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.