Arthur

 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.

Abigail Rolls Over!!!

Let it be known that on Thursday, March 26, at the age of 6 weeks and 5 days, Abigail rolled over for the first time! She rolled from her tummy to her back. She's so strong and we are so proud!

(She also rolled over twice the next day, and once the day after that. What a champ!)

30 week update!

12 weeks. This was right before we told Mason's parents we were expecting! I think it's the first pregnancy picture I took.

18 weeks, about to go play tennis with Mason!

20 weeks. Baby's first beach trip! Also, note how I'm barely showing. The next two weeks were productive ones for my belly, as you'll see down below.

22 weeks

Showing off the 23 week bump at Time Out for Sistren

The bump, in all it's glory. (Actually this was at like 29.5 weeks, but it's close enough!)

Today marks 30 weeks of pregnancy for me! Overall, I feel like I've been pretty lucky with this little one: we've both been healthy and everything's been normal so far. Here's some of the awesome parts of this pregnancy:

• My tummy still doesn't itch or have stretch marks (at least, that I've noticed)
• I haven't really thrown up at all
• I haven't had to buy any maternity shirts or dresses, thanks to Jenna and Megan letting me borrow a ton of their maternity clothes! 
• My feet and ankles have only swollen up a handful of times, which is so nice. 
• My hair is thick and luscious! For the first time in my life! I wish it could stay this way forever!
• I feel more motivated to eat vegetables so the little one can get her nutrients, but I ALSO don't feel guilty when I eat ice cream, because I figure maybe it's just a craving thing those people always talk about. Plus, it makes her do flips and it's fun to feel! 
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I feel her kicking all the time! Sometimes it is so crazy I wonder if she's trying to tell me something, but I think she's just a wiggle worm! It is so fun when Mason feels her. One time he laid his head on my tummy and she immediately kicked him right in the temple! It was hilarious. We both like to watch my belly move as she does her calisthenics. Now that I'm bigger, we are both starting to get more and more excited to become parents. 

As far as the not so great parts of pregnancy:

• There were a few weeks where my hips and back would kill me every night when I was trying to sleep. Luckily the back pain was only for a couple weeks, although the hip aching has stuck around for quite a while. 
• I get out of breath fairly easily and feel like I am the most out of shape I have ever been in my life. 
• Body image is an on and off struggle. I keep telling myself no one else notices the things I do, and that makes it a little better. (Although, sometimes I love the way I look with this bump!)
• In the night, I normally wake up around 3 no matter when I go to sleep, and I feel wide awake and it's nearly impossible to go back to sleep. Usually I take a long morning nap after Mason leaves for school. 
• My gag reflex when brushing my teeth is INSANE
• My fingernails grow at a rate of about 1 millimeter per second. I have to cut them ALL THE TIME.
• My fingers got too big for my wedding ring at like 25 weeks. I miss wearing my rings!
• It's getting REALLY hard to roll over in bed.
• Hormones. The biggest challenge for me the past 30 weeks. I have crazy mood swings and find it hard to let things go. Poor Mason. 

See? It really hasn't been that bad. Also, two of my dear friends in our new ward offered to throw me baby showers! They're going to throw me one together. Right now it looks like it will be on January 18. I'm excited. Time to get cracking on our registry!

Also, I can't finish this blog post without mentioning that today, Thursday, December 5, 2019, my sister Megan had her baby!!!!! She did great and they are both healthy and her little angel is SOOOO CUTE and I think she looks just like her older brother and sister. When Megan showed her to us on the Marco Polo today it was kind of a shock to me that she was so REAL. Meg was prego just like me for so long, and then all of a sudden there was a real baby! That means there's a real baby inside me too! And she's due to come out in 70 days! I have so much to do! I'm so excited! And nervous! And every other emotion! Pray for us!

Oh Baby!

It's the truth, I'm pregnant! I am 19 weeks along today, and the baby is the size of an heirloom tomato. Due February 13, 2020.

I took a pregnancy test when I was a day late, and saw the second line appear really quickly, and really clearly! It was so fun. Mason was at school, so when I went to pick him up I said, "Want to see something I discovered when I was cleaning our house today?" And then I showed him this picture:

To say he was surprised would be the understatement of the century! I think he went into shock. It took us both a while to get used to the idea of me actually being pregnant!

I told mom when I was about 8 weeks along, I think, and it was so fun. We both cried.

We decided to tell Mason's parents on our last trip down to Las Vegas, when I was 12 weeks. 

We gave this card to his Dad as a late birthday present, but told Mason's parents it was for both of them. We included a lime in the gift bag.

 I have never seen them so excited! Michelle screamed and got up and danced around and hugged us both. It was so fun to tell them! They were very surprised, and started to brainstorm what they want to be called as grandparents. They are cute.

Then I called Dad and told him the next day.

We announced it to our families with this text:

 And everyone was so excited!

Here's a picture (taken right after supper) of the bump that is finally beginning to emerge:

Then we had our first ultrasound! It was fun seeing what everyone's guesses were. I think the total ended up being 17 guessing girl and 11 guessing boy. I told Mason if he didn't guess, he couldn't come with me to the ultrasound, so he just picked boy. I did too (even though I had 2 seperate dreams that we had a girl.) We were wrong! It's a girl! It was amazing to see her inside me! We saw all of her bones, and the valves of her heart, and the lady said she must have peed at some point because in the beginning her bladder was full, and a few minutes later it was empty! Crazy! We saw her brain, her tiny feet, her legs crossed at the ankles, and her mouth opening and closing. We also saw her shaking her booty around a LOT. It will be fun to have her as my little zumba partner some day!!! Her face was sort of buried in my right hip area, and we didn't get to see it, so the ultrasound lady told the doctor we need another ultrasound in 4 weeks because of "sub-optimal face viewing" or something. I am not complaining about that!

We announced it to the world a few days ago with this announcement:

And have received a lot of love and support and encouraging words already! 

Today we started talking about names, and that is really fun. I love thinking about what we'll name her! We aren't going to tell until she's born, so stay tuned for that!

So, how has the pregnancy been?

Overall, great. The only time I've thrown up this pregnancy was when I was brushing my teeth one day when I was like 15 weeks along. My gag reflex has been really easily triggered when brushing. 

I was extremely tired my first trimester, and still don't feel like I'm up to my full energy capacity most days, but it's better now than it was then. 

The biggest challenge has been mental. It took me a long time to get what little of a bump I have, and I had some body image issues for a few weeks where I just felt super fat. But now it's starting to poke out a little more and I think I may actually look pregnant some day, so that's encouraging! 

In addition to the body image issues, my hormones have made me soooo moody. I have gone through a weepy phase, and a phase where the littlest things make me super angry. Hopefully that will wear off as I get further and further along. I asked Megan if that was normal, and she said yes, it's like a never ending PMS week, but that it will get better.

I started feeling her move at about 18 weeks. Everyone said it would feel like flutters, but it has never really felt like flutters. It feels like a distinct pushing from the inside. Like little feet and fists are pushing into me. It is crazy and amazing and I can't wait for Mason to be able to put his hand on my belly and feel it too!

I have also been feeling so grateful for this opportunity. It's amazing that I'm growing a little person. It still hasn't sunk in all the way, but it seems more real as the weeks go by. I feel really blessed to be a woman, and to be able to carry a child, and to one day be a parent together with the man I love. It almost seems too good to be true! It just feels like an amazing miracle and I feel so humbled to have this opportunity.

I so look forward to meeting our little one!