An Asay Story: November 2010

Friday, November 26, 2010

Years of Angels

Every year for our Anniversary, Curtis gives me an Angel Ornament for our Christmas Tree. This year I collected my fourth angel. Curtis tries to pick an angel that depicts our year. The four of them together brought me to tears this year- they really do tell so much of the story of progression of our marriage.

From Left to Right

2007- Angel of Love (Our first year of love)

2008- Angel of Hope (Our hope for a child)

2009- Angel of the Heart (I was 8 Months pregnant with a little heart inside me)

2010- An Angel's Embrace (Almost a full year with our own little angel- and he is about the size of the little boy on this ornament- it's perfect!)

Someday, I hope to have a Christmas tree devoted to and overflowing with all my years of angel ornaments.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy First Thanksgiving

We had a fabulous First Thanksgiving for Dax.

We spent it with Curt's family. Dax spent most his day getting spoiled by Great Grandpa.

Curtis and his sister Kathy (don't they look like sibilings?).

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. And this year was everything it should be full of great food, family and grateful hearts.

WE LOVE THANKSGIVING.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

I grew up watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade every year. Dax enjoyed watching it with me this year. It really is pretty entertaining; he danced to the musicals, loved the Floats and was so excited seeing the bands.

For this first time, Purdue's Marching Band was in the parade. They actually lead the whole parade out- it was so exciting!

We saw Purdue's Drum, some Drummers and Baton twirlers (the Golden Girl and Silver Twins) at the mall the week before their big parade appearance. I took Dax up to see the BIG drum and thought he'd be thrilled with it. However, he was mostly interested in the twirlers- and their "sparkley" outfits. He kept trying to grab sparkles off of them..it was a little embarrassing.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade- a wonderful tradition!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

4 Years of Happily Ever After

This year we celebrated 4 years of marriage! 4 years flew by and seems like a small number, until I remember that I spent 4 years in High School- and that felt like an eternity. And we dated for 4 years before we were married and I thought that was long. But luckily 4 years of marriage feels only like the beginning, a good start.

This year we celebrated in stages. We left Dax with Nana and did Christmas Shopping- getting almost all our shopping done in ONE Saturday night.

We went up Chicago and visited the Temple. And on our actual Anniversary we went to lunch as a Family to a great little local restaurant.

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating our 4th Anniversary.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Teething

Dax officially cut his first tooth, the bottom right. He looks adorable. But...

Teething sucks.

Here's what we have learned about teething, it includes; lots of drool, little sleep, cheek chewing, yucky diapers, non-stop fussing, bitting and gnawing on everything, more fussing, temper tantrums, schedules and routines ruined, rashes from the drool and rashes from yucky diapers, lack of appetite and more fussing.

And this was just for one tooth?

On one child?

Heaven help us.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Study Habits

I was warned, but still didn't completely comprehend how much time Curtis would spend studying, reading and away from home working on his Master's. It is a good day when Curtis gets to see Dax awake during the day and sometimes we go several days without accomplishing that. Curtis is also a TA for two Undergrad classes and spends a lot of time grading and preparing for those classes. Even with Curtis being gone a lot or pulling all-nighters like this...

we have really felt so blessed these past several months. We have felt challenges and definite rewards and are so grateful that we are close to family. We are desperatley looking forward to Christmas Break, Curtis' very first Christmas Break without working (one of the disadvantages of growing up with a Family Business). Only a couple more all-nighters studying and grading Finals before then, I'm sure.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

10 Months

Dax at 10 Months!

We can't believe we made it this far.

But are so happy we did.

Life is pretty cool at 10 Months!

Dax's First Haircut

Dax was looking ready for a hair cut.

Shabby bangs.

Hair hanging over the ears.

Out of control tufts.

A duck-tail.

The shabby look was past due.

Dad helped Dax stay brave.

This is the same frog apron that I wore when I was little, getting my haircut.

Testing out the buzzers, Dax thought it was pretty funny.

But he got a lollipop, just to help.

AFTER:

He looks so handsome and SO big!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Slowing down

One of the few benefits of a being sick as a Mom is being able to slow down and just watch your little guy play all day. Dax loves playing in this cabinet.

