February 2018

February was an eventful month for our family! Macy Grace Beutler joined us on February 9th, 2018.

Before Macy came we had a little bit of down time. Clara spent it playing in the tiny bit of snow we've gotten and playing the piano while belting out every princess song she knows (mostly just "Let it Go" from Frozen).

Lexi and Cole were intensely into all kinds of Valentine's Day crafts. Their desks were covered in everything crafty for the majority of the month.

Cole had the chance to bring home his class bear who spent a day at the hospital with Daddy. Dave was a good sport and even did a heart catheterization on him. ;-)

We got out all things baby in preparation for Macy, and Lexi and Clara enjoyed playing mommies to their stuffed animals with the car seat and stroller.

Dave and I finally got the nursery decorated for our sweet little one! It's not totally done, but the OCD in me feels much better every time I walk past and see it put together.

Macy Grace Beutler made her grand entrance into the world a few weeks earlier than expected, on February 9th, 2018. She weighed 5lbs 14.5oz and was 18.5 inches long. She was due March 4th, but was born at 36 weeks and 5 days, technically making her premature (37 weeks is considered full term). She came into this world abruptly after I got really sick with influenza. I didn’t realize I had it at the time, but I had a fever for a couple days and awful coughing and just felt miserable, and I’m pretty sure the coughing is what caused my water to break in the middle of the night. Her delivery went smoothly and she was born a mere four hours after my water broke. Thankfully Macy was perfectly healthy and didn’t have any problems when she was born, despite being so early and so tiny. She did need to be on oxygen for a few hours, but it’s pretty common for babies born in Colorado Springs to need oxygen for quite a while because of the altitude (we’re at 7,000 feet elevation), and after a couple hours she was fine. It really is a miracle she was so healthy.

Because I had influenza the nurses immediately took Macy to the NICU and wouldn’t let me hold her for the first 30 hours or so after delivery (it’s standard procedure to put a preemie baby in the NICU for the first 24 hours just to make sure they’re okay). They didn’t want me to get her sick, and if she was exposed to me and then for some reason needed to go back in the NICU then she wouldn’t be able to for fear of getting the other babies in the NICU sick. It is torture to not let a mom hold her newborn baby!!!! Dave was able to go in the NICU and hold Macy though, and my parents came up as soon as they heard she was born and were able to go in there and hold her as well, so at least she was getting some cuddles.

The first time the kids came to the hospital after Macy was born they weren't able to go in the NICU and hold her, but they did let them see her and wave to her from the doorway.

I love the look on Cole's face when he saw how tiny she was for the first time. He's in love.

Masks all around so I didn't get anyone else sick with the flu. Not fun.

This was the first time that I really got to see/hold my sweet new baby. I was a little emotional to say the least.

Our growing family - now a party of 6!

Macy didn't fit into her newborn clothes so we sent my mom out with the kids to pick out a few preemie outfits. Who would have thought that one of our children would need preemie clothes?!

We came home from the hospital to this huge sign that my Dad made for us hanging over our front porch, as well as pink flamingos all over our front yard. I'm not sure if you can tell in the picture, but it was reinforced with wood and is huge in magnitude.

Then my mom had the inside of our house decked out with pink flamingo decor everywhere to celebrate Macy's arrival. It was so fun! She had a fancy dinner prepared and pink flamingos everywhere. She sure does know how to throw a party.

Look closely - those are flamingo pinwheels.

They also got tons of pink balloons to celebrate, and Clara's newfound favorite game was tying them around her middle and running around the house while the balloons "chased" her. It was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time.

She got a little obsessive over the balloons and had a hard time sharing.

Be prepared for adorable pics of Macy, Macy, and more Macy. We can't get enough of her!

Her first bath. She was so tiny that it took two people to keep her from drowning in the tub.

Look at all of that hair!

Dad totally has this grandpa thing down. He can handle all four kids better than I can!

I think we have another curly-haired little girl on our hands! This is what her hair looks like when it's still damp after a bath - the same as Lexi's when she was a baby.

Any sort of baking with mom always involves lots of helpers. Somehow at least one of them ends up sitting in the middle of the island so they can see.

Grandpa Blacker brought out the painter in Lexi. They made a huge mural together and also authored and illustrated an original book. It's quite the work of art!

Grandma Blacker was also innately apt at handling all four kiddos (look close - Lexi is holding Macy while Grandma is holding Clara and Cole is reading to everyone).

We got a few good inches of snow after Macy was born and the kids had to take advantage.

I have no idea how Grandpa and Lexi managed to gather enough snow to build an igloo, but they were able to make one just big enough for a little girl.

Grandma also filled in for me at the 1st grade Valentine's Day Ball. She was Cole's date at the dance and he could not have been happier to have her there.

The end of the month included a trip to the dentist for all the kids. It's amazing how much easier it is getting as they're getting older.

Lexi's class also celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday with crazy hair day. She specifically requested 5 crazy ponytails because she is 5 years old.

Of course when Clara saw what was going on she had to get in on the crazy hair as well. She loves being just like her big sister.

Macy's Newborn Photos

We finally splurged on a professional photo shoot for Macy's newborn pictures. We are absolutely in love with the photos we got. She is truly an angel among us.