Baby Blue Eyes

We're told that we need to wait as long as a year to see what Atticus's final eye color will be, but for now we just love these big, beautiful blue eyes of his.
And every time I look at them, I can't help wondering how the world looks from his perspective.  What does he see?  What is he thinking?

Four months never looked so good!

Well, as of April 3, Atticus is now, technically, four months old!  He's doing everything a normal 3-month-old baby would do, plus a little extra.
He's starting to outgrow his 3 month old clothes.  We've already laid a few to rest.  Take a look at this vest- it's definitely a squeeze...

He can see and recognize pretty much anyone.  It's so fun to see him smile at us across a room.

He's getting better and better at scooting.  Look at that confidence!

He loves fans and bath time.

He loves soft toys.  He's especially taken a liking to this monkey...  In fact, he had his first kiss on Easter Sunday...

 But I think my favorite part of this age is his laugh.  It is easily one of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard.  The best part is, it gets easier to make him laugh every day!  Here he is, laughing with Grandma Toni. He just LOVES both Grandma Toni & Grandma Marti.

Another milestone took place last week, right at the end of March.  Atticus and I got sick.  It was a rough few days and we're both still congested, but we made it.  It just about broke my heart to see him in so much pain (the most adorable coughs and sneezes- usually followed by a fed up yell) & BOY does it take longer to recover from illness when you're not sleeping!

 One thing's for sure.  It made me appreciate all of the times my mom probably rocked me to sleep and went without for her seven children.  It's just a little more motivation to keep the house germ-free!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

No cool green food for this little guy- not yet, anyway! But a belated Happy St. Patrick's Day from our little Frog Prince!

Sleep in Heavenly Peace!

So having a preemie has been an amazing journey.  It's amazing and wonderful and fun, but at the same time, let's get real.  Your child doesn't start sleeping earlier- you just go that much longer (in our case, 5 weeks!) without quality sleep.  So this mom was seriously losing it by February...  Thankfully, he started getting longer and longer chunks (7 hrs, even 9 hrs once.)



Well, the month of March has been nothing short of miraculous.  On March 11, after a couple weeks of four and five hour stretches at most, he slept for over 7 hours!  I think I cried a little.  Hormones, people.  Hormones!  It didn't happen again for a while, but he started getting five and six pretty regularly.
Then, on March 22, somehow the little tyke slept over NINE HOURS!  Is that even possible?!  Don't worry, it's hasn't happened again, but still, these little episodes are definitely glimpses of light at the end of the sleep tunnel.


But, thank goodness, there's so much more to life than sleep, and this little boy more than makes up for it.  He is seriously just a joy to be around.  Sure, teething has set in early, and so when he remembers his sore little mouth, he is a handful, but most of the time he is just all smiles, babbling, and looks of wonder.

Three months... Sorta...

Whenever anyone asks how old Atticus is, I hesitate to answer.  For one, my ability to do simple math is pretty much gone (I blame sleeplessness...)  But it's more than that.  He is almost three months old, and is doing many things a child his age would do, but doctors and nurses told us repeatedly to expect development according to his due date.  So, to be precise, he was 3 months old, as of March 3, but at the time he was really only 2 months old...

But what a fun age!  We love his male pattern baldness and his fabulous bubbles...

 I love that he still falls asleep almost every time we get going in the car or stroller....
 We love his fascination with all lights and fans...

 And he has so much personality!  We see a full spectrum of emotion every day...

Grandma Toni Saves the Tournament

For President's Day Weekend, the club soccer team I coach wanted to participate in the Ice Breaker soccer tournament down in St. George.  I thought it was a great idea, in theory, but was very worried about how little Atticus would get along with all of the excitement, especially since Dane couldn't get the time off.

