4 months

On the 25th Eli turned 4 months old, which meant another trip to the doctor. Since my past experiences with taking Eli to the doctor have not been great I decided to ask around and try another doctor out. EVERYONE pretty much recommended Gilbert Pediatrics, so I thought I would take Eli there for his 4 month visit. I wish I could say that I had a plesant exsperience and that everything went great, but nope I was not so lucky. Everything started off great. I had everything I needed, which was the 1st time I went and didn't forget something! I even got there a few minutes early knowing I would need to fill out paperwork because Eli was a new patient.

After filling out the paper work I noticed the women sitting behind me had the smallest baby I had ever seen. I started talking to her and found out the baby was born at only 2 lbs!! This little baby was so small I couldn't believe it she looked fake she was so small. I got to talking to the mom and so that helped pass some of the time in the waiting room. Then after she got called back I started paying attention to the other parents in the waiting area. I started to observe moms walking in and walking straight back to the doctor. Then I noticed that people who arrived at the same time as me were already leaving!! I started to wonder if they forgot about me so I went up to the front. I could tell the receptionist saw I was waiting a while and asked Eli's name again. I told her and thought for sure I would be called back shortly. I started visiting with some other women in the waiting area. One of them I knew and didn't even know they had a baby so it was nice to catch up. My friend told me her appointment was at the same time as mine and she was leaving so I started to get up set and asked them if they forgot about us. She said no and I was the next person. Finally after waiting an hour and a half they called me back! This wait would be frustrating for anyone with a small child.

They took all of Eli's measurements and then I waited for the doctor. The doctor was Dr. Jones he was great. He answered all of my questions and was very informative. He took his time and was very helpful. I was concerned about vacinations so he talked to me about that, since Eli did not recieve any shots on his 2 month visit these shots were going to be his 1st. They wanted to give him 4 different shots, but I said only 2 at a time. So Eli got two shots one in each leg. While he was crying I noticed a white spot on the roof of his mouth. NOOO NOT THRUSH AGAIN!! I had the nurse bring the doctor back and sure enough it was back. Grrr!!! After getting a new prescription I left and realized I had been at the office for over 2 hours!

Eli as of today you ...

• love it when your dad calls you  a cutie pa tootie. For some reason whenever he says this you crack up.
• favorite toys are: your blue bear, your rattle with the lady bug, the sun with the catipillar & your blue elephant.
• still love to watch your mobile.
• hate your car seat.
• love when we sing - you are my sunshine, the patty cake song with Mamo & The frowny face song
• learned how to roll over one way and turn in cirlces on your blanket.
• still only drink mommy's milk
• talk all day long main words you say are: ah goo, (over and over again) and you learned how to make bubbles and make your lips motor boat.
• laugh at all the silly things your parents do
• hated your bath until you were 3 months old. Now your dad gives you one every night and you love it.

Things I want to remember...

• How rolly polly your legs are. I love to count all your rolls.
• Your little blue eyes. They are so sweet. For some reason even when you are crying it looks like you are smiling at me with your eyes.
  
• One night your dad and I were playing with you. We were holding you over our heads talking to you and making you laugh. All of a sudden you spit up and we both barely dodge getting spit up in out faces!
• How everytime you look at your daddy you get a big grin on your face.

Eli's current stats are:

Weight - 16 lbs. 14 oz 80%

Height - 26 3/4 in. 90%

Head - ??? 10% (still)

*Stephanie calls Eli Beetlejuice because his head is only in the 10%*

My Hero

I have been sick for the past week and therefore I have not been getting much sleep. The lack of sleep was really starting to get to me. I was frustrated during the day because I was just hoping Eli would take really long naps, and I was frustrated at night because that is when I felt the worst. Jacob saw that I was pretty warn down and this is where Jacob came to my rescue. I got up to feed Eli around 5 am. For some reason after this feeding Eli thought it was wake up time, and was ready for Mommy to play with him. Jacob (I am sure still sleepy himself) came in and sent me back to bed. He then turned off the baby monitor and took Eli until he knew we was starving for food. (Jacob told me he would have taken him longer if I just had a bottle pumped for him) It was so sweet because that little extra stretch of sleep was what I needed to get re energized for my days as a mother. I know to some this seems like nothing but to me it meant the world. I am so lucky to have such a thoughtful and sweet husband.

