Anderson Lamont Jarvis!! :)

He's here, and I am completely in love. Anderson "Ander" Lamont Jarvis was born February 18, 2018 at 6:10 AM, ten days early, weighing 8 lbs 10 oz and measuring 20.5 inches long. I wanted to write his birth story down, and share an early Father/Son bonding moment, lol.

Here is his birth story:

I had been having a lot of braxton hicks for the past month, and I had felt them getting stronger the past two weeks, but knew they were still braxton hicks. He was super low and I felt like I was so big, lol, even though I was measuring a centimeter small, 37 cm at our 38 week appointment. Bridger had come 10 days early, Beckham 11, and Benson tried to come 10 days early but ended up coming 5 days early after he was able to engage, so I wondered if this little buddy would decide to come around 10 days early, too. I woke up Saturday morning and immediately felt early labor contractions, but I still wasn't sure if it was actual labor or strong braxton hicks, so I decided to ignore them and do my thing throughout the day. I didn't time them but realized I was having quite a few, I took a nap that afternoon and they woke me up, so around 4 PM I texted my Mom and let her know that I had no idea if this was actual labor but that her and my Dad might want to think about heading up. There was supposed to be a big storm Sunday afternoon/evening, and I just couldn't decide what was going on. My Dad went ahead and finished his day of work and they headed up around 7:30 PM. I also texted our midwife, Seasons, and let her know just to give her a heads up. I started timing them around 4 PM and they were pretty consistent, but not active labor yet. Jeremy and I put the boys to bed and got some things ready in our room, then we took a walk around our circle with the baby monitor on the front porch to listen for the kids, lol. Beckham and Benson's active labor both started when I was on a walk with Jeremy, so we thought maybe that would do it, but we walked for awhile and I kept having contractions, but not active labor. I was really tired and decided that we should go in, and I got something light to eat and we went to bed. My parents got here around 11 PM and went to bed too.

Around 2:45 AM, about 4 hours before he was born.

I probably only slept an hour or less when the contractions started waking me up again, so I dozed off and on until about 1:40 AM, I had a really strong one and I laid there through it, then felt like a small click and a little gush. I went to the bathroom and realized my water had broken a little bit, so I called Seasons at 2:15 AM and she headed to our house from another birth she was at. I'm glad I called when I did because it took her about an hour and a half, she got to our house around 4 AM. I woke Jeremy up at 2:30 AM, that's about when I would say active labor started, and Jeremy started doing pressure points on my back for me. I mostly just wanted to stand by our bed and move with them at first and we let my parents sleep for awhile. My Mom came in around 3 AM and I realized that it was a really good thing they had come up when they did, lol. It started getting pretty intense, and when Seasons got there she started doing leg pressure, while I was sitting Jeremy would push my back and she pushed my knees. Seasons asked Jeremy if he wanted to catch the baby, and he said he wanted to, so she gave him a few tips. She also called another lady to be an assistant since her partner was still at the other birth, Felecia showed up around 4:30-5 AM. I just kept super focused, trying to move around and keep things going. The contractions were so strong, and I asked to be checked around 5:25 AM. Seasons told me I was at a 6 and 75-80% effaced, in the moment I thought I would have been further with how intense it already was and I had to work really hard to keep my mind in the right place. I went to the bathroom right after that and there was a little blood, Seasons told me that that meant that my cervix was dilating fast (that happened with Beckham's labor, too). I went back to stand by the bed and Jeremy was still doing pressure points for me, I was just praying that he would come. I knew our kids would be up soon and it was so intense. At about 5:50 Bridger showed up at our bedroom door and in the middle of a contraction I told him to go back to bed, lol, he didn't, so Grandma took him back to his bedroom and told him that our baby was coming soon and cuddled with him for a few minutes. Well, at about 6:05 I had a really intense contraction and felt pressure, so my Dad went to grab my Mom and Jeremy helped me get on the birthing stool. Jeremy laid down on his belly on the floor with Seasons and Felecia waiting for the baby. With the next contraction, as I pushed his head out, amniotic fluid sprayed all three of them, but mostly Jeremy, LOL. He got drenched in it, right in the face and all over his sweater! Felecia was wiping his face off so he could see while he waited and with the next contraction I pushed him out and Jeremy caught him and handed him up to me. They were telling me to breathe while I was pushing, but he was just coming so fast and I wanted him out and in my arms so bad, he was born at 6:10 AM, after about two minutes of pushing, two contractions, lol. I just sat there and cried with him in my arms, labor is such a journey and I finally had him in my arms and he was crying so good, I was so grateful and so tired and so in love. They put warm towels over us, then after a few minutes they had me lay down on the floor because I was bleeding a little heavy, so I laid down and Jeremy sat next to me and I tried to get Anderson to start nursing. The placenta finally detached and came and after that we were able to move to the bed where it was more comfortable.

