And Then There Were Three: Kensleigh's Birthday / UGA v. Zombies

The ladies are ready to party!

I could just squeeze her all day.

"Yay! I can't hold still because it's PARTY TIME!"

It's a little shocking to me how many traditional Saturdays in a row we've had around the Shove household lately. I mean, in the past year, we've had a total of perhaps ten total, and we're going on four or five in a row! I love it though, and will only pause for a moment to think on how strange it is.

{Pause for dramatic effect.}

Now that I've gotten over my shock, on to enjoying them...

This Saturday started off great. (See re: 100th Post!) Then it got messy. A mere few minutes after attempting to wake Ryan and swooning at how wonderful and calm life with a baby can be, she pooped the bed. Yep, she POOPED. IN. THE. BED. (Oh, I'm sorry if my previous post made it seem like it's always rainbows and fairy tales here--it's not. There's a lot of crap that goes on as well. Literally.) Oh, well. I was contemplating buying new pillows anyway. Ours were getting flat. I suppose that's God's sign to me that it's time to replace them. (And, yes, my yelp about her mess did manage to rouse Ryan. Good morning, dear! Don't move or you might roll over into a pile of diarrhea. Happy Saturday!)

Not to be fazed, I cleaned up Little Miss and moved forward with our plans because we had an agenda for the day. We began with a birthday party for Emma Vance's friend, Kensleigh. Her mom Kendall threw a killer party, and in true KKim fashion, it was full of bright colors and the most delicious brunch food imaginable. (Doesn't she know that I'm working on my baby weight still? Sheesh!)

Kendall and the cutie birthday girl!

Really, how AWESOME is this cake?!?
And, of course, Kendall did a fab job on the decor!

Smash cake "before"...

..."during"...

...and "after!"

During Kensleigh's party, I got a chance to catch up with the ladies of Pottery Barn Kids...now with kids of our own! Between Kendall with Kensleigh, Rachel with Davis (who's only a few weeks younger than Emma Vance), and my little lady, all we need to be complete is Lindsay to catch up! LStanley was kind enough to snuggle E.V., who was worn out from a morning filled with kicking her dad and pooping the bed. (And, yes, I took a million pictures of the two of them because it was so cute.) Despite Emma Vance's best efforts to stay awake for the festivities, she didn't last long. I can't complain, though, because she got to wear her PARTY DRESS, which was super exciting for me. (Hey, you don't have to be awake to look fashionable!) Ryan cracked me up before we left, proving himself to be a total "guy" as he commented on how tight E.V.'s 0-3 month dress was and thus how she wouldn't be able to wear it twice. Doesn't he know that party dresses are a one-event thing?:)

I heart this dress.

Going...

...going...

...gone!

Down for the count!

(Oh how life has changed in just this last year!)

This little man was a perfect gentleman throughout the whole event.

We left the party a little early to try and make it home before Emma Vance's lunchtime, but halfway there she got cranky from hunger, so we had to make a pit stop. Ryan and I often joke that this is the one drawback to Baby Wise: When they're used to a schedule, you have to honor their staying on it. Remember the Seinfeld episode where George hits a pigeon because it doesn't move out of the road in time? His explanation for not swerving is that "We had a deal!" With Baby Wise, it's the same thing: Babies only cry predictably, but you have to meet their needs predictably. So, as her 1 p.m. lunchtime occurred mid-drive, I reminded myself, "We have a deal!" and I had to honor my end of it. We pulled over for a quick bite, and as soon as she was full, she passed out from all the party excitement. It was quite a funny sight.

Hey, it was HOT in that party dress!

An afternoon nap later, and it was time for the UGA game! We crashed the Stulls' house for the event, which was relatively uneventful (after we got enough of a margin for the win), resulting in a turning of conversation topics. To zombies. And the apocalypse. (Blame "The Walking Dead" for getting our imaginations running.) A few hours later, and (although I'm not at liberty to divulge the details) let me just say that the Stulls and Shoves are READY. Bring it on, undead masses! We have a plan. Ha!

After the game was over, Jacob and Katie's girl, Ivy, awoke to join us for a little bit. She and Emma Vance are already old friends, and as the older and wiser of the pair, Ivy spent some time rocking "the baby" to sleep in her car seat. No kidding. So sweet. So funny.

Here's how the rest of the night went: