First Haircut

We finally had Maggie's hair cut. It was getting really long and a bit unruly. This post is picture heavy - enjoy!

Meeting Miss Britney

Toddler Table Manners

Tonight, we had a family dinner at a little hole in the wall Italian place nearby. It's inexpensive, tasty, and has great service. Maggie has become an incredibly picky eater, but she will eat meatballs. So, we ordered her a side of meatballs with the meal. She quickly dived into her meatballs. She then said to Matt and I that she wanted some more bread. We told her we would request more from our waitress when she returned to the table. She said "okay" and seemed content. A few seconds later she - very loudly - says "Ms. Waitress, more bread please!" in the direction of our waitress. Thank goodness our waitress didn't hear her and that no one else was in the dining room at that time. We were shocked. We reprimanded her and told her to wait patiently. And she did - for about 2 minutes. Then, she got up from the table and went in search of our waitress. We had to grab her and put her in her seat. A few minutes later, our waitress returned to our table and says "do ya'll need anything?" Maggie replies "I'd like some more bread please." She has the please part down - just has no table manner awareness yet. She got her bread, ate a huge piece, and settled down with the iPhone. Any tips on table manner awareness for toddlers would be greatly appreciated.

Here are some pics of her first horse ride in December.

Ice Days!

Hello from chilly North Texas. Typically, it is 54 and sunny this time of year. Today, it is about 22 and feels like 8 - but it is sunny. We woke up to icy roads so most of the school districts in the area cancelled classes, except for Matt's. He did make it safely to work though even though several of the roads were closed. Maggie's school cancelled as did my campus. We'll see what tomorrow brings. It should be below freezing until Sunday which wouldn't be bad if it didn't rain a little last night.

I had a little time this morning and thought in honor of the frigid weather, I'd upload a few photos of Maggie playing at Christmas and in the snow. Here are pictures of her playing with her train set from Aunt Kelle and Uncle Matt.






Here are a few pictures of her spreading the reindeer feed in the snow on Christmas Eve just before bedtime.



Making coffee in her new kitchen from Great Aunt Jill and Uncle Jimmy and cousins Matt and Molly. In these pictures, cousin Matt and Great Aunt Jill were serving as Maggie's sous chefs while she made coffee for everyone.


And, opening gifts from Aunt Molly, Uncle Tony, and cousin Brady.

Opening her gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Miloch.

And, riding her new tricycle from Nana and Papa Tom.


Opening one of her gifts from Godfather and Aunt Dani - a sushi set puzzle.


She received so many awesome gifts from so many people. I don't have a picture of it yet but Uncle Andy also gave Maggie a very cool turtle that transmits star and moon lights at bedtime. She loves the turtle as well. Thanks for all the great gifts. Maggie is certainly spoiled and a very lucky little girl.

A Happy Kid!

Today, Matt, Maggie, and I went to Home Depot for some electric cord holders and storage solutions. As we were checking out (with Maggie in the cart watching Mickey Mouse on Matt's iPhone), the gentleman who had just completed checkout in front of us says "Now, that's a happy kid. You know, for whatever it's worth, a happy kid is a sign of good parents!" Matt and I looked at each other and I said "that's so nice of you to say. It is much better than the looks we normally get when she is screaming in the store or in the checkout line wanting something or just refusing to behave. She's not very happy then so maybe today we caught a break!" He laughed and said "No, I am serious" and I said "Me too" and thanked him again for being so nice.

We have learned (from Aengus' parents) that stuff on the iPhone occupies the wee ones just long enough for us to complete a chore - it often wards of the toddler meltdowns that are legendary. I don't know if we are good parents, and I often feel guilty when I let her play with the iPhone. But,it was nice to hear that, especially when toddler parents get looks all the time when their kids are melting down and pitching fits. After having Maggie, I am pretty certain that no one in the world wants their child to behave or be more quiet that the respective parent. So, here's to more nice chats at checkouts rather than more nasty mean looks and to the next generation of iPhones :-).

The 2009 Miloch Half Year in Review

Happy New Year! Alas, a blog post. I did not make a New Year's Resolution to blog more - but I hope I do blog more. Frankly, I stopped blogging as much because I always felt like I had other things that needed attention (like work, Matt, Maggie, emails, etc.) so I felt guilty when I blogged. I have a bit of a different perspective now so more blog posts will be forthcoming.

Our last blog post was from May 2009 - wow. That's too long. I think I covered 2009 up until that point so I'll pick up with the summer and catch ya'll up.

Maggie turned 2 in June. We can't believe she's already 2. Here are some of her party pics. We had a great fun shindig with family and Maggie's best bud, Aengus Mielke. Aengus and Maggie started early toddler preschool together in August of 2008 and became fast friends.

We also moved into a new house in June. It is much closer to work for both Matt and I. The house has a pool, and we enjoyed the pool thoroughly in the heat of the summer. Maggie wanted to swim so much that we would often tell her the pool was "napping" or had gone "night night." We don't think this will work this summer :-).

We spent most of July trying to settle into the new place and then we geared up for back to school. Maggie started Early Pre-K with a new teacher. Most of the kids in her class are older, and she and Aengus are handling that really well. They have learned a ton this year (as they did last year).

In October, we took a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo (we hope to make this a regular October trip) and had a small Halloween gathering before trick or treating. We also went to the Pumpkin Patch with Aengus and his family. Some of those pictures are above. Below are pictures of Maggie in her M & M Costume made by her Great Aunt Jill.

November was my 37th birthday (yikes), and I had a check up with my endocronologist. He has strongly urged me to focus more on myself and reduce my workload wherever and whenever possible. He encouraged me to begin playing tennis again right away and to get physically fit. So, this is one reason I don't have to feel guilty when I blog as it's something I enjoy and doctor's orders :-). We had one of the best Thanksgiving's ever at my Aunt and Uncles. My cousin moved back to Dallas, and we are so happy to have him so close again.

December brought lots of holiday planning and talk of Santa for Maggie. She still has not warmed up to Santa but is very inquisitive about him. She likes to admire him from afar. We didn't attempt the Santa pic this year, but we are hoping to snap a great one next year. Our holiday was fun filled with friends and family. We once again began hosting our annual holiday gathering, and will continue that tradition. We also plan to ride the North Pole Express each year too - a holiday train ride. Maggie is a huge fan of trains and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Superstition says that how one spends New Year's Eve foreshadows how one will spend the New Year. We had a lovely New Years Eve with friends and a New Year's Day with family. We are lucky to have great friends and family.

We enjoyed lots of activities with Aengus and his parents this year. It is so fun to watch them play together. Maggie became an honorary member of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - she loves Mickey Mouse but we often catch her laughing and giggling with and at Donald Duck. She is quite head strong and stubborn too. She is a total chatterbox and really shows her personality more all the time.

I think that sums up the half year since I last blogged. For our out of state friends and family, we invite you to visit us often. We are looking forward to 2010 and more blog posts :-).