We were still under warm towels and I really got to look at him then, I realized he was SO chubby!! lol. I just kept lifting up the towels and looking at his sweet little thighs and arms with tiny rolls! I don't remember any of our other newborns being so chubby. He finally latched on and started nursing really good, then at 7 AM all of our kids were up and they all wanted to come in and meet their new baby! This was really different because our last two babies were born in the middle of the night, so usually we had some time to get stitches done, showered and cleaned up and everything before they were awake. We just let them come in for a few minutes to meet him, then they headed downstairs for breakfast with Grandma. :) Benson's face when he saw him was absolutely hilarious. He just looked at him and blinked away really slow, and kind of scowled, then wanted to get down. LOL.

Benson wouldn't even look at me and Anderson for the first little bit. LOL.

While they were downstairs, Seasons and Felecia left Jeremy and I alone with him for a little while so we could have a few minutes to ourselves while Anderson nursed. When he was finished Jeremy took him while I got some stitches, Anderson pooped all over him, and peed, LOL. Jeremy got all the fluids in one day, and he's such a good sport about it. Then Grandma got to hold him while Jeremy helped me shower and get cleaned up. Seasons was so sweet and waited to do any of the baby exam until I was ready so I could be there, with all of our other babies I was getting stitched and showered while all of that was done. I finally got back into bed and everyone was back in our room to watch Daddy cut the cord, weigh him and see the baby get measured and checked. The boys were so happy! Jeremy cut the cord, it had pulsed for almost three hours! Then Seasons asked everyone what they thought he weighed and we threw out some guesses. Seasons guessed 8.5 lbs, Jeremy guessed between 7.5-8 lbs, and I heard someone guess 7 3/4, and a few other guesses. She asked what I thought and my logical side said, "well, he's 10 days early and our biggest at 10 days was 7.5 lbs, so I'll say 7.5 lbs." Boy, was I surprised!! Jeremy put him in the blanket to weigh him and lifted it up and it showed 8 lbs 10 oz!! What??! LOL. No wonder I felt big. No wonder he has such tasty rolls and I thought he looked chubby. And no wonder I had to get a few more stitches than I expected. I couldn't believe it! Everybody was super surprised. :) Seasons measured him at 20.5 inches long, which is also longer than any of our other babies by an inch. Felecia showed the family the placenta, the boys thought it was super interesting, she showed us the veins that form the "tree of life," which I think is really amazing.

Benson did MUCH better later in the day, and loved holding him. :)

We had two names that we were trying to decide between before he was born, but felt like we needed to meet him first, as soon as he was born we both felt that Anderson was the one, but we wanted to make sure, so we gave it a couple of days before we shared our news. :) We both like the name Ander and Anderson, so we decided to name him Anderson and he can go by whichever one he likes best. Beckham calls him Ander, Bridger calls him Anderson, and Benson calls him BABY!! :) lol.

Seasons and Felecia cleaned up, gave us last instructions and we got a picture with them before they left, then we spent the rest of the day resting and getting to know this new sweet boy of ours. :) And guess what, that winter storm started that afternoon. I am so grateful that he decided to come with enough time before that my parents and Seasons were able to be here.

Felecia is on the left and Seasons on the right. :)

Seasons came back the next evening for our 24-hour visit, and we chatted for a couple of hours. I'm so grateful for her, and for her trust in a woman knowing how to birth her baby. She has a very calming presence and always encouraged me to listen to my body during pregnancy and labor. She has always treated me with so much respect and gentleness, and watching her care for our newborns has always been amazing, she has so much love for those she cares for. We have talked about anything and everything over the past nine months at our appointments and I will miss seeing her until our next little one decides to come. :)

Here are some more pics from the last few days. :)

He had just pooped...the reason for that look on my face. lol.

All that hair!! I love it.

This little sweetie is now four days old, it always goes so fast! He only wore newborn size clothes for three days! I had to start putting him in 0-3 months yesterday. I told Jeremy that I miss having him in my belly, feeling every movement and having him so close all the time...all mine. Once they are born I have to share! I am so grateful he is here, though, we were both ready, I just have a hard time coping with how fast they grow up. The weekend he decided to come just happened to be right before President's Day, so Jeremy didn't have to start paternity leave until Tuesday, which gave him a full two weeks off work to stay at home with us. My Mom is also staying two weeks to help us out, and my Dad is staying this first week. I'm so grateful to have the support and help!! I'm still trying to figure out some sort of routine with four little ones, but we'll get it. :) Welcome to the family Ander boy!! 

37 Weeks!!

Well, 37.5 weeks now. :)

• I am STILL CRAVING MINT. We've probably spent $500 on mints in the last three months. Seriously. LOL. Those PUR mints are just too good. I feel like an addict sometimes...they come in these little packages like you'd buy at the store with 20 mints each, and I go through like a pack a day! 
• I have been taking Plexus supplements this entire pregnancy, I take their X-Factor, their ProBio5, magnesium and vital biome, I also take half a Slim packet every day. I feel like they have been really, really good. I also take vitamin C. 
• I am still exercising! I quit doing the Jillian Michaels workout at 36.5 weeks and switched to a pregnancy workout DVD I've had that still uses weights. It has been much better. I think it's great and important to workout, but still listen to your body. 
• I have been going to the chiropractor twice a week since 32.5 weeks and I feel like it has helped a lot of things, so much. So even though it makes our schedule WAY busier with two extra appointments every week, it has been worth it and I am very grateful we found him. Jeremy started going to him too and it has also helped him a ton!
• I started drinking red raspberry leaf tea at about 28 weeks, it has lots of vitamins and minerals, so even though I don't love the flavor I just down it quick, at least once a day. 
• I've had braxton hicks since the second trimester, but they've picked up a lot in the last week. 
• I still eat yogurt and granola at night before bed, and take a warm shower, then put lotion and lavender essential oils on to sleep. I think a combination of everything I've been doing has helped restless legs and insomnia.
• At our appointment today our little one's heartbeat was 121-144 BPM, and my belly measurement was 36 cm. 
• The boys talk to him and love to feel my belly. Benson says "hi! hi!" Lol. They keep asking me when our baby is coming, they want an exact day, I just keep telling them that whenever he decides. So now they keep telling me that he gets to choose his birthday like they did. :) It's cute. 

Decisions and changes. :)

February 8, 2018

I haven't really shared anything about this on our blog yet, so here it is, it's quite personal but I wanted to share it in case our children ever need this, or maybe someone else needs to read it, or maybe I just need to have it, who knows. :)

Jeremy has been working at the same job as a linguist for the military for the last 8 years, he's really loved it and it has provided a lot of growth and opportunities. He has a lot of fun with the people he works with and he enjoys what he does, but we still felt like there might be something else we were supposed to do in the future. We would occasionally throw out different ideas, but they never felt right, so we just kept doing our thing. We moved from the Ranches out to City Center almost 3 years ago, we felt guided by the Spirit as we bought our home and were very grateful to get the size of house and property that we did. We started homeschooling and found out that there is a huge homeschool community right here in our neighborhood and surrounding area. Jeremy got called into the bishopric as second counselor about 6 months later and we felt like maybe this was where Heavenly Father wanted us to stay and raise our kids.

Well, early last year Jeremy came home and told me that his Team Chief at work had approached him with a promotion offer to be the team chief as a warrant officer when he retired the next June (in the military he would provide a strong recommendation for him as his replacement, and they would listen to him). At first, we weren't sure, it kind of surprised us and things seemed to be falling into place, so we prayed and moved forward. We had considered going Chaplain off and on over the past eight years, but the thought had come more regularly in the previous 2-3 years, and especially in the previous 6 months. We were actually pondering about going Chaplain when the warrant officer stuff came up at work, at the time we took that as a sign that we should stay, but over the next month we just both kept feeling "off" about things. After a discussion we decided to make a decision between the two and ask Heavenly Father if it was right. The entire next week we prayed, pondered, fasted, talked, and Jeremy went to the temple. He felt that he had received his answer, specifically in Moroni 7. We continued to study and pray, soon after that I was beginning my scripture study and I let the book open where it needed to, Alma 32. At first I thought, "I already know this chapter," but God has been showing me that with the Spirit we find the underlying mysteries in the scriptures. The surface story of that chapter "sort of" applied, but as I read, it was like I was literally being taught from "between the lines," or under the surface. After that, we decided we should begin to move forward toward becoming a Chaplain as we waited for further confirmation, so we did. As I continued to ponder, my thoughts turned to what we have here where we are, our beautiful home and property, the homeschooling support and community, Jeremy enjoys his job and he gets paid as active duty with benefits without having to move, and we are only 4 hours from family in Southern Utah. As I have thought about these things, it makes my heart ache to think of leaving them. I had already cried so many tears, but I was reminded as I studied that "whatever success I(we) had in my career and family life to that point was a gift from God."(President Eyring) Our greatest desire is to do God's will, and as the Spirit said to me in Alma 32, I believe He has planted a seed that He knows will grow into a beautiful tree that will bring forth fruit that is most precious, it is up to us to take the opportunities He provides.

After that we started the process of being endorsed by the LDS church, which in itself seemed so intimidating. We started immediately, in June of last year. We did an application, a Bishop interview, Stake President interview and General Authority interview, and Jeremy had to do a psychological evaluation as part of the application. We got endorsed by the General Authority, Elder Curtis, in August and we just sort of felt in awe. During this time Jeremy had started studying for the GRE to apply for BYU, and was studying in all of his spare time for the next four months. He took the GRE in October and his scores were just high enough to be competitive, so we left it in the Lord's hands and we went forward with his application to the MA at BYU in Religious Studies-Military Chaplaincy. Jeremy got everything together for that, and finished the requirements and applied at the end of November. We waited for the next six weeks, then received a phone call from the advisor of the program wanting to set up an interview less than two days later mid-January (that week turned out to be crazy), but he went and felt the Spirit so strong as he answered their questions, they told him to expect a decision in two weeks, and again we left it in the Lord's hands. The next week we received the acceptance letter to the program and felt in awe once again. And so now here we are, getting ready for Jeremy to go back to school, the program starts on June 25th and goes full-time for 22 months. I can't tell how the details will work out, but that's how this entire process has been and that's where faith comes in.

It all comes down to faith, there's a quote from President Boyd K. Packer where he shares an experience and says,

"I was very willing to be obedient but saw no way possible for me to do as he counseled me to do. I returned to Elder Lee and told him that I saw no way to move in the direction I was counseled to go. He said, 'The trouble with you is you want to see the end from the beginning.' I replied that I would like to see at least a step or two ahead. Then came the lesson of a lifetime: 'You must learn to walk to the edge of the light, and then a few steps into the darkness; then the light will appear and show the way before you.' Then he quoted these 18 words from the Book of Mormon: 'Dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.'"

We have found this to be very true over the past 10 months, but have also seen that as we trust, Heavenly Father absolutely guides. My faith was even strengthened when I realized that we had been warned from moving too far ahead with a decision that was not right, going the warrant officer route.

Richard G. Scott said, "When you are living worthily and your choice is consistent with the Savior's teachings and you need to act, proceed with trust. As you are sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit, one of two things will certainly occur at the appropriate time: either the stupor of thought will come, indicating an improper choice, or the peace or the burning of the bosom will be felt, confirming that your choice was correct. When you are living righteously and are acting with trust, God will not let you proceed too far without a warning impression if you have made the wrong decision."

Jeremy and I were talking the other night about all of this, he is now applying for the Chaplain Candidate Program, which involves a pretty intense application, an essay, a physical and a state chaplain interview (which he just did yesterday, and again felt the guidance of the Spirit). This whole process has really been step-by-step, Heavenly Father knew that we would be intimidated if we had known about all of the different things we would need to do, which is why the quote on Him lighting the path just enough really spoke to me. There were so many details I couldn't write in here, those details were miracles and showed God's hand in our lives. I am so grateful and I continue to write them down, however big or small, everyday in my study journal. He really is there, if you choose to let Him in your life and recognize His hand. :)

So, that's our update and where we are right now. :)

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, go with faith.

May 22, 2018
Tender mercies from the Lord.

The last time I wrote on this post I was 36 weeks pregnant, Jeremy had just gotten his acceptance letter to BYU and we had no idea how we were going to pay for half of his tuition and our living expenses, we started researching every kind of loan we could find, but didn't decide on one, we just felt calm about it and knew the answer would come and still felt like we needed to stay in our house while he was in school.

I got this crazy cleaning urge the last month of my pregnancy and we ended up deep cleaning the entire upstairs, I'm talking like shampooing all the carpets, de-cluttering, going through all the kids books, DI run, moving rooms around, buying new furniture etc. etc. LOL. Jeremy just went along with it, he's so good to me. Anyway, we got it all done and I loved it. Then, Anderson decided to come 10 days early and he was born the morning of the 18th, in our home, and it was beautiful and we spent the next week just soaking up his sweet self. When he was about 7 days old I started feeling this motivation to figure out how we were going to pay for school. I researched like crazy, I was talking about it all the time, and then researching more, but none of the loan options were making sense. I talked it over with my Dad, over and over again and still nothing seemed like a good option.

One afternoon, Anderson was nine days old, I remember very clearly sitting at our dining room table, the laptop in front of me and Anderson wrapped in a blanket in my arms, I had my feet up on a chair, researching loan options until I found something I could make work. My Mom was working on her laptop across the table. It was quiet, the older kids were having an afternoon quiet time. Then one moment, I just sat back and looked out our sliding back doors to our beautiful backyard, the grass that had yet to green, our little fruit trees we had been waiting for two years to produce, the amazing view of the mountains from our backyard, then let my eyes gaze across our kitchen, our home, and I felt that burn that comes right before the tears. At that exact moment, I knew we would sell our house and it felt heart-wrenching. I kept blinking, not wanting my Mom to notice and ask, but she did. I just told her it was nothing, I wasn't ready to share this new direction that hurt so much to consider. I didn't say anything about it, and the next day Jeremy, myself and Anderson were driving to newborn pictures, my Mom was driving our older three boys. Of course the topic of paying for school came up as we had been talking about it a lot. Jeremy told me that he felt like we needed to pray about selling our house and I just started crying, because I had felt the same thing the day before. I was being stubborn, I told him I had to pray to be willing to pray about it, but I already knew and so did he. I couldn't imagine trying to pack up our house, adjust to having a newborn and four kids, and take care of all our other responsibilities, and we had no idea where to go. It literally felt like this huge mountain we had to climb right in front of us and it was overwhelming. The next few days Jeremy and I prayed and prayed and prayed, Jeremy fasted, we both knew the answer. I immediately started to emotionally detach from our house, it was really strange, but I see it as a tender mercy. Once our answer was confirmed we immediately started interviewing realtors and getting the house ready. We decided on a realtor, and we told him we wanted to list it in two weeks (the look on his face!), our house was a mess when he came by, but we felt strongly we needed to list it right away. It took me two days to paint our huge master bathroom, we fixed caulking and spent some very late nights packing and organizing the basement and worked like crazy to get our entire 6,000 sq ft house ready to show. I had many moments of tears, and I asked Jeremy for a blessing, I kept feeling unsure, like we were crazy, and my hormones were all over from having a baby and I was so tired. My journal is packed right now, but the main thing the blessing said was that we would know who needed our house and that when I felt like I had nothing left and I was tired, I would know it is the Lord giving me strength. So, we pushed forward. After an exhausting two weeks, we listed the house...

and it sold in a day.

Let me tell you about it.

We planned to list our house on a Thursday, the sign went up a week before and neighbors started asking us where we were going and telling us they would miss us. Well, one family in the area that homeschool and sends their kids to the same co-op found out and she texted me one day asking what we were listing it for. We had initially decided on 390,000, but I kept feeling like we need to increase it. It was late Saturday night and she asked if they could come walk through it, I told her it was a mess and we were trying to get it ready to list but they could if they wanted to it would be find. She said they'd wait until the next week, but they texted Sunday and wanted to walk through it. I raced around trying to clean up the worst of it, I only had an hour. They came by and walked through it, she wanted it so bad. They asked what we were listing for and all I said was around $400,000. So they went home and said they'd let us know, but I told them we were still planning to list it on Thursday. We talked to our realtor and we decided that $399,900 would still be good, so we did and I felt better about it. They texted to find out the price and we told them $399,900. They came by again on Tuesday to see it again. At this point we figured they were pretty serious, but didn't know for sure. Then they came by AGAIN with his Dad to inspect the house, this was the day before we listed the house. They put their offer in on Thursday, the day we listed. There's a whole story to go along with the negotiations. But I will summarize by saying that they offered $380,000, which was surprisingly low for the market. We countered at $397,900 and then got a second offer that was more than asking price. We prayed to know which family should be in this house, they hadn't accepted our counter-offer yet, so our realtor wrote up an addendum to rescind our offer and consider both. Just as we were about to click send on the signed addendum, their realtor sent their acceptance, and we knew they were the family Heavenly Father wants in the house. It was amazing.

So we started looking at renting, but that didn't feel right after looking at several houses, but we couldn't figure out the right loan to buy a house, so we felt pretty lost. After a lot of different ideas and work on the part of our friend and loan officer, James Hoffman, we put together a loan with my parents income and our credit and kept looking.

We closed on our house April 20th and received just about the exact amount of income Jeremy would make in two years at his job. This is miraculous. Looking back...we almost rented when we first moved up there, but decided to buy and found a shortsale. We almost rented it out, but didn't and took the equity to make the down payment on our last house, which we didn't love at first, but it was a foreclosure, so we offered the least amount possible and GOT it. Then home prices went up and we made enough on that house to be able to support our family while Jeremy is in school. God's hand has been in all of this.

Another tender mercy: We had no prompting to sell our house before Anderson was born. None. And looking back I am SO grateful because I feel like that might have messed with me getting ready to have a baby. 

Another tender mercy: I got that crazy strong motivation to get the entire second floor of our house cleaned and organized, which made it possible for us to get our big house ready in just two weeks to list. 

Another tender mercy: A neighbor let us borrow their Pace trailer and we filled it with donations, and they took care of it for us. 

We weren't going to hire a realtor up North, because my Dad is taking care of it, but we quickly found that the market was too hot for sellers and we couldn't get in to the houses fast enough without them going under contract. So, we hired a realtor to show houses for us, with part of the commission my Dad will make. His name is Matt and he is super, super nice. We were looking at a house that he knew would go fast and he told us about an "escalation clause," so we gave it a try, but didn't get the house. We kept looking and ended up putting offers on four different houses and didn't get any of them, but we knew they just weren't the right house, so we kept looking doing our best to find the right place. The boys and I moved down to Hurricane with my parents and Jeremy had to stay up North to work. We didn't know where he should go, and we remembered that when he was home teaching the Stake President (a very special man in our lives) he had mentioned that he had a basement apartment he could use if he needed it. Jeremy called him and they were so happy to have him there! It has been such a blessing, and we both knew that it was from the Lord. He knew it was a difficult situation, and even though we've had to be apart He provided a really, really nice apartment and good company for Jeremy while we were between houses.

We found out a couple months later through a friend Jeremy met at drill, split-training with the Chaplains, that the Military Relations through the church will provide a scholarship to cover the other half of tuition for Jeremy's program. If he hadn't decided to split train early on, we may not have found out about this, we are very grateful!

July 30, 2018

I didn't get all the way caught up when I updated last! We closed on a twin home in Spanish Fork on June 1st, and moved in on the 7th. I will always be amazed at the miraculous power of God. We won the bid on this house by only $500, then during the buying process it appraised for less and we got it for even less than we thought we would. It has just what we need...four bedrooms, a separate living area/play room, three bathrooms and just the right size backyard for the kids to play. It is in an amazing neighborhood with the best ward. We were definitely spoiled with the size of our last house, so we've had to adjust to a smaller living space, but we try to just focus on the positives and the blessings. Honestly, I feel like this house is cozier and we really love it. We were able to move in two weeks before Jeremy started school and my parents came up to help, my Mom stayed for ten days and we got the entire house organized. Like, completely. It's amazing and I am so grateful.

Bridger turned 7!! :)

This sweet boy turned 7 on January 4th!! It seems like he has grown up SO much in the last year. I have loved how our conversations have evolved, and how he has matured. He is an amazing and aware big brother and is constantly watching out for Beckham and Benson. He is also super silly when he wants to be, although most of the time I would say he's pretty serious about what he's doing. I have found him beat-boxing on a regular basis, something he has picked up from his Daddy, and I think it's cute. 

He weighs about 50 lbs and is wearing size 6/7 clothes now. He hates when water gets on him when we are doing his hair, and he also hates if someone touches him with wet hands. He is very particular, and aware of details. He has learned to help me fold laundry and he won't admit it, but I think he secretly loves "family folding day." Lol. He wants to do the right thing, he is so good through and through. He has so much faith, he loves Jesus so much and often will suggest using prayer to find things he's lost, or ask for a blessing. He also learned how to ride a two-wheeler this year!! He hasn't lost any teeth yet, but I noticed about a week ago that his two front bottom teeth are growing in behind the baby teeth and it is making his front teeth loose, so he's pretty happy about that. :)

This is his new "picture face." Lol.

He was very proud that he got to put on the Minecraft figures just how he wanted. They are having a battle.

As many people know, we homeschool, and this year Bridger would have been in "1st grade." I saw him improve in amazing ways this year and it has made me so proud. Last year I went with him every week to co-op for a few hours, he wouldn't go alone, but from the very beginning of this year he has gone on his own and I'm hearing from Sister Garner that he has been participating and loving it. It almost makes me cry. He also did swimming lessons from the same teacher last year, but it took forever for him to warm up and get in the water and participate...this year he has been super involved and he started swimming right off the bat! A few months ago he even asked his teacher if he could jump off the diving board!! WHAT?? My Bridger?? *jaw drop* When I saw where he was heading I grabbed my phone and ran over to record and take pictures, cause this is a big deal. The first time he went to the end of the diving board and I think it looked higher than he thought, so he came back and I showed him from the side that it really wasn't that high, so he got back up there, bounced a little bit, then jumped! His teacher was waiting in the water with a noodle, but she sent him kicking on his back to the side of the pool all on his own. He wanted to go again, so the next time she stayed on the edge and he STILL jumped in all by himself, flipped onto his back and kicked to the wall. I was so impressed with his bravery and confidence. His teacher told me that he has been doing awesome and can even tread water, which she hasn't even taught yet, and that he had been the one to ask to jump off the diving board. *tears* He has made some good friends this year that he loves to get together for play dates with, Keidan and Mason are the two he plays with most. Keidan is in his co-op, Sister Garner's son, and Mason is a friend we've known since before we moved a few years ago. 

He is doing Life of Fred for math, which he and I both love. We use a curriculum called The Good & Beautiful for English and Handwriting and he has done so amazing with both. We actually are just finishing up Level 1, so he will be starting Level 2 (2nd grade) in the next few days. He also has a Minecraft class and he has come to love it with a passion, he has built some pretty incredible things so far and loves to tell me about the circuits, portals and other things he is building. We do a subscription called "Tinker Crate" for Science, and he has been able to put together some awesome projects! We've learned about circuits, we built a spin art machine and we built a planetarium with a light inside that shows the stars on the walls and ceiling in the dark, he got to learn all about how to hook up the electrical parts. 

His favorite things to do are build LEGO's and magformers, and of course play Minecraft. He also loves to build different marble runs with Beckham. He has come to really love reading this year, he read his first chapter book and was very proud of himself. He loves to read the new Friend every month, as soon as it comes in the mail he grabs it and takes it up to his bedroom for reading time at night before bed, that makes me happy. :) 

We took him to a PsyD at Primary Children's for some testing this year, it's super in depth and can tell you all about how your child's memory works, how they learn, they strengths and weaknesses etc. We had some things we weren't sure how to handle and felt inspired to take him and I'm so glad we did! I had thought he was possibly high-functioning autistic and/or ADHD, his doctor thought he had enough of the signs to recommend us to go there. It turns out that he tested at a gifted level with his visual spacial skills, his memory is also awesome. His processing takes a little more time, and she said he also has General Anxiety Disorder. She explained to me that it seemed like he was having trouble because his visual spacial is so high, and his processing takes time (pile anxiety on top of that) and when people just keep talking AT him it's difficult for him to focus. It was amazing how this information changed how I was approaching his education! She encouraged me to do anything with building and hands-on that I could, that it would benefit him and push him. I am very grateful we felt inspired to homeschool so that I could learn these things and tailor his education for him, I have seen the Spirit guide and have seen how he has grown in the past year because of it. 

20 questions with Bridger: 

1. What is your favorite toy? My Mountain Cave LEGO's 
2. What is your favorite part about school? Swimming lessons
3. Who is your favorite scripture hero? Nephi
4. What is your favorite food? Pepperoni pizza
5. What is your favorite dessert? Ice cream and doughnuts 
6. What is your favorite vegetable? Cauliflower
7. What is your favorite fruit? Blueberries
8. What do you want to be when you grow up? A paleontologist
9. What is your favorite snack? Garlic Triscuits shaped like triangles
10. What is your favorite book? my reader books
11. What is your favorite thing to have for breakfast? Vanilla yogurt with granola
12. What is your favorite holiday? My birthday and Christmas
13. What does Mommy always say to you? I love you
14. What does Daddy always say to you? Bridger 
15. What is your favorite TV show? Power Battle Watch Car
16. Who is your best friend? Calum
17. What are you really good at? Minecraft
18. If you could have a wish, what would it be? Fire power, I can shoot fire balls and have fire and have fire on my hand and it won't hurt, unless it's on too long. 
19. What is your favorite primary song? I Am A Child of God
20. What vegetable do you hate the most? Sweet potato and squash

It was so nice this year that Bridger got to have his party outside!! Lol. I think this is the first time! He wanted a Minecraft cake...and Minecraft LEGO's. I think he was happy. ;)

That's his "I love it" face. Lol.

Some funny lines from Bridger over the past year (most taken from my FB):

Bridger: Hey, Mommy!

Me: Yeah?

Bridger: You got an extra reward for reading school to me today.

Me: What is it??

Bridger: You get extra money! *hands me a penny*

I love this boy. I'm so glad I earned a penny today. I mean, I got paid a LEGO flower for helping him wipe last year, at least I made a penny today. 

#iwilltakewhaticanget #bestpennyever #thatlegoflowerisstillspecialtome

------

Bridger showed me a cool new trick outside...

Bridger: Mom, watch!! *he shows me*

Me: Awesome, bud!

Bridger: It gets funner and funner when you are scared of it!!

Me: ...!!

#boymom #theygetitfromtheirdad

------

Playing Mario Bros with Bridger one afternoon...

Me: Sorry, bud. *after burning through 10 lives in the first 5 minutes*

Bridger: He smiles...it's ok, you did your best. (proud Mom moment here)

2 minutes later...

Me: *5 more lives down...*

Bridger: You are usually not very good at this. 

It seems that I have exceeded the limits of my 6 year old's patience. I think he was reminded why he doesn't ask me to play. LOL. 

------

And just in case I forgot to write this one on his last birthday post...

We were having scripture study and were reading in 2 Nephi 2:14, it says, "...there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth..."

I summarized a few verses: We have Earth and all the plants and trees, the universe and all the planets, and those things prove that God is real. 

Bridger: Ok...but astronauts do not go to Neptune. 

I am going to take that comment as a win, he was actually listening. So random, but somehow kind of relevant. LOL. I love scripture study with kids.