Winning.

So I won the prize today. You would think I would be excited. I'm a pretty competitive person and who doesn't like hearing you are at the top. Yeah, not me. Not this prize. If you know me you would know by the glasses and red eyes that I have been battling this pollen, and it has about won. I've always had them but this year has been brutal. Most of the time I look like either I have just done some sort of drug or have cried for the past, oh lets say 12 hours. Anyway after the ever enjoyable and oh so comfortable skin test, the allergist entered the room to declare me the winner. Worst he has seen this season. Whoohoo. Thanks but no thanks. You can keep your medal and the slew of shots that comes with it. I know it sounds like I am whining. I am. But on the good side at least there is a reason for the ridiculousness that has been going on. I left armed with eye drops, oral medicine, nasal spray (which I couldn't fill because insurance wanted to double check with my doctor that I needed it. No, he just wrote it for fun) and a shot schedule. At this point I would have given almost anything if it meant a full nights sleep, going outside for more than 2 minutes, and the return of contacts. Oh and if you come by our place and I am ripping out carpet, tearing down curtains, or shrink wrapping every upholstered item - don't panic, I'm just following doctors orders.

I know you all feel so uplifted by my whiny rantings, but it is just one of those days. One of those times you just feel like saying, "I'm done". E didn't sleep last night. And we have no idea why. She never wakes up and she was up crying for a solid 2 hours but then seemed so happy today. Moms out there, any ideas? On top of the off night we had a friend staying with us. Thankfully she's practically family and understood the craziness and the game of musical beds we all had to play. I also have 3 huge mosquito bites on my face. Who gets bit on their face? Whew. I think I am done. Promise to not be so whiny tomorrow (and if I am I just won't blog) :)

Now as my mom would say "buck up, buttercup". I'll try that tomorrow...

via

For Baby...

No, we are not headed for round 2 yet :) I have a couple friends who are expecting their first and was trying to pull together a list of things that made those first few days, weeks, months a little easier. Either for her, for us, or both. I'm sure I am leaving some or rather alot out. But this is all my mind is good for now....

Nap Nanny- This was a lifesaver for us. Especially since she was a reflux baby. The angle helps with the reflux and the sides cradle her without making you worried about breathing issues. We used this everywhere. I even put it in her crib (only when she was swaddled). It is easy to travel with too. This wasn't something I had originally registered for but I don't know what we would have done without it.

Mamaroo- This was our gift from my parents when we found out it was a girl! It got us through many a night. The constant motion was key for her at 3am. And it has a built in sound machine and ipod dock. Whoo hoo for those precious 3 hour stretches during those early weeks.

Pea Pod- Also something I didn't know to register for. My mom found this and we have LOVED it! We originally used it for the beach to keep the sand and sun away while she napped, but this is now our new travel bed. It zips so you don't have to worry about her escaping and best of all it folds up so small. And added bonus Chris tells her its her first tent. Camper in the making.

Aden and Anais blankets,burp cloths, and sleep sacks- Pretty much anything by Aden and Anais has been wonderful! Their receiving blankets were a staple for us. Especially if you have a summer baby. They are light weight and wash really well. The burp cloths are super absorbent (also necessary for a baby with reflux). Emerson uses their sleep sacks nightly. It puts my mind at ease to not use a blanket and she gets the extra layer of warmth.

Bumbleride Stroller- Another suggestion from my mom. This has definitely been worth the investment :) It collapses easily and compactly. It comes with a tire pump and extra rain shield. It also has a bar that is included to make it car seat compatible.

Playtex Drop Ins - In those first few weeks you will crave anything that makes your life a little easier. These were it for me. Yes you have to by the liners and we don't use them as much anymore, but it was so worth not scrubbing bottle after bottle those first few weeks. Once you are finished cleaning pump parts the last thing you want to do is turn around and clean 8 more bottles. You will quickly feel like you are a permanent fixture at the kitchen sink. Splurge on these.

