8 months of BLYTHE

I didn't snap as many pics this month, mainly because we were here, there, and everywhere. I know these aren't ALL of baby girl, but this was how she spent her days this past month.

She still is not crawling..which I'm totally okay with [and it made decorating for Christmas easier :)]. She get up and rocks and rolls and scoots around though. She still loves to stand and play. 

And she loves to eat! 

She's developing quite the little personality and we are enjoying her so much. 

I love her sweet post-nap faces

We got to see some of our favorite friends, Meagan and Shane!! And good news for us-- they are moving HERE! Well an hour and a half away and we'll gladly take it! 

Blythe got to see her cousins again when they came for Thanksgiving. 

They had quite the time, matching pjs and all. 

And Blythe was excited that her Paige was home on break too! These two like each other. 

Modeling her new outfit. 

We had BEAUTIFUL weather and got to eat dessert outside at Great Grandma Ann's

Everyone is SO THANKFUL for you, Baby Girl. 

We also got to see her OTHER cousins…life was good. 

Kylee getting ready to fly a kite 

It cooled off, but that didn't keep us from going for a walk! 

My dad and Dan even got into the fun and games and played a round of Just Dance

One of our favorite games to play together- THings.

Is there anything sweeter?

And basketball season started!! Supporting our #22. 

I have also been making a lot of baby food…as Blythe is eating more and more. 

I'm trying a new 'do

Her eyes are ablaze with the lights of Christmas

Watching Daddy put up the lights

First trip to a local dairy farm

And one of my college dreams was realized this wekeend: My child got to play with my college roommate Renae's children, Jaden and Jera. Jaden is almost two and Jera is 6 months…but clearly bigger than Blythe. She is also super snuggly which I loved because Blythe isn't really a snuggler right now. 

So happy when she gets to stand

And another month has come and gone. Keep growing. We love you. 

blacklisted

Kali and I sometimes felt deprived when it came to watching TV. 

You see, in our house we did not have complete control of the tube as many a teeny-bopper did and do. Oh no--the big, bad parentals took control of the remote before we even had a chance to say "pop-up-video!"

When my parents got Direct TV and discovered they could actually BLOCK an entire channel? Well forget about any sneaky 17 year old maneuvers to try and catch a glimpse of "Real World." 

Kali and I didn't exactly broadcast to our peers that we couldn't watch certain shows, but it was probably obvious we weren't a part of the conversation when others were quoting dialogue or discussing the [oh-so-serious] plots and [oh-so-deep] characters. I'm sure she did as I did and sometimes watched an episode or two at a friend's house, feeling slightly guilty in our indulgent behavior. 

When I went to a Christian college, blacklisting parents were the norm. Many of my peers had missed entire series of the same shows I had! Hmm…maybe my parents weren't crazy. 

And now, I am nearly 27 years old, raising a daughter who is still oblivious of the television, and yet I realize my parents were not just NOT crazy but actually very, very wise. 

Dictators…but wise.

I will freely admit that I have now seen a lot of the shows that I was not allowed to watch while in high school. These include, but are not limited to the following:

Saved by the Bell

Oh yes, Zach and Slater, Screech and …well, all of them were not welcomed in my living room. I didn't understand then why my mother didn't want me watching a show in which the teenagers knew EVERYTHING and all the adults were, well…dumb. I mean, ZOINKS! That is crazy!

Dawson's Creek

"But MOOOOOooooMMMMmmm…EVERYONE watches "Dawson's Creek!"' I just recently started watching some of this to see what the fuss was all about and holy-smokes-all-they-talk-about-is-sex, as in seriously-it-is-ONLY-a-show-about-15-and-16-year-olds-having-and-discussing-sex. Good call, Mom, good call. 

The Simpsons

I have never really WANTED to watch the Simpsons, so I guess I didn't fight this much. I still don't think I've seen but 5 minutes of the show. 

Anything MTV or VH1 related

I think the reason for this is obvious. 

Clarissa Explains is All

I think the title alone turned my parents off of this. I mean, come on Nickelodeon, you're going to need a better selling point then, "How about we have a 12/13 year old explain stuff about life? PERFECT!"

