Thankful

Dear Adeleigh,

Your second Thanksgiving is just four days away, and there is much to be grateful for. In addition to the more identifiable things - like family, friends and good health - there are so many day-to-day blessings worth appreciating, whether it be a moment, a routine or just a feeling. So, if there's something I want you to always remember, not just around the Holidays, it's to count your blessings, no matter how small. Because they are plentiful.

• I'm thankful for the other Mommas in my life, including my own, who understand the daily joys and struggles of parenthood.
• I'm thankful for the women in my life who will be Mommas, for bringing some much needed love, beauty and innocence into this crazy world.
• I'm thankful for your Daddy, and for mine, for teaching (and most importantly showing) us ladies respect, appreciation and love.
• I'm thankful that when I'm stressed, you furrow your brow and say, "Dop it." Thanks for reminding me that life is only as difficult as I make it.
• I'm thankful that you love me no matter my faults.
• I'm thankful that when I sing or hum, you smile at me, then join in.
• I'm thankful to Julie and Chris for the Diaper Genie 2 Elite. Who knew there was something more supreme than the Diaper Genie 1?!
• I'm thankful for Netflix, for distracting you while I clip your nails.
• I'm thankful for the little reminders I get of you while I'm at work - like the half-eaten cookie buried crumbling in the bottom of my purse, your toy cell phone resting next to mine, or the lone sock I've found in my sweater pocket during a meeting.
• I'm thankful to have someone to trust you with when I can't be there.
• I'm thankful that you run to greet me when I walk in the front door. You always know just what I need.
• I'm thankful for the mornings to enjoy banana pancakes and Elmo with you.
• I'm thankful when you lay your head on my chest, even if it is just to suck on my zipper.
• I'm thankful for your perfect raspberry-blowing belly. And for your adorable raspberry-blowing-inflicted belly laugh.
• I'm thankful for the mornings where I wake up to you giggling and jumping on your bed. I don't need coffee those days :)
• I'm thankful that you rub your little feet against me while relaxing on my lap.
• I'm thankful for your purity.
• When I leave the room, I'm thankful that you follow me, even if it takes you twice as long to get there.
• I'm thankful that when you're playing on the opposite side of the room, you drag your toys over, plop on the floor next to me and continue playing.
• I'm thankful that you need me, because I need you too.

The last 15 months of my life has been the most defining, gratifying time of my 27 years so far. I have you to thank for that. And in that time, you've taught me just as much, if not more than I've taught you. Thank you, Adeleigh for choosing your Daddy and me to bless. You know we couldn't have it any other way.

Photo by Jessica Loucks 

Trick-and-Treat

I've often heard Phaeton talk about the interesting tradition surrounding Halloween - dress up in a costume, go door to door, say 3 little words which threaten to impose mischief or harm to people's property, and get rewarded with sugar. I've always found it interesting that to some, Halloween is viewed as a day to wear as little clothing as possible on one of the coldest nights of the season. But that's not what this post is about.
For Adeleigh's 1st walking Halloween, we took her to the city "Where the geese fly, and the bulls cry" (also known as the little town about 15 miles east, Severance). We wanted Adeleigh to go trick-or-treating with her 3-year-old cousin, Ashton (also known as Superman). We dressed her up in her Duck sweatsuit, grabbed her pink pumpkin bucket and headed out the door. She loved knocking on each house's door and loved greeting the neighbors. We'd tell her to say "Trick-or-Treat" which came out as "Ahh-doo" with a smile, and always elicited candy in her pumpkin. But to Adeleigh, the concept of collecting as many sweets as possible hadn't fully registered. After a few pieces were collected, and we were greeted at the door by someone new, Adeleigh pulled her gifted candy out of the bucket and offered it to the next neighbor. This always generated a giggle or two and the response of "You can keep your candy, and I'll give you a few more!" This happened a few times before she (and we!) began reveling in the abundance of chocolate. And then we realized, that our giving little girl, on her very first night of Trick-or-Treating, had mastered the art of tricking the neighbors into giving her extra treats! Atta girl!

