Friends with Babies [Weekend in Beaufort]

I haven't visited Beaufort this much since I lived there! Living in Florida is making visits "home" so much easier and more frequent! This past weekend, I went up for a very special friend's special day, and got to spend time with another very dear friend. I'm thankful that the friendships begun while in Beaufort haven't tapered off even though I haven't lived there in six years. Both of the ladies I got to spend time with have moved around as well and our lives don't look quite as they did way back when, but somehow, we still find ourselves picking up where we left off and enjoying time together, no matter how much time has passed.

Brooke has been my friend since we were eight years old. We planned our weddings when we were ten (I wanted pastel butterflies to be released at mine... a fact which she shared in her speech at my decidedly butterfly-free wedding eleven years later), expecting then that we would be each other's maid-of-honor. We were, and we got married the same summer, only ten weeks apart (her wedding, more pictures). Suffice it to say, we'd discussed marriage and babies for years and years. On my birthday this year, I got a little envelope in my birthday gift from her with a picture of a positive pregnancy test and a note to "Aunt Lindsay". Over the following months, Brooke kept me updated on her pregnancy, but I didn't get to see her in person until recently. At the end of August, there was a baby shower for her in Beaufort and I was able to drive up for the weekend to be there. 

It was incredibly crazy to feel baby Kauffman kicking around in there, and to see my friend of eighteen years with that mysterious pregnancy glow. 

We had dinner that night after the shower in downtown Beaufort (at Plums) and took our "year" picture there (previous year pictures here).

We finished out the evening by sitting on one of the swings, enjoying the summer breeze over the water and talking about life.

Jillian is my only friend who still lives in the Beaufort area. She lives in Savannah, which is about 45 minutes away, and is close enough to see whenever we're up there. I got together with Jillian and her sweet little daughter Graceanna downtown after church the next day. We walked around talking and laughing at Gracie's antics. Jillian and I have been friends for ten years now, and though we weren't friends as children, she's been a significant part of my life for a long time. We started off in writing class together my sophomore year of high school; I drove everyone there since I was the only one old enough (my two-door Civic was named "the bus" because of that), and that class launched some great friendships. She and I have been to China and Ukraine together, taught a junior high Sunday School class together, spent the entire summer before we were married hanging out, and were in each other's weddings. She's visited me in Spokane and in Cleveland, I've visited her in Virginia, she is planning to visit me in Tallahassee, and no matter where we've lived, she has been a great encouragement. I love that she lives close to Beaufort now and is easier to see on a regular basis. 

Gracie and Jillian in front of the house where Jillian had her wedding reception four and a half years ago.

With a baby asleep in the backseat, we hit the McDonalds drive-thru for some ice cream - I was happy to accommodate my pregnant friend's craving.