Mom Time

This past week I've been visiting my parents in Genoa. We're actually heading back home later today. We've had a great time enjoying the wildlife and great weather here. Macie loves to go looking for lizards, quail, deer, cows, etc. She has this fascination with deer and always wants to touch them, but of course you can never get close enough because they run away. Her cousins Bella and Gus arrived yesterday and it's been really fun having them around too. The girls are a little crazy, but have a great time together. My dad likes to get them all wound up, so it's very loud around here to say the least!

My mom found this family picture from 1982; I was 1 and my brother was 3. Doesn't my little Macie look like me or what? I also love my dad's poofy hair in that picture. Not only did we get to spend Mother's Day here with my family, but also my mom's birthday the day before. At this time last year my mom spent her birthday and Mother's Day in the hospital. She was undergoing chemotherapy in preparation for the stem-cell transplant she had on May 31st. It was a very stressful time, and we all really enjoyed being at home with a healthy mom this year. She is still dealing with effects of the transplant that do limit some of her activities, but all in all she is pretty much back to normal everyday life. We feel very fortunate that she is alive and well today. She is definitely an example to everyone through the challenges she endured and the positive attitude she always maintains. We love our Annie!

The Results Are In...

It's a boy!!! Our little guy was quite the wiggle worm during the ultrasound, making it very easy to determine the gender. As you can see from the spread eagle shot, there's no denying it. Those who have asked me know that I was hoping for another girl, but I'm not disappointed that a baby boy is coming. I think having a boy is scarier for me since I've already done the whole girl thing and had such a great experience with Macie from the very beginning. Different will be good. I won't lie, I'm a little nervous about going from one to two regardless of the gender. However, motherhood has proved to be the most rewarding thing I've ever done. I wouldn't trade a second of it for anything else, tantrums and all. There can't be anything sweeter in life than having your little one tell you that they love you and give you kisses. I feel lucky that I was able to spend all of my time over the last 2 years day-to-day with a child.

I have no doubt that my Macie will be a great big sister. She's already saying: "I'm gonna have baby brother." It's still a long wait for her, but hopefully helping with the preparations will keep her excited about it.

I have to share this last thing the nurse said while Macie and I were at the doctor's office:

Nurse: "So, your daughter looks like her Dad."
Me: "Why do you say that? Doesn't she look like me?"
Nurse: "Not really."
Me: "Oh."

Hmmm, I thought as Macie has gotten older she's started to look a little different. As in, not as much like her Daddy. Not that that's a bad thing, I just want her to look like my child too! However, my mom said she found a family picture when I was a two-year-old and I looked a lot like Macie. Take that! I'll have to scan it when we go visit my parents in a couple weeks. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a picture of Baby Boy Waldron's face. A little scary looking huh?

Eventful Day

So it happened again like it does every year...I got older. My birthday was on Monday the 21st, and thanks for all the birthday wishes. Don't feel bad if you didn't know because odds are I don't know your birthday either. People that know me well can definitely attest to the fact that remembering specific things just isn't my thing. If you aren't in my immediate family I don't know your birthday, with only a few exceptions.

I did have a fun day but unfortunately have no pictures. Last month at Macie's birthday party I dropped and broke my camera in all of the pinata commotion. Hopefully we'll have another one soon. Anyway, my sister Mel took me out to lunch to Atlanta Bread (my favorite lunchtime spot) and then I had a great few hours cleaning at home. Seriously, I was in a cleaning mood and had a great time. Josh took me out to dinner to a restaurant we've been wanting to try at the Red Rock, Terra Rossa. It was SO GOOD!

Macie was so funny throughout the day when people would ask her if it was Mommy's birthday. At first she would say, "No, Macie's birthday." But after a few times I guess she realized it wasn't all about her for one day and relented. What a cutie!

Put Me Out of My Misery

Let's just say this last week hasn't been the most fun. Sunday afternoon Josh left for a business trip and didn't get back until last night (Friday) around 10pm. The day after he left Macie got sick with the stomach flu. It was great fun cleaning out the garage and spraying it down to get the vomit out. By some miracle I didn't get sick. I spent the next few days disinfecting and keeping my fingers crossed that she was over it. On top of entertaining her I have been getting bigger, more uncomfortable, and tired beyond reason. Teaching aerobics classes is really taking its toll on me. My hips are already getting so sore that getting up and down hurts at times. I know, what a whiner right? Well it gets better. I got home from the airport late last night and then had to be up at 5:45am to be at 5 hours of instructor training at the gym all morning. I tried lifting light weights and taking it easy, but I came home, slept 4 hours, and still want someone to shoot me. What doesn't hurt? Good question. The best part is that I have 2 more sessions at the same time tomorrow morning! At least Josh is back to play with Macie so I can take 4 hour naps.

