Our daughter, the socialite.

It should come as no surprise, considering the stories I've heard from my mother about how I would come home from morning kindergarten and ask who I was playing with in the afternoon, that our daughter likes to be out and about and among friends. This week was packed full of friends, fun, and firsts including first introductions, first parties, and first birthdays. On Friday, Allie woke me up and requested mother-daughter bonding time while watching the Royal Wedding. She napped while I watched, but we can say 'we were there'...sort of :o). Later that morning, we took another girls' road trip to Apple Blossom country, otherwise known as Winchester, VA to make some long-overdue introductions. Our good friends Jess and Brian were in town with their beautiful new baby boy, Brendan (you may know him as the Jersey Shore Bachelor from our previous post). It was so good to see them and the kids hit it off smashingly, as Will and Kate would say. Jess and I got to talk shop  while the kids did, well, what babies do. They ate, slept, and 'coo'ed. We realized only when both started to lose it that we should document this meeting in case the photo evidence is needed at a future rehearsal dinner slideshow.

You'll have to take our word that it's Allie and Brendan in the photo considering Allie's preoccupied with the ceiling fan and Brendan's in a milk coma, but the moms look good, right?

This week was a very special first for another one of our favorite little guys, Brady. He turned the big 0-1 and Allie was thrilled to make it to her first birthday throw-down to help celebrate.

Happy Birthday, Handsome!

Kim-marie, Allie & I, Gayle (the Birthday Boy's proud Mama), and Brady's Aunt Casey who traveled in from West Virginia to help make his day complete.

Me and my girl.

A closer look at our little party animal...catching flies.

 Another first that we weren't looking forward to, but we knew was coming, was putting our girl in the nursery at church. The more 'with it' she gets, the more she decides she doesn't want to sleep through the service these days (which is probably a good thing). She's had her two-month shots. Easter and all of its new nursery visitors have left. The ladies covering the nursery at our church certainly have more experience with this than I do and are full of love for these babies. There were no more excuses...it was time. We took our pager, our phones full of pictures, held hands, and walked away. We made it through the service without a page and as soon as the postlude, began, we bolted only to find Allie sleeping soundly in the arms of one of the wonderful nursery volunteers. Chris said on the ride home about our trial separation, 'I wouldn't wish that on anyone.' Apparently, he was so exhausted from the effort that he needed an extended Sunday nap when we got home even though it was not on the 'Suz-approved' list of afternoon activities...

Hey Dad...

Dad, wake up...Mama said it's time to do yardwork.

Dad...Dad, she looks like she means it.

One more wake-up call and we did finally get our checkerboard-sized yard in shape. I even helped thanks to our girl's latest talent...napping in her crib during the day. Keeping those treats coming, Al, much obliged!