Christmas and More

We had a great Christmas! Elise got so many new toys. She's having a blast figuring them out. We have really been enjoying our Christmas break together, just the three of us.

Matt is going to school next semester, of course, but I'll be taking a class too, so we're getting ready for that. I'm excited, but I'm also a little nervous. I hope Elise does okay. My class is just two days a week, so hopefully it will all work out. We haven't tried giving her a bottle for a while, so maybe it's time to try again.

Ever since Christmas, Elise hasn't been sleeping as well as normal. Hopefully it's just a phase she'll grow out of soon. On Christmas Eve, the reindeer on the roof woke her up at 2:30am, and she just hasn't gotten back into her normal rhythm since. That has been what we've been working on lately.

Also, Elise is getting a little better at sitting up with help. Sometimes she does better than other times. Here are some pictures from today:

She's doing pretty well in the third one! (I think she was focusing on the toy more than on sitting up.) I can't believe she's 16 weeks old already! She'll be four months in a week and a half!

We've also started Elise on solid foods. She loves steak!

(Just kidding! She won't even get rice cereal until she's six months old.)

Changing Hands

Notice that all the toys in this picture are on Elise's right side. I handed each of them to her in her left hand. That's right, folks, Elise can now pass things from one hand to the other. She's doing so great!

Streeeeeeetching

I have been trying to stretch out the time between Elise's feedings and naps lately, and that has been going fairly well today. I want to get to the point where she eats every three or four hours, like a normal three-month-old (not every two or two and a half hours like she was doing before, which is completely exhausting). The fact that she has had an ear infection has actually been helping with this because she hasn't wanted to eat so often, so it has been a blessing in disguise. I also want to consolidate her naps into a few longer ones instead of so many short ones. I think these things will be better for us both in the long run.

A random tidbit: Elise's urine smells toxic right now. I'm pretty sure it's just from the Amoxicillin she is taking for her ear infection, but it's pretty bad. I'm glad it doesn't normally smell so bad.

Speaking of her ear infection, I think she's feeling better today. She was really good at church; she slept through most of sacrament meeting and all of Sunday school, and then she ate in the nursing room during Relief Society. I'm so glad. The last two Sundays were pretty horrible, especially last week when she refused to eat or sleep at all during church. Then we found out the next day that she had an ear infection. Go figure. Anyway, today was a great day. She's getting to be her normal self again. Oh, how I missed my happy little girl. Please, Elise, stay well for a while. And don't start teething or anything for a few months.

Note: This didn't work. At all.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

Elise rolled for the first time yesterday! She rolls from her stomach to her back now. She has to have someone set her up by putting her arms underneath her (which she can do on her own but doesn't because she doesn't like it), but then she can totally roll! I'm so proud.

We got some pictures taken this morning. Elise did a lot better this time than last time. Here's a link: http://www.myonlineportraits.com/ViewSharedAlbum.aspx?ShareID=2e3acb34-6299-4ca5-80d3-419b9dde0b88

I Love My Lips.

In honor of the fact that Elise has recently discovered her lips, I decided to post this video of the Veggie Tales song "I Love My Lips." It is so cute to see her smack her lips or suck them in and stick them out. She gets drool everywhere, but she's so adorable.

Whew!

Elise has been a handful lately. She's usually so content and calm, but the last two Sundays at church she has been so grumpy! Today she refused to eat or sleep the entire time we were at church even though she was hungry and extremely tired. Maybe she's starting to need to eat and sleep less often? With a combination of her new-found awareness of what's going on around her and her incredible interest in those things, she can find any way possible to stay awake.

So, it has been a pretty long day. We have had a nice evening spending time together, though. She has been herself again, except a little grumpier (probably tired from not sleeping all day).

Needless to say, we're going to bed early tonight!

Note: Elise had an ear infection. We brought her to the doctor the day after I wrote this post, and that's when we found out. No wonder she was a grump!

I Love My Little Family.

I just want to say, I love these two! I'm so glad we have the chance to be together for time and eternity.

Cranky Asay

This picture was not taken today. (Actually, it was taken on November 30.)

This is just what I wish this evening had looked like.

Elise was so tired today, and she slept well during her naps all day. It was so wonderful because I got to sleep too. Tonight, unfortunately, has been a different story.

Yesterday at church Elise was super cranky, and tonight has been round two of that. I'm not sure what's wrong. Her temperature is exactly 98.6° F, she has been eating frequently, and she doesn't seem to need anything. She just doesn't seem to want to sleep. At all. Tylenol didn't seem to help. I would think that she was just not tired because she slept so much during the day today, but she is so obviously tired and grumpy that I can't believe she doesn't want to sleep. Hopefully this is just a phase. A short phase. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

On the bright side, Matt put up the tree tonight. Yeah for Christmas!

A Full, Sunny Sunday

The weather was nice and mild today. It hasn't been so cold lately. And Elise looked so adorable in the tights Holly gave her; she got lots of compliments. Those were nice things about today. It was a busy, full, but fun day.

Elise was a handful at church, especially during sacrament meeting. She wanted to look at everything, but she was so, so tired. If I tried to rock her, though, she would cry. I sat outside with her for almost all of sacrament meeting after the sacrament had been passed. She probably just didn't get that well rested last night because we went to the Christmas party, and her naps were all messed up today too. Hopefully she catches up tonight.

After church we had tithing settlement. Then we brought dinner over to Joy and Alma Madsen's house. We all ate, then watched the First Presidency Christmas devotional, which is always nice. Then we had dessert. Joy had gotten vanilla ice cream and caramel topping for me because she knew I liked it. Their house was all decorated for Christmas. And Elise ate well there (as well as at the Christmas party last night and during church today). I think she's getting better at eating away from home. Yeah! It was a fun night. But I can't wait until tomorrow so Elise and I can just veg all day, doing tummy time and reading and letting her nap in her own crib. It will be a nice break after a busy weekend.

Ward Christmas Party

We went to the ward Christmas party and talent show tonight. Elise looked so cute. I swear, she gets cuter every day. Matt did the sound, of course, in addition to singing a parody of a Veggies Tales song with a group of guys ("Wymount Community" instead of "Gated Community"). Elise and I missed it; she was eating. We had a lot of fun, though! Matt's going to get out the Christmas tree before church in the morning. I'm looking forward to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional tomorrow! Christmastime is so much fun.

The First Presidency Christmas Devotional will always remind me of the night Matt and I got engaged. It was about two years ago, on December 7, 2008, that he proposed.

Tomorrow we're having dinner with our friends, Joy and Alma Madsen. Tomorrow is going to be a really busy day, with church, tithing settlement, making dinner (we volunteered to bring dinner because they made it last time), going to the Madsens', and the devotional. I better get to bed!

The Amazing Pooping Baby

I'm not exactly sure how Elise managed to get poop so many places this morning when she woke up. Again, she didn't cry. She had poop all over her Onsie, on both the shirt and pants of her pajamas, on her blanket, the sheet, and the mattress cover. She has been blowing out of pretty much every diaper lately.

I've decided to rename her The Amazing Pooping Baby. We'll charge admission for the public to see her: $5 or a bottle of Shout per person.