Becoming his own man

I love this shot of Arthur. He loves scary things...loves them. Haunted mansions, The Dark Crystal, ghosts, aliens, skeletons, crystal balls, Tim Burton. He loves all that stuff...definitely our progeny. For this photo, I asked him to make his scared face. I think he did a pretty good job.

When you wait 12 years as a couple to reproduce, you put a lot of thought into the weight of what having children means. I truly believe that as Arthur and Lucy's parents, it's our job to help them find who they are and become the best version of that they can. But actually seeing that happen...well, it blows my mind every single day. 

There are so many things that make Arthur his own man. He quotes "The Raven" and can tell you it's by Edgar Allan Poe. He actually thinks the raven's name is "Quoth" (because the poem goes "Quoth the raven"), but nonetheless, he loves it. He eats (rather well) with chopsticks:

And he knows the names of several Star Trek species and all the major characters from Star Wars. 

I love the way he takes all his toys and creates elaborate scenarios with them, sending them on missions and having parties and such. I love that he plays with cars and with dolls equally. Hell, his cars and dolls go to parties together. I love that he dances and plays drums and makes up his own songs and stories. I love that he uses words like "actually" and uses the adverb "well" rather than "good" ("I don't do that very well") and that he loves tuna mac as much as he loves pizza. He enjoys helping us cook, and anytime we wash dishes by hand, he immediately brings his little chair up to the sink to help us. I especially love how he's starting to fill the role of big brother (protector, caretaker, teacher, friend):

I know these guys are going to be so close. I just can't wait to see who Lucy will become.