Paul Melchizedek Taylor

Paul was born at 10;30 on August 11, 2001.  Because I had just had a baby 15 months before, I didn't obsess over baby and pregnancy books and like I did before. I felt more at ease about having a baby this time around. Paul was an easy baby.  He was really patient with all of us.  He was a beautiful baby who had the most endearing toothless smile. 

When Daniel and i were driving to the doctor to have the ultra sound done and find out the gender, we talked about names.  I remember sitting at the traffic light at 6400 south and State street when we talked about the name Paul.  Daniel had a good friend and roommate named Paul (Freeman) and the name just clicked.  We both liked it and it felt good (and it followed all of our rules!) 
His middle name was originally Cassel after my paternal grandfather, but we changed it after about 2 weeks to Melchizedek. Emotionally I really struggled after Paul was born. I had post partum depression and it was a difficult spell. One night I was really having a rough night, Paul was even having a rough night, so Daniel had to step in to calm both of us down. He said a prayer for us and when he went to talk about Paul he felt strongly moved to change his middle name.  We had talked about using Melchizedek as a first name briefly (but it got axed because it didn't follow any of the rules!) so I wasn't overly surprised at the name.  It was a bit of a shock for both of us and we didn't even talk about it until a few days later, but we felt that it was the right name for him. It took me a few tries to spell it right and now I've got it down pat!

Paul started sleeping through the night by age 3 months.  He was such a big baby that he didn't fit in the bassinet by 2 months old. We had to move Mark out of the crib and into the big bed a lot earlier than i though we would!  Daniel's brother, David, lived with us for about a year right after he came home from his mission, so we bought two beds- one for Mark, and one for David that would be Paul's when he was out of the crib.  An interesting little note about our family is that I was pregnant with Mark when David left on his mission and I had just had Paul when he got back!

Whenever I think about Paul as a baby, I see this beautiful blue eyed cherub of a face with an enormous smile. He was a calm baby and that has carried over to his personality now.  He really likes rules. He likes to have things defined for him and know what is expected of him.  He is a compassionate soul.

Paul's head was big. It was at the top of the charts for circumference. He had several shirts that just wouldn't go over his head.  He finally evened out with his proportions. He might have had a large head, but he wasn't big headed in the sense of being overly confident.  The name Paul means "Humble" and that really describes him.  He has confidence, but not too much.  He likes rules, order and justice.  He really likes for everyone to be treated equally (except for when there is only one brownie left, he is willing to sacrifice for all of us and eat it so that we don't have to!)

Paul has a big sweet tooth.  He loves sugar.  One of his favorite meals to make is pancakes with maple syrup.  He learned how to make the pancakes and then learned to make the homemade maple syrup over the last few years.  He will have pancakes for breakfast three or four times a week!  He comes about this honestly, though, because I really like pancakes and I make them almost as often as he does! He isn't overly adventurous with foods.  He doesn't like sauces (unless they are syrup) or spicy foods.  He used to put a lot in his mouth and then gag on the food so that he had to go spit it out.  Thankfully he outgrew that!

Paul has always done well in school. Many of his teachers have told me that they use Paul as their 'pacer car' in the class.  When they notice that Paul isn't understanding the concept or is acting bored or is having problems, then they figure that the rest of the class is needing things to be done differently as well. 

Even though Paul is a calm kid, he is an emotional being as well.  He shows a lot of his emotions on his face, so we see him grimace when he doesn't like something.  Sometimes he is unaware of how expressive his face is and doesn't understand why we think that he is upset. He is a lot like his mother and requires nightly beauty sleep.  The beauty is for attitude, not looks.  If he gets enough sleep he is very cordial and easy going, but when he is lacking in sleep, he really struggles to be calm, patient and kind.  The apple didn't fall far from the tree there!  Sigh. 

Paul likes to have a good amount of down time.  He doesn't like to be super busy and requires time away from people to relax.  It is a classic introverted personality characteristic and we try our best to respect his needs.  He doesn't like loud noises or chaos. He does several things when he is spending time alone. He likes to read books.  If he isn't reading, he likes to draw cartoons.  He has put together comic strips with characters such as Pretzel Man and Ninja Man.  They are very clever and fun to read.  He is impatient with his artwork. He said that he knows that the comics don't look professional so he doesn't want to keep doing them.  Hopefully he can break through this roadblock and keep working on building his skills.  If he isn't drawing,  If he wants to be outside but alone, he likes to jump on the trampoline.  He will spend a good 30 minutes to an hour every day jumping when the weather allows it.  He has been known to shovel snow off of the trampoline in the winter, so as long as it isn't raining, actively snowing or below 20 degrees, he will jump on the trampoline. 

He loves to spend time in the mountains. He said that he could just sit in a spot for hours and watch the sun move, the leaves sway in the breeze and the water as it moves down the stream.  Even when things don't go smoothly with our outdoor adventures, he has been a good trouper.

