other dogs go BOW WOW WOW

This past weekend we visited my oldest friend (we've been friends since junior high - she is the only person pre-college I still talk to) and attended the wedding of two friends of ours, both in the state north of here. That meant some driving. Which means by the time we got there, our baby was hungry, hot, and tired. But, she is freakishly good natured, so as soon as we pulled her out of her car seat, she was smiling, and excited to explore (by looking around from her dad's arms) her new environment. And, despite the fact that it was an hour after her bedtime, she felt no need to sleep just yet.

But, at my friend's house is a St. Bernard (that is approximately 8 times the weight of my daughter). And Xena (the dog) was equally excited about having new things to explore. So it behaved in a very dog-like fashion, and barked for joy. Except her barks are loud and deep, and scared my daughter A LOT. So she cried. And we tried to get the dog to be quiet, so it barked more, and she cried some more. (Eventually the dog was quiet, and the baby did fall asleep, and then the dog could bark all it wanted, my daughter didn't care.)

The next morning though, everyone was better rested, and calmer, and Xena was still fascinated by my baby, and me for that matter. So she came up to me and sniffed, and wanted to be petted, which I was anxious to do to avoid another barking incident. I was so proud of my little girl, who was clearly still terrified, but still reached out to poke the dog's eyes and touch the nose (she really just reached out to touch it, but has the aim of your typical baby). It was a big dog. But my daughter took it on with style.

The rest of the weekend was calm in comparison. My daughter looked cute at the wedding, we got the man in charge mad because we moved some chairs so she didn't have to sit in the direct sun, my husband caught fireflies, and we generally enjoyed the beautiful countryside that is around us. It was nice to have a weekend without chores - except now we have to do them during the week. Plus, Sunday was a calling day - so my baby and I were out visiting the good young women of our stake that day. She is a trooper.