Thursday and got back sunday afternoon. We had such a great time together alone and with some of our Charlotte friends that also made the journey. Sorry no pics of Maggie in this one. I understand if you want to quit reading at this point, the cute factor is way low.
We started our weekend of fun in Dinosaur Land. We just magically stumbled upon this enchanted forest on our way to Maryland. Here I am with the prehistorics.
When we finally made it to Baltimore, Camden Yard (s)(?) was our first destination point. I'm a huge fan, only joking, actually I am sad to say I didn't even know this was in Baltimore. My husband knew and also seemed to know a lot about it to my surprise. Also, he revealed to me that the Orioles was the name of his first pee wee baseball team. I mean how can we be married for almost four years and I am just now finding this out. This just shows you how important weekends like these are for your marriage. I call this photo "babe with the babe."
Next we headed over to the inner harbour, and had some locals take our picture and recommend a good resteraunt to us. They said "have you ever heard of the Cheesecake Factory," well actually yes. But, we wanted something a little more Baltimorian and so they recommended Regis, which we ended up not eating at, but thanks for the tip and convo ladies.
We met up with our good buddy Jay and his girlfriend Kate for a late dinner at some Irish pub. Food not good, company five stars. This is not a picture taken at the resteraunt, we are actually back at our hotel we just couldn't end the fun after dinner.
The next day we headed to the city again and went to the aquarium. My favorite part was this giant tank in the center with huge, Steve Irwin sized stingrays and sharks and a big sea turtle. There were people scuba diving in the tank and it was a lot of fun to watch. The dolphins were also fun to see, our only regret is that we didn't watch the dolphin show. Next time perhaps.
The main event was Lauren and Patrick's wedding. It was fabulous, and Tyler did a great job officiating his first ceremony...robe and all.
The reception was beautiful and so much fun. I got to fulfill a lifelong dream of mine and participate in a Greek line dance. (I'm sure that's what you call it) Lauren's Grandpa led us in several different dances that I must admit I was pretty awesome at...only joking clearly I was not that good, but it was sure fun.
Here's me, Ashley and Grandpa cuttin a rug.
And lastly here is us with the happily wedded couple. We had such a great weekend, thanks for getting married and letting us be a part of it all Kellys! And, thanks mom for watching Maggie for us!

Gettin my hair did

So, Maggie got her first haircut last weekend on my birthday. It was not her most favorite thing. It could almost be compared to a visit to the doctor, even though the place we went (pigtails and crew cuts) was made just for kiddie dos. There are games, bright colors, movies and even fun barber chairs to sit in. Maggie, however, did not care for any of these tantalizing details. This face pretty much paints a picture of the entire experience. Kudos to the girl that cut her hair though she gave a very nice little trim to a very upset and wiggly baby.
This is one of those fun chairs that Maggie did not sit in during her haircut. But, we did get a picture for the blog because it was so cute. Just a side note, but if you'll notice in this picture Maggie is glaring across the room. SHe is staring down the girl that cut her hair and is making sure she stays way on the other side while she pilots her cankerworm duster (just a little Charlotte humor).
Last sunday Maggie wore her sailor dress for the first time to church. I am so excited that she can now where dresses to church because she is not crawling and dresses don't slow her down like they did when she was on her knees.
In the world of a toddling tot sadly comes injury. But, that is a small price to pay when freedom is at your fingertips. Maggie has scraped her knees several times since she has learned to walk and not once has she cried. To our amazement she just gets right back up and is on her way again. At first I thought maybe she had some rare condition where she can't feel pain, but it turns out she is just a brute walker.

Note the new poll addition...

So, I found this great poll feature, which allows you the public to make known your opinion as to what gender our new baby will be. Don't be afraid to do it, it's anonymous and fun. We love seeing what everyone thinks.

one more quick post

I almost forgot that I do have pictures to post! Easters of course... The saturday before Easter we headed to Latta park and enjoyed a church egg hunt. We didn't know how Maggie would react, but she did phenomenally well. She picked up all kinds of eggs and would either hand them to us or actually put them in her basket. She is brilliant.
Put an egg in the basket
and now strike a pose
My gym was also at the park and Maggie helped herself to a little gymnastic fun.
Maggie with her Easter basket sunday morning.

I hope you all had a very blessed Easter. We have so much to celebrate...our Redeemer lives! He has indeed risen and I am so very thankful!

If you haven't heard already...

We're pregnant with Number two! Yay for babies... Our little one is scheduled to make his or her debut October 7th. I'll go ahead and do the math for you, that makes Maggie and this little Bean 19 months a part. Which, of course means they are destined to be best friends. We are truly excited and are so thankful the Lord has chosen to bless us again in this very special way.

no pictures...so unlike me

Well, I was going to try and post a video of my little one year old's first steps... but alas youtube will have nothing to do with me. So, I shall try and paint a picture of the momentous occassion for you all with words (which is not my strong suit so bare with me). It all started last weekend (i guess now two weekends ago), which was Maggie's first birthday, March 15th to be exact. However, our family chose to celebrate it on the 16th so I (carrie) could head to Alabama for one of my bestest friends in the whole worlds wedding, which took place also on the 15th. I knew from the beginning that I absolutely couldn't miss Emily's wedding, but to be away from my little girl on her first birthday was really really difficult to think about let alone carry through. And, I figured (and many people agreed) that Maggie wouldn't even remember her first birthday so future therapy probably would not be an issue. So, with that in mind and a very important wedding to attend and bridesmaid duties to fulfill I headed to Birmingham Alabama. I had a great time with old college buddies and the wedding festivities were fabulous and the bride absolutely beautiful. (Here is where the first steps enter into our story) So I call home friday night to check in with the fam. Keep in mind I have been away less than 24 hours at this point. And what does Tyler report to me other than our little girl has taken her first steps without any assistance that very afternoon. That's right the same little girl that I help practice this same exercise every day with has decided that now, now that Mom is out of the house, now is the time to set her feet free. Of course I was/am thrilled that she walked, but I must admit, I was sad that I didn't get to see her first steps myself. (Remember I'm still on the phone and the stories not over) Tyler my wonderful husband then tells me not to worry he actually got the whole thing on tape! And, while I would have preferred to be there in person to see her first steps it is so great that I can actually see her first steps (and so can she someday) on tape. And, you can too someday if YouTube will ever show me some love. So, I come home sunday, we have a fabulous first birthday party with family and friends and Maggie did some major walking shows for us to enjoy that evening and all is well for this poor mothers soul. The moral to the story is this: If you want your child to accomplish any major feat, just leave even if it is their birthday.