Faculty Holiday Party

Last night was the JMU faculty holiday party. Unfortunately, Wes had to work and couldn't make it. I decided to take the challenge of going at it alone with Gavin and Vivian. I know, what was I thinking?!?! I asked one of my colleagues, Alison, if she would be willing to co-parent with me. She agreed and we headed over to the party around 5pm. When we first arrived, Gavin and Vivian were a bit unsure about the whole situation. They stood right next to me while I sat on the couch. People were talking to them and they would act shy. This lasted all of 4 minutes. They quickly became comfortable with everyone. Almost too comfortable at times. Sadly, Alison and I were so busy chasing them around the house that we didn't get to take any photos. 

Highlights of the evening included:

• Vivian and Gavin "hi-fiving" with Clayton (one of my co-workers) and a few other random people.
• Gavin walking up to people who were in conversations with others, offering his sippy cup to them, and then snatching it away before they could get close to it.
• Vivian eating more than Gavin, which is completely unheard of! Gavin was just too busy to eat.
• Gavin hearing Vivian cry in another room and running towards her.
• Alison carrying Vivian around with a paper cup full of plain spaghetti noodles. Vivian carried that cup around the rest of the night and all the way home.
• Gavin sitting on the steps to take a rest from running a muck. 
• Vivian leaving her hair in a ponytail the entire 2 hours.
• Gavin wanting to go up and down the stairs repeatedly.
• Vivian waving to people, even when they were right next to her.
• Gavin doing his warrior yell while running from room to room.
• Vivian signing "thank you" when someone called her beautiful (after being prompted by me of course)
• Gavin trying to feed Toni (another co-worker) his piece of bread.
• Both of the letting other people pick them up. They fussed a little bit, but overall, they did really well with strangers holding them.
• Alison patiently following one or both of them around. Thank you Alison!
• Another little girl who was there, Ava, calling Gavin and Vivian "babies" even though she is only 2 months older than them. Too cute!
• Vivian and Gavin being asleep by the time we made it home.
• Vivian still holding onto her noodle cup while sleeping in the back seat.

Overall, it was a success. I didn't get to eat much and I don't think that I had more than a 2 minute conversation with anyone. But other than that, it was a success.