Arthur is 9 months old! He is cute as a button, built like a linebacker, and has an award winning smile with only two little teeth. He is growing so fast, so here is a random smattering of photos to jog my memory and tell you all about him.
November 3, 2025. Fresh from the womb. He was such an easy baby in the hospital. He slept so much, didn't cry a ton, and ate well. And was SO CUTE. It was so nice to have Beck there helping us! I remember thinking in the hospital that he looked so much like his Aunt Jenna.
November 4, 2025. This is right when we came home from the hospital. The kids were so excited to meet baby brother. We waited til we got home to tell them his name. They liked it. I remember it was so cute hearing Calliope say "Awfor." Abigail in particular was smitten with him. She went on and on about how cute and small he was, and was very gentle as she held his hand and rubbed his head.
Beck stayed at our house for several days after we came home and her help was invaluable. She was literally like an angel in our home, playing with my kids, letting me sleep, keeping track of his feeding schedule, etc. Mason's mom also came for a couple days to help, and so did Megan! It takes a village, people! I feel normally I am a nervous wreck after I have a baby, but I wasn't this time because of the support. So SO grateful!
November 7. A very squishy boy. This was probably during or right after a feeding. His bassinet was right next to my bed. He has a daddy dimple just like me! A mama dimple!
December 5. Still squishy and sleepy and sweet. I feel like he looks so much like Jenna in this picture.
January 3, 2026. His first trip to Gramps and Grammie's house! Honestly I don't even remember this trip at all. Haha I was tired! Here is Grammie working her magic with him. Introducing my kids to my parents for the first time is one of my favorite experiences ever. I think he met them briefly at Aunt Megan's house before this, at Thanksgiving.
January 6. SO CUTE. And he's got so much to say!
January 19, 2026. It was cold! We were thrilled to be able to put him in his bear suit. This is what he was wearing in our Christmas card photoshoot. He wasn't too sure about being outside at first, but he came around quickly. Look at those cheeks!
February 3, 2026. This happened while I was folding laundry. I'm pretty sure Mason put these undies on him, though I could be wrong. It was fun to see all three kids so snuggly. Calliope didn't really like to snuggle too much with him because his lack of limb control sometimes led to scratches.
March 11. Progressing from a swaddle to sleeping with one arm out. He's growing!
March 18. Once it started warming up outside I tried to take him out every chance I got. He liked to be in his swing, just like his older sisters!I remember he used to reach for that hanging elephant and lion, and he would reach out so tentatively like he was scared to touch it because it was so beautiful or something.
March 24, 2026. Obviously before he could roll over. Cute as a button.
April 10, 2026. I have NEVER in my life seen a child love bath time as much as Arthur does. He created tidal waves constantly, kicked his legs unceasingly, and didn't mind getting his face wet in the slightest. (Note: He is now 9 months of age and this has not changed. Nowadays we keep a towel on the floor during his tub time, and just change our clothes afterwards.)
April 20, 2026. He has so much fun outside. He is completely content. Nowadays he likes to be outside on walks in the stroller or swinging.
April 22, 2026. Abigail always wanted (and still wants) to hold him. We started to get more comfortable with that once he got a little less floppy and boy does she take advantage of that!
April 29. The three yahoos in the hammock.
May 20, 2026. Sitting up like a big boy at the doctor! He sat up so well really early. His posture is impeccable.
May 22, 2026. Callie warmed up to him eventually. They spent a lot of time together while Abigail was in school.
June 2. Going on a walk with Mama. He's always so quiet and content on walks.
June 3. TEETHING. Teething was rough. Also, he LOVES this walker. He's been walking around in it forever. Nowadays he ZOOMS around the kitchen. He can cross the whole thing in like 1 second. We have to be very careful because he will crash in to our ankles and it hurts like heck. Also he loves it because whenever we open the fridge he can ZOOM over to it and start to organize our condiments for us. The kids think that's hilarious, and they aren't wrong.
June 9, 2026. His first trip to the beach! We went to Holden Beach with Mimi and Papa. He really liked the ocean and sitting in the sand. And he even took a nap in our pop up tent! What a guy.
July 14, 2026. His first trip to Ice Cream Alley in McCall! He is a major fan of ice cream.
July 15. Sitting on the McCall beach!
August 9. The MOST HANDSOME BOY in his new church clothes! You can't really tell but he also has a mohawk. This outfit makes me die of cuteness!
Aug 11. He and Callie love to get into mischief together. She laughs and laughs at his antics. Here he is trying to do a little maintenance on the kitchenaid.
Also I don't have a picture of this, but he is very good at turning off lights with the switch. He has been practicing for weeks and weeks. Every time I tell him to hit the light, he puts his hand on the switch, pauses to look at me and smile, and then very carefully maneuvers his thumb to the top of the switch, then flips it. We say yay and get very excited when he's done. It's so much fun!
He is also rolling over super well, he throws his legs and hips over and then whips his torso over after that. Diaper changes have become more like wrestling a crocodile than changing a baby.
He loves cheerios and all kinds of crackers, all kinds of fruit, fruit/veggie pouches, avocados, tomatoes, ice cream, and greek yogurt. He tolerates pickles and would probably eat a whole long one if I let him. He makes sour faces in between each bite but keeps going back for more. He does NOT like eggs, or shredded cheese, though I think the cheese is mostly a texture thing.
He is currently sleeping through the night (knock on wood), and will go to bed around 7 and wake up around 6.
He is entering his stranger danger phase of development but tries his best to be brave when other people hold him. His hair has definitely got a lot of red in it. People keep asking me where he gets that from, and I don't really know, except that Mason's got red in his beard and if the sun hits my hair just right it's got a tiny bit too.
It's been really fun since he started crawling the week we got home from McCall. He is everywhere which is fun but also hard. He's conked his head on things, smashed his fingers in drawers, pulled lamps over, etc. He is very strong and he likes to use his big muscles. He's gotten quite fast. He's also currently in a phase where he loves to pull my hair and try to scratch my FACE so that is exciting for us both.
We love our Arthur. He's the perfect baby for our family. He is fun and sweet and sometimes snuggly. He makes us laugh our heads off every day. He's tough and smart and strong. He's got a ready smile pretty much all the time. I remember when I was in labor with him I felt so honored to be his mother. I knew he was a special spirit before he was even born. I was right.
