Beutler Family Adventures: November 2018

Our Sweet Macy!

She turned 9 months old in November, and she is the happiest of all of our babies. Just look at that smile! She said her first real word, "Mama", this month, followed quickly by "Dada". She loves her daddy, big sisters and brother so much, but nobody can beat Mommy. She has close to five teeth and is happy even when she's teething, sick, or exhausted. Oh how we love her!

Macy's first time riding in the big kid seat of a shopping cart. I think she enjoyed it.

More smiles!

One of this girl's favorite things to chew on these days to ease her teething is the side of her highchair. It's hard to get a bite of food in edgewise.

These two are best buds.

Shortly after her 9-month check-up we discovered that Macy is severely allergic to eggs. I made her a plate of scrambled eggs for lunch for the first time, and within minutes of eating some of them she was coughing profusely, turning bright red and getting hives all over her face. I threw her in the car and ran her to the hospital as fast as I could, afraid she was going to stop breathing. I called Dave on the way and he had her checked in to the ER and was waiting for us when we got there. Fortunately, by the time we got there her reaction was subsiding and she was not coughing anymore. The ER docs must have thought I was an over-paranoid mom because she was smiling when Dave brought her in. We are so grateful it wasn't worse, but now we have a difficult task ahead of avoiding anything with eggs in it.

Clara's 4th birthday was November 13th!

The majority of her presents included some variation of rainbows and unicorns. You ask her what her favorite color is right now and she will say Rainbow and Yellow. She is such a happy sunshine in our home, and does her best to keep up with Cole and Lexi. She is almost the same size as her big sister, despite their two-year age difference, loves doing anything with other kids, and can entertain herself with dolls and playing in the snow for hours. We sure love her!

The girls loved helping me frost Clara's cake.

Presents and more presents!

For her birthday party she invited her cute primary friends, Audrey and Ashley, to go to build-a-bear with her. They all chose rainbow unicorns as their animal...gotta love 4-yr-old girls!

And of course Cole chose a Pokemon.

Cupcakes and presents were the best.

I love this picture. By the time the party was over Clara was one happy, exhausted little girl. She's trying so hard to smile for the picture but she's just so worn out!

Unfortunately we had a frozen hose bib on the back of our house in November, which resulted in a major water leak in Lexi's room in the basement. It subsequently spread to the girls' bathroom, the hall bathroom, Clara's closet and the hall carpets. Due to the extent of the damage not only did we have to replace tons of drywall, insulation, and baseboards, but we also had to replace the carpet in the entire basement. Our house was under renovation through January. Not fun, especially since it happened right before we had people coming to stay with us over Thanksgiving. We're grateful for insurance and a good job though, so despite the headache and inconvenience of it all, we are able to make ends meet. We are blessed.

Thanksgiving 2018!

Yay for family visiting! Russ, Katie, Jake and Bryce made it down from Alaska, and Shantae, Brandon, Lily, Mom and Dad made it up from Albuquerque.

Craft time with Grandpa.

Jake needed to borrow a jacket and sunglasses for our Thanksgiving walk in the woods. Can you tell who he borrowed them from?

Russ and Katie were generous enough to bring some of their Salmon and Moose Ribs from Alaska to share with us. Lexi is our little carnivore, and despite her size she did not shy away from tackling one of those ribs.

Our Thanksgiving Spread.

Our carnivore back at it with a turkey leg.

Katie's Dad, Katie and Russ.

Lexi, Lily, Brandon and Shantae.

Clara and Aubrey.

Macy, Mom and Cole. Unfortunately, Dad got a nasty stomach bug (which he then shared with everyone else) and wasn't even able to stand up to join us for dinner. Poor guy.

Aubrey and Dave.

Dad finally feeling well enough to read to the grand kids.

Other Happenings:

Cole cracks us up all the time. He struggles with a few things, but he has a very accurate self-image. His description of himself in this cute Halloween project that came home includes: love family, really smart, love pizza, rough, always hungry, and light skin. Those put together with that handsome face and smile pretty much sum this fun kid up. Love him!