SPRING BREAK PART 1

My first Spring Break without my parents was a success. I was pretty nervous about going without them. "What if the car breaks down?" "What if we get lost?" "Who is going to calm me down when I freak out?" This all may seem a little extreme for a 19-year-old, but I tend to have little freak out sessions when things don't go as I expect them to.

W and I started our vacation on Sunday... sort of. He made the trek from the east side, and we sat around watching movies all day and working on schoolwork. It was really nice to just chill out together for the day, considering we would be on the go for the next week. I had a normal Monday, and he stayed at home with Libbey. I think the two probably spooned all day and watched action movies, but he didn't disclose too much information.

We left the house around 8 on Tuesday morning to set out for St. Louis. I drove first considering I woke W up about three hours before he would have regularly started his day. We listened to Tell All by Chuck Palahniuk for about three hours before I gave up trying to understand what was going on - chirp, rawr, skiirt! A quick stop at a gas station/McDonald's combo for lunch (we made PB&J, but W really wanted a hash brown and I really wanted a Shamrock Shake... so we splurged) and we were on the road again. We made it to St. Louis around 2:30 - just in time to see little Lucy wake up from a nap! 

I am so in love with that little baby. It's really silly... I know that moms and dads always love their kids unconditionally from before they're even born, but I never expected to love her this much! I was always excited to meet her... feeling her kick and bop around in Katie's belly, buying her sweet little clothes and kick-ass cowboy boots, seeing her ultrasound pictures... And I knew I would love her; she is my first niece/nephew-type baby... I guess I just was anticipating so much unconditional love. Even when she spit up on me a little (although it seemed like a bucket of puke at the time), I still wanted to snuggle her up. I just cant get enough of her. Holding her, kissing her face, seeing her smiles... it's hard to look at her and not say things like "You are so smart, Lucy. You are the smartest, sweetest, most beautiful and kind baby in the whole world." I know it sounds a little fruity, but it's totally how I feel.

Wednesday we met up with Katie's sister Kristen and her daughter Lilah to visit the St. Louis Zoo. Lucy slept the whole time... she didn't even wake up to see the baby elephant (who was almost as adorable as Lucy). But we still had a really great time. We ate lunch at Fitz's. Since Spring Break is during Lent, I usually let myself indulge in a sweet or two during the week. I had limited self-control at Fitz's and ordered a huge root beer float. No regrets.

Thursday we made a quick stop at Old Navy to use my Gap Employee Discount for the very first time. Also no regrets. We had to leave pretty early in order to make it to Chicago before rush hour, so the morning was low-key with as much baby snuggling as possible before we had to leave.