An Asay Story

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Brothers

After our day of labor and night away from Dax we were so excited to have him come visit us in the hospital and most excited for him to meet his baby brother.

This is a view I will never forget.

Curtis pointed out me at the end of the hallway and Dax RAN the whole way to greet me, pointing and yelling "Mama" and "balloon", excited to point out that he had brought a balloon for baby brother.

Dax squealed when he saw his baby brother.

And quickly said "There he is! Gimme MY baby!" and tried to get him out.

He couldn't wait to hold Rockwell.

And as soon as he did he pushed his nose to Rockwell's and couldn't stop smiling.

Dax also said things like "hi baby!", "aww, sweet baby", "soft, soft, soft", and called him "Rocko" followed with squeals, laughs and lots and lots of hugs.

Dax kissed Rockwell.

And Rockwell licked Dax back. It was the cutest sight I've ever seen.

In my family growing up the new baby brought the older siblings gifts. It is more or less a bribe for the older siblings to love the new sibling and although Dax didn't need help loving Rockwell right away, it was so useful to have something new and exciting to play with in our little room while Dax visited. He has been loving his new racecar and has said "Thank you" to Rockwell several times.

A couple times we walked the halls with Rockwell, Dax loved helping push his baby brother and has loved Rockwell to accompany him doing almost everything.

This is one lucky "little brother".

What's in a name?

Rockwell Curtis Asay

ROCKWELL

Since I've known Curtis he has always said he wanted three sons (we are 2/3s there!). And that he wanted to name his sons Brock, Rock and Ace. Over the years we've fallen out of love with the name Brock. And I have always refused to name a child "Ace Asay". But, we came to a comprise with Rock several years ago when we picked out the name Rockwell.

Orrin "Porter" Rockwell is both a famous and controversial man of pioneer times and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is probably most famous for being the bodyguard of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Though we didn't name our son after Porter Rockwell, we can't deny that years ago we came up with naming a son Rockwell while talking about Church History.

Another reason we love the name Rockwell is because of Norman Rockwell, who is most famous as the American illustrator of the Saturday Evening Post for over 50 years, starting in 1916. I love his work. I love the time period they captured, to me it speaks so much of the way that we want to raise our boys; little boys that grow up playing outside, are a little mischievous but still are raised with manners and respect and family dinners. In our boys' room we have hung some of Norman Rockwell's art, next to pictures of our boys and the Great Grandpa's of Dax's namesake.

CURTIS

Rockwell's middle name is Curtis, after his father. The greatest man I know. I hope he grows up to be just like his dad and respects both his dad and his middle name.

An Asay Arrival

We had an arrival!

Rockwell Curtis Asay entered the world

8:06PM, 10/5/2011.

8lbs 2oz, 20 inches

and Perfect.

Rockwell's labor and delivery went beautifully. Curtis and I both left the experience on a spiritual high, we truly felt the Lord's hand as we helped bring a beautiful son into this world.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

In the wee-hours before

With Dax's induction we were so excited to get to the hospital that we hardly ate before heading over. Then we suffered through the next 24 hours of fasting. This time we decided to head out earlier and enjoy a big breakfast and date before our long day. We ate at Ihop, I'd been craving biscuits and gravy for weeks but the made-from scratch AND dairy-free ones (so that Dax can enjoy them too) I make at home leave something to be desired. Somethings really do need milk and butter. I enjoyed every bite.

My last belly-shot.

We got all checked-in, hooked-up and enjoyed the sunrise out our window.

And then, the waiting game...

Monday, October 3, 2011

Postponed

Turns out October 3rd, 2011 is a popular day for a baby to be born after all.

Unfortunately, it won't be ours.

This morning Curtis and I were up, dressed, all packed and excited. Nana arrived. We were all thrilled to be induced this morning and to meet our little guy in the coming hours.

Then the hospital called, they were full. Their delivery rooms were currently full and their postpartum were as well. We were told to postpone coming in until my Doctor had made his rounds this morning and evaluated everyone.

They called back two hours later with more bad news, at least 3 of the women in labor would be C-Sections complicating my Doctors schedule further and more women in labor. We were then told to please postpone coming in until WEDNESDAY.

Talk about your all time disappointments.

Hoping Wednesday, October 5th, 2011 (or Thursday the 6th) will be less popular a birthday for other babies and a more popular of a day for our baby.

(So if you were looking at our blog today for an announcement and pictures... this is all you are getting.)

Sunday, October 2, 2011

The last few days as three

One of the beautiful parts of having a scheduled delivery (or somewhat scheduled as it turned out to be) is that it takes some of the constant guessing of 'when will the baby arrive' out of the question. It really gave us several days to relish and fully enjoy our last few days as a family of just three.

We tried to do things that Dax loves; we spent a lot of time outdoors, we kicked a lot of soccer balls and threw a lot of footballs,

we took Dax to a movie,

and ate at his favorite place, DogNSuds, which combine his favorite things in life - hotdogs, ketchup, pop and sitting in the front seat of the car.

Our last weekend was also General Conference, we got to spend so much of our weekend listening to our beloved Prophet and leaders. Though Dax is still young to be listening and understanding the talks, we wanted him to get excited about Conference and to realize that we are learning about Jesus Christ. We talked to Dax about how he listened for Jesus during the talks and he helped us decorate a tin with pictures of Jesus. We filled the little tin with candy, hot wheels, bouncy balls, stickers, etc. and with help every time we heard "Jesus" Dax got to run over and pick a treat from his tin. We'll add it to our traditions for General Conference weekend.

For example we always make homemade scones with buttermilk syrup for breakfast General Conference weekend. In the words of my uncle upon tasting these beauties, "there isn't much wrong with that". Mmm..

Dax loves moon-gazing. On the way home of what we thought was our last night before induction, Dax spotted the moon out the window and we sat outside to all enjoy it from our little driveway.

But the most beautiful part of the weekend was in loving everything about our family of three. We have loved just having Dax, he means the world to us. We are so excited to be a family of four, but for these last few days everything felt perfect as three.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa

October 2nd is Great Grandpa's birthday.

This year he turned 89, the family in town gathered to celebrate with him.

Dancing and hitting balloons was the big hit for the cousins.

We love this dear man.

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.