Eden's Travels: Day 7: Eden's Sip-n-See!

On Sunday, Eden got to meet lots of friends and even had her very own party! To begin the day, Eden, her Granddaddy and CC, Courtney, and I went to church at St. Mark's - the church I grew up in. (I was even baptized there 30 years ago next month.)

As soon as we came in the door (and I must add that Courtney, Eden, and I were there before the service started, much to the surprise of Eden's grandparents), Eden met her first new friend - my childhood friend Heather Sullivan Wise.

During the service, Eden's CC held her and tried to pay attention to the service a bit. There were lots of oohs and ahs over the cute baby, and Eden did a fantastic job of sitting through the service. She stayed awake, alert, and quiet the whole time except for sleeping through the sermon. We told the pastor it was because he had such a soothing voice.

After the service, we got to visit with the Wise family for a bit. Little Clayton is just not so little anymore. When I last saw him, Heather had to prop him up in the corner of the couch so he could sit up -- on Sunday, he was scooting around like a big boy.

Of course, on the way out of church, we had to stop for a quick photo, in the same spot where we took family photos at Whitney's wedding just last summer. How quickly things change! Now, in this photo, there are two new people in the family, Courtney and Eden.

After a short rest at home, Eden was ready for her first party!!

Her CC's good friends Ms. Janet Lee, Ms. Marcia Oden, and Ms. Pam Kirby along with my college roommates Mica and Mandy helped throw Eden the cutest Sip-n-See. Apparently a sip-n-see is a southern tradition, where you get together to sip tea and see the baby ... what a cute idea!

I had to include the following picture because it really showcases Eden's personality now. After Eden gave a huge smile for the camera, the handful of ladies in the room gave a big applause and shouts of glee - which of course scared little Miss Eden and resulted in this face ...

The hostesses did such a cute job -- pink roses, pink punch, yummy cakes including pink strawberry cake. Do you see a theme?

And, we used Eden's special cake knife - a gift from Mrs. Shields. It came with the sweetest poem describing how Eden will use this knife at each birthday and then at her wedding some day. We thought it appropriate to use at her very own party.

Eden even had a new party dress to celebrate her first party. Here we are getting ready for everyone to arrive - Ms. Janet, me, Eden, her CC, and Ms. Oden.

Eden and Ms. Rebecca

Then, everyone started to arrive. Here's my childhood friend Mary Markham Williams' first glimpse of Eden.

I love this photograph mainly because two of my dearest friends are with me and Eden and also because Eden looks like a cute, little baby doll.

Eden's CC and my godparents Aunt Hazel and Uncle Devon had a great time admiring Eden.

After everyone visited for a bit, there were presents to open for Eden. While I've heard a true sip-n-see is different from a baby shower because you just get together to look at the baby, how sweet is it that people brought presents to help celebrate Eden's arrival?!

Eden also got to meet some friends her own age, including Miss Caroline Gibbs, daughter of my college friend Jennifer.

Eden's sip-n-see was also a wonderful excuse to get together so many great friends. From left to right: Eden's Aunt Courtney, my college friend Jill Meacham Dale, Heather, Jennifer and her daughter Caroline, Mandy and her daughter Caroline, and Mary.

Here are all the sweet gifts Eden received. The loving welcome she recieved during her first weekend in Mississippi was wonderfully overwhelming.

By the end of the party, Eden was tired out. Ms. Becky had the magic touch -- somehow when everyone ended up in the back room looking at all the gifts, this is how I found Ms. Becky and Eden still in the front living room.

Ms. Becky, who has been around babies and kept the nursery for decades, gave Eden the sweetest compliment. She said, "You can tell Eden is really well loved because of how trusting she is when you hold her. She just relaxes in your arms."

I couldn't have asked for anything better.

After the party was over, Eden had her first golf cart ride on her Granddaddy's golf cart. It was a short ride, just around the corner from the Odens' to her grandparents', but it was fun.

At the end of the day, Eden got to meet her Uncle Britton's friends, who had just returned from the bachelor party. Stewart, Brad, Ricky, and Sutton did actually make a special trip upstairs to meet her even though Ricky was the only one brave enough to hold her - makes sense since he's the only daddy in the group.

All in all, last Sunday was a wonderful day for Eden and for me as her Momma. I had so been looking forward to having her meet all of these important ladies in my life. The day was more than I could have hoped for. Here's to hoping that her sip-n-see was just the start of many more fun events with all our friends in Mississippi.