Currently our typical eating out experience consists of constant rocking of the car seat or taking turns bouncing her on our laps while the other one scarfs a few bites. Conversation is completely out of the question as we have no time to chat between chews and are completely distracted with keeping Julianne happy. As soon as the food has been consumed we are eager to leave the eating establishment before our girl has a total meltdown or is ready to eat herself. Even if we get through the meal without incident, we have spent the whole time waiting for the other shoe to drop. All that to say, it is an undertaking going out as a family. The gear required to leave the house is in itself a load that takes significant energy to haul.
So you can understand how delightful it was when Andrew and I got to go out to dinner alone last week for his birthday. It was our first real date since Julianne was born and although it was hard to leave her, we very much enjoyed ourselves! I got dressed up and made it out of the house without spit up on my shoulder. I was also able to take a purse with me rather than the diaper bag....glorious! We held hands, lingered over our food, and utterly enjoyed an appetizer, entree, and dessert without interruption.
We are truly blessed to have many good friends and family around who love Julianne and are happy to watch her for a few hours. We miss her any time we are away, but also realize that going on dates now and then is important. It is nice to be dating again!
p.s. the above pic was taken at a wedding I was in last weekend. I didn't have a picture of us on our date night but the wedding was another time we took advantage of child care. Just felt I needed to clarify...
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