Macie and I did have some fun times while Josh was gone though. We spent some time playing with cousins Bella and Gus before they leave for several weeks. My brother Ben joined the National Guard and is gone for 10 weeks of Basic Training, during which time Trish is going to go spend some time visiting her and my parents in northern Nevada. We'll miss our cute cousins so much!

I love watching Macie play with kids now that she's getting so big and is into pretend play. She loves dressing up, loading her baby stroller and purse, and going to "work." She's also a fabulous cook in her little kitchen and likes to make me things like cookies, eggs, gatorade, ice cream, veggies and hamburgers. She also makes a great cup of tea, complete with cream and sugar. Lately she's been very into board games so we spend time every day pulling out games, one by one, and "playing" them according to Macie's rules. She especially likes Life, Scrabble and Acquire. Today she developed a new love for sidewalk chalk, her present from Josh's week away in Kansas. She is definitely a girl who never gets bored. Hmmm, maybe that's why I'm so tired these days.

We're Back!

Josh and I had a great trip to San Francisco last weekend. The skies were clear, but the temperature was cold and the wind made it ever worse. Despite the chill it was a lot of fun. We spent a couple days in and around the city, seeing pretty much everything we were looking forward to seeing. I actually remembered more than I thought I would from my trip to San Fran almost 5 years ago. It is one of my favorite places so it was nice to go back with Josh. We had a great time with my cousin Natalie and her husband Greg. We haven't seen them in so long! It was good that we went when we did because they're moving next month and we wouldn't have had excellent tour guides to get us around everywhere.

I missed little Macie so much while we were gone! I was always thinking about her and what she would think and say if she were with us. There were some things I knew she would totally enjoy, and others that I knew she would have a hard time with. For example, walking around for days straight until your feet feel like they're going to fall off isn't something Macie would've liked. On the other hand, she would've loved the trolley and the sea lions. When we got home my sister brought Macie to meet us at the airport and it felt like I hadn't seen her in forever. She looked so much older! I guess stepping away for a few days makes a big difference. After Macie ran up and hugged us the first thing she said was, "Macie's presents?" That's my girl! She still thinks it's her birthday. When we left we told her we would bring her a present when we got back. Growing up my parents always did that for us and we thought it was the best thing ever. For me, there's nothing like making a little child happy in simple ways.

I tried to keep the slide show short, but here's a quick rundown of what we did while we were there:
-Walked around Sausalito
-Golden Gate Bridge
-Shopping at Union Square
-Rode the trolley
-Ate some great treats at Ghiradelli Square
-Walked Fisherman's Wharf
-Went to China Town
-Visited Muir Woods
-Took pictures at the Oakland Temple
-Saw a first edition Book of Mormon on display at the Visitor's Center
-More shopping in Oakland at Nordstrom Rack and Gap
-Ate GREAT food all over the place

It really was nice to relax and have a fun time with Natalie and Greg in the city. I loved seeing the nice (and not so nice) architecture and going up and down all the busy city streets. It's fun to visit someplace different for a change and experience new things. However, the even greater part is definitely being home again.

Momzilla

Let's just say things have been going a little differently lately. Issues, circumstances, pressures...we all reach a point. I really don't want to blame my behavior on the pregnancy, but it certainly doesn't help when I am completely exhausted. I'm comparable to a cranky toddler if I don't get a nap. I think it's fair to say I've become a Momzilla: that crazy person that no one wants to be around because she's out of control. My patient husband has been a large recipient of my irrational mood swings, but luckily he still likes me. To deal with my issues, I've been spotted zoning out in front of the TV at night flipping through channels. I never resort to that kind of distraction. It's been bad. Don't get worried, I'm not neglecting my child. I'm pretty much only sane around Macie these days. Needless to say, it's time for action.

