Neither Here Nor There

Yes I just ripped the title of this post from one of my favorite authors Bill Bryson, but it definitely describes my life right now.  The past 2 and 1/2 weeks have  been all over the place.  I very much feel homeless.....which is odd because my wallet tells me that I am still paying way to much to rent a dumpy little house in Charleston. 

Currently I am at my parents new house (which is absolutely amazing) in Greenville.  However, the adventure began a little over two weeks ago when Garrett left to go to Atlanta for three weeks.  Emerson, myself, and our dog, Stabler, all started out at the condo my parents were renting while their house was being built.  Then we went from there to their new house....that we helped them move into.  Mostly I helped while Emerson hung out in her swing.  The majority of my responsibility during the move was to babysit Emerson and my 93 year old Nanna (i must say keeping up with Emerson is easier than keeping up with Nanna).  Half way into week one, my sister was gracious enough to take Stabler off my hands.  Which is a way bigger deal than it may seem because we just had to put him on Prozac due to his increasingly neurotic behavior as well as a large amount of other medication due to some weird skin allergy he has developed. THANK YOU AMANDA!!!!  

After week 1, Emerson and I headed to Charleston with my friend Kristin and her 4 and 1/2 month old, Bryson.  Kristin and I must either be delusional or extraordinarily naive because we actually believed that we were going to have a relaxing vacation....with 2 babies. On day one of "vacation" Emerson received her first round of immunizations which subsequently caused her to projectile vomit and scream a lot. Day 2 of "vacation" actually wasn't too bad...we went to Murrells Inlet to have lunch with Mandy and her little one, Harrison.  All 3 children were surprisingly well behaved.... and it was so fun to spend time with the Mandy and Harrison.  Day 3 was plagued by Emerson refusing to take a nap for about 12 hours straight and Bryson being insanely constipated.  I won't give more details than that....just believe me when I say it was bad.  

The day after getting back to Greenville, Emerson had yet another marathon of no napping combined with lots of crying..... we had two great days that have been followed by today....no napping and lots of crying. I just told Nanna that I thought I was going to lose my mind and she offered me some of her medication for her "nerves."  I thought that was sweet and generous but I declined. 

All that to say, I am ready for Garrett and I to be together under one roof again....I need some help and I am sick of traveling with a baby.   I miss my husband and my house, but am thankful for the time I have had with family and friends.  

Here are a few pictures from my recent adventures.  Please pray that I don't have to join the Prozac club with our dog (worst case scenario I guess I could take Nanna up on her pills).  :)

Our trip also included a trip to visit the Demooney's and their new little one Tatum. Super dad Clayton, carried Emerson and Bryson to the car...at the same time.

Emerson, Bryson, and Tatum lounging on the couch.

Sweet little Bryson...words do not express how much I love this kid.

Harrison laying a super smooch on Em....we turned our heads a few seconds and he had a death grip on her face (it was super sweet and a little scary all at the same time).

Harrison, Bryson, and Emerson (you think we have a thing for names that end in "son"???)

Casey and Laura meeting Emerson for the first time...so fun!!!

Emerson meeting her Aunt Courtney for the first time. Court got Em the cute outfit she is sporting.  We love and miss Courtney so much!!! (i have no clue why this is underlined in blue)

The 4th!

July 4th of Years Past

The picture above is the one I posted of us last year on the 4th of July. Last year, as a family of two, we dressed alike in red, white, and blue (yes we know how cool we are) and went to see the Greenville Symphony Orchestra play in accompaniment to an awesome fireworks display. Things have definitely changed since then.  This year, we went to visit Garrett's family at their beach house on Fripp Island.  We were so excited to spend time with family, eat good food, play cards, and watch fireworks.  To our surprise, we weren't able to do several of these things because we learned quickly that overnight trips with a 7 week old aren't as easy as we previously thought! 

It was not the travel part that was so difficult....it was being in a new house with lots of new people that proved to be the biggest challenge for little Emerson.  At home Emerson will sleep for 1 and 1/2 hours every 3 hours, our first day at Fripp, she stayed awake for 12 hours straight!!!! Talk about a cranky baby.  She was so interested in her new surroundings that she would not take a nap.  So, instead of watching an awesome live fireworks display with our wonderful family, G and I watched some awesome fireworks on TV while trying to get our little one to go to bed. Everyday we experience the reality that what we want to do and what is best for Emerson are often conflicting.  However, to say that we are in love with Emerson would be an understatement, so we don't seem to mind missing out on things like fireworks.  Plus, Em may be old enough to enjoy the 4th next year (or she may scream b/c of the fireworks, we will see).

Regardless, Emerson got to spend some invaluable time with Garrett's family.  Her grandparents, great grandparents, aunt, and cousin were thrilled to get to snuggle our little lady.....I'm sure they were glad to see us too.  It seems that G and I were so preoccupied with Emerson's difficulty adjusting to her surroundings that we only took 5 pictures.....maybe next time Emerson has a first 4th of July we'll remember the pictures.

Emerson's Great Grandmom feeding her lunch!

(I know, she looks way to young to be a GREAT Grandmom)

Garrett singing a little Meatloaf to Emerson...

it really has a calming effect :)

Me, Emerson, and Aunt Susan on the beach!

(this is right before the live firework show that we had to skip)