Longest Day Yet / Ivy's First Birthday!

After almost nine hours away from home, little miss was ti-red!

We haven't gone out with Emma Vance for more than an hour or two at a time thus far, just running quick errands or grabbing a bite to eat. However, with a few things on our calendar down in Sandy Springs for this afternoon, we crossed our fingers, held our breath and decided to dive head first into our first full day out with a baby.

First of all, we quickly discovered that packing for a day-long outing with a baby requires as much stuff as a grown up's weekend away. About an hour into packing the diaper bag, the stroller, the bassinet, feeding "stuff" and my purse, I had to laugh at myself...and when Ryan and I went down the list of "Things We Can't Live Without Today" before we left, I had to laugh even more. Could one, tiny, ten-pound person actually need fifty pounds of stuff during the course of only nine hours? Let me just say this: Yes. Absolutely, and in fact she could possibly need SIXTY pounds of stuff by the end of that nine hours. :)

Oh, before I go on, let me also mention that yes, we did forget something despite making a list and checking it twice. Go figure.

We started the day with lunch at Aunt Lisa and Uncle Shane's house. It was the first time Lisa got to hold E.V. since the hospital, and Emma Vance found her yellow hair quite fascinating and worth grabbing (of course). Their time together was a little shorter than both would've liked, but Lisa was gracious enough to take me to her nail salon for a little much-needed pampering. I was a bit worried since we didn't make appointments despite our a tight schedule and the fact that it was a Saturday, but Lisa said that I needn't worry--and she was right. The employees of Nail Talk and Tan (ha) welcomed us by name, obviously excited to see Lisa, who is a favored customer there. Wait, that's an understatement: Lisa is like Asian royalty there. Clearly known by the receptionist, we were immediately ushered past all of the patiently waiting patrons (commoners!) to two coveted chairs. After nearly eight weeks without much attention, my feet and hands left much prettier than they entered. Ahhh--much better!

Awww!

Are they making the same face? Yes. :)

Big yawn was NOT a reflection of her excitement level...

While we were gone, the boys tended to E.V. much like "Three Men and a Baby." Wait, you're confused about there being THREE men in this story? Don't forget Uncle Jake, Lisa's own little "baby." A little fussing, a bottle, a nap and LOTS of time with Shane seemed to make her happy while we were away, and gave me a much needed reprieve.

Uncle Jake and Uncle Shane calming E.V. :)

Exercise!

She LOVED being with Shane!

After Shane and Lisa's, we headed to Ivy Stull's first birthday party at Morgan Falls Park, which was BEAUTIFUL! (How have I never been there before today? Shame on me!) Ivy is such a cutie girl, and such a total ham in this stage of life! She walked around making animal noises ("monkey" seemed to be the winner), smiling and being fascinated by all of the babies in attendance. (It's so funny that even at one she recognizes "babies" as something she's not anymore!) Katie and Jacob (okay, let's be honest, KATIE) threw a great party, complete with strawberry cake from Piece of Cake (heaven) and lots of friends to devour it! We sang "Happy Birthday" to Ivy with her smash cake ready to be smashed--however, ever the little lady, she was a bit remiss to mess up her fancy birthday dress. (Clearly she gets her respect for fashion from Katie...)

Seriously, could she be any cuter?

Yeah, dad!

E.V. meets the Ramondt family, starting with Brian--hilarious!

...and then Leah--so sweet!

...and then Sarah--E.V.'s new buddy and babysitter :)

E.V. was relatively good, content to be passed around a bit and to take in all the new faces. When we hit the three-hour mark, our little Babywise baby started fussing from hunger, so we said our goodbyes and drove to (what we thought would be) a secluded area of the park to feed her. I was thankful to have a view of the lake from the empty parking lot as she ate...that is until the rednecks showed up, MOONSHINE and all to fish. Lovely. This is my life, people!

Emma Vance was exhausted, as is to be expected after such a full day, and passed out immediately after her dinner. Ryan and I decided to take advantage of the opportunity, stopping at The Counter for a quick hamburger salad (a Talie specialty) complete with "healthy" beef and organic greens.

Baby and a burger!

The moral of the story? WE DID IT! Almost NINE HOURS out and about, no major melt downs, no problems. I think we may have officially re-entered The Outside World, friends, and we have done so triumphantly! Yessss!