In one of my earlier blogs, I recalled how unnatural it felt to get back to regular routines after having a baby. Regularly occurring events seemed to loosen their hold for a little bit. But in spite of that attitude, a regular tradition snuck in anyway. I had a birthday.
We started the day with breakfast at Depot. My stomach was still pretty shaky at this point, but I thoroughly enjoyed my biscuits and gravy. Avery slept through most of it, just fussing once or twice. My memory's fuzzy now, but I'm pretty sure I nursed her for awhile and ate with my other arm. Our waitress offered to take this picture for us when we told her this was our first time out and about with the baby. I remember she told us that she had a niece with the same name, but they spelled it something crazy, like Avreigh. It's weird for me to look at this picture and see her without a blanket, but it was the middle of July. She seems so small and vulnerable in this picture, like she just needs to be all wrapped up, but if I'm remembering the summer heat right, that would have been the wrong thing to do.
For my birthday, I got to do something I'd been looking forward to doing for a long time- I got to introduce Avery to her church family. She'd gotten to meet a couple of them already, but this was the start of her training in church fellowship and learning how the body functions. Sure, she slept through the largest part of it and cried through the rest, but it was still an important step for us. Family worship. "The gathering of the saints." I couldn't have asked for a better present.
After the service, we made the drive to King Hill to spend the rest of my birthday with my family, especially my sister who I hadn't seen in over a year and who needed lots of quality time with Avery before she went back to Auburn. My dad and stepmom and stepsiblings also made the drive over. We all went the the Winery for lunch. It's always a treat to spend time with my family, and I love when it happens in Glenns Ferry. I'll never be over that place.
After lunch we went back to my mom's place, and Aunt Andrea got a turn with the baby. They took a nap together, and I took one too. Another wonderful birthday present.