My little teenager

Every morning when I drop Adeleigh off at daycare, I find myself lingering around, squeezing in as many hugs and kisses until the last possible minute before the work day. The routine usually consists of her walking back and forth between me and the toys about three times before I'm satisfied enough to finally peel myself away and leave.
She's been reaching all kinds of milestones recently, growing up faster than I'm prepared for. Crawling is too 1990's for her, she's now a speed walker. She speaks sentences, saying "Tee-too, Momma" (Thank you) or "I yuh-oo" (I love you) or "bi-do-rar-na-dee" (?????)
Last week at daycare, we reached a new milestone together. I was doing my usual linger, talking to our daycare lady, while Adeleigh was playing on the other side of the room with the toys. In behind me walked Adeleigh's little friend who's two months younger than she is. All the adults in the room froze as my daughter let out the loudest, shrillest, excited scream and we stood there and watched as her little legs hurried her cute little body across the room to the front door. I saw this as my opportunity to squeeze in my last morning hug and bent down with arms open wide as my smiley girl came running towards me. Only, she wasn't running towards me. She was aiming for her friend. And Momma was so in the way. So, Adeleigh put her chubby little hand up, placed it against the center of my face and pushed me out of the way. Now the adults were standing there in horror, watching, wondering what was going to happen next. Wondering if I was going to burst into tears. I didn't. But, Adeleigh didn't stop there. She proceeded to put her hand on the half-open door where I was standing, and tried to push it shut. I took the hint and stepped outside, pulling the door shut all the way. I watched through the door window as she, now that Mom was gone, could finally hang out with her friend and go flirt with boys.
While many other babies Adeleigh's age are experiencing separation-anxiety, clutching on tight to their mothers, my baby has decided to skip that fun kid phase and become a fourteen-year-old. Maybe she's ready for me to drop her off two blocks away from daycare, so she can walk herself and not look totally uncool kissing Mom goodbye? I am definitely not prepared for that. Maybe I should commend her sense of independence. Or maybe, when she's fourteen, I'll remember that one day at daycare. And when I drop her off two blocks away from high-school, I'll speed ahead and meet her at the entrance when she's with all her friends, curlers in my hair and say, "Honey, you forgot your lunch and your paci. And don't forget, after school we have fingerpainting class. I yuh-oo. Bi-do-rar-na-dee!"

Lovey

Long before Phaeton and I were planning our own children, our friends and family members were basking in the love and joy of parenthood. For years, every time someone we knew had a baby, we had our staple gift that we'd give: a Ty Pluffie stuffed animal (with sewn eyes, not button) and a board book. Both Phaeton and I worked for Barnes and Noble at the time, and both of these items were always plentiful in stock. Parents would report to us how much Baby loved cuddling with the Pluffie's soft fur. Our nephew, Ashton's animal was a Dalmatian dog named Dot who quickly became his "lovey". My sister Amy, and her husband Pat, stocked up for the years to come to ensure there would always be a clean Dot around.

Our nephew, Ashton at 14 months old, fast asleep with Dot.

When we found out we were expecting, we knew we needed to find an animal for our baby to fall in love with. Phaeton was still working for Barnes, so I made him promise he'd buy at least 3 of my favorite giraffe Pluffies, to hopefully become our baby's lovey. We'd keep one at daycare, one at home, and one in case of emergencies. There was one problem: Barnes and Noble recently stopped carrying Ty Pluffie toys. So I got online, made a ton of phone calls and found the local Motherhood Maternity had one more giraffe in stock. I figured that'd at least hold us over until Adeleigh arrived. I made them hold it for me and rushed over to buy it. My excitement quickly turned to sadness when I discovered that the one and only giraffe had button eyes. Worried of the choking hazard, I begged the sales lady to order me a giraffe with the sewn-on eyes. She probably thought I was nuts, but checked anyway and found Pluffies no longer available to order. What was on the sales floor was the last of the product they would carry - for - ev - er. I stood there for about 10 minutes looking down at the giraffe, his button eyes watching the lone tear that ran down my cheek, while Michael Bolton's "How am I supposed to live without you" played overhead. Then, I placed him back among his zoo Pluffie friends. Bye, bye forever Giraffe. I hope you find a happy home where the children won't choke on your eyes.

