Andi and Kyle Visit

Last weekend, Andi, Kyle and his dog, Charlie, drove down to Nashville for a super-fun weekend! On Saturday, Rob and Kyle -- both Sigma Chi's -- tailgated at Vanderbilt's Homecoming, where Kyle went to school. Meanwhile, Andi and I had lots of girl talk and nail painting at home while Madeline napped; then we all met up at the Franklin Pumpkin Festival. After Madeline's bathtime (and lots of jumping on the air mattress we still haven't deflated since Rob's family visited), we hired a babysitter and went out for sushi. We ended a wonderful weekend the next morning with a meal that is on record as one of my favorites -- true Southern food at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant minutes from our house that's been visited by celebrities, including all of the Judds, Martha Stewart and Vince Gill.

That afternoon, after Andi and Kyle had to leave, Rob, Madeline and I carved pumpkins and baked the seeds (which of course we nibbled and then threw away because they were gross, just like every year).

Madeline's been busy. Earlier this week, she had success on the "Bee - Grrrrr - Paw - Dy" (Translation: Big Girl Potty). I won't elaborate on the actual success, but we jumped and cheered like we just won a trip to Disney World. She's becoming a true toddler: she loves to paint and color and she's repeating everything (I'm realizing how often Rob and I say "Ok-kay" and "I see"). Lately her baby doll likes to do everything Madeline does -- she washes her hands, sits on the potty, drinks milk and eats in the high chair. Madeline's also becoming opinionated about clothes -- she's either stripped down to a diaper (or less!), or she's layering yesterday's spagetti-covered clothes, PJs and random dirty socks (which she pulls out of the hamper) over her cute little outfits.

Today we went to a Halloween party hosted by the Mom's Club I joined here. The constant motion of 20 miniature skunks, ladybugs and turtles is a literal and figurative zoo. The women I'm meeting are fabulous! I'm happy that we're able to attend events now that Madeline's only taking one nap instead of two.