Pumpkin Patches

This Fall in Texas was fantastic. It wasn't too cool, but we did have a few cool mornings. Maggie was still wearing shorts to school and once in a while, she would wear her little sweater jacket. Matt and I joked when I asked him "how are you liking being in Texas so far?" He says "It's Nov. 1st and I'm wearing shorts." Then, I said, "yes, it's great - but two years from now, we'll be saying, it's Nov. 1st and it's still 80 degrees." Things are great but definitely a little different. One big difference this year was what we hoped would be an annual trip to the pumpkin patch with Maggie. We went around mid October to what was advertised as a pumpkin patch. What it turned out to be was just a bunch of pumpkins. It wasn't quite like the pumpkin patches we were used to in Illinois and Indiana. Last year, we cut our pumpkin from the vine. This year we picked it from a stack among stacks.

Our main goal was to take a similar shot to this picture - the one we took of Maggie in Fall of 2007 when she was about 4 months old.

As you can see from the pictures, she was having none of that. She was far more content to run around. We finally snapped a few okay photos while she rode in the wagon with the pumpkins.

We did have a fun time though, and the pumpkin patch at her school was a bit better. They imported pumpkins and placed them around a field so it was a bit more like a patch, but not quite. Her class visited the patch the same day they had their hayride and trip to the haymaze, also at her school. Maggie ran around again, but finally did pick a pumpkin her size. Matt had finished his contract job the day before and didn't start his new job until Monday so he joined us for the festivities. We had such a fun time with Maggie, her teachers, and her classmates and their parents. It was a tad chilly that morning - around 60 degrees so everyone was bundled up pretty good.

Lions, Tigers, and Bears Oh My!

The second weekend in October, we ventured over to Fort Worth and the Fort Worth Zoo. Maggie's Godfather and his family gave her a trip to the zoo for her 1st birthday. Maggie had a fantastic time. Nana and Grandpa Tom visited that weekend, and we all had so much fun. I hadn't been to Fort Worth in about 8 years, and I have always really liked Fort Worth so it was nice to go.

The zoo was great. It was about 75 degrees, and most of the zoo is shaded. We couldn't have asked for a better day. Maggie saw "dogs" everywhere, and she purchased her first ice cream cone and a t-shirt with her zoobucks. She was non-stop for about 3.5 hours and then she wound down pretty quick. She was asleep before we were out of the parking lot.

The zoo was featuring its "back in black" exhibit of penguins and its new lion cubs. Unfortunately, the lion cubs were sleeping so close to their mom that we couldn't see them. We'll go back though and see them soon.

Settling In

It's hard to believe it's almost October. Wow, how time flies. And, this week was really the first week that we think we've felt truly settled. Since I am behind, I will once again steal my friends' idea of bullets - but please enjoy the photos of Miss Maggie along the way.

• Thanks for all your calls and emails about the Hurricane Ike. We didn't get much of it here in North Dallas. The eye wall passed to our east and we got a steady wind and steady rain, but nothing severe. We were fortunate to be on the west side or "clean" side as they say. Houston and Galveston and parts of East Texas were literally hammered by Ike. Power is slowly returning but wow - what a mess. I think they still have signs on I-45 that say "Do Not Drive to Houston".



• Matt started a six week contract job on Monday. It's in Irving, and he's enjoying it. It takes him about 45 minutes with traffic to get to his job. Irving is the current - but soon to be former - home of Texas Stadium. We are hoping that Matt lands a permanent position soon, and he is currently waiting to hear back on an interview from last week.


• We had an Open House at Maggie's school last night. It was really fun. Maggie is in early toddler pre-school with five other toddlers right around her age. Their day consists of play time, art, music, reading, more playtime, two snacks, and a nap. Her teacher, Mrs. Lee, is fantastic.


• Since Maggie started school, I noticed (and Mrs. Lee confirmed) that Maggie wasn't eating her packed lunch. I asked Mrs. Lee and she confirmed this. I would get reports of Maggie snatching other kids' lunch. Mrs. Lee told me this week to try not cutting up Maggie's food as the other kids didn't have their food cut up. So, I sent her with a half sandwich the rest of the week and didn't cut her fruit. She's been eating like a champ. Apparently, she didn't like that her food was different and she preferred to share rather than eat her food in small bites.


• Maggie LOVES being outside. So much so that when we go inside, she gets real angry. Her favorite thing is to run around and say "buh buh" for "bye-bye". She will go to the doors and bang on them and say "ousigh" for outside. It's hilarious.


• She often grabs books at home and will flip through them as if she is reading them. This just cracks us up because clearly she can't read them, but she will point and touch as if she is.
• This weekend, we're off to my parents for a quick visit for Homecoming. It will be Maggie's first parade.

Hope all of ya'll are doing really well. Write, call, email, and visit us soon.

Lots to Report

Well, I am behind on blogging so I will use several of my friends' ideas to catch up. Some of my friends occassionally use bullets on their blogs so I will do that to catch up and will also include a few photos.

• Maggie started early toddler pre-school two weeks ago. She started the same day as classes started for me. The drop offs were rough but by Tuesday of this week, she was a pro. She actually waved "bu-bu" to me today as I left.


• She is doing well in school. She even has a friend there named Aengus - pronounced the same way as our dog Angus. They were fast friends.


• Maggie is walking like an old pro. She has practiced and forced others to hold her hand for almost 2 months now but right around the time she started school, she started walking on her own.


• We had some issues getting her to like her shoes. She would literally have a breakdown and shake when we put them on her. On her second day of school, Miss Monica put them on her and immediately took her outside to play with her classmates. Now, she really likes her shoes. She will often grab them and show them to us as well. It's hilarious.


• Some afternoons after school, Maggie joins me at "college". That is what I tell her "you're going to college with momma this afternoon". She'll come to my office for a bit, drink her milk, and have a snack. Then, she'll just walk around while I finish up for the day.


• Matt has had several interviews, and we're hoping he'll land a job real soon. He has another interview on Tuesday and we're totally crossing our fingers.

• I was bummed when the Olympics ended, but then I remembered that the US Open was starting the next day so my disappointment was short lived. I am now, however, bummed that the US Open ends soon.
• I am liking my new job very much.


• Maggie loves riding the carousel and the nearby mall. I posted some pictures. Don't mistake the look on her face - she often tries to shake the horses so they will move. She is a bit impatient for the carousel to start.


• Apparently, Maggie also likes climbing and sliding on the play toys and playground at school. They say she loves to go outside and to read and play with puzzles and books.

• They sing songs at school and she has learned a song about her hands. She will often show us her hands and babble. We don't understand what she is saying but are pretty sure she's trying to sing the song.

Okay - I'll update more later. Hope everyone is doing really well. Come visit soon.

There's No Place Like Home

It's been awhile since the last update so I will pack as much info into this blog as quickly as I can. I don't have any photos of the new place yet, but I will soon. In the meantime, enjoy the photos of Maggie. These were taken by one of my former students who is now on the faculty at another institution. She did a fantastic job. In fact, often, her husband will update with bullets and tonight, I am going to steal that idea. Here aer some updates and what is on my mind lately.

The Olympics: I usually try not to blog about sports, but it's in my nature and I just can't avoid it at the moment. It's great watching swimming, gymnastics, and beach volleyball. I enjoy watching these sports and learning more about each of them. Michael Phelps is unbelievable. As Matt says, just watch the green World Record line to find him in the water. I am impressed with his abilities but I am more impressed at his composure in dealing with Andrea Kremer repeatedly asking him the same two questions after each heat "Michael, what does it mean to you to win another Gold medal and set another World Record?" I seriously cannot believe she keeps asking him this question. Journalists have replaced the old "how does it feel?" with "What does it mean?" as if we don't catch on to that. I don't know how Phelps hasn't just lost it and given a total sarcastic answer. The last time, he did give her a bit of a funny look as if to sort of say "C'mon Andrea. Do I have to find another way to answer this same question?"

• The Olympics 2: Does Chris Collinsworth seriously have to be on television? Next time, I hope they send someone with some sense of journalistic ability.


• The Olympics 3: Tim Daggett is quite entertaining as a commentator. He always has been to me. The other night he actually said "this is just disastrous." But he has also been equally excited when something great happens. The best though is that NBC will show a segment with the gymnastics commentators (who I think are pretty good) to get their expert opinions and then they go right to Bela Karoyli and basically say "Bela, is that right?" Bela always has the last word

And, on to all things Miloch . . .