Rosanne

Again, I don't think I ever wanted to watch this one, but I think we weren't allowed in large part because Mom and Dad found it annoying. 

Fair enough.

and 

Friends 

Yes, even Friends was on the list. I will unashamedly admit that this is now my favorite TV show, but I do understand why my parents weren't keen on letting their 16 year old daughter watch  6 adults living in New York city, sleeping with one another, living together, and making crude jokes. It probably still isn't great that I love this show but the writing is hilarious! 

And there were more. 

I fought them on it. I got mad. But now I more than understand.
I can't believe some of the things my students would watch…and then TALK ABOUT. 
And don't even get me started on song lyrics…

…or the monster that is now the internet. 

And now what? Now I am a parent and I have to determine what is worth the fight. I grew up hearing, "Garbage in, garbage out." I still believe that's pretty much the truth.  Unlike what teens think today, I believe that it is still okay for parents to limit some of what they are exposed to. 

I'm thankful my parents did that for me. 

I know someday soon Blythe will fight me on a TV show she thinks she should be able to watch. But I will stand my ground. Because someone did that for me. 

Do you agree or disagree? Should parents have the right to not expose their kids to certain things? Did yours? What were blacklisted items for you growing up? 

Just so you know, I didn't intentionally end the last two posts with questions…that just where I ended up. I would love to hear your answers though…to this post and the LAST ONE. 

never again

Last night Brent and I packed up baby girl and headed to a nearby small town to watch our high school teams in another basketball game. 

Torri [my "little sister"/best friend/student/one of the people I named my daughter after...] scored 30 points. 

Torri [#22]and me on far left after we won District Championship 

30 points is a substantial amount…but this 30 was unique because:

1. It was her highest scoring game thus far.

and 

2. It means she beat my highest scored game by 3 points. 

Last year she tied my 27 point mark, but had a three or two in the mix and I told her she had to do like I did: without any three pointers. She accomplished that last night. 

I was texting back and forth with her last night, joking that I needed to create a certificate to make it all official, she joking back that I should so that in 17/18 years she can pass it on to Blythe when she breaks it. And there was a brief flash of a moment when I realized I will never have a shot at ever scoring more points in a basketball game. 

My basketball days are long gone. 

Obviously I have known this for awhile. I knew it when I went to college and played intramurals and it just wasn't the same as putting on that jersey. I knew it when I moved to Kentucky and played quick 8th grade students in the annual faculty/student basketball game. I knew it when I returned home for an alumni tournament and running up and down the court made me sore for two weeks. And I knew it when I was the assistant coach for the high school girls and tried to jump in and push some people around during practice. 

I will never again get to play in a real game of basketball. 

I will never again  be in that kind of shape. 

The small records I held will all be surpasses eventually if they haven't been already. 

I won't always be the third highest scorer at my alma mater. 

I am no longer "HEY! WHO-IS-SUPPOSED-TO-BE-GUARDING-NUMBER-TWENTY-TWO!" 

And that is all okay but…

It is kind of strange to look back and realize that all those hours upon hours I poured into becoming a better ball player are not only behind me, but not even applicable. Sure I learned more than just how to shoot at the top of a jump shot, but seriously? Boxing out is going to get me no where now [unless I wanted to put it to the test on Black Friday?]. 

The first ball game Brent ever saw me play was my senior year. I boxed out/body checked a girl into the mat under the basket. I don't know if impressed or terrified is the right word to describe that moment for him, but it was part of the initial attraction that kept growing: I was an athlete, and that was important to him. The feeling was mutual when I saw him play, as he leapt over other human beings. Would our attraction have been as strong without basketball as a common thread? 

My IDENTITY was basketball in high school. I longed for the season to begin again when it ended, waited for the first game with baited breath, and cried when it was all over each year. I played on as many as four summer league teams, lifted weights year round, shot hundred of thousands of driveway free throws…and now…now? 

I'm thankful I had basketball in high school. It gave me purpose. It taught me winning and losing gracefully. It taught me about healthy competition and how to respect talent in others, even when that talent meant your defeat. It taught me to reconcile that my faith and integrity was not compartmentalized, and should be evident on the court. It taught me that goals are attainable with hard work. It taught me teamwork. It taught me how important hydration is. And it taught me how important a healthy lifestyle is. 