Paul is very artistic. He enjoys learning new crafts. He loom knitted a hat, makes key chains out of pony beads, paints miniature figurines for board games, paints on canvas, doodles on schoolwork, makes sculptures out of books, rearranges his bedroom, makes little booklets out of his comics.  He enjoys writing stories and drawing maps. Many times he has left a message for me on my bathroom counter out of Q-tips.  I love that!    I love to see his creative mind at work! 

He is doing really well in middle school. He is involved in the Science Olympiad (and placed 2nd in the rocks and minerals competition) and participates in a lunch time reading group. He does seem to be intimidated by authority (stemming mainly from a terrible 1st grade teacher and partially from a few controlling parents) so that is something that he will be working on overcoming as he gets older.  Daniel was intimidated by authority, so he understands now how it held him back in many areas in his life. It is really hard to see your own child struggle with the same thing that you struggled with.  When you see something in your child that reminds you of yourself it can be humbling (and you can often feel more love for your own parents for putting up with you!)

If you were to pick Paul's "love language" it definitely would not be 'touch'.  He was cuddly as a baby, but as he got older, he didn't like to hug or be held a lot.  He gives what we call "cheerleader" hugs to us.  I understand his need for space, so I try to respect it.  He still gets pats on the back and a tussle of the hair from me on occasion and I really try to use the love languages that he responds best to- words of affirmation and service.

Paul is an incredible big brother to Jane. When we announced that we were pregnant with Jane, but before we knew if we were having a boy or a girl, we asked the boys what gender they were hoping for. Mark and Seth wanted a girl and Paul wanted a boy. When asked why he said "well, I'm going to pick on th kid and  I can't pick on a girl!" He really doesn't pick on Jane. He is so good at taking care of her. He will get her breakfast, help her wash her hands,  distract her to calm her down, and will play along with her story lines. The other day Jane was sick.  She fell asleep while watching a movie on the couch.  He covered her with a blanket, turned off the movie, put up a sign for us to be quiet because Jane was asleep, and made a little get well soon card for her.  It was such a tender thing to witness. I love to watch them interact together.  He will be a wonderful dad one day.  He is a lot like his dad in this way- very patient and loving with little kids. 
 

Paul has amazing eyelashes.  I tell him all of the time that his wife will thank his parents for giving him such beautiful, thick, curly eyelashes (he got them from his dad, not from me though). It wasn't until a few years ago when he grew his hair out longer that we realized that he had curly hair. It is a very nice curl, not too tight, not too straight.  His main complaint about wearing it curly is that people touch it- I have to admit that I have had to resist the urge to touch it, so I understand the draw!  One of these days he will truly appreciate these golden locks!

He is growing up to be such a handsome young man (but I'm hard pressed to get a serious picture of him lately!) Sometimes it scares me when I look at him and I can see how he will look as an adult.  For years I could only see the little cherub toddler, but now I am seeing the man.  He is officially taller than me and is sporting a barely there but ever so important fuzzy mustache! Paul has a great future ahead of him.  He is willing to work hard at things and is willing to learn new things.  He is such a fun person to be around. I am excited to see him interact with girls and see what clever things he does for them. He has always been good about opening doors for me, so I know that he will be a perfect gentleman!  I love being his mom!

Mark Orion Taylor

Mark Orion Taylor

 

When we first found out that I was pregnant, we immediately figured out a girls name and really struggled to come up with a boys name. Daniel was working with two men through his church calling named Mark (Orrulian and Wolf) whom we both admired.  I also grew up with a guy named Mark and I really respected him.  Since it fit all of our criteria, we decided on the name Mark.

 

Mark's middle name is Orion.  It is indirectly named after Daniel's best friend growing up, Jonathan Merrell. Daniel and Jonathan were roommates at BYU.  Their first September there, Jonathan went back to Vernal to take a friend to the Homecoming dance.  They went rock climbing during an activity where he fell and hurt his head.  He died the next day due to the injuries.  Daniel found himself alone for the first time in his life (when you grow up in a large family like his, being alone is a rare thing!) He worked on campus during an early morning shift and when he was walking outside he would look up into the sky and see the constellation Orion and he started 'talking' to him as his way of processing the grief of losing Jonathan.  Because of this, Daniel has an attachment to Orion. We thought that using Orion as a middle name would be a great tribute to Jonathan and to Daniel's healing process. 

 

He was a very good baby. He was sleeping through the night by 3 months. Because he was my first child, I was worried about him being used to complete silence when sleeping and I didn't want that, so I would do the vacuuming when he was sleeping and didn't focus on keeping absolutely quiet when he napped. In the apartment we were living in they came to do a smoke detector test and he was asleep right below the detector. The manager was worried about setting it off, but I told her to go ahead and he didn't even flinch when it went off!

