I never want to forget....

Ok, so It's been 2 years since I last posted...I've been a little busy. No excuses, though. I read so many other blogs, and I feel that those bloggers are so good at documenting every detail of their kids' lives. Emerson says and does so many cute things that I never want to forget, so I'm hoping to post more often (well, more often than every 2 years). No promises, though!

• "Bless you, goat!"--we had a petting zoo for her birthday party. We had a bunny, sheep, goats, a llama, and a pony! Emerson had a blast. One of the goats sneezed, and without missing a beat, she said "bless you, goat!" Bless her sweet little soul. She is so thoughtful.
• "poor Aidan"--I went for a run one day before I picked up Emerson from daycare,  so I was wearing my running clothes and hat when I picked her up. One of the other kids, Aidan, thought I was his mom and was so excited to see me. When he realized I wasn't his mom, he started crying. This bothered Emerson so much. She kept saying "Aidan cry. Poor Aidan. Poor guy." She would curl her bottom lip when she mentioned his name. She didn't let this go for weeks! She actually still curls her lip and says "poor guy" when we mention Aidan's name. I love how caring and sympathetic she is.
• "Sophie and Sully camp"--when we go out of town, Sophie and Sullivan go to Charlie's K9 Camp. Emerson knows they go to camp and will often say, out of the blue, "Sophie and Sully...camp!"
• "Sophie feel betta"--a few weeks ago, we came home to a very sick Sophie. I will spare you the details, but let's just say that Sophie must have eaten something that did not agree with her stomach. Like, the entire downstairs was covered in diarrhea and vomit. We told Emerson that Sophie didn't feel well. A couple of days later, she was back to 100%, and we were finally able to say that Sophie was better. Emerson was very excited that "Sophie feel betta. Feel betta."
• What does a monkey say?--we like to name every animal so that Emerson will tell us what it says. Cow. "moooo." Owl "hoooo." duck "wack wack wack." She goes through each animal with such enthusiasm. When we say "what does a monkey say?" Without hesitation, "JUMP ON BED!!!" (from "no more monkeys jumping on the bed)! Sometimes, she will trade that out for "ooooh oooh eeeee ahhh ahhh" in the cutest little voice.
• "Pray"--tonight, just as we sat down for dinner, she reached for my hand and said "pray." I thought my heart was going to explode.
• each night, I rock her to bed and say her prayers with her (Brian would love to do this, as well, but Emerson is VERY attached to Mommy right now). Sometimes, she wants to read a book, or 7, before it's time to go "night night." She often reaches for her Children's Bible. She will flip through the pages and say "I love you, I love you...I love you, Jesus!" Totally unprompted. Then she asks to sing "Jesus Loves Me." I can't even handle it. It's the sweetest ever.

Every day, I am so amazed by what she says and does.  I do not know what I did to deserve such an angel, but I am so thankful that God chose me to be her mama.

eWb

I apologize for the delay, but we've been quite busy over here. Some days, I feel like I have it all together, and other days, not so much!

Emerson Blair Waldron made her debut on Thursday, October 24th, 2013 at 6:19 am. She weighed in at 7 lbs, 1 oz and was 19.5 inches long.

She is now 6 weeks old and is growing like a weed! She is such a good baby and brings us so much joy! I'll post more details later...thought you might like some pics for now!

Pregnancy Survey

I haven't been the best at documenting my pregnancy, so here are a few questions I'm frequently asked...


How far along? 37 weeks (as of 10/4/13)

Do you have any stretch marks? None. I’m giving all credit to this. I started using it daily, as soon as I found out I was pregnant. It’s a bit pricey, but it lasts a long time. I’m only on my second jar and still have plenty left (way more than I need to get me through these 3 weeks). I say $80 to prevent stretch marks is a great deal!!! I would recommend it to everyone, and I will not do pregnancy without it!!!