I was on a mission. Now on to Plan C. I got back online and after hours and hours of searching, found out that Ty stopped making Pluffies with sewn-on eyes. I found a lady on eBay who had stocked up on these Pluffies and had four giraffes left in stock. Smart lady she was. It's funny how when someone stops making something, it instantly costs three times the original price tag to purchase. My original $7.99 obsession became a $20 inconvenience. I sat in front of the computer, switching the Quantity back and forth between one and three...one, no three. No, Phaeton will flip if I spend $60 on three of the same stuffed animal. But what if we buy one, it gets dirty, and we have to endure 45 minutes of uncontrollable screaming while it's in the washing machine? Three. But what if she doesn't even consider it her lovey, then I will have wasted 60 precious dollars on a dumb toy?

I bought one. Then I found an online retailer with the button-eyed Pluffies for $4 each. I figured if we have a meltdown while Thread Eyes is bathing, Button Eyes will hold us over in the short run. So, I bought two, just in case. After inspecting them, I realized the button eyes aren't going anywhere. I think they are quadruple-sewn in. So, my choking hazard neurosis was completely unwarranted and not necessary. Then, with the help of Shay, I named them all Raffee. Adeleigh was going to appreciate the headache Raffee inflicted on Mommy because of how awesome, and soft, and not a choking hazard Raffee was! I had it all planned out.

Its funny how no matter what possibilities you plan and prepare for; you never really know what the future holds. I've learned time and time again, I can't force something to be, just because that's what I planned. So, no matter how much I tried making Raffee Adeleigh's lovey, she just wasn't ever that attached to him. She didn't mind his presence, but that sense of longing and needing him wasn't quite as apparent as I had anticipated. Pacifiers on the other hand - those have become a hot commodity in the Gaglio household. If there's a paci anywhere within 10 feet of Adeleigh's face, she'll find it. She'll double fist her pacis and switch every few minutes, just to keep it interesting. And fortunately, the paci she's attached to costs about $4 for a 2-pack, so replenishing our stock doesn't break the bank.

So here we were, with 2 extra Raffees sitting in their bags, un-needed and un-loveyed in the closet. Life goes on. More babies are born. So, out come the giraffes into baby gift bags, given to other adorable children, in other homes, where they hopefully will be loved.



And then, for the first time the other night, I saw the sweetest thing. And every night and naptime since, I've caught the two of them snuggling close, clutching on tight to one another. So I guess after a year of having her one and only Raffee lingering around, she's grown to love him more than I'd realized.

Michael Bolton's "How am I supposed to live without you" played overhead.

Baby Mike Tyson vs. Mommy's leg

There's been so much self-discovery and change with the addition of Adeleigh's budding teeth. She has seven teeth and counting, and she's looking so different with a mouth of growing pearlies. She loves it when we brush her teeth. So much so, that she wails and cries when we're done, as if we've just taken away her privileges and livelihood. I guess it's a good thing she understands the importance of good mouth hygiene at such a young age. So long as she doesn't use those healthy, strong chompers to outlet her frustrations onto the world.

The other night, she took hold of the remote during the middle of my secret indulgence reality show, Bachelor Pad. I quickly tried to replace the remote with a Tickle Monster finger puppet but the smart little cookie noticed. She wasn't satisfied with my swap. She promptly grabbed hold of my leg like a drumstick, placed her mouth on my calf and chomped down as hard as she could. As if biting Mommy is going to put the remote conveniently back into her palms and win her the match.

It's probably a good thing I don't breastfeed anymore.

My sweet boxer baby unleashing her fury on the pink Tickle Monster.