• Maggie is growing like a weed. We "interviewed" pediatricians in the last two weeks and let's just say that we haven't found anyone that I like as much as Dr. Laughlin yet. But, one doctor is close and we'll start with him. The other pediatrician was awful, and Matt and I almost left mid visit. But, Maggie has grown and is even taking several steps several times a day without assistance.


• Maggie starts "early toddler preschool" Aug. 25th. She will nap there from Noon until 2 so we've been working that nap schedule. She barely makes it to Noon and then sleeps for about 3 hours. I hope it works out.


• Last night, we had Tex-Mex. Most of you will remember that I could eat Tex-Mex every day. I love it. I was unwrapping a tamale last night when Maggie reach across the table and grabbed it out of my hand and snatched a big bite. She then kept going after the tamale. So, naturally, I had to have her try a cheese enchilada (without the chili). She loved it. I don't know if it makes me a bad mother because I was excited that she seemed to like Tex-Mex as much as me. She totally gets the tamale thing from her Aunt Kelle though.


• A funny story at the restaurant: The lady at the table next to us (with big Texas hair) was wearing the crazy high heeled shoes. She fell coming around the corner right in front of Maggie. Our waitress helped her up and when she got on her feet, Maggie looked over at her and said "Uh-oohhh". We had to bite our tongues not to laugh.


• Matt is averaging two interviews per week. He's turned down two offers, and we're hopeful he'll fit his fit soon.


• I moved into my new office today. It's great. I am nervous but excited. I met some of my students today too. I always enjoy meeting my students. But, I miss my other students at IU very much.


• It was again 103 today - actual temperature. I walked over to the Union and back and it didn't phase me much. I think I am slowly adjusting to the heat again. When I walked back in the building, the cold air almost knocked me on my feet though - but it felt good. I still haven't developed the courage to play tennis in the heat yet. Maybe soon though.

Sorry for the long update. Enjoy the photos.

It's Not the Heat, it's the Humidity

We've been back in the Lone Star State (or as my sister and friend refer to it - the Promiseland) for about a week, and I can say with a high level of certainty that it has nothing to do with humidity and it's all about the heat. And, I mean heat. Wow. It's really hot when Texans say, "man, it's hot today." Oh my. The average high temperature the last six days has been 101 and the low has been in the 80's. Matt keeps saying "I better be playing golf in November."

We leased a house here until what we now refer to as our "summer cottage" in Bloomington sells. the house we are leasing is great but ridiculously big. The neighborhood has a community pool which we have yet to visit, but we've visited Aunt Jill's pool once already. Aunt Jill and Uncle Jimmy are spoiling Maggie and Angus pretty good.

I need to take photos and post but haven't yet. I will but until then, here is a photo of the front of the house.

Being back is great and it will be even better once Matt secures his job. He has been sending out resumes and interviewing so hopefully soon.

We have also indulged in a fair amount of bbq since our return and I already have a new favorite. And, low and behold, it's Randy White's. It's really, really good. I have also forced Matt to have Tex-Mex too. I could eat Tex Mex every day. I love it. Matt is only a so/so fan of it. So, he's been a great sport to go not once, not twice, but three times for Tex Mex. The first two places I had never tried before and were mediocre at best. The third was Uncle Julio's. One of my top five all time favorites. It didn't disappoint.

There is also a shopping mall nearby (within 10 minutes) that has everything from Nordstrom to Dillards to Cheesecake Factory. And, we've only been to Sears and Dillard's thus far. Some great shopping so close. I have to stay away. The rumor is that there is a carousel inside. I am sure Maggie will love that. We also hit IKEA too.

We also have the Double AA affiliate to the Texas Rangers five minutes from the house as well as Arena Football and pro soccer - all within five minutes. That will be great.

Angus is adjusting well too his new surroundings. He won't get to go to daycare but for special occassions because it's so expensive here. He has tried sunning himself on the back patio a few times, but can only stand it for about five minutes before he comes in - it's too hot.

Maggie finally has her two top teeth coming in. She still just has the one on the bottom so it looks pretty funny.

