12! 12! 12!

Matty turned TWELVE back in April!!!

Somehow, he got 3 mini parties out of the event.

His first party with my family for Sunday dinner.

On his actual birthday, we took him and 3 friends to Lowes Xtreme Airsports in Provo for some jumping, foam-pit, trapeze kind of fun.  We all LOVED it! 

 

Sadly, one of Matty's best friends couldn't come because he broke his collarbone. 

Matty got a 2nd cake, and his friends hung out and played games the rest of the day.

That evening, we had our own little "party" with our family.

 Matty is smart, kind-hearted, helpful, and funny.  He loves to make up complex math problems to solve or create mazes.  His favorite pastimes are probably drawing, Killer Bunnies, Minecraft, Studio C, and watching magic on YouTube.  He's also done several stop-motion Lego animations.  He enjoys reading fantasy novels the most (but is willing to try nearly anything) and is a collector of all things.  Matty is as sentimental as his mom, if not more so.  (Saying goodbye to anything is a major accomplishment for him.) 

He and I joke about how he only has 6 years left in this house, but honestly I think we're both scared to death of how soon that will come.  These 12 years have flown by like nothing I've ever experienced, and I know how fast 6 more will go.  It's so amazing and at the same time heart-breaking to watch him grow up. He was only 2 years old when I started this blog. 

Asher the Doll

 Coming into a family after 3 girls can be a serious challenge.

Good thing this boy is up for it.  He gets dressed up and played with like a doll A LOT!

One day Lacey showed me how her socks fit him.  

I could just eat that chub hanging out of those socks!

  

Another time in April I was at the computer while the girls were playing with their American Girl dolls in the hallway next to me.  I looked over to realize Asher had become a doll himself.  Jossy was moving his limbs and making him "talk" to his girlfriend doll.  I watched discretely for about 30 minutes trying not to laugh so hard they would stop.  

Everyone wanted a turn to feed him when he finally stopped refusing bottles.  

(Hooray!)

Random Marchness

When you're handsome and you know it.

 When your sisters think you are another doll to play with.

When life as a puppy is better.

When you can't decide which face to make. 

"Keeping It Hot"

What's this??  I have another son??

Why yes.  Yes, I do.

One I'm very proud of.

Matty's science fair project for school this year was all about what type of cup insulates hot chocolate the best.  He and I had fun doing his experiment together late one night as we drank lots of hot chocolate and watched shows on Hulu.  It was a much easier project than last year because his teacher didn't require a written report this time.

We were both surprised when he was announced as one of the winners at the school level, and we were even MORE surprised when he won at a district level!  He was able to go the a regional/state level fair (I really don't know how to define it) at BYU instead of school one day.  The little ones and I went to pick him up and watch some of the fun.  

He was totally fine that he didn't move on past this point as we were all getting a little sick of science fair activities by now. 

5 Months

Asher hit 5 months on March 12.  He had a definite preference for oatmeal over rice cereal.  He loved being held and getting lots of attention, and he would smile at anyone at this point.  He was taking 2-3 naps a day, usually 45 minutes long.  He never slept longer than 3-4 hours at night.  Lastly, he preferred to be in his walker or bumbo over just laying on the floor.  

And few pictures of how these little photo sessions REALLY go...

Dear Rice Cereal...

... you are no one's favorite.

Though I will say Asher liked you more than his siblings did.

(2/16/17)

I would love to spend my entire day just making this little boy smile. 

 He's for sure loved around here. 

Asher 4 months

He turned 4 months old on February 12th.  

 He loved it when someone would smell his feet and tell him how stinky they were while making faces.  He was still up several times every night.  He learned to grab his feet on his 4-month birthday.  He started refusing his binky at this point.

Asher 3 Months

By the end of this 3rd months, Asher was getting easier to make laugh by tickling or being "dropped."  He sometimes could skip his midnight feed and go 5-6 hours, but it wasn't a regular thing.  On January 12th he slept from 11 PM til 6 AM, but that was only because of his fever from his hives that made him feel so sick.  His siblings all loved to hold him, and he still took 3-4 naps a day.

Auto Show 2017

Tradition required it.

I think this was actually our first trip that no one threw any fits!

HIVES

On January 10th (Dan's 40th birthday!), I went to change Asher's diaper first thing in the morning and noticed a little hive or two on his belly.  That wouldn't have concerned me much, but then I noticed a couple on his arm.  So it wasn't localized.  I wasn't sure what to think.  About an hour later, I decided to call the pediatrician and take him in.  By the time we got there around 11 AM, he had a few more but it still wasn't horrible.  The doctor looked him over and said it was an allergic reaction to a virus.  He has the tiniest bit of a cold, like barely even there.  The doc said it didn't matter how small the virus seemed, Asher was having a reaction to it.  And he likely would never have this reaction again.  But, he warned me, it was likely to get much worse before it got better and it would take a few days.  Good thing he warned me because by that evening Asher was covered and I would have panicked! 

It was so hard watching these hives take over his body.  They moved outward from his belly and became so massive that they would join often join into a big red cluster. These pictures were taken the next day.  The heat from these hives was UNREAL!  He got a fever the second night from them and his body was so hot I could barely stand to hold him to nurse.  Tylenol did nothing for that.  

His feet, hands, and face were the last to get covered and finally his tummy was clear.  At that point, I knew they were on their way out.  

I'm so grateful we haven't had to go through this again.  Our pediatrician was right, it seems to be just a one time thing.  

Boy in White

Mr. GQ himself.

I could just eat him. 

These were taken just before he turned 3 months old.