He loves to reach in and toss all the toys out.

And loves to slam the doors, over and

over. (Lately, we spend probably 15 minutes every morning slamming this one door).

Here the cabinet came back and whacked him in the head. This is Dax checking my reaction to see if he is hurt.

And every once in a while Dax will look back to make sure I'm still paying attention to him.

Reaching,

pulling up,

and when that fails- destroying whatever stands in his way, like this shelf.

"ALL DONE".

On to the next adventure.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Sunday Love

Daddy LOVE.

(Dax does a double point and kicks his legs when he sees his Dad... no question who he wants to pick him up!)

Cousin LOVE.

(Dax and Jaylee, 5 Months)

Weekend LOVE.

(I have been saving this sweater for Dax to wear for almost a year. It has a deer on it and I thought it would be a celebration after Opening Day hunting. No such luck with the hunting- but he sure looked cute!)

Puppy LOVE.

(Dax meets Melanie's new puppy, Oscar)

Anecdotes of our "story"

Some life moments worth remembering...

-I was running late for a play date and had the boys in the car, when from the backseat I heard Dax yell "Vvvrooom! Watch out, it's Mama!". (4/2/12)

-While playing with Rockwell I said "Can you say Mama? Ma-Ma, Ma-Ma". I heard from over my shoulder "No, say Say-wah (Shayla)!" (2/22/12)

-This morning I stepped on the scale in my bathroom, looked down at the number and felt a little defeated. Until I heard a little voice peering around the corner say "Good Job, Mama!". I quickly remembered that every pound and stretch mark is well worth it. (2/9/12)

-At dinner tonight I said a blessing on the meal and afterward Dax threw his arms out and asked "Where Dax prayer?". Curtis: "Dax would you like to say a prayer?". Dax "Sure" (with enthusiastic nodding). Curtis: "Would you like help?". Dax: "No help prayer". We said okay, bowed our heads and listened to our son offer his first independent prayer: "Heavenly Father, thank thee for day, thank thee for day, thank thee for day, thank thee for Mama, Jesus Christ Amen. I did it! Hooray, Good job Dax!!". We all 'amen'ed and clapped with him. (1/5/12)

-We own a compilation Disney Story book that has parts of all the Disney Classics. Dax and I were looking through the book, just at the pictures and talking about who everyone was "Simba, Nemo, Aladdin" etc. etc. We got to a picture of Sleeping Beauty dramatically tipped backward and being kissed by Prince Charming and I said "Oh yuck, Dax, who is that?". (Hoping for a typical little boy grossed out reaction). Instead he said "Is Mama and Dada", shook his head and turned the page. (12/2011)

-Today I heard Dax jabbering in his room and went in to get him up from his nap. When I entered he said "Hello, Shayla. How are ya?". (11/9/11)

-We have been preparing for Halloween at our house. Whenever Dax passes our little bowl of candy we have out he asks for some. Yesterday at one instance when I told him he couldn't have a piece, his eyes lit up and said "Trick or Treat!!?"

Dax has a Halloween coloring book and was working on coloring a picture of a vampire. He showed me his coloring and I asked if it was a vampire, he said "No, One-ah-ah-ah!" (Mimicking 'The Count' from Sesame Street).

Today while running errands in the car Curtis asked Dax "What is a pirate's favorite letter of the alphabet?". Dax was quiet for a moment and then yelled "D!!". We laughed and told him he was right. (10/19/11)

-Today I was nursing Rockwell while Dax played on the floor nearby. When he looked up and saw that I was burping Rockwell and no longer feeding him, Dax came over and stood right at my feet and clapped softly (like a golf-clap) and said "Good job, Mama!". He also claps at me and says "Good job, Mama" whenever he says something repeatedly and I finally guess the right word he is trying to say. And the other day clapped and "Good job"'d Nana when she gave him a slurp of her pop. (10/18/11)

- At Nursery when they sing the song "I am a child of God" the teacher passes around a hand mirror for each kid to see themselves as they sing. This morning Dax was playing under the sink in my bathroom and found a hand mirror. He brought it out to where Rockwell was laying, held it in front of him and sang "of God" to his baby brother. (10/15/11)