I am still human

There were a lot of things that I put on hold when I became a Mom:

Practicing yoga - Lotus position is about as far as I make it (without even realizing I'm doing it), while playing with my frequently Happy Baby-posed baby.

Watching movies - except for listening to StarTrek play in the minivan, I haven't done much of this. Although when Adeleigh was 4 months old, we took her to see the family-friendly, colorful, comedy True Grit and she screamed during the opening scene. Then she giggled during all of the serious scenes...and there were lots of them.

Reading my Nook - which came in very handy on my maternity leave because I could hold my baby with book resting on my thigh, and flip through the pages without any effort. Since those days, my exposure to reading has been with lift-the-flap and touch & feel books primarily. I've got every single kid's book in this house memorized because Adeleigh makes her daddy and I read every single book to her every single day. I secretly took half of them and stuck them in the back of the closet when she wasn't looking...Something tells me she's going to be a literature-buff, just like her daddy.

Discovering new music - I have Sesame Street and Fisher Price tunes stuck in my head throughout the day. Although, I have noticed that Adeleigh seems to dance more when Mommy's tunes are playing. She must appreciate my ridiculously good taste in music, I guess. :)

Shopping - for anything other than diapers, wipes, Diaper Genie refills, formula and food. I have gotten good at couponing and saving us money on items we already buy. None of that extreme couponing stuff though. Why would you need 108 bottles of generic Excedrin or 54 containers of yogurt, even if it only cost you 8 cents total? That's just not realistic. Instead, I've been stocking up with our 19 boxes of Kleenex, 72 rolls of toilet paper, 100 pens and 48 rolls of paper towels. Phaeton's argument - "As if we have the extra space." But my argument? "I found a good deal........ the last 5 times I went shopping. And now we're set for the next 4 years on those items." And after the next time I go shopping, we'll be set for another 8 years. Phaeton will appreciate my new hobby someday...maybe when we have a bigger place.

I know I didn't have to put all of my hobbies on hold. I'm sure I could've still found time for everything. But I've been so consumed with the discovery of this new and exciting chapter of life, of becoming a Mom, that all of those things have naturally taken a backseat. And I'm okay with that. Because in the process, I've found some new and exciting hobbies to nurture. It's been a year and I've decided that it's time I start easing bits and pieces of those "oldie-but-goodie" loves back into my life, taking a little more "me" time (other than my commute to and from work) and not feeling guilty about it.

So, the other day, I downloaded some new music because it was free. And it was actually pretty good! I was so excited, I listened to the album over and over and over again. Now I'm sick of it, so I need to find something new already.
Then, the other night before bed, I pulled my Nook out of the attic, dusted the cobwebs off and got excited to read my recent purchase, The Art of Racing in the Rain. I tried to turn my Nook on, but the battery was dead after months of not being fondled, so I had to wait another 10 hours while it woke up and re-charged before I could enjoy.
Next, since I had some birthday money to spend, I made plans to take 3 hours of shopping for myself last weekend. I've been so used to finding good deals that I found so much was out of what I would consider a "reasonable" price range. I came home after 3 hours with only 2 items for myself, another bag of diapers and only spent $13.00. Guess I'll just need to go shopping again soon. Bummer (wink wink).
Then, I started Netflixing new movies. Phaeton knows I love French films. So the other day, after Adeleigh fell asleep, he conveniently started watching Heather-bait, a French romantic-comedy called Russian Dolls. Naturally, I was hooked. Now I've got 85 titles in my Instant Queue and am trying to watch every spare moment I have. (This is one reason I haven't blogged in awhile. Also why I love these rainy days so I can stay inside and enjoy.) A few of my French faves - Amelie, Priceless, Happenstance & Heartbreaker.

While I'm still working on finding time for yoga again, I am taking baby steps at re-kindling my relationship with some old-loves (including taking more time to hang out with friends!!!), and I'm finding out how beneficial it really is. And while Mommahood is always going to be full of discovery and learning and making adjustments, I'm at a point where I feel more comfortable (and feel it much more essential) to take a little more time for me. Which, as I've been reminded time and time again, is just fine.

