Out for a picnic

Today, we decided to go out for a picnic. So, we loaded up the car with the stroller and the diaper bag filled to capacity with anything that Molly may need in a 2 to 3 hour time span...that is A LOT of stuff by the way. We got an ice chest for the sandwiches and cold drinks and headed out to find Dutch Gap Conservation Area just south of where we live.  Here we are at "Pocahontas Point" where we had lunch...it's as far as we got this time.  Next time, we hope to be able to go for a hike and see much more.

This is a great spot to just relax near the James River and enjoy the peaceful surroundings, take in a little historical tour, go for a hike or do some bird-watching. We found a nice shady picnic table near the bluff overlooking the river where we enjoyed a nice lunch as we watched the occasional boat or jet ski pass by down below. There were just a few families walking together enjoying the moderate weather and other people on bikes or reading on a nearby bench... just enough people to make it enjoyable and not too crowded at all.

Molly did just fine for the most part. We put sunscreen on her and she wore a little hat, but we were in the shade from the huge trees most of the day. We also wanted to protect her from any mosquitos, so we used her stroller net for the first time... although, I never really noticed any bugs, but being near the water, you can't be too careful with a baby. For about an hour or so, she did great, just hung out with us looking all around, taking in the scenery and smiling a lot... then, suddenly, it happened.

It came over us like a sudden storm off the coast of baby nightmareland....raining real tears.  There was little warning, so no real chance to run for cover.

No, the weather was fine...it was Molly.  She erupted into a fever pitch cry and it only got louder from there. When she is hungry or disgruntled for any reason, LOOK OUT! We quickly found that she was hungry, so we fed her and the baby monster slowly turned back into our beautiful sweet little angel straight from heaven again. This, of course, was not a moment we wanted to treasure with photos, so no, there are no photos of that!  Although, they would be useful later on if she gives us grief in her teenage years.  Hmmm...maybe I'll take a few the next time she has an outburst?

Aw, how cute!  She really is a sweetheart and easy-going most of the time.  Each time she flashes a gummy smile at us, we would do absolutely anything for her.  When she cries like she did today, we would do absolutely anything to make her stop!

You'd never know that sweet angelic face could send two full grown newbie parents into a tailspin to frantically find the cure, the answer, the bottle or binky that will quiet the baby beast back into the baby angel as fast as possible.