-Dax is a friendly little kid. Today I took Rockwell to his first Dr's appointment and Dax came along and stayed with Nana in the waiting room while I went back. When Rockwell and I came out I found that Dax had made friends with everyone in the waiting room and reception area. Nana relayed that whenever someone new came in Dax would jump up and run over to them and keep repeating "Hi! Hi!" until he got their attention. At which point he would point to the fish tank in the corner and yell "See fish! C'mon!" and usher them over to examine the fish tank with him. Regardless if the kids were more than twice his size and age or newborns, he made sure everyone saw the fish. When people were heading out the doors Dax would jump up, run over to the doors and push the handicap button so the doors would open for them and then stand in front of their exit yelling "I did it! I did it!" (with the accompanying side fist pump and jump), so excited to have helped. He makes us laugh everyday. (10/10/11)

-The other day Curtis and I drove through an ATM. When we rolled down the window to work on the ATM, Dax yelled from the backseat at the top of his voice "FRENCH FRIES... POP... KETCHUP!" (That's a clear sign we have had too much fast food lately!) (10/1/11)

-Dax has been to several movies in his little life and LOVES them but gets a little dramatic. For example we took him to the movie Rio today and there is a scene where the main character bird gets captured. Dax yelled at the top of his voice "OH NO!" and covered his eyes with his hands. And then slowly moved his hands down to his cheeks and kept them smooshed there until the scary scene was over. He had several rows of people laughing. He also yelled "hooray!" and "woohoo!" while clapping or fist pumping at happy parts. He's a great critic. (10/1/11)

-I've been telling Dax the color of things for a long time, but never have asked him about them. Today while playing I held up a frog and asked "What color is this?". Dax looked up and said "green" and then leaned over and pointed to the lions mane and said "red" and just got up and walked off. I sat there dumbfounded, I guess he's been learning his colors without my asking for his repetition! (9/28/11)

-I love that Dax calls muffins "cookie bread". Today he asked for "drink treat". I opened the fridge to find he was pointing to the KoolAid he helped me make last night. Who knew that adjectives were so adorable? (9/27/11)

-Dax's blocks have pictures of animals, numbers and shapes on them. While playing with blocks this morning I picked up a block with a cow on it and showed it to him asking "what is this?". To which he replied "a Moo". He did a double take at the block and said "uh-oh, cry!" (I guess it looked like a sad cow), took it from my hands, cradled the block in his arms and said "shh, alright, alright", comforting the sad block while rocking it back and forth. We hope he shows the same initiative and tenderness towards a crying baby we'll be bringing home in the coming days! (9/27/11)

-Dax loves the Moon. He squeals with excitement every time he is out late enough to see it. He has also been equally excited to find "moons" in other places lately. The Nike 'swoosh' on his tennis shoes and the fingernail clippings after a recent trim all received squeals and were called "Moooooo-Nuh"! (9/2011)

-This morning Dax was being silly and I asked him "How come your such a stink-pot?" and he answered by starting to sing "I am a child of God". Nothing like a toddler to put you in your place! (8/29/11)

-Dax hasn't quite mastered the art of fake-crying. Today when I told him "no" and it wasn't the answer he was looking for, he pulled a pouty face and walked around the house signing and saying "cry, cry, cry" as slowly and as pathetic as he could. (8/18/11)

-Today I got Dax's lunch all ready and sat it in front of him. He looked it over and said "Ohh cookie, where are you?".(8/15/11)

-In preparation for us going to the Temple in a couple days, I've been showing Dax pictures of the Temple and practicing with him saying the word Temple. I mostly practice "tah-tah-temple" to him, since he has trouble getting the "t" sound out first. I heard him walking around talking to himself practicing and saying "tah-tah-football"! (7/12/2011)

-Tonight we got Dax ready for bed out of order than usual and were off our routine. I went to put Dax in his bed and he squealed and said "Noo!". I looked at him questioning what the problem was and he said "Brush teeth? Please?". He was right, I had forgotten to brush his teeth! I love that not even 18 Months old he knew his routine and LOVES to brush his teeth! (7/11/2011)