Pack n Play - This was E's home for the first two weeks. I set it up in the den and I used it as her changing table, her napping place, and her play place. We still use it now when we have guests over and need to turn over her room. It's easy set up and break down.

Mobile - She loves it and you can switch out the cards which is a must with my child who bores seemingly quickly and easily.

Baby Einstein Play - And this is how you cook dinner (or check emails):)

This was a gift from Chris' parents and she has definitely put it to good use. She started using it at about 2 months and now uses it as a jungle gym. She no longer likes to be confined but she is all about pulling up on the sides now.

Portable Booster Seat - This has been perfect for us since we are limited in the spacial department. It just snaps right on to our chairs at the table. It can recline and is so easy to clean. And it keeps her seated. She was up and out of the bumbo way too quickly

Brown Bear - I can no longer say color words without following them with an animal. We don't even need the book anymore. This one is memorized. She recognizes the cadence and that's all she wrote.

Sound Machine- I don't know what we would do without this. It goes EVERYWHERE with us, on trips, to church, to babysitters. My mom is scared that I am creating a dependency and that E will go to college with her little white rainmaker. I say then so be it. We turn it on and her head immediately hits our shoulder. Its magic I tell you :) We use this one from Bed Bath and Beyond but they sell these gems everywhere.

A good chair - It's worth more than you would ever imagine. Chris got to pick out this one... (once I found out it came in the color I wanted) It reclines, rocks and swivels and he swears we would outfit our whole den in them if it were social acceptable. We are not "rockers". For us, we decided we weren't going to do the rock to sleep method. But....that chair is perfect for feeding, for reading, and for long nights when RSV is wreaking havoc.

Confessions

Let's get right to it...

- While "making" popcorn this week I got the bag out of the microwave, opened it, and sprayed the entire kitchen with its contents....I called out to Chris "see this is why I shouldn't cook". You know its been a long week when popcorn constitutes cooking. (sorry mom)

- Whenever I talk to my sister about Emerson and my "mom moments" she answers with laughter and "who let you be a mom?" Should I be offended?

- So Chris is reading a book called They Made America, last night he was trying to stump me on a question of who started GE. He was slightly amazed when I answered without hesitation, Thomas Edison. To be honest it was a lucky guess, but I continued to gloat until I fell asleep. Small victories.

-I am using my daughter as bait to try and make my parents move to Charleston. Low?

-Surf Bar at Folly is our new getaway....much less expensive than a flight to St. Thomas. Gotta do what ya gotta do.

- I am looking forward to my allergist appointment on Monday like a five year old anticipates Christmas morning. Really I know an ugly skin test awaits me but I have dreams of a magical serum. I am so ready to look and feel like I havent just spent the last month crying my eyes out.

Thats it. Thats all. What are you confessing?

9 months!

I am not sure what happened to my tiny baby. She has officially been part of this world as long as we were waiting on her to make her arrival. I can't believe in three months she will be a one year old (there I go again with my numbers games...Chris would be rolling his eyes) :)

We don't have our doctors appointment until April 5th so weight and height are just a guestimate. There are a few absolutes though....

She LOVES....baths. water. Riggs. (any animal really) other kids. feeding herself. standing in her crib. her singing dog. outside. copying our faces and noises. waving to everyone. waving to herself. pushing things. her stacking cups. giving kisses.

She LOATHES... changing clothes. wiping her face. changing clothes. being tied down (as in her high chair if she is not actively eating) changing clothes. Notice a pattern?

She has been in such a fun mood this past week. It is so entertaining to watch her personality emerge. I realize the "fun mood" is in stark contrast to last week's post about separation anxiety. Once again, my husband is right.... "it (the fussines) is just a phase, it passes quickly, you are not doing anything wrong" Thankful for his insight. Hate admiting I get caught up in the moment and sometimes can't see past the meltdown in front of me. Thankful that my girl is healthy and happy.