 
Are you sleeping ok? love sleep, pregnant or not. The quality of sleep has sort of diminished as of late, but it’s ok. I usually have to get up 3-4 times to pee, but I can’t complain, as I’ve heard of people getting up 7+ times during the night. Sometimes, I have a hard time falling back to sleep (we’re talking, like, it has taken 3 hours to get back to sleep). When I take Benadryl before bed, I can always fall right back to sleep.

Is there anything that you can't have that you miss? beer, wine, sushi. Luckily, I don’t have gestational diabetes (I failed my first test, but passed the 3-hr test). If I did, I’m sure I’d be missing all carbs!

Have you had any weird cravings (I get this question the most)? nope. Everyone always asks if I’ve had any weird cravings, and I feel like such a party-pooper when I say that I haven’t had any. Oh, wait…there was that one time I wanted cereal. We didn’t have any at home (we never eat it), so I actually drove to the store to get some. I guess that would count as a craving!

Does anything make you nauseous? nope. Never had any morning sickness, taste aversions, or heightened sense of smell. I feel so lucky and blessed!

Have you been very emotional? hmm…looking back, I think I definitely had some crazy moments (poor Brian--bless him for putting up with me), especially in the first trimester, but overall, I feel the same as I did before I was pregnant. Lots of people warned me that I would cry at the weirdest moments, but that has not been the case. My favorite has been, "oh, just wait until you start crying while watching the tv commercial about a kid eating cheerios." Yeah, no. Haven't had any of those crying moments. I'm not judging you, if you have, though. Everyone is different, and pregnancy hormones make everyone do different things!

When did you start showing? Oh, I’m showing alright (finally). I didn’t start showing until about 23 weeks…the in-between stage was so awkward. I just looked really constipated until then.

Are you still able to work out? yep, still working out. I don’t really feel different, so I’m just doing what I can, while I can. I know I won’t be able to work out for a couple of weeks after she’s born, so I’m trying to get it in now! I’m not running like I was before I was pregnant, but that’s just because the pounding makes me feel like I need to pee every 5 seconds. I’m just cycling, going to body pump, and going on long walks with the dogs.

Have you had any contractions? nope. No contractions. Only dilated 1 cm (as of my appt 10/3). I think Emerson is going to take her sweet little time.

Is your belly button in or out? In, but it’s weird. It looks as if it’s closing in!

Are you still able to wear your wedding rings? yep. They still fit like they did before!

Have you started nesting? perhaps...I'm not sure if it's nesting, or the fact that I finally have time to tackle a bunch of nursery projects now that work has slowed down, but, whatever it is, things are coming together nicely!

What are you most excited about? meeting my sweet girl! duh. Oh, and seeing Brian as a dad. He is already the best, and Little E already has him wrapped around her tiny little finger!

Are we ready to be parents?

This blog has the perfect test...I've copied it below. Sounds exciting.

Test 1: Preparation

Women: To prepare for pregnancy

1. Put on a dressing gown and stick a beanbag down the front.
2. Leave it there.
3. After 9 months remove 5% of the beans.

Men: To prepare for children

1. Go to a local chemist, tip the contents of your wallet onto the counter and tell the pharmacist to help himself
2. Go to the supermarket. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home. Pick up the newspaper and read it for the last time.

Test 2: Knowledge

Find a couple who are already parents and berate them about their methods of discipline, lack of patience, appallingly low tolerance levels and how they have allowed their children to run wild.
Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's sleeping habits, toilet training, table manners and overall behavior.
Enjoy it. It will be the last time in your life that you will have all the answers.

Test 3: Nights

To discover how the nights will feel:

You can kiss goodbye to precious beauty sleep as soon as you have a child

1. Walk around the living room from 5pm to 10pm carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 4 - 6kg, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly.
2.  At 10pm, put the bag down, set the alarm for midnight and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 11pm and walk the bag around the living room until 1am.
4. Set the alarm for 3am.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2am and make a cup of tea.
6. Go to bed at 2.45am.
7. Get up again at 3am when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs in the dark until 4am.
9. Put the alarm on for 5am. Get up when it goes off.
10. Make breakfast.
Keep this up for 5 years. LOOK CHEERFUL

Test 4: Dressing Small Children 
1. Buy a live octopus and a string bag.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the string bag so that no arms hangout.
Time Allowed: 5 minutes.

