A Birthday at McDonalds & a hot Date

Matthew went to a birthday party yesterday. It was the first time that he was invited to a birthday party where parents were allowed to leave and come back in a couple of hours.

I was totally fine with the idea - until we had to leave! Mike was with me, and was totally encouraging me to leave. After giving the mother my cell number, and telling her where we were going (cause I'm sure she was going to remember that detail while chasing 3 year olds) off we went.

It was funny because there were a lot of kids from daycare there, and they all were either 3 or 4. And, those parents weren't quite sure what to do either. The parents who also had older children were scurrying out like us. The "first timers" were hovering. Some parents decided to stay.

I think the decision wouldn't have been quite as easy if we didn't know all of the kids, but Matt knew pretty much eveyr other child from daycare, and they were so funny to watch. They are so used to following each other and lining up, that when the McDonald's staff wanted them to do something, they would automatically line up just like at school. Hilarious.

We came back early to watch. It was really well organized. The McDonald's staff was fairly young and were great with the kids. I ended up chatting for awhile with the birthday boy's mom. It was a really fun time for all of us.

But ... what did Mike and I do during the hour anda half we didn't spend at McDonald's? We went on a date! Well, a funny one.

We picked up a baby name book at Chapters, and then we went to Starbucks (across from the McDonald's) and we discussed baby names. We basically went through all of the names in the letters we liked, and CAME UP WITH A NAME! This is quite a feat.

Mike and I are on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to names. I really love one name, and Mike said we could go with it. But, I knew he hated it, and as great as it is to get my own way, I don't want my child growing up with her dad hating her name. I mean, how many times in a day do you say your child's name? Not to mention my brother-in-law totally guessed what name I wanted to go with and keeps making fun of it. (I'm not offended. It's akin to a big brother making fun of a name). But, if it was that great a name ... they would both like it.

But, the name we came up with.

Here's the thing. Before I was pregnant, when we weren't trying yet but I knew I was ready, I had a dream that I had a baby girl. And, we gave her this name. The dream stuck with me and I mentioned it the next day to Mike. And, he loved the name. I had even dreamed the spelling up. How weird is that????

So, yesterday one of the names I mentioned was the one from the dream. And, again we both fell in love with it. Spelling and all. How great is that? I'm pretty excited! I'm not telling anyone what it is. Why? Because that is the one thing that want to keep secret.