These pictures are getting increasingly harder to take as she would rather do anything than sit still....

Happy St. Patrick's Day! If you know me you know I love a good holiday...and yes St. Patricks Day qualifies. (which was news to my husband) :) I remember waking up to green eggs, or green milk in Lucky Charms cereal. And a leprechaun had always visited our house while we were out to cause some mischief. Don't worry I didn't feed my child green food coloring or marshmallows, but rest assured next year's breakfast menu will definitely be festive. E spent the day with Chris and his parents and I spent the day with some wonderful girls celebrating the upcoming arrival of one of my college roommate's little girl. Pictures to come! But for now I'll leave you with a few of our E. Happy weekend!

Oh Object Permanence...

Yes, a wonderful developmental skill. While I am very appreciative that E is meeting her milestones, this new attachment phase caught me totally off guard. E has always been so good at playing by herself. She still is, if she is in her crib. She can wake up from a nap and entertain herself for a good 30 minutes. But oh no, don't you put her on the floor with a room FULL of toys and try and sneak into the kitchen. This is all new. A phase which I know will pass more quickly than I realize. However, we are in the throws of separation anxiety for sure. I am so very thankful that she enjoys our playtime together but every now and then I do need to wash her bottle or take a shower. She does great with going to the nursery at church or the gym, and even plays on the floor well if we have people over, provided we are in the same room. This seemed to peak once she could crawl? So moms out there, any suggestions? (or validation that this is normal and will pass:)

Aside from this new development this is such a fun age! She is into EVERYTHING. Which would explain the new bruise she is sporting on her cheek :( Her favorite toys are still the empty diaper box, oatmeal container, and of course anything electronic that she's not supposed to have. She is so completely in love with other kids it is hilarious. So if you would like to rent me your child from 5-6 pm to get us through the bedtime hour, we are accepting applications :)

We are off to Greenville tomorrow for a wedding. Praying for naps in the car :) Hope everyone has a relaxing weekend!

Emerson picked out her outfit. Backwards hat and ballet shoe. Naturally.

Confessions

I am having to motivate myself to write this. I am TIRED. I don't even have a legitimate reason either. Other than feeling like a complete mess with this pollen that decided to come out entirely too early. So I'm squinting at my computer from behind 4 plus year old glasses with the wrong prescription, because I clawed my contacts out of my eyes. So I sound pretty happy huh? :)

- I baked cookies the other night and was so focused on waiting for the timer to go off (in order to catch it quickly so it wouldn't wake E) When it sounded I naturally ran into the kitchen and opened the dishwasher. Yeah..no cookies there.

-When I say "bake" . I mean break the dough apart and throw it on the sheet. That's as complicated as we get around here this week, folks.

-On the mornings I work I have to get Starbucks. I have somehow convinced myself that I cannot make it through the day without it. It's a sad handicap I have imposed on myself. My hair may still be wet when I walk in the door to work but you better believe I have my coffee.

- Speaking of being tired, I finally broke down and got my thyroid checked. Yes laugh now. But I had convinced myself it was low because that is fairly common after pregnancy. Plus it would be something valid I could blame my tiredness and paleness on. But oh no, that would be too easy. When the nurse called me to tell me it was normal, my response was "darn it". Seriously who says that to a normal lab result. Secretly I just hated being wrong in my diagnosis too.

-I did a spin class the other night and it was miserable. I generally like the spin classes I have taken but I was a little late to this one so I just had to hop on the bike and get going. Well something was seriously wrong with my seat. Way too high or something. Anyways I am not super proficient in bike mechanics so maneuvering the seat was slightly intimidating to me. That and the fact that the instructor called out anyone who even seemed to pause much less get down. So I was a chicken (and an idiot for that matter) and did the entire class in a position similar to a half push up. I'm pretty sure my arms should not be the sorest part of my body after spin....

alright that's it. its 9 pm and I could call it a night. Who am I?