Here he is before his first soccer game (outside the womb- he's attended many a game in utero)

Thank goodness for Mom.  My mother volunteered to come and seriously saved my life.  I can't overemphasize just how much her being there helped.  First, she was holding Atticus and entertaining him pretty much all the time, but also, every time I was stressed or worried about Atticus, or my girls' or the parents' drama (which was minimal but it was there) my sweet mom was there to smile at me, offer comfort, and help me relax.  For all intents and purposes, she was, yet again, reminding me that it was "only a movie!"  I would survive the weekend!

But the movie got a little crazier.  Sunday night I was nursing Atticus when I started having stomach pains.  For the next 9 hours or so I was going back and forth, throwing up and praying that Atticus would be okay.  Meanwhile, my sweet mother rocked my baby and kept him asleep.  She helped me problem-solve and figure out what to do.  She packed the car and DROVE for more than three hours in the dark to get me home so I could receive a priesthood blessing.  It was more than anyone should have to do- especially a 70-year-old grandma!
And you know what? Even though I could tell she was exhausted, sore, hungry, and frightened (who wants to drive someone else's car at 80+ miles an hour in the early morning?) she kept telling me it was all going to be okay.  It was only a movie.
And she was right.  Dane and Bob gave me and Atticus a priesthood blessing and my fever broke in the next hour and a half.  Atticus is just fine.  And my milk supply is getting back to normal.
I believe in the power of prayer and in the power of the priesthood.  And I love and will forever be grateful for my mom.

Our Baby Boy's Blessing

What a wonderful day!  Dane and I were nervous and had trouble sleeping, but Atticus wasn't nervous, at all!  He had one of his best night's sleep and was just as smiley as could be when we got him ready.  Here's the adorable little man that morning, dressed all in white, bundled up in the blessing blanket that his Great Grandma Zoe made for him.

Using the Melchizedek Priesthood, Dane gave Atticus a beautiful blessing, as directed by the Spirit.  A few things that stuck out to me were that Atticus needed to give attention to his "fathers that had come before him" and their sacrifices, that he would be a "strong and energetic young man," that he would be a leader to "any siblings that might follow" and that he would "serve God, [his] family, and [his] nation."


After the blessing, we headed over to Grandpa Bob & Grandma Marti's house for a brunch.  We feel so blessed to have had so many loving family members there to support us.
What made the day even more special was having my brother David there, visiting from Alabama.   We hadn't even told him about the blessing and he'd already booked the flight for this weekend.  Coincidence?  I think not!  Here he is with Atticus.  David has always had a way with infants (and with everyone else! He's just a great guy!)

We also got to see some of Dane's cousins that we haven't visited with for a while!  Jolene Riser came with her cute girls, Tessa and Taya.  It was so good to visit with her!  And Atticus obviously felt at his ease in her arms. :)

 Dane's other cousins, Brody & Lyndsay Newell, came with their three adorable kids.  Here is their second oldest, Molly, who was fascinated by Atticus.  It was so sweet to see.

 So many cousins came and I'm afraid I didn't catch half of them!  I've never known my cousins all that well so I was touched that Dane had such a bond with his.  I guess it's partly due to his being an only child...

Of course, David wasn't the only one who came to support from my side of the family.  Mom, Dad, Terree, and Danny were there, helping with the food and the blessing itself.



Corky and Whitney were there, as were Bobbie, Ashton and James.  It's so fun to see them with Atticus, especially now that he's developing more personality! (Not that it shows in these pictures, ha ha!)

We also had Dane's good friend Steve Pratt, his wife, Kalleen, and their handsome boy, Connor come.  I have a feeling Connor and Atticus will be just as thick as thieves in a few years, just like their daddies.  :)

All in all, it was a beautiful day.  I am so grateful for family and friends and the love and support we feel here and from those who are far away.  And I'm so very thankful that the Priesthood has been restored in its fullness, so that worthy men can exercise it to bless our lives.

As my mother-in-law, Marti, has remarked a few times now, we have needed priesthood blessings more times in the last few months than I can ever remember having received in my lifetime!  It never ceases to amaze me how quickly I experience peace, healing, and enlightenment as a result of its use.