Rebekah's Sleepover

Rebekah spent the night at a friend's house last night. Our friends had been asking if we wanted her to come play and spend the night with their 3 year old little girl, and we decided to graciously accept the offer. Another friend was having her birthday party that night, so we decided to live it up "old school style" (you know, before kids) and go out without worrying about getting home to relieve the babysitter.

This wasn't the first time I spent the night away from Rebekah. She stayed with her Grammy and Grampy in September while Adam and I went to the ACL Music Festival in Austin. But this was different. This time, we came home to our own house without a kid in it.

I had a few realizations with this experience:

It was nice to be able to go out and not worry about what time we needed to go home.
It was nice to wake up this morning and not have to worry about changing a diaper.
It was nice to eat breakfast at the coffee table and not worry about little fingers getting into it.
It was nice to set my coffee down on my bedside table and not worry about it being pulled off and spilled on a little head.
It was nice to leave the closet door open while trying to get dressed and not worry about all my shoes being dragged out of the closet.

BUT....
I missed my morning smiles and giggles. (I'm not a morning person, so this definitely helps with coping with the morning diaper change-see above.) :)
I missed Rebekah running around in circles in the crib while I'm trying to grab her to get her out.
I missed how excited she gets when she's eating and communicating - when she knows she's told me what she wants and I understand it - she gets so happy.
I missed her morning exploration of the house, finding all her toys and getting them ALL out again.

Most of all, I realized that I have more fun with Rebekah (and Adam, of course) than without her. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the chance to catch up with friends and had a great time last night! But, our little family has a lot of fun together, doing regular everyday things as well as big fun family outings. I'm just happier and enjoy life more when we are all experiencing it together.

Can't believe how much this little girl has changed our life. :)