Sad but true, Maddi sleeps best in the middle of a chaotic party. When she was six weeks old, we took her to a friend’s wedding. She slept on the two-hour drive up, the two-hour drive back, through most of the ceremony and through all of the loud reception.
This weekend, Nana and Poppa threw one of their legendary parties. Friends, relatives and neighbors dined, drank, and rocked out to live music. Maddi was no exception. Before the party began, she was fussy and gassy. As guests started arriving, she fell promptly asleep, and when she woke up, she was in a much better mood.
Our pint-size princess spent the night passed from woman to woman until she had been held by just about everyone in the small town of Oliver. One neighbor rocked her and cuddled her while I ate. Another took her for a whirl on the makeshift dance floor, a.k.a. the Kreut driveway. Having not burped very well (the wee one hates being burped and is violently resistant), Maddi wasn’t at her best, but once the dancing began, she was as happy as a lark. Whether it was Patsy Cline or bebop or Elvis, Maddi bounced happily around in various arms and wound up the night being sneakily burped along to the music whilst whirling around in her mommy’s embrace. Her little eyes were bright and happy long after other babies would have been tucked into their little beds.
It could be the soothing clamor and noise, or it could be the sheer amount of people around to comfort and cuddle her, but Maddi definitely likes to party. Nothing cheers her up faster than a large gathering of people, and if there’s music, well, that’s just the icing on the cake.
And here it is, Maddi’s 10-week picture, all dolled up for the party: