ARTHUR IS 3 MONTHS!

⫸ 𝕋𝕠𝕡 𝕋𝕖𝕟 𝕋𝕚𝕕𝕓𝕚𝕥𝕤 ⫷
—————————
➙ 12 pounds, 11 ounces
➙ 23.75 inches long
➙ gives wide-mouthed smiles to anyone
➙ starts to giggle when feet are rubbed
➙ “Happy Drooly Thumb-Sucker”
➙ made first trip to Niagara Falls
➙ usually sleeps 10 hours through the night
➙ favorites: long car rides to fall festivals
➙ loves having loud “conversations” with Dad
➙ got dedicated at church with a big grin

⫸ 𝕄𝕒𝕞𝕒’𝕤 𝕄𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕦𝕤 𝕄𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 ⫷
—————————————————————
I don’t know what it is about bath-time, but being alone together in the tub has been some of my most memorable moments with you, Arthur. Honestly, ‘bath experiences’ have been so very different between you and each of your siblings… I was so nervous with your big Sis being my first baby; getting any water in her eyes seemed like the end of the world, and I gingerly grazed her with washcloths as if she was a porcelain doll that could break. Then of course I longed to have that precious ‘bath time’ with your big Brother; he took ‘sponge baths’ to a whole new level, where sometimes it was such a big undertaking that both Dad and I needed an extra nurse to help coordinate IV poles, detach tubing, and even change dressings when they got wet…

So needless to say, our unsupervised soaking time in the warm bath water is more than just relaxing, it’s revitalizing to my soul. It’s simple. It’s quiet. It’s just you and me. I begin to run the water and your chubby legs start to kick with excitement; the second your bare bum gets immersed, you’re grinning from ear to ear. When I step-in to sit across from your bath seat, you’re always so “surprised” when the water rises just a little higher against your belly, yet you gladly welcome me nevertheless. I study your sweet face; I see MacKenna’s inquisitive twinkle and Theodore’s fierce stare all at once. Those piercing blue eyes of yours pay no attention to my frizzy hair and blemished skin; it’s like you can look straight into my heart as if we’ve known each other forever. Why is time such a thief; even “forever” seems fleeting. A tear puddles over the rim of my eye in sadness as I yearn so badly to have all three of my babies, stay babies. I swear your observant little self curiously tracked the tear as it made it’s way down my cheek, and all of a sudden you let out the sweetest “ahh-goo” that you matched with a smirk. And like magic, my tear of grief turned into pure joy all before even falling off the edge of my face into the bath below. It was as if your baby babble was telling me: Mom, just because the bath water doesn’t stay warm, doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy it right now – sit back and “soak it all in”…