Party in the Park

Saturday was my nephew Aidan's 5th birthday party. I remember going to his 3rd birthday party when I'd first started dating Shawn, and making semi-jokes about what we would name our kids -- I believe Van was the name we thought of for a boy. So now his parties are a kind of milestone for me, something that I use to mark the time that I've been with Shawn, since it's all been flying by so quickly.

This year, of course, we had a real baby to bring to the party with us (last year too, but she was just a little bundle then, and not as hilarious as she was this year). Being the youngest one there, she garnered quite a bit of attention for herself. And despite being in the sun all afternoon, we managed to keep her from turning into a lobster baby. That SPF 70 baby sunscreen must really do the trick.

I couldn't resist buying her a new summery dress for the occasion. Gotta love the bargains at Old Navy! I absolutely love getting to dress her in actual outfits. So often at home and during the week, she just hangs out in onesies since they're so much easier, and really, she's a baby, she doesn't care. But any kind of social event clearly calls for getting dolled up in our very best.

She loved running around on the open grass, and we eventually took off her sandals so she could go barefoot on the grass, which took some getting used to. She had a blast just wandering the park with either Grammie, below, following her around, or Daddy or one of her aunties and uncles. She even shared one of the birthday cupcakes with me, which was delicious. I must find out where SIL got them from. 

She also spent a lot of time on her butt as she tried to navigate the uneven park terrain. It's so funny to watch babies just plop on their butts over and over again, and get back up and keep on running. I suppose there's a lesson in there somewhere for us big kids, but I won't get too deep in this post.