Birthdays and Baptism

We got Audrey dunked on Sunday, and according to her Grandma Sullivan, it was the most beautiful baptism she'd ever seen.  Audrey (and her sister and cousins) were dressed beautifully and behaved really well during the hour-long service leading up to her baptism, and then she smiled and was adorable during the baptism.  She tolerated everything really well, including being brought up and down the aisle for the congregation to look at her, and gazed with those big blue eyes as one of the choir members sang "God loves you" directly to her.  She typically gets very still and concentrates whenever she hears music, so to have this command performance, well, you could just tell by the look on her face she loved it.  Mommo and Poppo stood up to introduce us to the congregation, which was very special for me.  About the only person missing from the event was Travis's brother, which I guess just ends up being another incentive for him to not end up in his current situation again.  Anyway, it was really beautiful, meaningful, and loving, and even though it was a tiny bit stressful to get up in front of everyone, it was really great. Since it was Pentacost Sunday, the church's "jazz ensemble" played instead of an organ, and it was certainly festive!  Emily is probably going to be confused when we go to church and there isn't all of her grandparents and cousins, and saxophones and tubas there.  She seems to be picking up some religion at her daycare, because today while she was eating her snack in the dining room I overheard some chatter and asked what she was thinking about.  She said, "I thinking about praying."  I asked who she was praying for, and she said for her friends.  Then she said she had a friend Jesus, and I smiled and said that was really nice.  I wonder the two-year-old mind thinks Jesus is, but she seemed happy and I love to see her thinking about other people.  What a nice girl!  Tonight she played piano for me, and it was really, really fun.  She stopped to kiss me on the cheek a couple of times, and said I'm "so nice." Not much could make me happier!

So, anyway, after the service, we went to a park to have lunch, and that's about when my nerves gave out and exhaustion set in, which is a bad combo when hosting a gathering of family.  Audrey had had a pretty hard night the night before because it was so hot, and we didn't have the A/C on yet, so she was tired and I was tired (Travis claims he was too, but one night of being awakened once - not even getting out of bed - doesn't count). Emily bonked her chin on a picnic table pretty good, so it seemed like I spent the entire gathering trying to end the tears of one girl or another.  Audrey took little catnaps where she could, but every time she woke up someplace unfamiliar she'd scream and be hard to calm down.  It was hot and windy, and it took me 45 minutes to get my lunch eaten because I had to keep taking care of kids -- and then I bit the inside of my cheek AGAIN and it bled and it became just too hard to keep eating so I gave up.   I wanted to take her picture with her cake, but she was so unstable on the picnic table (not that she's a great sitter anyway) that she fell over backwards and hit her head, so she screamed some more.  Then, I went to change Audrey's diaper while she laid down in the stroller on her comfy outfit, and she peed all over it.  I lost it, between the stress of the day and the frustration with trying to get my lunch eaten, and then the laughter that ensued from everyone, it was awful.  I know there's nothing else to do in that situation but laugh, but I didn't like feeling like I was on display for everyone to witness every roadblock thrown in my way. I don't know if it was the wind or what, but certain family members couldn't understand me at all and I had to keep repeating and shouting at them to be heard.  The outfit that she soaked was the only change of clothes that I'd brought for her, so even though she has tons of cute summer things that I've been waiting for her to wear, she spent the rest of the day in an ugly onesie that I had stashed in the car just in case. Travis was finally helpful by taking her away from the shelter and sitting with her until she fell asleep, but that's about all he did to manage the situation.  He had been great help getting everything to the park, but once people started eating he just shut down and didn't do anything.  I cried a little, but mostly I was just angry, frustrated, and exhausted.  But everyone else had a great time and was very supportive of me, and Audrey received very thoughtful and lovely baptism gifts.  Emily and her cousins played on the playground and the sand volleyball court (a vast expanse of sand!! what fun!!), so they were happy.  Everyone enjoyed talking, and the food was good, so besides me being a basketcase and not being able to manage my overtired state or my exhausted children, it went just fine. 

Oh yeah, and I turned 30 last week.  We did nothing, except I didn't have to cook supper that night.  Travis is turning 29 on Friday, so he's taking the day off to go biking and then going to a bachelor party that night, and on Saturday night, we're having his co-workers over to celebrate.  I suppose we could've done something for my birthday, but I didn't feel like planning it and doing all the work for it, especially when it seems I have to do all the work for his birthday so soon after.

Someday I'll escape this sea of sleeplessness and not be such a snarky, unpleasant person. Maybe.  I'm told I used to be fun, and I know tons of really great people, so it's probably true.  Let's hope my 30's are all uphill, and that these minor woes turn out to be the worst of my issues!!