Routines and Adventures

The past few weeks have been a little bit of a blur.  Between working and taking care of Evelyn, I don’t have time for much else.  I have a love/hate relationship with the routine in our lives right now.  I love my routines with Evelyn.  I love nursing her each morning and watching her stare contently into my eyes.  I love how her face lights up when we pick her up from the babysitter’s house at the end of each day.  I love watching her kick her legs and splash water everywhere during her bath in the evening.  I love reading her books before bed.  I love how, when I wrap her up in her favorite blankie, she snuggles into my chest and sighs.  I love watching her sleep, so peaceful and serene.

However, with routine comes monotony.  I’m not necessary the most spontaneous of people, but sometimes I find myself yearning for a change.  This may seem a bit strange.  I mean, our lives just underwent complete upheaval with the arrival of a new baby.  Nothing is the same as it was before.  And yet, I’m tired of the routine.  I want to do something crazy, something different.  In answer to this, Pat and I decided to take Evie on a few adventures.  First, we went blackberry picking.  We had fun getting our fingers all purple and enjoying the fresh air and sunshine (not to mention the delicious berries!).

Next, we took a trip to Lima, OH to visit Pat’s grandma.  Evie loved getting to finally meet her Gigi Marker!  We had lunch at Gigi’s favorite restaurant and then hung out at her house for a while.

The following week, we took Evelyn to the Columbus Zoo one evening.  It was a gorgeous outside and we really enjoying seeing all the animals.  I think Evelyn’s favorite was the elephant :)

Over the weekend, we took Evie to her first festival – The Blessed Sacrament Corn Roast in KY.  Unfortunately, I think that the sheer amount of people and commotion was a little overwhelming for her and she got a little fussy.  Everyone took turns holding her, and she finally dozed off in Kiki’s arms.

The next night, we went out to dinner for Kiki’s birthday to Buckhead’s Mountain Grill with my parents, Holly, Matt and Adam and finished the night off walking around at Newport on the Levee.  Pops insisted on holding Evie while we walked around Barnes and Noble (she didn’t mind – she likes pulling on his mustache).  It was fun to get to hang out with everyone and I liked that Evelyn got to spend time with her grandparents, Uncle Adam, Aunt Holly and Uncle Matt.  They are an important part of my life and I want them to be an important part of hers as well.

It was a busy weekend and we all had a great time.  When we got home on Sunday, we fell right back into the same routine, but I didn’t mind.  It was comforting and I was thankful.