Busy Days

Yesterday and the day before were busy days for us. Lately, Matt has been working quite a bit, and he has been doing schoolwork besides, so we have had a lot of busy days. Other than the seven loads of laundry that I did (until 3am) and Matt's big trip to the grocery store, we have also found some precious time to relax together. Last night we watched Rogers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific" with Harry Connick, Jr. and Glenn Close (Elise slept the whole time except when she got up to eat). I had seen the play when my brother was in it in high school, but I was too young at the time to really follow it. I really enjoyed the movie. Elise fills up my days and occupies my time and energy. It is nice to be so busy, though. We are enjoying ourselves. I can't believe that this time next year our time at BYU will be almost over. Now, I need to get busy working on my online class today . . .

Being a Mom

Some things about being a mom really aren't that fun. Like this morning, Elise pooped all over her clothes while I was changing her diaper (which is probably my fault for not being more careful). Then later, she pooped all over me while I was changing another diaper (again, my fault). There's also all the worrying that goes along with it. And sometimes babies can be exhausting. And my belly, which is covered in stretch marks, is now the consistency of bread dough.

Truthfully, though, that's about all I can think of that isn't that fun. Most of the time Elise and I have such a blast. It is so amazing to watch her grow and learn and do new things. I love to cuddle with her. I love her sweet smile, especially the gummy, open-mouthed grin she does sometimes with her eyes closed as she is falling asleep. I love her chubby rolls and her unbelievably soft skin. I love how she makes me want to be the best person I can be so that she will have a good example to follow. I love how happy she is all the time and how easy it is to make her smile. I love how simple her wants and needs are. I love imagining what a beautiful, happy woman she will one day grow up to be. I love imagining all the stages of life she will pass through as she becomes that woman. I love to dress her up in cute outfits. I love making sure she is comfortable and knowing that I am giving her everything she needs. I love that little girl more than I can say. Wow, I'm can't believe I'm crying right now. I have always wanted to be a mother, and I thought it would be pretty fun, but I had no idea how wonderful it really would be. So thank you, Elise, for letting me be a part of your life. And please never forget how much I love you.

The Leaf

Elise and I went on a walk today, and I handed her a leaf to hold. By the time we were coming back in, she still had a death grip on it, so I let her take it inside to play with for a while. It was bigger than her head, but she was determined to get it into her mouth. Much to her chagrin, she was unsuccessful. Who knew a leaf could be such a blast?

Things Work Out

"Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if you walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another." (D&C 90:24)

I believe in this scripture. Sometimes things look like they won't work out. Sometimes life seems desperate and scary, or even hopeless. But things will work out if we just do what we can and rely on the Lord. That is what I'm coming to know.

On a lighter note, Elise was awesome at church today. She's getting better about eating when she is not at home, even though she still doesn't seem to like it as much. I got to sit through almost all of the lessons today because Elise ate mostly during the announcement part of Relief Society. And Matt came with me to my teacher training class during the Sunday school hour, which was really nice. I even got to relax for most of sacrament meeting because Allyson, who sat beside us, wanted to hold Elise the whole time. She kept saying how cute Elise was.

On an even lighter note, this is a conversation Matt and I had tonight:

Blair: "What do you want for Christmas, Matt?"

Matt: "This DMX controller thing. It's like $200."

Blair: "Are you interested in anything cheaper?"

Matt: "You."

Blair: "Oh, thanks."

I love my husband. He couldn't figure out what he had said wrong.

I Should Really Get Some Inhibitions.

So, I went to my friend Joy's baby shower today. For some reason, I feel absolutely no awkwardness about anything surrounding having babies. To make a long story short, I found myself telling a group of strangers all about Montgomery glands, which are found on the areola, and how they put off the smell of your uterus. I didn't even realize how awkward that was until Joy laughingly brought it up later. Where are inhibitions when you need 'em?

Anyway, the baby shower was a lot of fun. Hopefully the other girls didn't think I was a freak (but maybe that's a vain hope after what I said). Elise came with me, and she was really good. Another girl there had twins, a boy and a girl, who are also about 2 months old (but they were at home with their dad). She commented on how great Elise can hold up her head. What can I say? I'm really proud of her. She does have some mad skills.

I also took Elise to the ward Thanksgiving dinner activity. Matt is working late again tonight, so he couldn't go. I brought Elise, and we pretty much stayed just long enough for me to eat a free dinner. Yeah, I'm pretty cheap. Truthfully though, Elise needed to eat and get a good nap, so that's why we left so early.

All in all, a pretty good day. Hopefully Joy and I can still be friends.

Some Things I Forgot

Some other unique things about Elise that I forgot to include in yesterday's post:

• She fakes burps. I think she knows when we're trying to get her to burp, and she makes little noises like she is trying to burp. Sometimes she even does this when I'm not trying to burp her when I hold her upright by my shoulder.
• She is so happy all the time, especially in the morning. This morning she woke up with a great big smile for me at 4:45am. Then she stayed up for a while.
• After she sneezes, she almost always makes noises like she is going to sneeze again, but then she doesn't. It's really funny to see.

That's all. I just really wanted to include these. I promise to stop making long bulleted lists for a while.

Harry Potter Fan?

Remember how Elise scratched herself last night? Well, I couldn't get a good picture, but the shape of the scratch totally looks like Harry Potter's scar. Maybe this is her way of telling us that she wants to see the new Harry Potter movie? I know I want to.