Meneely Reunion

When we flew in from Milwaukee we picked up the girls at the Meneely Reunion in Meadville, MO.  We thought Hannah would give us a big hug, but she declined.  She had too much fun playing with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Marissa, and Uncle Casey.  Or maybe she was a little angry that we left her.  She goes to daycare and she's had babysitters, but usually the longest we're apart is one night.  This time it was three.  The only other time we have been away for more than one night is when we went to Mexico when she was only one so she doesn't remember it.  And that time the grandparents came to our house.  This time she went to Chillicothe.  So it was definitely a new experience for her.

Blowing bubbles with John and Soren

Coloring with Amanda and Soren

Spending lots of time with her new knife.

Grandma and Olive

Grandpa and Olive

The reunion wasn't as fun as usual because it was raining and we couldn't play in the park.  We also forgot to take group photos!  Hannah still had a good time, but she was quick to cry (not her usual self) and she ended the reunion by pushing me and sitting in time-out crying.  I tell myself it was because she was tired and not because she now has abandonment issues.  I'm kidding.  Sort of.

Milwaukee

Also in September Steve and I did a weekend getaway to Milwaukee. His boss asked him, "By choice?" Yes, it was. :)  Brooke and Ted live there and we haven't visited them in years. Even though Milwaukee isn't known for its good weather, it was actually nicer there since it rained in KC the whole time we were gone.

We started out sightseeing at the Pabst Mansion.  I love historic houses, so I thought it was cool...even though we were the youngest people on the tour by about 20 years.

View of the art museum while we were driving.  We went there last time, so we opted for some new places for this visit.

Next stop was the Charles Allis Art Museum.  The home wasn't nearly as neat. But I did enjoy the special installation art exhibit...and our guide's disdain for it.  I think you either love it or hate it.  I love it and the weirder the better.  In one room the artist made everyday objects look old and put them beside real antiques that are always in the house.  It was a comment on the value of saving and collecting things.  Notice the My Little Pony.  I think this is funny. :)

Since historic homes and art museums are more my thing, that night we went to a beer and cheese tasting that Steve wanted to do.  I'd like to confess something.  My name is Megan and I do not like beer.  Steve thought maybe I just haven't tried the right one yet and this was the night I would change my mind.  I did not.

The face was mostly due to the cheese.   It had severe horseradish in it.  This was Steve's face after stuffing the whole cheese in his mouth.

After the tasting we found this lovely cow statue at the cheese mart.

We had dinner at Bombers where they send peanuts to you from tracks over your head.


What do I love even more than historic homes and art?  Fall festivals!  We spent most of Saturday walking around a nearby town of Cedarburg enjoying the beautiful day.

It was nice to have some time with just adults and not worry about who needed a bottle or snacks.  I felt like I was in college again!  But of course I missed my girls and was very happy to see them when we got home.

Dinner with Ollie

We had Ollie (and Becky and Wes) over for taco night.  Hannah was beyond excited.  She woke us up before 6:00 in the morning and said "Ollie's here?"  It was very hard for her to wait until 6:00 PM to see him. 

Largest Parade in Kansas

I'm trying to get all my September pictures posted before it turns into October!  I think it was the weekend after Labor Day when we took the girls to a parade.  The "largest parade in Kansas" at the Old Settlers Days was too long for us.  We left before it was over.  Hannah liked the bands best, especialy the drums. 

Labor Day Weekend

To continue the better late than never theme....Labor Day weekend we went to see the McGuires in St. Louis.  It's beginning to be a tradition.  Last year we were there over the holiday weekend, too!  If I remember correctly, that is when we told each other we were pregnant.  And here are the results:

Gwyn's sitting skills are far superior to Olive's...

We were excited to go to the Magic House. The last time Steve and I were there we were kids. They have added on a bunch since then, and we didn't even make it to most of the rooms. This is Taco trying to frighten little children:

Very cool exhibit: fishing for magnetic fish and then you can put them back in the stream and watch them float back to the pond.

My favorite thing when I was a kid...

Hannah's favorite thing at the McGuire's house: Kevin's scooter. She even rode it around the basement when everyone else was upstairs. When we got home we bought her one off Craigslist. Hers is pink with flowers.

Eating frozen yogurt.

The next day we went to the park even though it was a little cold. Olive cuddled up in her car seat.

About an hour after this picture was taken we left to go home and Kevin started throwing up.  During the night Colin got sick and so did Hannah (by this time we were home).  Then the next day Olive caught it.  It was pretty terrible to see a 4 month old like that.  The first time Hannah got sick she was closer to a year old.  So our 3-day weekend got extended to 4 days and I stayed home with the girls.  

Olive Stats- 5 months

Better late than never!  Unofficial Baby-O measurements are 15 pounds and 26 inches long.  She is taking a bottle just fine and even enjoys the occasional pacifier (something she hated with a passion before).  She has also started sucking her thumb at bedtime.  She just started babbling and she has been working on sitting up.  Her favorite things to do are playing in the activity center and watching Hannah dance.  Her eyes are looking hazel now and her hair is still light brown.  It can also look blondish or reddish in the sun.  We keep waiting, but I don't think she has grown any more hair since the day she was born!

School and Daycare Update

It's September already?!  I thought the summer went by fast, but now that I'm back at work the weeks just fly by.  Life feels super busy right now.  Having a chance to blog or write an email is pretty rare (Olive went to bed early tonight!).  But I know I need to enjoy this time when my kids are little because I will miss it when it's gone.  I know this because people stop me in the grocery store and tell me. :)  It's amazing how many strangers talk to you when you have a baby.  Everyone wants to get a look at her and reminisce about their own kids.  So I know this is an awesome time in my life.  When I get stressed out I just have to watch Hannah dance and Olive laugh and it always makes me smile.

I'm enjoying being back at work.  It's always fun to see kids get excited about learning and to have parents tell me their kids are loving second grade. :)  I've got an unusual class this year: 15 boys and 5 girls.  It is an interesting dynamic in the classroom.  Right now I'm teaching them about gladiators at the Colosseum and of course they love it.  They can't wait for the Italian car race in October!  Although I'm not sure they will enjoy the tea party we have in the winter.

Daycare is going well.  Olive is finally taking the bottle without any problems.  Hannah still likes going to daycare, but she is mourning the loss of her friend who went to preschool this fall.  When she realized he wasn't coming back there were some serious tears!  They loved to play trains, cars, and balls together. Now it's just Hannah, Olive, and a 1 1/2 year old girl.  There is also a 2 year old girl who comes part-time.  It's neat now that Hannah is older she is able to give us a report of her day: what she had for lunch, what she played, etc.  Last year every day she said she played ball and had chicken nuggets!  It became a running joke in our house.

Weekend Fun

More pictures off of the camera- this is from two weekends ago.  I'm catching up!  We had a fun-filled weekend.  Saturday Granny and Papa Tom came to babysit while Steve and I visited Schlitterbahn for the first time. I was a little underwhelmed because the park was smaller than I thought.  It was definitely fun, but I wouldn't pay the general admission price for it (we had free tickets).  Our favorite rides were "Der Bahn" (a dark tube slide with lights inside) and "Torrent River" (a lazy river with big waves).  Saturday night we went to Joffroi and Andrea's baby shower.  It was nice to have some time out without kids, but I really liked Sunday with the kids. :)  Since they missed out on the water park, we took them to our favorite spash park.

Hannah discovered her footprints:

After nap time we went on a little train ride.  Each ride is only 50 cents, so we took a few. :)  We tried out the front, back, and middle of the train.  Hannah absolutely loved it.

We ended our day with a picnic in the park and throwing rocks in the creek.