Sunday fun

The last two nights I have had a really bad sore throat therefore, I have not been getting very much sleep. Jacob was really helpful this morning with getting our family ready for church. He made me breakfast and got Eli ready for church. Just before we left Eli made some very questionable noises in his diaper so Jacob basically made 3 diaper changes before we even left. Then during Sunday School Jacob was holding Eli and we heard a very loud blow out. Everyone started looking at us like what the heck and Jacob made a funny face and pointed at me like I did it. (I didn't know he did this) Jacob then took Eli out and changed his diaper. He came back a few minutes later and a lady in our ward wanted to hold him. So she took him for a few minutes. While she was holding him there was a moment when the room was very quiet. It was at this moment that Eli decided to fill his diaper yet again. This time it was so loud that EVERYONE turned and looked at us! We couldn't help but to start cracking up laughing. Jacob again took Eli out to change his diaper. For the record that is 5 diapers before 11:30.

After church we went to my parents house for lunch. After lunch I looked out the window and I saw this...

Lee and Chase decided they were going to work on their tans!! I thought this was to funny. I did not grab the camera fast enough because when I first saw them they had their paints pulled up so they could get more color on their upper thighs...classic!

At home fun with Eli

I just love being at home with our son. He is such a pleasure I eat up every minute I have with him. He has really started to share his little personality with us, and oh my goodness he is too fun. One day a few months ago a lady in our ward came up to me and said that her husband said," He wasn't sure if Eli was a baby or a doll." I am not sure if he meant that I dressed him up like a little toy or that is he is just that cute . I strongly believe it to be the later and these pictures are my proof.

Eli snacks on his fingers often. Sometimes I catch only his thumb in there. I quickly remove it and give him a Binky.

Eli realized his mom and dad are funny.

Lately Eli has been showing me how strong he is so I thought I would pull out the Bumbo and see how he did in it. I am concerned because it was already so tight on his little bottom. I needed help getting him out of it. I know this usually happens but my concern is how soon it happened!

Eli was a little concerned at first, but after a while he warmed right up to it.

See it only took a few seconds and he was quickly back to sucking his fist

The last little while I have caught Eli watching the TV. He seems very interested in it so I thought I would put on a show for him and see what he thinks. When Ethan was little he loved the show the Backyardigans and that show happened to be on so I picked that one and this was the end result.

While I was pregnant with Eli I was coaching a volleyball team. One of my girls her name is Kiki (that is her nickname) won this blue bear and brought it to practice for Eli. It was Eli's first toy and it is currently his favorite. The other night Eli was crying because we put him in is car seat. I handed him the bear and a few seconds later I realized he stopped crying. I looked down and this is what I saw.

If you look at his hand he is holding his little friend. Eli is so sweet, he melts my heart.

See I told you he loves it.

Come What May, and Love It

Today I was reading from the November ENSIGN which contains all the October Conference talks. One of the talks I read was by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin and was titled Come what May, and Love It. This talk really touched me. He says, "I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life."

He continues to point out things he has learned to help you be happy and successful. The first is to learn to laugh. He explains that when things are really difficult it is better to laugh them off than to get angry and make a situation worse. I loved this because I do this sometimes when I am really frustrated and although most the times those around me hate it, this method really does work and help. An example of this was when I was in high school I had a very difficult volleyball practice. Our coach sat in the middle of the court and all he asked was for us as a team to serve 12 in a row over the net and in, that he could not touch. Every time we messed up he wanted us to run a diving suicide or 360. This should have been a 5 minute exercise, but in turn took us over 2 hours and we still never did it by the end of the practice. By the time I went home we had ran 77 of them! I remember looking at my knee and seeing it was completely swollen and that I was so tired, but I also remember laughing the harder it got. I thought to myself. "what can you do about it Stacy." I chose to learn and grow from it and not to make the situation worse.

The next thing Elder Wirthlin points out is seek for the Eternal. He quotes Joseph Smith when he said "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
"And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all they foes."
I liked this because it points out that trials and difficulty will only be for a short time. This reminds me of a time my dear friend Sharisa's grandmother said something to me when I was upset and crying. She hugged me and whispered in my ear, "this too Shall Pass." To this day her words have stayed with me. Which also brings to the 3rd lesson, compensation. For everything taken away the lord promises the faithful it will be restored 100 fold. I can think of times where I lost something and then I realized that a short while later that I was blessed more than before. I know that the lord keeps this promise.