Test 5: Cars

1. Forget the BMW. Buy a practical 5-door wagon.
2. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
3. Get a coin. Insert it into the CD player.
4. Take a box of chocolate biscuits; mash them into the back seat.
5. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.


Test 6: Going for a walk

The hilarious blog post details a new parent test for broody mothers

a. Wait.
b. Go out the front door.
c. Come back in again.
d. Go out.
e. Come back in again.
f. Go out again.
g. Walk down the front path.
h. Walk back up it.
i. Walk down it again.
j. Walk very slowly down the road for five minutes.
k. Stop, inspect minutely and ask at least 6 questions about every piece of used chewing gum, dirty tissue and dead insect along the way.
l. Retrace your steps.
m. Scream that you have had as much as you can stand until the neighbours come out and stare at you.
n. Give up and go back into the house.
You are now just about ready to try taking a small child for a walk.

 Test 7: Conversations with children
Repeat everything you say at least 5 times.

Test 8: Grocery Shopping
1. Go to the local supermarket. Take with you the nearest thing you can find to a pre-school child - a fully grown goat is excellent. If you intend to have more than one child, take more than one goat.
2. Buy your weekly groceries without letting the goat(s) out of your sight.
3. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys.
Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Test 9: Feeding a 1 year-old 
1. Hollow out a melon
2. Make a small hole in the side
3. Suspend the melon from the ceiling and swing it side to side
4. Now get a bowl of soggy cornflakes and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon while pretending to be an aeroplane.
5. Continue until half the cornflakes are gone.
6. Tip the rest into your lap, making sure that a lot of it falls on the floor.

Test 10:TV
1. Learn the names of every character from the Wiggles, Barney, Teletubbies and Disney.
2. Watch nothing else on television for at least 5 years.

Test 11:  Mess
Can you stand the mess children make? To find out:

Are you up to the challenge of parenthood asks this hilarious blog post

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains
2. Hide a fish behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flowerbeds and then rub them on clean walls. Cover the stains with crayon. How does that look?
4. Empty every drawer/cupboard/storage box in your house onto the floor and proceed with step 5.
5. Drag randomly items from one room to another room and leave them there.

Test 12: Long Trips with Toddlers
1. Make a recording of someone shouting 'Mummy' repeatedly. Important Notes: No more than a 4 second delay between each Mummy. Include occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet.
2. Play this tape in your car, everywhere you go for the next 4 years.
You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Test 13:Conversations
1. Start talking to an adult of your choice.
2. Have someone else continually tug on your shirt hem or shirt sleeve while playing the Mummy tape listed above.
You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

Test 14: Getting ready for work
1. Pick a day on which you have an important meeting.
2. Put on your finest work attire.
3. Take a cup of cream and put 1 cup of lemon juice in it
4. Stir
5. Dump half of it on your nice silk shirt
6. Saturate a towel with the other half of the mixture
7. Attempt to clean your shirt with the same saturated towel
8. Do not change (you have no time).
9. Go directly to work
You are now ready to have children. ENJOY!!

Rachel Comey, YOU ARE KILLING ME!

I have been searching for the perfect booties for quite some time. By perfect, I mean good leather and no zippers! As luck would have it, Rachel Comey would introduce these during my spending freeze. UGH! I mean, it's hard to justify spending that kind of money when my baby is due at any time now. Rumor has it diapers are expensive.

A few favorites...

A few favorites... by danielle-b-waldron featuring a chanel mascara

Hi, friends. Sorry for the recent hiatus. Things have been crazy at work lately, and to be quite honest, coming home to a computer is the LAST thing I've wanted to do. However, I have been meaning to share some of my latest favorites with you. 