-Today I was playing with Dax on the floor of my room. Whenever Dax would walk out of the room I would pretend cry and say I missed him too much and he would come running back in with a big smile. He'd run right over to me, wrap his arms around me and tip his head to rest on my shoulder in a big hug. We did this over and over again. Until, I peeked my eyes open from my fake crying to see Dax turning the corner into our room with toilet paper in hand still attached in the bathroom, stringing through the house. He brought the tissue to me, dabbed my eyes, wiped my nose and said "bye bye Mama". It must have been time for me to get over my separation anxiety! (6/28/11)

-Tonight while changing Dax he said "Mama", "Yes?" I asked and looked up at him. "I love you, Mama" he said. (Which sounded more like "uhyuhyoo, Mama" and there's a chance no one else would have known what he was saying). But, it was probably my favorite moment of motherhood so far. (6/19/11)

-Sitting at dinner tonight Curtis burped an quickly covered his mouth and said "Excuse me". Later, Dax let out a big burp and snapped around to look at me and put his hand to his mouth and said "Thank you!". Not quite "excuse me", but for a 16 month old little boy, I'll take it! (6/6/11)

-Dax loves to tell his Nana & Papa's dog to "come" and "sit", even if she has already come and is sitting. During the Gibb Family Reunion this year he started also telling his cousins to "come" and "sit". One incident with an older cousin who knocked him over caused this cousin to be put in Time-Out. Dax sat in front of his cousin and when his cousin tried to sneak out of his Time-Out, Dax would point and yell "Sit!". (5/2011)

-Today Curtis and I took a scenic drive and picked out some of our old Cd's for tunes. I put in an old Middle School mixed "NOW" Cd and Curtis and I busted out our best Boy Band dance moves while driving along with the music from our youth. I looked in the back to see Dax dancing his best too; BIG smile, rocking back and forth as best as he could in his carseat, nodding his head and doing the motions to the Eencie Weencie Spider (aka Itsy Bitsy Spider)! He looked so proud of himself that he knew some fancy dance moves too! (5/1/2011)

-At lunch today Dax did a great job finishing his meal so I asked if he would like a cookie to finish. Of course got a great big smile and nodded YES. I gave him an Oreo and watched to my surprise as he dug his thumbs in and opened the cookie up, licked out all the filling while saying "Yummm", then tossed the cookies on his tray and said "all done". He reminds me more of his Dad everyday! (4/27/2011)

-While on vacation, Dax crawled into the room his Aunt Kalie was staying in. I heard him saying "Ch Ch Ch Ch" and went looking for him. I found he had opened her toiletry bag and pulled out her toothbrush. He was singing all he knew of the song "Brush your teeth, Ch Ch Ch Ch" and was pretending to brush his teeth. I didn't see that he had actually put the toothbrush in his mouth, but made no promises.

-Tonight I went into our bedroom to find that the laundry basket on the floor was now full of socks and Curtis' underwear. And the bottom drawer of our dresser that usually holds said socks and underwear was open and completely empty. I guess someone was busy while I wasn't paying attention today!

-Dax loves folding his arms to say prayers and will throw his hands up and yell AMEN and then clap when prayers are over (more commonly when he is done with the prayer and ready to eat but the prayer is not over). We've been working on saying prayers and saying Thank You's. Dax was done with dinner and Nana offered him a cookie for dessert, he was really excited and gladly took it. I asked Dax "Will you say Thank You for your cookie?". He nodded his head "Yes", folded his arms, bowed his head and paused in silence. After a couple moments of silence he said amen and shoved the cookie in his mouth. I had intended on Nana being thanked for the cookie, but Dax knew better.

-Dax very clearly can say "Papa", which he calls Shayla's Dad. A couple weeks ago, Dax was taking all of my magazines off my shelf and pulled down an Ensign Magazine that on the front cover had a picture of President Monson on it. Dax gasped and said "Wow! Papa!" as he pointed to our Prophet and leaned down to give him a kiss.

-Very recently Dax developed a fear of horses. We couldn't figure out where he got it, since he has been around horses since being a newborn. Until, we had on 'Beauty and the Beast' as a background during our day and Dax pointed to the Beast on screen and yelled "NEIGH!". There's a big difference between the horses we ask Dax to pet and the Beast, but I guess he doesn't see those differences yet.