Night Away

     This weekend, at just shy of 18 months, Josh and I left Laura overnight for the first time. One of Josh's good friends was getting married, and when we had spoken with the bride and groom earlier this year about whether or not Laura was invited, they said it was fine, "It's not like she's an infant anymore." Hmmm, I thought, if you think our one-year-old is going to be less disruptive than an infant... yeah. I'd rather not be the one to break it to you (on your wedding day, no less) that one-year-olds are hell raisers. So, we decided for the sanity of the bride and groom, as well as our own (mainly mine, since I would likely be the one chasing her around all night) that she would not be joining us. 

     Since Grandma had been bugging to keep her overnight anyway, the new plan was that Laura would be having a sleepover there. Although she is comfortable with my mom, I worried about her because for the last few months she has been going through the shy/ stranger anxiety phase; I don't think she was at a good point developmentally for me to leave her for so long when she felt this insecure. BUT at the same time, after 18 months I felt due for a night off! And I was really looking forward to having some 'adult only time'. So, after going over a lengthy instruction manual on how to operate my child, off we went, leaving Laura at Grandma's. I cried a little when we drove away. And then again when someone brought it up at the wedding. But then I was okay, and actually even started having fun. :)
     The wedding was held at a small resort nestled beautifully amongst the pine trees on the shores of a small lake - a very intimate and rustic setting. We arrived for the ceremony with little time to spare, as Josh informed me as we were getting ready to leave the hotel (we weren't able to stay the resort, sadly, due to financial constraints) that he had left his dress shoes at work. So we made a short pit-stop to rectify that situation, putting our arrival time within minutes of when the ceremony was to start. But, we didn't miss anything, so all was well. The ceremony was held outside overlooking the lake, and although the forecast was threatening thunderstorms, the rain held off until after dinner.

The ceremony was really lovely, and the bride was beautiful.

 

 

 

 

They released butterflies as part of the ceremony. So pretty!

 

     After the ceremony and the wedding party had snuck away for photos, we had dinner in the lovely chalet overlooking the water. Everything was really nice. We stayed until midnight or so and then drove back to the hotel. After a night of very little sleep (but probably not for the reason you're thinking of) we headed back to the resort for the Farewell Breakfast. It was really great being able to get together with all of Josh's friends for the weekend. 

     After breakfast we drove back to my mom's place to pick up Laura. Although I didn't really miss her, I was looking forward to seeing her (and nursing!). When we walked in, she came straight over to me, put her arms up to be picked up, and said, "nursing". LOL. I guess that's all I'm good for. Honestly, I was expecting a little more of a reaction than that...
     She was very tired as she had a late/ short nap, and didn't go to bed for Grandma until 11:30. So, we packed up all our things and headed out. She crashed very shortly after I started the car. Once we got home she seemed her normal self again... until it was time for bed. Mommy and Daddy were very tired and wanted to go to bed early. Going to bed early seemed like a good idea for Laura, too. Except she wouldn't go to sleep. I seemed to have broken our relationship and her trust in me that I would be there for her in the morning. She wouldn't let me leave. Poor monkey. It took a good hour of her crying and me reassuring her over and over that I wouldn't be leaving until she would go to sleep. But she ended up sleeping for about 14 hours once she did. 

    I guess I don't really know how I feel about the whole situation, still. It was very nice to enjoy adult company, but I feel guilty because Laura seemed so disrupted by it all... :/ hmph.