halloween. and some other stuff, too.

Millie's second Halloween has come and gone, and I must say...my baby in a costume really doesn't get old. I need to find more excuses to dress her up in fluffy adorableness. Pageants, perhaps? Okay, maybe not.

This year, Matt and I got into the spirit and went all out with a family theme. Probably the easiest/laziest theme ever, but it's the thought that counts. 

The best flower we've ever grown!

We were a pair of gardeners with our prize sunflower (and also a butternut squash in Matt's hand...because of course). Since I just know you're dying for the details on my amazing outfit, I'll tell you: I dug around for one of Matt's old button-downs, and scoured my garage for the least-sharp gardening tools I could find and manage to carry around a bowling alley for the night (since that's where our church's costume party takes place). Then I showed TRUE commitment to the cause by going to my actual garden and RUBBING ACTUAL DIRT ALL OVER MY FACE AND CLOTHING. So...yeah. Commitment. I'm not a rub dirt on my face kinda girl. Because that dirt went on top of my fully made up Tarte-and-Urban Decay-and-Benefit face. It crushed my spirit a little. But we won the costume competition, so I guess it was all worth it.

Unlikely, but there's a chance that we didn't win because of my dirty face. It coulda had something to do with the flower, but I guess we'll never know.

I have no idea what is going on! Why am I wearing this?!

I had no idea how Millie would feel about the costume, but luckily, she turned out to be a fan. She's worn the costume (including the hat) for probably a collective 7-8 hours over the last week, and she doesn't seem to think it's anything but fun! In fact, she's even been spotted digging the hat part out of her closet and attempting to put it on during non-costume-designated times!

I feel certain this should sit somewhere up here.

I WILL figure this out, dangit!!

 Please stop and die over that little lip stuck out as she concentrates. This is a regular feature around these parts and I could probably (and might) make a sizable coffee table book featuring just pictures of her making this face. It is too much. I can't handle it. I hope that one day she decides to take AP Calculus or something really hard like that and I'm going to quit my job and just stalk her around her school so that I can watch her make this face all the time. That doesn't seem creepy at all, right? Great.

Hey chillllldren!!! Come here! I will give you one piece of candy, VERY slowly and VERY carefully!

Millie took her candy-handing-outing duties very seriously last night. She was all about pulling a piece of candy out of our pumpkin bucket and depositing it into Elsa or Spiderman's bucket. It was really cute that other little kids (well, bigger than her, but still little) found this as endearing as we did. She is the cutest flower I've ever seen!!!, said one fourish-year-old boy who was apparently as smart as he was precious.

We paused our candy-passing for a few minutes to walk Millie over to a few neighbors' houses to show her off get candy. As suspected, she was a big hit. She can't say "trick or treat," but she waves, claps, smiles, and makes the sign language 'more' sign, soooo...she went over really well.

Incidentally, it was also Matt's first trick-or-treating experience! I didn't even know it until we were headed to the second house, or else I definitely would have had him pose with a little chalkboard sign that said "Matt's First Trick-or-Treating, 2015" or something like that. He just dropped it in all casually...so hey, what're the odds? Matt and Millie both experiencing their firsts on the same night? Precious. (Matt felt like I shouldn't have been so surprised that he'd never trick-or-treated before...as he has told me at least a thousand times before, his family attended a  Hallowed Be Thy Name church festival/party/thingie instead...which I definitely remember and laugh about on the reg, but it never really sunk in that that meant he HAD NEVER GONE TRICK OR TREATING!!!)

So in non-costumed-and-sugar-laden news, Millie has been exceptionally adorable and hilarious lately. I mean, she's always adorable...but she is just at a really fun age now where she's legitimately hilarious most of the time. And she knows it. This girl is t.r.o.u.b.l.e.

Who, me? I'm not trouble. I'm just really serious. And I will make this serious face until you laugh...which takes about one second.

 Her faces these days. I can't.

I MADE A CROWN AT SCHOOL AND I HAVE A BALLOON AND IT'S FRIDAY NIGHT AND I CAN'T EVEN PRETEND I'M NOT LOVING LIFE RIGHT NOW!!!!

 And yes, she does have 480 teeth. Ugh. Why don't you ask how much she loves to brush them all?

...........

Yeah. That's how much. If my arm muscles are looking particularly well-defined lately (HAHAHAHA), it's all due to our twice-daily alligator wrestling matches where we attempt to prevent tooth decay. And fail miserably.

On the plus side, I guess if all of her teeth rot and fall out, she will look like a little baby again!!! Wooo!!! #silverlinings

I may raise hell every time you brush my teeth, but look how happy I am in the bathtub!! Just stick to my strengths, okay, Mom?

 Now that the time has changed, our days of taking a walk after dinner are probably done. Too dark. Waaaah. Because she's just figured how much fun it is to lean back and laugh and laugh up at us while we push her...and it's really the best thing ever.

She started attending a new school a few weeks ago, and she's adjusting beautifully. I love that she's so confident and that her happy little personality shines so brightly even in a new place. Her new teachers have pretty much got her figured out already:

1. She's happy all the time, except for when a meal/snack is over. 

Who, me? I didn't become a big girl by pussyfooting around the dining room table, Mommy...

I am just so proud of the brave, joyful, loving little girl she's growing into. She always has a smile and a wave for everyone. It makes me so happy to see her so confident and happy in a new place- but also to see her face light up as she sprints to see me when I come pick her up each day. That really is the best.

So now it's November, and I suppose I'll start listening to Christmas music any day now. I won't actually do any shopping or decorating for another month, but I can definitely get on board with pulling out my Pentatonix Christmas albums ASAP.

Hopefully it won't be Thanksgiving before I get around to blogging again- haha, but also...practically accurate. I've been meaning to do a 'day in the life' post for like six months, but haven't felt ambitious enough to actually do it yet...but maybe someday. Anyway. Gotta get back to watching through Season 4 of Scandal. It's as horrible and awesome as ever! Also, anyone watching Madame Secretary or Jane the Virgin? I've heard good things and am considering adding them to my post-surgery playlist...which by now is so long that I will need to take at least a year to recover from surgery, ha! Oh well! Gotta do whatcha gotta do...and Netflix just isn't gonna watch itself, right? Right.