I am rambling now and should get some rest. Thanks for all your emails, phone calls, and texts to check on our progress and to make sure we made it safely. We really appreciate it!

One for the Road

We're knee deep in boxes, not quite ready for the movers to show up at 9 am, and pretty tired. This may be my last blog update for a few days, unless we get internet on the road. We hope to make it to Rolla, Missouri tomorrow, but that mostly depends on the movers and what time we depart Bloomington. It is so weird to think that we're headed out tomorrow and won't be back for a long while. It is really weird, especially since we haven't sold our house yet. It is now also up for lease so if you know anyone, send them our way. We'll miss Estate Drive terribly. We now refer to it as our "summer cottage" given that we will now be paying for two residences. Yikes.

In keeping with my goal of the thank you's . . . .

Wes, Erin, and Elise: We will miss you and we will miss the wee ones playing together and sharing in all of Elise's firsts. We're counting on ya'll to visit.

I am so tired I am changing topics again without a transition - tonight I packed my office at IU. I waited until the very last minute. I just didn't have the heart to do it yet, but I had to pack it tonight. How in the world did I acquire so much stuff in four years? I have no idea. I think I moved like two boxes into that office and moved out 8. Matt thinks I packed them so poorly that the movers will just rebel and not load them on the truck. My office didn't have a window, but it did have a back door which opened to the study hallway. I missed seeing outside, but that back door was fantastic. Tomorrow, I turn in my keys and my laptop, update a few student files, and then say a tearful but fond farewell to my colleagues. It won't be easy. Luckily, I'll have so many things to finish tomorrow, that I won't have time to be too sad until later.

I'll post more pictures when we get settled. Have a great week!

It's not the Place - It's the People

In keeping with my goal of updating more often (and because my brain needs a break from the Tetris game of packing), I was thinking today about the people we'll miss when we leave Indiana. What will we miss most about the Hoosier state? It's definitely the people. But, we're hoping we'll still see these people as often as we can. This leads me into my continued list of those we want to acknowledge.

Charles and Marieke: Awesome friends, colleagues, and neighbors. The basement has always been open for me to hide out in during storms, and our house is always safe when we're away because ya'll always checked up on it. We will miss walking down to your house to say "hi" and we'll just altogether miss seeing ya'll in the neighborhood and at the office. And, the party was great - THANKS. I am going to find some Hill Country bike trails and lure ya'll down for a visit.

The Perry's: Another great set of friends and neighbors. Affectionally deemed "Perry Park" by their good friends, Jen, Roger, and Jacob have been nothing short of great to us. From the signature brownies to the many conversations, and letter of recommendation for Angus, we know we'll never find another "Perry Park" that is as great as yours.

Carrie, Ryan, Conor, and Laszlo: Carrie, along with Donetta and Georgia, invited me to my first accountability breakfast about a week after my first semester began here at IU. It was a great breakfast, and we've had fun with our respective pups and now our toddlers. We'll miss the dinner, playdates, and conversations big time. Can't wait to see ya'll soon.

Okay - this is getting long again and I need to start posting pictures as often as I post now. I will do that soon, but just give me a bit to get in the hang of updating more regularly.

Off to pack more boxes. Maggie is outstanding at "unpacking" so this should be easier on the tail end in Tejas.

Appreciation, Sadness, and Many Thanks

My cousin Molly studied abroad for most of the last several months and is now studying in California. Molly also keeps a great blog of her travels at http://www.mollyherod.blogspot.com, and before she returned from Paris this spring she wrote a great post entitled "Measure Your Life in Love" in which she thanked all the people who made things great for her. I am going to steal Molly's idea and do the same as we begin to look back on our time in the Hoosier state and look forward to our new beginning in the Lone Star State - yeehaw! There are a ton of people we want to acknowledge so it will take me several posts over the next several weeks - but that's okay. And, it's in no particular order - but I need to get started because it will take me a long time to finish - which is not a testament to my inconsistent blogging but rather a testament to the all the great people here in the Hoosier state.

