It's her party, she can cry if she wants to

Poor Sadie has her first cold. Just in time for her first party. Poor baby! I decided to throw Sadie a shower she could actually attend (also, we were a little pressed for time before her arrival so never manged to squeeze it in then), which winds up being more of a debutante's debut or baby-warming party than a shower, which seems more appropriate for a second baby anyway. Instead of games and gifts, our guests shared wisdom and experience, mother-daughter traditions they held sacred, and advice for our little Sadie going forth into the world. And everyone took a turn holding the baby.



As you can see, she did a lot of sleeping. Or perhaps I should say, when she wasn't sleeping I wasn't taking pictures because she was screaming. She was very stuffed up and it was keeping her from eating as much as she wanted to and that made her very mad. But being mad is pretty exhausting for a ten-day-old, especially a sick ten-day-old, so she would konk back out before getting very far into her outburst.

The rest of us had lots of fun.



Two of my dear girl friends are pregnant, and two of them are moving, so this was a bittersweet gathering for us, the last time we would all be together for a while, and everything is about to change. It was special for me to bring these wonderful women from my family and friendships together like this to rally around my daughter. There were some very important women missing, of course, since not everyone happened to be in Oakland on this particular Saturday in March, but I know they too will have an important influence on Sadie's life, and I am so glad to have so many fabulous female role models for her. My grandma said in her note to Sadie "what a good time to be born female!" I couldn't agree more. You are a lucky girl, Sadie, to have had so many great gals blaze such a good trail for you. I can't wait to see what new paths you discover.

Not to ignore my other child, Jack had a good day, too. Special bonding time with daddy while the girls did their own bonding.

A lot of running around outside, a good nap, some drawing, and some more running. And then he came in and entertained the ladies for a while. Nobody minds when Jack crashes a party. He's a pretty charming guy.