An Asay Story

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christmas Love

Nothing is better than a little 'brotherly love' on Christmas.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Nativity 2011

As is tradition, we acted out the Nativity on Christmas Eve.

Nana and Papa came over for the evening and were nice enough to play parts, too!

Best Dressed went to the littlest and wisest Wiseman of us all.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Dax has no idea how much younger he is than some of his cousins. He has zero interest in playing with kids that are close to his age, and much prefers following his 8 year old cousins around. We invited two of his 8 year old cousins over for a sleep-over during Christmas break. They were excited to come play video games with Uncle Curtis, Dax was excited to have friends his size over and I was excited to shut my door and have a night to myself! It worked out great; we made pizzas, had snacks and the boys all got plenty of playing done. Karson and Ethan were so so nice to Dax, literally carrying him around like a King.

This picture perfectly describes Karson.

And this one, Ethan.

Dax was in heaven! And I loved having a house full of boys. They are welcome over again, anytime!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Gingerbread House

Well, we aren't talented in architecture (our first house collapsed), design, baking (no picture needed for my BURNT gingerbread - graham crackers had to do) or construction.

However, we are good at having a good time. And we did, we had a great afternoon laughing at our short-comings, sneaking candy and watching Dax's excitement.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

See you later, Pacifier

Dax was coming up on his second Birthday and we knew it was past-time to ween him from his pacifier. He loved them, and they were so handy. However, we knew he was plenty big enough to be without it. To our surprise, he did so well in the transition! We talked to him about how he was too big for pacifiers and that they were just for babies. We offered him a new little stuffed dog (on the right) if he would like to say 'see you later' to the pacifiers and put them in a bag to put away. He didn't even hesitate and quickly named his new dog "Bark". Only once did he have a hard time falling asleep, but he never asked for a pacifier again. (We should have done it months ago!!). He's such a great kid, we are so proud of how big he is getting.

Hello Blue-Eyes

Some days I will admit, it is looking like Rockwell might keep his blue eyes.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Christmas through a Child's eyes

Christmas time really is beautiful with children around. I have had so many tender moments watching Dax fall in love with all that Christmas time brings. He inspires us to slow down, enjoy and ponder more than we did in Christmas past.

Once the tree was all decorated, it wasn't just a task accomplished for Dax, it was amazing and awe inspiring. He stood in front of the lit tree and just watched it, quietly.

Moments like this filled our home with the true spirit of Christmas. Because the spirit of Christmas, is the spirit of Christ and no one feels it as easily as a child.

This Christmas we drove Dax through a Living Nativity at a local church. At each stop there were actors portraying a scene from the Bible. Dax couldn't get enough of it, "hooray, hooray, see it? see it? see Mary? hi Mary! see it, Mama?". Dax brings so much excitement to life and to this season of year.

We also took the boys to see some amazing Christmas lights in Battleground, just a short drive away. Dax could have stayed there all night clapping and dancing. We were all mesmerized.

Every night we read Christmas stories as a family and we talked to Dax a lot about the Nativity and about Jesus. Dax understood more than we expected. One of my favorite things this Christmas was watching Dax take care of our wooden Baby Jesus Nativity (much improved from last year when his favorite thing to do was to throw baby Jesus out of his Manger). Dax would often walk by baby Jesus and take him out of his manger, gently burp him, kiss him and lay him back down. On one occasion he picked up him, turned him around sniffed and shouted "pe-ew!", took off his swaddling clothes and cleaned him up with his wet wipes before returning him to his manger.

Regardless, he is such an example to us. It made my heart burn and mind question how we are choosing to be examples and disciples of Christ. This year really strengthened how we see both Christmas and Christ.

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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.