Picture perfect! Mandy Moore is settling into life as the new mom of two little boys — and she couldn’t be more content.
“I think it’s all just starting to ramp up a bit. [It’s been] pretty quiet and mellow,” the This Is Us alum, 38, exclusively tells Us Weekly while discussing her holiday-inspired partnership with Ferrero Rocher. “I mean, I haven’t really left the house [other than] for going to doctor’s appointments, so I know that we’re in the very early days where things are still just pretty easy. … The challenging days haven’t even hit us yet, but it’s fun.”
Moore welcomed her second son, Ozzie, with husband Taylor Goldsmith last month. The couple also share big brother Gus, who was born in February 2021.
“This time is so fleeting,” the Princess Diaries star says. “I’m really trying to soak it in all [of] his little noises and his smell. … This newborn phase is so specific and so special and it goes by so fast that I’m just trying to hold onto it as long as I can.”
The “Candy” singer adds that her and Goldsmith’s family “feels so complete” with Ozzie’s arrival, and she can’t wait to see who the infant takes after as he grows. “Gus is a carbon copy of my husband and always has been,” she tells Us. “I mean, everybody says that — so much so that I’m like, ‘I swear I was there. I was a part of this.’ But Ozzie’s yet to be determined.”
According to Moore, her newborn looked like Gus at first but has already changed a lot in his early days at home. “He’s his own little individual gentleman,” she says. “I’m not sure who he’s gonna look like. It’s still so early. We look back at pictures of Gus when he was this age and we’re like, ‘Whoa. He was completely different.’ He doesn’t look anything who he’s grown up to be thus far.”
Ozzie is “a little stockier” than his older brother and was “heavier” at birth, the songwriter explains. “He’s a little sturdier, a little thicker,” she tells Us. “And he’s got those delicious little rolls, like, wrist rolls and rolls on his back and stuff like that. So I’m very excited. I didn’t get to experience that the first go around.”
Moore announced in June that she was pregnant as she prepared to say goodbye to This Is Us after six seasons. “Baby Boy Goldsmith #2 coming this fall!” she captioned her sweet Instagram reveal. “Tour is gonna be slightly different than I expected but I can’t wait and Gus is gonna be the BEST big brother!! Xo.”
At the time, the New Hampshire native had just kicked off her first concert tour in decades following the release of her album In Real Life. However, she was forced to cancel her gigs, telling her social media followers in June that she needed to “put my family and my health (and the health of my baby) first.”
Throughout the challenges of pregnancy, Moore had an all-star support system in the Dawes singer, whom she wed in November 2018. Goldsmith has been “exceptional in every way” after Ozzie’s birth, the A Walk to Remember star tells Us. “He was remarkable, especially toward the end of my pregnancy — obviously [a] summertime pregnancy, [which] I do not recommend if you have any control whatsoever. … But he just really stepped up.”
As the couple prepare for their first holiday season as a family of four, Moore is “excited” to pass on beloved traditions to her boys — and to make some new ones. “There’s so many little things. … I love driving around and looking at Christmas lights. I love to bake,” she says. “I loved baking cookies growing up with my mom. So those are things, obviously, [that] I look forward to being able to share, and playing holiday music and lighting a fire and all those things that sort of signify this very, very special time of year. I’m excited to experience that with them.”
With Christmas quickly approaching, the Tangled star is teaming up with Ferrero Rocher for their “Give a Golden Greeting” campaign. Starting Monday, November 14, fans can enter to get the chance for Moore to read their holiday greetings in a personalized Cameo video — and win a free Ferrero Rocher product.
“I am a huge Ferrero Rocher fan. I have been for my whole life,” the “Fifteen” songstress says with a laugh. “So to be able to partner with them, especially around the holiday season and around the idea of feeling that connectivity with loved ones … it’s what the holiday season is all about.”
With reporting by Stephanie Webber