So, let us begin with (in no particular order), my tennis friends. Gaye, Ute, Barb, Sandy, Randy, Betty, Carmie, Bieneke, Sunny, Donna, Pat, Brenda, Joan, Debbie, Sarah, and I am sure I am leaving someone out so I apologize profusely. Ya'll have been so great. After about 10 years of not picking up my racquets, I joined the IU Tennis Center and began playing singles flex leagues. Through the IUTC, I met these fantastic ladies who welcomed me to their team and reminded me how much fun it was to play tennis again. Weekly get togethers on the court proved to be a major stress reliever for me and I will miss all the tennis. But, mostly, I will miss all of you. You've been so great to us and you've been so great to Maggie too. THANKS and know you'll be missed and always on my mind.

My students, in particular my doc students. (again in no particular order) Ryan R., Antonio, Ty, Sydney, SangHak, Young Ik, Katie, Pat, Greg, Andrea, Coyte, Erin, Galen, and Won. Ya'll have been a great group to work with. Working with ya'll has been one of the many highlights of being here. It has really been something I looked forward to each day.

I think this is getting long so I will update again tomorrow!

Texas: It's Like a Whole Other Country

In just over a week, we'll be heading down to the Lone Star State. We'll be living in Frisco, Texas. It's in the northern suburbs of Dallas Fort Worth. (See the map below). I'll be sending our new address and contact information in the next week. We're very excited for our move and are hoping that we sell or lease our house in Bloomington soon.

It has been 8.5 years since I've lived in my home state, and I will have a little bit of culture shock. I think Matt will have a little too. Maggie will adjust well - we think - and she will start her new "early toddler preschool" in late August when my semester starts. To check out Frisco, go to this website http://www.visitfrisco.com/


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Toddling Along

Running around town with a toddler is a bit different than a baby. We don't have as much stuff to bring with us, but keeping up with Maggie is a bit more challenging. Maggie is not much on confinement, whether it be a stroller, car seat, or shopping cart. She has a good 15 minutes in her, and then, she lets loose. So, we are finding new ways to try to occupy her. As long as the cart or stroller is moving, then she's okay. But, when it stops, we must find things to distract her. We're hoping this is a phase and she'll learn to sit still soon enough.

Mags had her 12 month well child check (4 weeks late due to the doctor's schedule), and here are her digits: 21 lbs. 6 ounces; 29 3/4 inches tall; 46 cm head circumference. This puts Maggie in about the 75th percentile. Dr. Laughlin said Maggie is slender. He said after 12 months, their growth slows and they start to get taller and more slender. He said this is the case with Maggie already. She's still above average on height and weight, but slender too. He also said that she is currently working on about 5 teeth. Oh my. He says they should appear soon. This should make the confinement issue even more pleasant to deal with.

She is a very adept crawler now. She is off her bottle and soley uses her sippy cup. She is trying all sorts of new foods, but isn't a fan of new textures. She is trying to walk. Shes is an unbelievable stair climber but just doesn't quite have the confidence to walk yet. Last night, she finally decided to just stand from the sitting position on her own. She did it three times. This was likely the influence of her little friend Conor, who is a great walker and stander.

Happy 1st Birthday Maggie

Maggie turned 1 on June 6th. It was a great evening. We celebrated with dinner with family and Godparents at Domo where Maggie was provided with a hibachi cake.

We then had a small party the next day at the house. It was hot and flooded all around, but we had a fun time. Maggie had her first refined sugar and loved it. She didn't really smash her cake. She was pretty delicate with it, but ate it very fast. Enjoy the photos and I WILL update more often.

What a Personality

First, I apologize for not having new photos - we've been incredibly busy trying to get our house ready to place on the market, but there are two posts with lots of photos after this one. We'll get some more photos and update more regularly later in the week.

Maggie is such a ham these days. She had a great lazy late Friday afternoon with her new friend Haley and her buddy Jacob. She played and played with them. The sand box and the water table were a big hit. And, Jacob parents and Haley's parents treated us to a yummy dinner. We had the best time - but we think Maggie had the most fun. She slept late the next morning and then took a 3 hour nap - which enabled me to stain and seal the deck!

More updates are below and we'll post again later in the week.