• le Volume de Chanel Mascara---whoah. This stuff is magical. Remember when I told you about some of my favorite mascaras? They are all still wonderful, and I will most likely continue to rotate through those, but this baby from Chanel seriously works wonders for my eyelashes. It's a bit more pricey than the others, but it's worth the splurge! 
• Smashbox Photo Set Pressed Powder---Where has this been all my life? Powders are tricky, I tell ya. I've always had trouble finding something that will last all day. My search is now over. Smashbox is the jam!
• Smashbox Photo Finish Primer---this stuff is so light. Hands down, the best primer out there! 
• Dove Dry Shampoo---when it comes to dry shampoos, I have probably tried them all, from the cheapest on the shelf to Aveda. Most of them have left my hair still looking greasy and even more dirty! Yuck! I will say that nothing works better than baby powder! That's right. Baby powder. BTW, I just get the Walgreen's brand. When used for a couple of days in a row, though, it starts to cake and/or make your hair look grey. Enter, Dove Dry Shampoo. It's amazing. I spray it on at night before bed (yes, the night before) and in the morning, my hair looks and feels clean! Now, I don't have to use as much baby powder (maybe only when I'm trying to get one more day in before a wash). 
• FRESH Sugar Rose Lip Treatment---I may or may not be one of those people who has, at least, 4 tubes of chapstick/lipstick in her purse, lab coat, tote bag, travel bag, on her nightstand, etc. This stuff is, hands down, my lips' favorite product. It adds a hint of color, but it's not overpowering, and it makes my lips feel so smooth. Just go out (or online) and buy some right this second. You'll thank me later! 

Winston Faves

When we have visitors in town, we always like to show them around and give them a taste of our favorites; however, when that time comes, I usually have a major brain fart, and can never remember our "go-to" places. I know I know. It makes no sense. I guess I need a lot of reminders these days, hence my list. I love lists. I made it mostly for me (sorry not sorry), but hopefully you will enjoy it, too! Dislcaimer: this list is in no particular order of favorites. I just started typing as they came to me.

• Milner's: awesome brunch. awesome dinner. very charleston-ish. maybe i'm biased, but i think not.
• Diamondback Grill: excellent food in Buena Vista neighborhood. Truly for the locals.
• River Birch Lodge: i have never had anything bad there.
• Mizu: best sushi in town. also the prettiest sushi, despite their neon light-up toys they use to "decorate" the plates.
• Willow's: never had a bad dish here, either. always fresh and local. We are regulars there, and we may or may not receive special treatment.
• Mozelle's: cute little place near our house. Always a good atmosphere.
• Camino Bakery: excellent coffee (from Krankie's). good wine. oh, and their pumpkin bread is divine.
• Krankie's: they roast their own beans! best coffee in town!
• First Street Draught House: food is meh, but i love their beer selection. Located at the bottom of the hill adjacent to the hospital, it's a fun place to go after work. The majority of the crowd will be Baptist Hospital employees =)
• Fabian's: ahh, fabian's. this place is reserved for special occasions. such a fun atmosphere. not a place for kids. prepare to be there for at least 2 hours, but it is so much fun! reservations required, as dinner starts promptly at 7:30.
• Thai Sawatdee (sorry, no website): located inside Harris Teeter and another location off of Healy Drive. Such. Good. Thai. The Healy Drive location looks sketch, but we love to go there because the people are so nice and the food never disappoints.
• Burke Street Pizza: pies so big that the box does not fit into our refrigerator! So delish.
• Old Winston Social Club: a fun place to play pool or darts. They don't serve food, but customers are more than welcome to hop across the street to grab a pizza from Burke Street and bring it back to the social club.
• Rec Billiards: another fun place to play darts, but it can get really crowded on the weekends.
• 6th and Vine: excellent goat cheese salad and great wine list. I recommend outdoor seating!