You're one!

Dear Adeleigh,

I can't believe you're one! It feels like it was just yesterday that your Daddy and I held your wobbly, little wrinkly 6 pound 13 ounce body for the first time. Now you're almost walking, starting to talk, eating cookies, talking on your cell phone and taunting Rico with your food. It's amazing what one year holds. All the growth, laughter, smiles, tears, smells, baths, bottles, late nights, early mornings, mistakes, lessons-learned and -learning, the memories. There are just so many of the memories. There were so many leading up to your first breath of life, and so many yet to come. This last year has been life-altering in a way that no one ever could have prepared me for. Life-altering in a way that can only be good, and beautiful.

For your first birthday, we went to the park by our home. We bought you some mylar, helium-filled balloons that you absolutely loved - especially the Elmo one. We were afraid you were going to pop it in your face by smothering him with your kisses and hugs. I'm sorry that I didn't tie your balloons to the picnic table tight enough...I tried to run after them, but by the time I made it ten feet, they were putting Balloon Boy to shame (had he actually been in the balloon). Daddy seemed to think that bringing helium balloons to the park on a windy day had an obvious outcome, but I didn't even consider the possibility.
We ended up switching tables because of how mad I was at that one. Actually, we switched because of the swarm of bees that were wanting to pollenate your perfect, always-gonna-be-my baby-sweet skin. One very persistent bee followed us to our new site and Uncle Pat punched him in the face and drop-kicked him into the lake for you. Did you know if you lift up Uncle Pat's goatee hair, you'll find a fist instead of a chin? You can thank Uncle Chuck Norris for protecting you when you know how to talk.
I'm sorry that the Happy Birthday sign we hung for you broke into 3 pieces when a gust of wind came through. At least we were able to salvage "Happy" and "Day" for a picture with you. Sort of...

After cake and presents, we made our way down to the water fountain. The sign overhead read "All babies and toddlers must wear rubber pants at all times." But we didn't have any rubber pants for you. I don't even know what those are, do you? So we just let you go in your Birthday dress.

My favorite part of your birthday evening was soon after the time of day you were born. I sat in the living room holding you close. Your face smooshed up against my chest, legs straddled across my belly. I remembered that at this time last year, you took up a third of this space. This will always be my favorite way to hold you. We started out sleeping this way. So you could hear a familiar heartbeat and easily transition from womb to life, and so I could always feel your chest rising and know that you were safe. It was a very sweet moment to share with you. One that no gust of wind could've taken away.

Happy Birthday Little One.

A Taste of Fort Collins

I love this town. It's one of the most beautiful places on earth. My 130,000 neighbors must agree. Even Walt Disney agrees - that's why he designed downtown Disney Land after Old Town, Fort Collins. One thing we love is all of the local fare and restaurants. I think we have the most restaurants per capita in the nation, so eating out never gets old.
For my birthday this year, I chose to eat at Bisetti's Italian Ristorante in Old Town. A meal at Bisetti's was long overdue. We used to go there about twice a year for special occasions, but hadn't been since I was pregnant.

Phaeton, Adeleigh and I walked inside, put our name in and were told it'd be a 30-40 minute wait. It'd be well worth the wait, and I had been craving Italian all week, so we were going to wait. We sat down in the bar and asked the bartender for a mug of hot water to warm up a bottle for the little one. Everyone at the bar looked our way. The bartender paused, then said, "Let me see what I can find." He brought back a pitcher of steaming water and took our wine order. I was feeling slightly intimidated. We sat down, I was holding Adeleigh, and we started to sip our wine. I began to question if this was a family-friendly atmosphere and whether or not we should stay. I didn't see any other children. I turned and asked Phaeton if he thought we should leave. I didn't want to disrupt anyone's quiet, romantic evening out. He said, "It's your birthday, who cares what these people think? No one will notice anyway." A lady and her husband walked by and the lady said, "Look! There's a baby in here!" As if a baby in a bar was out of the ordinary. She was being quiet and calm. She really is a very good baby. No matter how much anxiety I feel when we go out in public, she's always been so relaxed and content.