9 Month Digits

Maggie's 9 month check up went well and the best news of the trip - no shots. That's always a wonderful bonus. She did get a finger prick though because it is customary to test for lead poisoning and iron levels at this visit. Maggie wasn't much a fan of the finger prick but took it in stride. She spent the remainder of the visit and a good portion of the rest of the day trying to get the bright blue band-aid off of her finger. Speaking of blue, the big news of the visit was that Dr. Laughlin informed us that he thinks Maggie's eyes are indeed "blue." He said to us "those blue eyes are going to stick." I am still not so sure, but Dr. Laughlin is convinced that "the recessive gene made it all the way to little Miss Maggie.". These blue eyes had to have come from Grandpa Tom because she didn't get them from me or her father.

Dr. Laughlin was really pleased with Maggie's growth and her eating habits. Apparently, Maggie is way ahead on the eating solid phase and a little low on her formula intake. He said this was normal with a baby that would eat so much solid food. So, we've upped her formula intake slightly and she still goes for her solids really well. She LOVES these things called Wagon Wheels by Gerber. We LOVE these things because they were the trick to getting her to finally eat with her hands. She bagan holding her bottle after we returned from Texas and then about a week later, she started picking up those wagon wheels. Pretty much, she will hand feed herself most anything now. She often grabs the spoon and puts it in her mouth. She does this a ton actually and at first, it's great - but then, it gets everywhere. But, she is definitely catching on.

Here are the 9 month digits:

Weight: 20 lbs 4 ounces

Height: 28 1/2 inches

Head: Really round (can't remember exactly)

This puts Maggie in the 75th percentile on weight and height and 95th percentile for the roundness of her head.

We'll see Dr. Laughlin again around July for Maggie's 12 month checkup. For some reason, Maggie's checkups fall about 3-4 weeks after her actual age. The pediatrician's office assures me this is just scheduling because they are always so booked. But, we really like Dr. Laughlin so we don't mind too much.

Long Time No Blogging

Hello everyone! We've been out of blogging for awhile and we apologize. We have added several updates to catch you up on all things Miloch.

We travelled to Texas for Easter and had a great trip. My mom was recovering from her hospital stay, and it was nice to see and relax with everyone. Aunt Kelle, Nana, and the Easter bunny put together a great basket for Maggie. She enjoyed playing with it, especially the eggs.

We also visited Aunt Kelle in Austin and Grandpa Tom taught Maggie how to climb stairs. Thankfully, Maggie has not realized that she has stairs here in Bloomington to climb. She's mostly content crawling around and shutting doors and walking behind her Little Tykes Gym. She's not walking on her own yet, but it might be soon. She pulls herself up all over the place and pushes a few of her toys around by using them to balance and walking behind them.

She and Angus continue to have a ball together - he gets more attention from Maggie than anyone else. He also manages to scam more food from Maggie than anyone else too.

Enjoy the photos from Easter. Maggie met Uncle Adrian, cousin Matt, and had playtime with Blane.

Some New Videos

8 Months

Maggie was 8 months old yesterday, and she is growing like a weed. She now weighs 19.2 lbs and is 28 inches long. She is too much fun and is desperately seeking mobility and a vocabulary. She now says "ma - ma" and as of today "da-da". She will also say "ba-ba", "la-la" and "na-na". She also now says "ingee" for Angus. He is certainly her best friend as she loves to laugh at Angus. We have to work to get her to laugh but Angus can just walk in the room and plop down beside her and she'll just crack up. This is especially true if Angus barks, scratches himself, or plays with a toy in front of her. She loves it.
Maggie also has a play room now. It has a jungle theme. Aunt Kelle gave Maggie a bench with lions, monkeys, and elephants. The bench was the inspiration for the play room. We also recovered a toy chest for her that we found at an antique store.
Maggie also loves her swim class as you can see from the videos. We have posted many videos to try and make up for the lack of posts lately. Enjoy!

Maggie's Weekly Video

Maggie Meets Santa

It was a very snowy morning and really cold, but we made the trek to the mall to meet Santa. We chose that snowy Saturday morning becuase the young "elf" that worked there told us that the "good" Santa would be there then. So, we naturally wanted Maggie's first meeting with Santa to be with a "good" Santa. As Matt said after the photos were snapped "if that was the good Santa, I'd hate to see the bad Santa!" Maggie wasn't sure what to make of the big man, but she eventually cracked a small smile.