 

Even though he was a good sleeper as a baby, he wasn't a good sleeper as a toddler. Naptimes were necessary, but difficult. Bedtime was frustrating. I know now that we should have done things differently, but we got things figured out. Like Daniel, Mark is a night owl and does not require a lot of sleep to function well.

 

Mark has shown from a very young age that he is a smart kid.  He picked up on patterns and shapes very quickly.  He only had to ride his bike down the stairs once before figuring out that he wasn't going to do that again!  A lot of things come rather naturally to Mark.  He just seems to understand things quite readily. He does get rather impatient with things that require practice though.  I noticed this when he was first learning how to walk.  As my first child, I had expectations of sitting on the floor across from Daniel and having Mark toddle back and forth between us as he learned how to walk.  Mark did not provide that event for us ever!  He would scoot along the furniture and then one day he just started to walk.  He was 14 months old when he walked unassisted. The main reason that I remember how old he was is because I was 8 months pregnant with Paul at that point and I was relieved to not have to carry him anymore!

Mark meets Paul for the first time

 

He still doesn't like to practice things, so learning to play the piano has been a struggle for him.  He is learning that just having the knowledge of something isn't enough- you still have to work for a lot of things once you understand them and the only way that muscle memory can develop is through practice. I'm proud of him for sticking with piano lessons even though it is uncomfortable.

 

He does have one thing that he is willing to practice and that it Tae Kwon Do. Mark has been involved in Tae Kwon Do for the past few years.  He doesn't give us problems about going to practices and has had a great attitude with the school.  He is lined up to earn his black belt by the end of this year.  He likes that he is getting stronger.  I like that he is working toward a goal and having  a great time doing it.  He and Daniel are taking classes together and they really like working together. 

 

Even though Mark gets bored easily in school, he enjoys learning things.  He has been part of the Science Olympiad team for the last two years. That club meets after school twice a week and he likes it!  It is great to see him push himself and get involved in things that he enjoys.

 

Mark has a very tender heart.  Sometimes I forget that he does because he doesn't exhibit his tender side to his brothers much and since most of the interactions I see him in are with his brothers, I think that he isn't compassionate.  Mark has always like to give hugs. After Paul was born I went through a very dark episode of postpartum depression. I would sit on the couch and try to keep things together.  Mark would come and sit on my lap and give me a big hug and then ask if I felt better. 

 

 

He hasn't struggled with having friends. He gets along pretty well with everyone, especially adults.  I remember visiting him in kindergarten and the class was walking down the hallway.  He had a girl on either side of him and they were all holding hands!  He has admired most of his teachers. In elementary school several of his teachers mentioned that they like that he understands some of their jokes that the rest of the class didn't get. 

There is a group of boys who hang out at our house quite often.  Mark is the leader of the group.  When they play Dungeons and Dragons (pen and paper version), he is the Dungeon Master and relishes that role!  Mark is very creative, so it is fun to listen to the story lines that he comes up with.  They are great group of kids and I'm glad that he has good friends to hang out with.  Mark is very clever and he has a great sense of humor. He appreciates corny jokes, which is good because those are the only ones I know! 

 

He loves to read- and he reads fast.  In the 3rd grade he tested at a 12th grade reading level.  He had a standing invitation at the library each morning to return the book he checked out the day before and get a new book.  Most kids only went to the library one time a week.  He just devours books.  Getting him an electronic reader (Kindle) was a great gift for him (okay, he earned half of the money by getting good grades, which for some strange reason was a huge struggle for him in middle school).  He has a huge library of free books and I haven't had to take him to the library for a long time (no lost books or late fees is a huge bonus!) 

 As Mark is getting older I have enjoyed getting to know him better.  I appreciate that he is willing to talk to me and Daniel about girls and about life.  I love going on hikes with him because he is very concerned about me and my safety and takes good care of me.  He will hold my hand to help me get onto a rock, or help me over a stream of water, he'll make sure that I'm doing okay, and he will show me the best route or warn me of a loose or slippery rock.  He jokes that he has to take care of me because I am his ride home, but I know that he is taking care of me because he is nice.  I look forward to seeing him interact with girls and date them and take good care of them, too! 

We are both learning together how to be our best selves.  I've never been a parent of a teenager before and he has never been a teenager before so we sometimes have to take things a day at a time to figure out what works for us and what doesn't.  It is difficult to let him take more responsibility for his life, but I know that it is a really important step toward becoming an independent adult, so I'm willing to work with him to teach him what he needs to do. 

He is growing up before my eyes and I still am in shock that he isn't a little kid anymore.  He grew 4 inches and gained 20 pounds in one year and it has taken my brain a while to catch up to looking at this tall boy with a feathery mustache and realize that he is my Mark.  I am so glad that I get the opportunity to be Mark's mom!