Adeleigh started to squirm, so we tried to entertain her with the plethora of pink things that we lugged into the restaurant, just in case. She was more interested in playing with the crisp, freshly printed wine list and shiny silverware though.

They called our name and sat us towards the back. There was no highchair at the table, so the hostess went to go look for one. I'm pretty sure she had to pull the highchair out of the attic, dust the cobwebs off and find the little Italian mouse family a new home.

We sat down. Phaeton grabbed the knife out of Adeleigh's hand, looked to me and said, "Drink your wine." The two ladies at the table next to us stared and said, "As long as she sits there like a good girl, we all can have a nice relaxing dinner." Adeleigh was being a good girl! A little squirmy was all. I wondered what they'd say if she had a meltdown....Then, she screamed. Not a bad scream, just an "I need some more attention" scream. We tried to distract her by pulling out more snacks and toys. The two ladies switched to a different table. Phaeton saw my anxiety building and said, "Drink your wine."

The hostess came back and said, "Would she like some crayons to play with?" I said, "Thank you, but no. She'll just eat them and then we'll be changing crayon diapers." We ate our appetizer and salad, then our pasta dish arrived. By this point, she was distracted by the chandeliers above. There was a stone-cold couple across the room she noticed and tried to get to smile by throwing her toys on the ground. They weren't amused. Probably because she was throwing her toys right in the path of the oncoming waiter that had their food. I ran over, apologized, picked up her toys, and sat back down. Phaeton said, "Drink your wine."

Then the Zombie growls started. I think she's watched one too many of her dad's movies. She was still being good, just a little loud. And we could tell she was getting tired. I didn't want people to have their nice, date night out interrupted by Zombie-Baby. So, Phaeton ate another bite of his pasta, grabbed the growling child and said to me, "You are not leaving this restaurant until you finish that entire glass of wine and the rest of my pasta. We'll be outside, but take your time." He gave me a kiss. "And Happy Birthday." What a sweet husband he is. I sat there for about ten minutes with my Malbec and two bowls of unfinished basil chicken.

Then, I looked over at the two ladies and was suddenly reminded that while we were in a fancy restaurant, we were still in easygoing, "Save the Poudre", butt-cheek baring Fort Collins. Their Birkenstocks paired with their Coach handbags gave that one away. What other city can you wear socks with sandals, Chacos with a wedding dress, high heels on a bike, cowboy boots with a mohawk and bolo tie and blend in? This is the town where, if someone cuts you off while driving, you never honk your horn. Instead, you blow them a kiss. However, if someone throws a water bottle in the wrong waste receptable, you give them the bird (but probably not where they can see you). I love this town. And people here are friendly and understanding. And I suddenly realized that it didn't matter that we brought our baby to a fancy restaurant. Because this is Fort Collins. And it was my birthday. And I wanted my family there.

I finished my wine. I grabbed the food to-go, grabbed a handful of Bisetti's yummy after-dinner mints (because it was my birthday, I could grab a handful) and walked outside to see my smiling husband and baby waiting for me. I gave them a hug. Then a bare-footed half-naked hippie rode by on his unicycle.

I love this place.

And I couldn't resist -

My almost 1-year-old Adeleigh and my 11-year-old Birkenstocks.

A Baby Bite of Mommahood

Today I realized that I might enjoy playing with Adeleigh's blocks more than she does. I built this awesome rainbow tower while Adeleigh sat by me working on her puzzle. Apparently A-bomb didn't approve because she crawled right over to my tower, disassembled it with one smack, and crawled back over to her puzzle. I had to hold back the lone tear that thought about falling.

After Godzilla fell asleep, Phaeton found me hard at work re-building the rainbow Mega-Block wonder. I'm trying to disguise it as a piece of furniture, so she might not notice it's overwhelming beauty and glory - and so she hopefully will be able to overcome the urge to destroy....

I hired a guard dog to protect its excellence.