The last thing he teaches is trust in the Father and the Son. Elder Wirthlin says "the simple secret is this: put your trust in the Lord, do your best then leave the rest to Him." Jacob has said this to me many times and time and time again it has been proven to be true. Although I am not currently going through a difficult trial there have been times in my past I felt I could go no further. I truly felt comforted and strengthened by this talk. I know it was meant for me to hear and the next time I am challenged I will remember his uplifting and insightful words.

Our Dear Sweet Eli.

Oh our sweet little boy! You brighten our lives so much. Tonight while I was holding you Eli, you started to fall asleep. With your eyes only a sliver open you started to giggle. I smiled back at you and you put the biggest grin on your face. I am still unsure if you were dreaming or if I caught you the moment just before you dozed off. If you were dreaming I wonder if you were thinking about us playing with you or some other memory you love. Either way I know you are sleeping and dreaming peacefully.

**This is not the first time you did this. The first time you did it your dad said, "We are so lucky to have such a happy and content baby." I couldn't agree more.***

Election Day, Election Results & Election Thoughts

Yesterday was election day and it was a busy and eventful day for the Ash family. Our Day started off Eli having a rough night so we (Eli & I) slept in until 8:30 or so. Once we got up Jacob went down to our prescient to get in line so we could vote and Eli and I would not have to wait too long in line. Once Jacob called us Eli and I jumped in the car and headed down there to meet up with him. We waited about 30 minutes in line and then it was our turn. Our ballot went something like this...McCain/Pailin CHECK, Prop 102 YES (ok we voted on a lot of other things, but those were the two main ones.) When we got home I rushed to get ready because we volunteered to pass out YES on 102 stuff and hold signs at another precinct in our ward boundaries. Once I was ready we headed off to Neely Elementary were we spent the next two hours doing this....

YES ON 102!!

Prop 102 is a proposition that states marriage in our state only recognizes a marriage between one man and one woman.

These were our fellow Yes on 102 supporters. On the far left is Carly (her husband is behind the camera. We ran into them while they were headed inside to vote. (They did not sign up for this job but Jacob talked them into joining us) On the far right is Bob my parent's neighbor.

Believe it or not I actually had a wonderful time out there supporting this cause. We only got yelled at twice. Jacob says they don't count but I think they do. The first one was a little kid who yelled out of his car "NO on 102" Then shortly after that a lady walking in on her cell phone yelled NO on 102 as well. These both happened in our 1st 20 minutes of being there so I thought for sure there would be more, but nope that was it. We received a lot of thumbs up and winks so it was nice.

Eli is only 3 months but he is still keeping up with the rest of the Ash's on his politics.

On his bottom Eli sported a Yes on 102 sticker and on his front his shirt said...

Eli was sporting a shirt that said Ash for House, his Papa's Cece's campaign slogan. Don't let this picture confuse you he was really excited!

Results

Obama is our new president, Prop 102 Passed and Florida's Prop 2 passed (same as prop as 102) California's Prop 8 (marriage amendment) is still too close to call but the "Yes" vote is currently pulling ahead, and Cecil Ash is officially a State Legislator. Congratulations Cecil!!!

Thoughts

Ever since I found out McCain would be the Republican ticket and Obama the Democratic I was concerned for this country. I kept thinking how on earth can I vote for either one of these men. Then I changed my mind and I thought it is better to vote for the lesser of two evils than sit back and do nothing. As the election drew closer I started loosing sleep thinking about the upcoming election. I was just so concerned about where this country Jacob and I are raising our son in was heading. Jacob and I prayed often that the people of this country would be guided in what the best decision for us at this time would be. I was still nervous until this past weekend at Stake conference. Our Stake president said that all the Democrats he knew said that if McCain wins the world is over and the Republicans said that if Obama wins that our world is over. He continued his statement by saying trust me we will be just fine no matter who is elected. I thought about this for a while and realized that I was one of those people.

After hearing Obama was our president I accepted the results. My thoughts turned to the 12th Article of Faith for comfort and guidance. I knew he was our new president and that I was to support this man in his efforts. For months I stressed over who our president was going to be and once the result came in is the only time I found peace. I slept well last night. I slept well because what was truly important(prop 102, 8 and 2) had all passed. Jacob asked me if I would rather the props pass or McCain be president and I replied the props to pass with out a doubt. I think the words at conference and Jacob's question were truly answers to my concerned prayers.I Prayed last night and will continue to pray for our new president as he will soon be making some very important decisions.