Lesson #3 "Be a Social Butterfly", part 1

Apparently nine months in my uterine "cocoon" was enough for little Liam, because he is now a social BUTTERFLY! It all began on his one week birthday when he decided to join Daddy in his civic duty and vote. It was his first outing in the stroller, and we walked a whopping 3 blocks to the retirement home and back. And in that half hour, we met two different families living nearby with little ones. Liam definitely is a good way to meet people.

The first (unofficial) restaurant he visited was at about two weeks when we traveled up to St. Joe for Grandma Flurry's retirement dinner at the Sante Fe Steakhouse, a strange culinary hybrid of American Steakhouse and Tex Mex. Now Ryan really doesn't want this trip to count as his first restaurant experience (he was holding out for Tanners, which wouldn't come until a week later), so we'll call it a "celebration" instead.

Jackstack BBQ was the official first restaurant that Liam visited, along with Grandma, Jodi, Jeff, Shannon and all three cousins! We felt very lucky to be seated in our own private room, no doubt picked specifically for us when we told them there would be four boys under four years old. It was a wonderful night, but apparently Liam was so excited to go out that he became exhausted and slept through the ENTIRE meal and all photo opps afterward. Still, we all had a great time, celebrating Grandma's retirement and remembering Grandpa Dolph.

Now for those of you who don't know, I get to spend every Saturday morning at First Watch having breakfast with an amazing group of women. We have been meeting for years and at two and a half weeks, Liam was only the second guy to join this special group (Ryan is allowed to crash it every once in awhile). He showed up in an especially sassy outfit with perfectly coiffed hair and within minutes had a total blowout up his back and through the clothes. Best laid plans. But the ladies understood and even oooed and ahhed when they saw that Ryan had changed his diaper, done clean-up duty and reappeared with Liam at the table smelling like a rose (or at least ot like poop anymore). Since then, Liam is a regular member of the Breakfast Club and frequently joins Daddy at the hardware store afterwards. He can hang with the girls and boys alike.

I have saved the best for last. Tanners. Most of you know that since Ryan and I were engaged, we have been going to the Waldo Tanners on Wednesday nights. With their half order of mushrooms and WiFi, it was the perfect place to plan the wedding. "Wedding Wednesday" turned to "Wedded Wednesday" after we got married, and then, this Christmas, Shannon gave us Tanners gift cards for "We Need a Night Out Wednesdays." Thanks Aunt Shannon! The neon lights and row of TVs were like a newborn's dream, so Liam continues to love going there. Three times in 7 weeks. He even flirts with our favorite waitress Katie.

If the first 7 weeks are any sign of things to come, our little social butterfly will keep us very busy for years to come. Lesson well learned.