I think I can

Didn't finish this until Monday, but I started it Saturday. And Julie, you inspired me to write about it, no matter how crazy I might sound...


Today is Saturday. It's two Saturdays before Adeleigh turns one. The New West Fest is going on in Old Town this weekend. Seven years I've lived here and not once have I gone to New West Fest. Almost one year I've been a Mom and not once have I gone to Old Town with the baby alone. Generally, I've always been one to avoid the crowds, even more so with a baby. When it comes to eating out at restaurants, our family is hangin' with all the 80-something-year-olds eating dinner at 4pm. Crowds mean more crazies, more things to watch out for, more time to wait. But today I took that chance. Alone. With the baby.
Yesterday, Phaeton reminded me that last year, riots broke out during the Earth, Wind and Fire concert at the festival. This morning, he reminded me again. "Just run!" He said. "If you see something happening in the crowd, just take the baby and run the other way." My nerves started taking over as I made the drive to the Mason Street parking garage and couldn't find a spot on the normally less-crowded first floor. I was crossing into unfamiliar territory - the second story of the parking garage. All kinds of scary things happen in parking garages...on the 2nd floor...in the middle of the day. What was I thinking?! I found a spot right by the elevator. But after getting the screaming baby all packed up in the stroller, I didn't take the elevator. Because all kinds of scary things happen in elevators of parking garages, right? I took the walkway, assuming that it would wind around and take me to the first floor. It did wind around, but it took me to a door of the Opera Galleria building instead. So here I am, approaching a door on a narrow walkway pushing a stroller and all I can think is, How am I going to maneuver this one - to gracefully open the door while pushing the stroller and make it through to the other side, alive? I remembered that time in Kindergarten, when the bathroom was all out of paper towels. I tried to turn the doorknob and my hand was too slippery so the knob wouldn't turn. I just stood there in the bathroom crying with wet hands until a teacher came in and opened the door so I made a mad dash outside. I hated that bathroom afterwards....
This moment reminded me of that time, only this one was not as wet, or tearful. But this time, a little boy walking with his family behind me ran ahead and held open the door for me. I guess I didn't need to be so scared after all. The walkway continued winding around and I saw the open stairwell to the right where the family all made their way. Further down the hall was the elevator. Guess I couldn't dodge this one.... Once I made it to the 1st floor, I found the exit and walked swiftly towards it while the boy waited for me and held the door again. Double thanks, little boy. The crowds started to appear on the streets. I headed south to cross Mountain Ave and stopped at the intersection. Everyone else was going. I looked up. The blue man on the street sign means I can walk now, right? Everyone else was, so I made the executive decision to walk. And I made it to the other side. Success!
Adeleigh and I met up with the ladies at Ingredient - Shay, Des, Amber, Val & Baby Brooke. Adeleigh and I weren't alone anymore! If I had to pee, there was someone there to keep an eye on Adeleigh. Someone I knew to open the door for us! We ate lunch, we ate frozen yogurt. We walked around the festival and people-watched. We walked around Old Town. It was a lot of fun! I saw other moms with strollers and admired them. They're probably used to this. They've probably done this thousands of times with their babies. I saw one lady holding a little baby, pushing a stroller that had another baby sleeping inside and crossing the street. She is amazing at multi-tasking!
I remember in the weeks after Adeleigh was born going to Sam's Club with Phaeton and our week-old baby. We saw a Mom (sans husband), dressed in a nice outfit, pushing the bigger-than-normal Sam's Club cart with 2 of her kids sitting in the bed of the cart, 1 younger kid facing out towards her, legs dangling, all while holding a newborn baby that was wrapped in the all-so-familiar hospital blanket. It must come more naturally the more babies you have - to just give birth, put on a skirt, pack up the family and go shopping all in one day. That'd be an eventful day! And so was today.
I was driving home with a sleeping baby, and all I could think was, I can do this. I did it. I made it okay with the baby. And I got out of the house. And I had a much needed day with the ladies. And there were no riots. So I think I can do it again - next year :)