Elise's Eye Episode

Elise scratched herself in the eye at the beginning of her nap today around 4:30, probably while she was trying to suck her thumb. We called the doctor when she got up because she wouldn't open it. By 7:40, we were at the after-hours office for her appointment. The doctor put these drops in her eye that glow so the scratch would show up under the black light. There was quite a gouge out of her cornea right in the front of her left eye. And I cut her fingernails last night! Poor kid. We had to take her out into the cold to bring her to the doctor, her eye was hurting so much she couldn't open it, and she was due to eat right about the time of her appointment so she was hungry too. Then the doctor put the drops in her eye, I fed her in an empty exam room (she really doesn't like eating away from home), and she fell asleep in her car seat while we were waiting for her prescription to be filled. We took her home, and she cried the whole time I changed her diaper and clothes. She threw up all over Matt right after we had given her Tylenol because the Nystatin medicine she takes for the thrush upsets her stomach. I had to change her again while Matt changed. Then we had to give her the eye drops. All in all, a rough night for Elise. I want to swaddle her because she keeps wanting to rub her eye (and she is not very coordinated yet, so I'm afraid she'll scratch it again), but I can't swaddle her or she won't be able to soothe herself tonight, and she won't be able to sleep. Right now I'm holding her as she sleeps and I try to figure out what to do. What a night!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! I'm just thankful Matt will be home to help take care of Elise.

Oh, and the blizzard? It never got this far. There isn't much snow, and it's just really cold out.

Today I'm Grateful For . . .

. . . my sweet husband and our beautiful little girl. I love my little family.

Weather Warning

This was posted on BYU's website. Again, can I just say how glad I am that we're not traveling?

Campus closed in advance of major winter storm

This is a Y-Alert. A major blizzard warning has been issued by the National Weather Service. Because of the severity of this expected storm, BYU will close campus at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2010. All classes should be canceled after this time.
Campus will be closed on Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010, except for essential services as determined by unit supervisors. If you have questions about specific locations or events, we encourage you to contact the respective organization.
At this time, the men’s and women’s basketball games are still scheduled.

I'm so happy Elise is safe and warm in her bed tonight. Still, I haven't seen much snow yet. Maybe it's still coming.

Dreaming of a White . . . Thanksgiving?

Matt and I were watching the news some today, and the weatherman said we are about to have the worst Thanksgiving snowstorm Provo has seen in seven years. I feel like everyone at BYU has plans to travel except for our family. I'm so glad we decided to stay here for the holidays this year. Matt will be able to work, Elise will be able to keep her schedule, and we won't have to worry about traveling in a blizzard. Did I mention the high on Thanksgiving day will be 21°? Gross. And the high on Wednesday will be 18°. Matt is all finished with classes for the week, and if the weather gets really bad, we can all stay indoors. And we can turn up the heat as much as we want because we don't pay for the gas. I love Wymount.

Tummy Time and Turkey Time

Elise has been doing so much better with tummy time lately! She's now doing about as well as when she was six weeks old, which was before she started being such a stinker about tummy time. She can go for longer without crying and holds her head up more. This morning she did a good 13-minute stretch, followed by a 10-minute stretch later in the day. I am so glad!

I think her mouth is feeling a little better today. She was pretty good at church except for the fact that she was not happy that we weren't at home for her to eat. I got to participate during almost all of all three hours!

I can't believe Elise is almost 2 1/2 months old already. At church I saw her next to a baby who is almost one month old, and Elise look huge compared to the other baby. She is really growing fast. I can't wait for her to learn new things, like how to push up with her arms while on her tummy and how to roll over. Maybe this renewed interest in tummy time means she will start developing these skills soon. I also am a little sad she'll never be that tiny again, but I think I'm mostly excited for her to grow. It's so fun to watch her as she is able to do more and more, like the other day when she was laughing so much, more than she ever had before. It was so cute!

Since this post is already random and disjointed, I guess I might as well continue it that way.

Mike and Natalie came over for a little while tonight and visited. It has been a while since we have seen them. They are headed up to Yucaipa for Thanksgiving break on Tuesday morning. Matt, Elise, and I are staying here, but we will see Matt's parents on the 29th when they come up for Natalie's orchestra concert. I have never made a Thanksgiving dinner before, and ours will surely be modest, but hopefully it will be pretty good. Matt has just two classes tomorrow and then he is off of school for the rest of the week! Wahoo! He will be working as much as he can, but it will be nice for him to have a break from classes. And the extra money we'll be making will also be a blessing.

It snowed some today, and it's only supposed to snow more in the next couple of days. It was Elise's first time really seeing snow falling. What would Thanksgiving in Provo be without snow, though?

This turkey is from Elise's book Barnyard Dance! by Sandra Boynton. It always makes me think of Thanksgiving, especially lately. I think it's cute.

Gifts of the Heart Exchange

I went to the Gifts of the Heart Exchange today, and I got all this stuff for Elise for free! Some of it isn't super nice, but a few things really are. I also got a t-shirt for Matt. The Gifts of the Heart Exchange is put on by the MBA Spouse Association at BYU, and BYU students and their spouses can go and get free stuff (mostly clothes, but baby gear and toys too). It is so nice. There was mostly just kids' stuff, but they had a few things for adults too, especially maternity clothes. What a blessing! We'll definitely be going to the next one, which will be in January.

Afterward, I went to a group baby shower for women in our ward who had recently had a baby or will soon have a baby. The shower was for me and a handful of other women. I won a wipe warmer in a raffle, and I also got a cute Onsie for Elise from the Langfords and a little bag of assorted gifts from the Relief Society sisters. Overall, a really good day for us for getting free stuff!

Matt stayed with Elise all that time. I had pumped her a bottle, but apparently she wasn't that interested in taking it. She really hasn't been feeling well because of the thrush. She would only eat a little over an ounce for him, but she ate just fine when I nursed her when I got home (which made me a little sad that she isn't taking the bottle as easily as she did the first time, but also secretly a little happy that she doesn't like the bottle as much). I really hope she gets well soon.

Mouth Misfortunes

I noticed a white sore in Elise's mouth today, and realized she has thrush again. Probably she never completely got rid of it before; it's supposed to be super difficult to get rid of. No wonder the poor baby has been cranky lately. After trying to convince myself it might be something else for a few minutes, I accepted the fact that it really was thrush, and we started giving her medicine again. Matt gave her a blessing. I really, really hope she gets better soon. Last time she had it was a nightmare.

And she has been teething, but I knew that already. That's what I thought was causing her to be a little warm and sometimes grumpy. What I didn't know was how close her teeth must be to coming in. Now, I've never done this before, so I'm not super certain, and Elise is still very young to be cutting teeth, but I think the two middle bottom ones are very nearly in. I was wiping her mouth with a wet cloth like the doctor said to do last time she had thrush, and I realized that the gums in the middle on the bottom are a little rough compared to the rest of her mouth. I took a good look, and it seems that her left tooth will probably be poking through any time now.

Poor kid. She has to be so uncomfortable.

On the bright side, I'm going to the Gifts of the Heart Exchange in the morning, and hopefully I will be able to get some nice things for Elise—for free! More details tomorrow.

Note: Elise never cut those teeth. I think they must have gone back down. I'm really glad.