The Asay Family

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Itchy, Itchy Ichabod

So, a nurse from Medicaid came to do the home visit they always do after the baby is born. When she came, she said that I should read to Elise every day for 20 mins at a stretch to help develop her attention span. We only have a certain number of books, and twenty minutes = a lot of children's books, so I end up reading the same ones over and over (and over) again. I have a lot of them pretty much memorized. For some reason, certain parts come to my mind often. Like the page in One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish that goes like this: "Oh, dear! Oh, dear! I can not hear. Will you please come over near? Will you please look in my ear? There must be something there, I fear." Especially the "Will you please come over near" part. I think of that every time I ask Matt to come here.

Dr. Seuss must just be really catchy because I also get his ABC book stuck in my head. I don't know why, but I really like the letter I part of that book. Here it is:

I love that Ichabod (even though I have no idea what kind of animal he is supposed to be).

Elise really likes Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and The Rainbow Fish. Of course, Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? and Green Eggs and Ham are also favorites.

Matt, the Husband of the Year

I was clipping Elise's nails as she slept in my lap (and lamenting the fact that clipping them now couldn't heal the scratch she had already made beside her eye), and as I clipped, I thought of my terrific husband. He's still at work right now, even though it's after 8:00pm. He works so hard for our little family. Today he really did so much to make sure I was able to do the things I wanted to get done.

His day started with a 7:00am mandatory meeting at work. I had an interview today for a Hall Advisor position (I didn't get a second interview, by the way), and he came home from work just to watch Elise while I went. Then I sent him to Walgreen's to pick up my birth control and prenatal vitamin prescriptions, of all things. I also had him get a couple of food items because I was making dinner for a bedridden sister in our ward. He then went back to work for a couple of hours before coming home again to watch Elise to make sure I had plenty of time to make the meal for the sister and get it to her at a reasonable time. Then he did the dishes. I sent him back to the store when I realized I didn't have an ingredient I needed. Then he tolerated my flustered mood when I was running later than I wanted to delivering the meal I'd made. Now he's back at work, and it's taking longer than they planned to finish setting up for an event in the morning. Matt, how do you handle all the craziness? You're just amazing, I guess.

P.S. Matt didn't get home until way after 9:00pm. Then he put Elise to bed. He's such a great dad, too.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Dos meses sounds much better than two months.

Well, doesn't it? Not that I prefer to speak Spanish. I couldn't even if I tried (even though I took three semesters of college-level Spanish classes). I just think this particular phrase sounds much nicer en español, ¿no?

Anyway, Elise is now officially two months old! Yeah! She turned two months on Monday. Talk about a whirlwind. She had her two month well check yesterday with her pediatrician, Dr. Clayton (who I think is terrific, severely pointy nose and all). For those interested in the stats, she was 23 1/2 inches long (When is it that people stop being long and start being tall?), weighed 12 lbs 2 oz (!), and her head was 37.2 cm. That makes her 90th percentile for height, 80th for weight, and 30th for head size.

Like any new, concerned, paranoid, overprotective, loving mom, I was a little concerned about Elise's head being small. Since Ryland was diagnosed with craniosynostosis (unfortunately, we're still awaiting the results of his CT scan) I have been more than a little obsessed with her head. (If you don't believe it, ask Holly.) I'll try not to worry. Or call Holly so much.

At two months, she is doing so much! She's such a happy, social kid. She started smiling at 5 weeks and pretty much hasn't stopped since. She is just learning how to roll from her back to her side, how to bat at a toy, how to put a toy in her mouth (almost), and how to shake a rattle when I put it in her hand. She has also become an expert drooler all of a sudden. (I really hope she isn't teething yet.)

She also loves to suck her thumb when she doesn't have a pacifier. This is great for us as parents because she is terrific at putting herself back to sleep. (Did I mention she has been sleeping 6-hour stretches at night since for a couple of weeks now? Hallelujah!) To sum it all up, she's just a terrific baby. We love her so much!

rolling, rolling, rolling . . .