It won't be like this for long...

There are those days you hope to forget and the ones you pray you'll remember.  Today was one of the latter, so before I collapse into bed in exhaustion, I just have to record a few thoughts.

We started potty training on Wednesday, and by today I was confident enough that we went out in only undies and only switched the undies (and not the entire outfit) once.  We attended my cousin's wedding and left the house at 2:30, not to return until 9:40.  It was a long time out, but Lily did great!  (More on potty training in a later post.  That is a story all its own!)

I missed most of the wedding because first Connor had to eat and then Lily to potty (her first ever potty in a big toilet, let alone one in a public bathroom!).  But it was the reception that was the interesting part anyway.

We got there and had to kill over an hour before the wedding party arrived.  That didn't stop the DJ from playing some music, and Lily was begging BEGGING to go out on the dance floor.  Instead, we ran laps from the dance floor, up the stairs, through the bar, down the stairs, across the dance floor and around over and over again.

By the time we ate, Lily was a mess.  Not only had she watched WAY too much TV that day (movies are her motivator for pottying), but she'd also had too much sugar (marshmallows are the 2nd best motivator) and no nap.  Not a great combination.  But with a little food in her, she was ready to hit the dance floor.  

It was pure torture to watch the bride and groom's first dance.  Then there were the dances with parents that equaled sheer agony.  

FINALLY, my little one's moment came, and she got out on that dance floor!  She specially requested that Aunt Kim accompany her after she'd gotten warmed up:

Good thing she wore a twirling dress.  (That's how she evaluates whether a dress is good - whether it twirls to her satisfaction.  Many a tear has been shed in our house while getting her dressed because the selected dress doesn't twirl to satisfaction #mommyofagirlygirlproblems):

Eventually she let both of her aunts dance with her - Aunt Kayla in the teal and Aunt Kim in the black.  I love this picture paired with the next one.  First Lily gives her aunts dancing instructions:

Then they all dance together!

Obviously other people danced too.  Like my grandparents, both in their 80's:

And finally, Connor had a good time too.  He got passed from one family member to the next (and there were PLENTY wanting a baby snuggle).  The joke was that my kids had been so bad (crying, overtired, emotional, and otherwise high-maintenance) the last 2 times we'd seen my brother that he will probably never EVER think having kids is a good idea.  So I snapped this picture.  If Connor and Lily end up never having a cousin via the Tony Deichmann branch, they have only themselves to blame.  However, you have to admit, Tony and Kayla would take a beautiful family picture with a baby of their own someday when they're ready.  At least that's what I think.

When we finally got home, we got Lily to bed and within 3 minutes she yelled that she needed to potty.  She sat on her potty chair for almost an hour.  It was 10:55 by the time I convinced her to get off and that trying for an hour to poop was probably long enough.  I coaxed her off by promising that we'd just "take a break" from trying, and come back and try again later.  As it turned out, I got her jammies back on, sat in the rocking chair holding her, and sang only 2 songs before she was out cold. 

Dancing as hard as she did is exhausting.  We have another wedding with a dance tomorrow.  I think I'll make sure she gets a nap.  I have no doubt that she'll need it!