Class of 2006

This past Sunday, we had our 3rd Bradley class reunion, and it is really amazing to see how much all of the babies have grown in the past year. There is nothing like a growing child to really make you feel the passage of time.

The babies are now between 10 and 14 months old, with Evelyn just about in the middle, though she is probably the biggest and tallest of the bunch. It was with a touch of sadness when I realized that we have moved beyond the cute baby lineups on the couches, where they all slumped together and depended on each other's squishy bodies to keep themselves upright. This time, between all 6 cameras going at once (with one family missing), I think probably someone out there got a good picture of all the kids before they quickly scattered. I wonder how the next reunion pictures will look?!

We had these reunions when Evelyn was:

• 3.5 months old -- she is missing from the first picture because we were all at the hospital waiting to meet Rhea!
• 7 months old -- battered by babies on all sides, feverish with a cold, and just reunited with her Mama who just returned from her last-minute trip to New York... yes I am still feeling guilty about that.
  
• 4 days shy of 1 year old!

About halfway through the reunion, as the room got more crowded with arriving parents and babies, Evelyn started to get really fussy and clingy. She's got 5 teeth out now, with 3 more simultaneously on their way, and has definitely been a bit out of sorts lately because of it. She had a great time early on, when there were fewer babies and parents to contend with, but I think she was starting to get a little overwhelmed and overstimulated towards the end. Eventually she found her way to the baby's room and was happily playing with a box of toys in there by herself, away from the crowded living room.

Though I know that this is totally normal, I wonder if she'd be more comfortable in a roomful of strangers if I took her out more on playdates and things like that. Yes, this is mommy guilt rearing its ugly head again, as I tell myself that if I were home more, and took her out more, she'd be better equipped to handle all of life's challenges! When all it is is probably her teething discomfort exacerbated by an understandably overwhelming environment. After all, both John and I found the gathering totally exhausting, as introverts tend to do, even though we had fun.

Evelyn's big birthday party is this Saturday (and it is definitely getting big by the looks of the evite so far), and I wonder if it will be the worst possible way for Evelyn to celebrate her birthday. Hopefully she won't burst into tears when we all sing Happy Birthday to her!