The month started with visitors for the baby goddess of love. Her grandparents came to visit, and it was a fight to get her grandmother to lay her down. I spent the following week convincing my angel that I wasn't deserting her if I set her down to go potty or pull something out of the oven. After I restored her trust in my return, I found myself thankful for a thriving baby and a smidge more sleep.

Then we took our little one on her first long car trip and learned more intersting facts. The opportunities to pull over conveniently are more equally spaced on the turnpike than the combo of 68 and 70. Those stopping points are also less sketchy. This means a hungry baby prefers the first route between the east and west for her needs.

Luckily, she also has a high tolerance for large groups of people. She survived her first family festivity despite the energy of three children I had never met before. I felt bad for the oldest boy because he was quiet and shy, and a few of the other guests thought he needed brought out of his shell. They alternated firing questions at him with telling him to get over it in loud voices because all shy people just have trouble hearing. (Trust me. No one has trouble hearing these people, even when we are hiding on the other side of the house with a door closed.) Holidays are never dull with my in-laws.