Josh tried to surprise me with a trip this weekend, but I got it out of him before he got too far in the planning process. We're heading up to San Francisco on Friday morning without Macie. She'll be staying home with my sister Mel. I'm actually not trying to think about the whole part about leaving Macie for the first time ever, but that's a whole separate issue in itself. We'll see if I get on the plane or not. However, it will be fun to visit my cousin Natalie and her husband Greg that we haven't seen in a long time and get some time away from my home-self. Maybe it will help me be my own self again. I don't think I've truly understood the meaning of "needing a vacation" until I got to the point where my sanity depends on it.

Macie's Announcement

Since my parents live out of town, this is the way we determined would be best to share some news with them. About a month later I figure it's probably time that everyone else know too.


Surprise! I'm 14 1/2 weeks along, due September 16th. The amazing thing this time around is how fast I started showing. If you saw me now you would know I was pregnant. The first few videos we took were great, but taken sideways and we couldn't figure out how to turn them. This was probably the 10th take, so Macie was pretty much ignoring me by this point.

This picture is my favorite. After 20 minutes of pictures and videos Macie ended up on the floor crying. 2-year-olds definitely have a short attention span! And best of all, she has no idea what being the big sister means; she is merely trained to say it. She does request to wear her big sister shirt on a regular basis now.

Happy Birthday Macie Lee!

I wanted to dedicate a quick post to my Macie girl on her special day. Macie is the best part of my day every day and I can't imagine life without her. We pretty much do everything together, and I am sad for her to grow up and need her mom's help less and less! I went through her pictures and found some that I wanted to share from the past 2 years.

What a gorgeous girl! She was just a few days old here and it's one of my favorite pictures.

This is the photo we used for her birth announcement. I think I caught her first smile on camera!

This girl loves her daddy. And I'm pretty sure she's got him wrapped around her finger too.

This is at 9 months old. I love that smile!

This was from her first birthday. Yes, she is holding a box of matches. No, she couldn't open it.

Looking back at these pictures makes me laugh because she really starts looking like a toddler, yet still has no hair.

Macie always gets a kick out of making us laugh.

Finally getting some hair and a little time behind the wheel.

Macie has to be one of the youngest recruits ever.

Too sassy to get in the car, so I got out my camera because it was too cute to pass up!

Rainy day in the neighborhood. Macie loves pockets by the way.

She was saying "cheese," can't you tell?

Family picture from Valentine's Day last month.

My cute 2-year-old at snack time. The band-aid explanation will have to come another day. We love our Macie Lee!

No Daddy

Macie and I are left home without a daddy and husband for a few days. Josh left yesterday afternoon for a business trip and won't be home until very late Thursday night. Usually Macie and I are the ones leaving him to go out of town, so this is quite the change. However, it is kind of difficult to notice his absence anytime except when I'm sleeping in bed by myself. How can that be, right? Well, there are 7 other adults all staying in the house this week, not including myself. My family is visiting from northern Nevada for 8 days. It has been non-stop craziness and fun as usual. Macie has been getting way too much attention, further indulging her silliness and show-off sides. Tomorrow my little ham will be turning two, but since her daddy won't be here we're having her party on Friday. She obviously won't know the difference. If you ask her, everyday is her birthday.

The Need for Speed

My daughter completely loves anything that can go fast. Even today as we walked out of Costco she yelled at me, "Push fast Mom!" So, I dashed across the parking lot as fast as I could with a large shopping cart. Her love for speed started very young and was instilled, of course, by her dad. She was exposed to 4-wheelers, boating, riding bikes (Josh would ride the bike pictured below with Macie on his hip and one arm steering...my neighbor told me about it), and motorcycles. No, she hasn't ridden on one, but she likes to sit on them and wishes she could go.

Since the weather has been so nice we've been getting a lot of use out of the bike trailer. Macie loves to go for rides in it. There's a green belt that goes right out our neighborhood to two parks. We've also ridden to cousin Luke's house and the leisure center (Macie's gymnastics class). Josh usually takes her for longer rides when he wants more of a workout. It's hard work pulling a trailer uphill, let me tell you!

Macie and Dad heading off for a morning ride.

We strapped in little Sadie girl and rode down to the park. She whined most of the way despite her happy face here.

She was probably asking me for a snack to take on her ride. That's what the pockets are for: drinks and snacks.

Come meet us at the park!