It is a strange thing to think that something that consumed my everyday life is now non-exsistent, apart from attending ballgames. I guess I never thought about that when I was in high school. But then again, isn't that a huge part of high school? Being consumed by things that are MONUMENTAL and LIFE-CHANGING? To live in a reality that is as big as your school's student population? 

Regardless of my lack of basketball now, I'm thankful I had it then. And Brent and I still dream of getting a nice hoop to put up out back and relive the glory days. 

What about you? What was something you were PASSIONATE about in high school? Something you did EVERY SINGLE DAY that you rarely, if ever, even think about now? 

going to the chapel

I recently read a blog post about wedding do-overs. This woman married her husband about 5 years ago, about the same time Brent and I were married. She wrote about how this was during pre-pinterest days, pre- wedding blogger days etc. and how those have completely changed the game. I think she's right.

Granted when I got married 4 and half years ago I could still do google image searches for wedding dresses or flower arrangements, but that was about the extent of "wedding research" beyond magazines. Now you can find ideas for just about any type of wedding you want at the click of a button. 

I'm not sure how I feel about this.

I do like that people feel the creative license now to make their weddings unique and personal; that they try to do something that embodies their personalities. However, I think our society may be losing something when they start to focus more and more on the decor and the party and less on the marriage itself. 

That being said, with all the ideas floating around now, there are probably a few things I would change if I had a do-over, but not too many. 

- Bridesmaid dresses

I could NOT find anything on the more casual end of the spectrum in the color coral, and so my mother in law was AMAZING and made the dresses, which was quite the undertaking. She did a phenomenal job, and we saved a lot of money [we were not going to have the girls pay for their dresses], but if I were to do it over I would have had the girls pick their own individual dress in the color/ close to the color. You've probably seen this look now at weddings, but that just wasn't something people did 5 years ago.  I love how it looks together and in pictures, and then each girl also has a dress in a style she can wear again later. 

- Up-Do

MAYBE. Probably. 

- Dance

I would have at least done a father/daughter dance. We had a sound system set up, we could have done it, but since we weren't having a dance at reception I thought it would seem out of place. Looking back I shouldn't have cared and should have just done it. 

- Videographer

I think I would have loved having someone capture all the goings-on. We had a family friend record it, and at least we have video, but someone on a DVD with music and transitions and all the other good stuff besides the ceremony would be sweet to have captured.

-Centerpieces?

I put a question mark here because since everything was outside and it was WINDY that day it really didn't matter. We couldn't even light the candles, [which I actually ended up taking back to the store since they never got lit!], and I now realize how silly it is to spend an arm and a leg on that stuff. 

-Honeymoon

I would change very little. We went to a friend's family's cabin in Colorado. It was perfect. However, as with everything else, we were pinching pennies and I think we should have splurged on like one meal or excursion or something? [We spent around 300 dollars on our honeymoon for EVERYTHING, including air fare, but it was simple and relaxing and just what we needed before our big move-- and I think we'd appreciate/enjoy a big trip later anyway]. 

And I probably would have strung white lights through the trees at the reception. 

And stuff I absolutely wouldn't change at all:

Pretty much everything else. 

The Groom. Obviously. He's the best.

The location. Loved getting married at my grandparents'. It was just perfect. 

My flowers from the garden that my aunts put together.

My dress. 

The people in the wedding [except I would probably add Brent's sisters to wedding party].

The cake. Even though it fell over and looked terrible by the time we cut into it, it tasted DELICIOUS! 

The music [though I would have loved to have had STRINGS!]. 

And everything else….

Even though I didn't have other references to go from I love that the ideas I came up with were, for the most part, my own. I love that I didn't have a single mason jar present. I love that we kept it simple, and that we spent less on the entire wedding than some people spend on their dress or their photographer. 

It was a wonderful day. And I got to marry Brent. And we didn't break the bank. And we were happy. And we asked the Lord to help us keep our promise, on days we aren't as happy.

And all of that I wouldn't change even if I had a do-over.

What about you?