This weekend was Baylor homecoming, and that means Lindsay and I got to hang with Kelli and Teila for a few hours. Baylor also beat OSU, which made for a very happy homecoming indeed.
We laughed a lot, mostly at our college selves. It's so fun to remember all the things we got ourselves into—those stories never get old, no matter how many times we tell them. Lindsay's 21st birthday. Scruff's. Karaoke mistakes. Classes we never thought we'd pass. Our neighbor boys. So many stories I hope we never stop telling.
Arden is BIG. I'm not sure when it happened. I realized it after Halloween this week when I went back and looked at Halloween pictures from last year. Get ready to cry...
Last year:
This year:
This year we did a little bit of trick-or-treating (aka me carrying Arden, who was very confused about what we were doing, from house to house) and we also went to a church trunk-or-treat. It rained buckets all day, but the weather held up while we were out and about.
We dressed Arden up as a butterfly because it is the only three syllable word currently in her vocabulary arsenal. She LOVED these wings and wore them around the house the whole week before.
Arden came home from daycare last week with a straight up shiner on her eye. She fell over someone's leg and landed on the corner of a table—poor thing. And it was JUST in time for last weekend's family photos, naturally. Here's a pretty good photo of it:
Speaking of family photos, here's a picture of Arden right after we finished taking them last weekend. Are you 13?!
That famous red hair is getting long enough for pigtails.
Our office has an annual Halloween costume contest. Our department dressed up as "high school heroes"—basically dress like yourself in high school. Was so much fun, and our department is officially back-to-back costume contest champions. That's right, first place. And you better believe I dug my letterman jacket out for this.
Last Friday Drew and I left work a little early to go to Arden's first class party—a Halloween festival. It took me back to when I was in school and how happy I was when my mom came to class parties. I hope I never miss one of Arden's.
Mayborn Museum adventures.
She always walks like this with her hands behind her back and I can't handle it. It's too cute.
Arden is about 21 months young and is so, so smart. She catches on to just about everything and I can't believe she's a real life toddler instead of a baby. Her vocabulary seems surprisingly large given her age, but she still has plenty of baby talk words. Here are my favorites:
Miney - Milk, Dee - Shoes, Baba - Diaper, Wawee - Water, Noonie - Cookie, Wee - Swing, Ree-ree - read.
She LOVES puppies more than most things, is currently obsessed with eyebrows, and her favorite activity is definitely reading. She wants to read every book five times in a row at the very least. She is still obsessed with eating and snacking. She sleeps like a champion, and if she wakes up before Drew and I, she typically just plays in her crib quietly until we come in and get her. I love when she says "help me" when she needs a hand, and she's now able to answer when someone she knows asks her, "What's my name?" or "What's your name?"
She's magic. And she still can't believe the Silos are so tall.
November means the holidays are coming up fast and I'll be honest, the holidays are a stressful season for a homebody like me. I need, and I mean need, rest and alone time. I need to sit on my own couch and watch a show with Drew or to push Arden on her swing in the backyard. I can't be sure if it's my job, which at times is incredibly stressful and is always high energy, or if it's just my personality—maybe it's a combination of both. But I have to take time to rest. I love people and I most definitely enjoy time with family, but the holidays are hard. It's one family after another (divorced family + married = a lot of sets of people to see) and one road trip after another. And, while we're being real, Arden is a handful. To be honest, she's two hands-full. She may be sweet and cute and my favorite person, but she's also exhausting and tough to handle in some settings—because she's a toddler. And when it comes right down to it, I'm the one chasing her, feeding her, consoling her. With Drew's help, of course, but I'm Mom. And I love being Mom, but in those settings, it comes down to me to make sure she's not breaking anything. That she gets a long enough nap. That she doesn't have food on her face. That she looks presentable. That she greets everyone and makes everyone feel known and loved. Etcetera, etcetera. I'm tired just thinking about it. And if we don't make it to each Thanksgiving meal and Christmas gathering, I feel like we've failed in some way. It's a lot to live up to, but I've already been praying for a peaceful and happy holiday season this year, and that everyone would be really understanding of our schedule and of our toddler. Ha. If you share my holiday worry, I'll be praying for the same for you and yours.
This weekend we've been doing our best to take it easy and hang together since next weekend I'll be out of town. Tonight I'm doing this blogging while drinking a tall glass of red wine and watching the LSU v Alabama game. And you caught me—I do not care about a stinkin' football game. But I do deeply value my marriage, and even three and a half years later, I want Drew to think I'm a "cool wife."
I hope your weekend is restful and good, good fun.
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