The Ari-Catch-Up Post

It’s funny, but life keeps rolling on even when I’m not blogging. Currently it’s leaving my blog in the dust. Nice, tasty, crunchy dirt. Time to get caught up and spit this stuff out.

Ariana the Sailor
October was a superbly warm month. Ari decided to go sailing and was the best captain ever. Hopefully I’m not the only one who thought “sailor” when I saw these pics.

Now she's driving a Ferrari

Ari had a birthday, shout hooray!
I promise Ari did have a birthday, even though I made no mention of it on Facebook. First she had a little family party, a nice quiet affair in the evening with a small dessert. This was because of timing: parties with the Wattses are not normally quiet things.

Then later she had a more boisterous party with friends. The cake was frosty and big, and it actually took some coaxing for her to dive into it. We discovered that she’s not the messiest child in the world. Well, at least she wasn’t then.

This is as messy as it gets.

OH YEAH. Number of teeth Ari had when she turned one: ½. We could see one tooth peeking out of her gums.

Her second but first real Halloween
Ari wasn’t even three weeks old when her first Halloween came around, so she spent it hiding inside with her zombie mom (that was my condition, not my costume). But this year we dolled her up. First we attended a Provo High School trick-or-treat band thing the night before Halloween. She treasured her little tootsie rolls, even though she couldn’t eat them yet. Also by this time, she had just started really walking. Fun times for everyone.

Then we spent Halloween with Aunt Rachel, Uncle Kyle, and cousin Abigail who was a darling bumblebee. Good thing those two couldn’t really fly - who knows what would have happened!

Other cute randomness
Since then, Ari’s gone around being cute and all that. It’s amazing watching her grow and explore her world. She brings us so much joy and is my dear little friend. Of course there are moments when all I want is a couple hours of peace, but those moments rarely dominate my days.

At my grandparents' in Colorado, Ari discovered the sea of rocks.

She didn't think she could walk on them.

She was so excited she wouldn't let us pick her up, either.

Motherhood is a whirlwind of love, tears, joys, and gray-hair moments, always on the move and filled with the unexpected. Also I don't talk about my amazing husband much in these posts, but I'm so grateful for Clayton, for being able to share these experiences and life with him every day.