Golden Birthday, Golden Showers

Olivia turned 13 months on the 13th, and we celebrated this marvelous Golden Birthday without even realizing it!  I had arbitrarily decided that we were going to have a Fun Day that day and then realized a couple of days later that it had been a milestone day all on its own without my designation.  What luck!  What fun!  What adorableness!

First, we went to Me & Moms to buy Olivia her first pair of practical, wearable shoes.  Of course she had shoes before this, but he had the kind of ridiculous shoes that eager baby shower attendants buy in anticipation of tiny baby girl feet.  So, they're cute (I'm talking to you, Dickensian patent-leather dress boots!), but they're not good for actual play time.  I intended to be efficient, frugal, and pragmatic on this errand, but instead I went nuts.  Livy now owns 3 pairs of shoes from the consignment rack (black Mary Janes, red Keds, and black Vans-type sneakers) and then two pair of brand-spanking-new Robeez.  It makes sense to go wildly over budget if you're getting a deal, right?  Right?  And, hey, can I sell you a bridge when I'm finished buying these here fancy shoes...?

Then, after our shopping spree, we went to play at the botanical gardens near the Ballard Locks.  It's the kind of park folks usually just walk through, so there is usually a lot of space for crawling wildly and chasing each other around trees.  We especially like playing there on the weekdays when it's even more private so that I don't feel so stupid crawling around chasing after Livy and screeching "I'M GONNA GET YOU!" over and over again.

Well, wouldn't you know, but I did get her!  I don't think she minded it.

The stroller didn't mind getting gotten, either.  Livy likes to pay it forward.

Later, after a luxurious afternoon nap, Olivia and I met our friend Breanne for dinner at Bluebird Homemade Ice Cream and Tea Room on Capitol Hill.  No, they don't serve dinner, unless you count a scoop each of peanut butter and jelly ice cream and chocolate pudding ice cream dinner (Theme: "food flavored like other food"), which we do.  Breanne had wanted to meet Livy for a long time, and we tried our hardest to impress her.  First, Olivia welcomed a visit from the poo fairy, which required a trip to the ladies' room for a quick change.  Now, for as charming as this ice cream shop is, it is not built for babies in the least.  Not only did I have to carry Livy in her stroller down some tricky stairs to get to the place (Thanks, gawking hipsters, for not offering to help!), but the bathrooms have no changing tables, no counter space, and filthy, sticky floors.  So, I laid down a couple of sheets of The Stranger, changed her, and returned to the table, where I promptly spilled chocolate ice cream directly onto the sliver of ultimately unsalvagable white tank top peeking out from under my purple shirt.  Then, after our meal and some good slurps off of her sippy cup, I discovered that Livy's shorts were wet.  Now, given her poor cup handling skills I figured that she was just covered in water as I pulled her onto my lap.  Then I felt the familiar warmth of baby pee spreading down my leg.  So, after another trip to the newsprint-covered bathroom floor, Breanne and I hauled the baby and stroller up the stairs, hugged gingerly goodbye, and I rushed Livy home to scrub the transferred ink from her tush and do an emergency load of laundry.  I can't help but think that we impressed Breanne with our wit, charm, and aborbency.

But we put that chaos behind us.  Oh, look, here it is taking a commemorative photo!

So, it was a memorable birthday, even though we didn't remember it at the time.