April 2018

April was a little bit more chill for us.

Macy turned 2 months old! She weighed in at 9.3 pounds and 21 inches long. She's still a little jelly bean!

Macy helping Daddy watch a show on his phone. She always looks so tiny with Dave.

This is a very common site in our home these days. Lexi can not keep her hands off Macy - she just loves her so much that she constantly wants to hold her and love on her non-stop.

I caught Macy falling asleep on her activity mat and had to document it (twice!). None of our other children would ever fall asleep like this - they would get so worked up that they would cry and flail until they were swaddled and put to sleep in a dark room.

Crafts are always a big hit in our house. We made play dough and then cut out shapes, baked it, and painted it. They were so focused they couldn't even look at the camera...

A box and some colored pencils will still keep a kid busy longer than anything else.

Lunch at the park on a nice day = happy girls.

Macy looks a lot like her cousin Lily in this picture - maybe there is a bit of Blacker in her after all.

Dress-up and snacks with friends is always a hit.

She's finally smiling!!!

This is how I frequently find Lexi watching a show. She's a natural gymnast.

This kid loves his baby sister more than words can express.

I went to pull some laundry out of the dryer and this is what I found. I almost peed my pants she scared me so bad!

Everyone wants pictures holding Macy.

Clara is just oozing with personality (mostly happy, sometimes not-so-happy). This picture captures it perfectly. We were getting ready for church, and I turned around to find her zebra tutu under her church dress with her magic wand, purse, giraffe sunglasses and backwards Nike hat. And that look on her face! Cracks me up.

Macy often chills out in Clara's bed while we're getting everyone ready for bed. Sometimes we forget she's there because she's so quiet and happy. Clara loves her snuggles with her before lights out.

We often find our kids in random spots around their room when we check on them before we go to bed. This time Dave found Clara sleeping inside the pillow case on the floor next to her bed. At least she brought the actual pillow with her too!

We often take nature walks through the forest with our kids on Sunday evenings, and this is one of their favorite spots for a rest.

March 2018

Better late than never! Our March was filled with lots of baby loving and visitors, as well as skiing, flying kites, dress up and art.

This is a very common site at our house these days. Lexi absolutely adores her new baby sister and is turning into a great little mommy's helper. I think Macy loves her too.

Dave took Cole and Lexi skiing for the first time in March. Cole didn't last more than an hour in ski school (he has my sense of adventure), but Lexi loved it and can't wait to go back.

Lexi's in the pink coat.

We were so lucky to have Dave's mom, Jan, come help us after Macy was born. I think she was as smitten with Macy as the rest of us.

Macy at 1 month. She weighed 7.7 lbs and was 20 inches long at her check-up. Still a tiny little thing.

We did a fun Easter egg hunt in the park with friends. Cole can not take a normal picture to save his life.

The kids got big kites for Easter and we had the perfect warm an windy day to fly them.

I'm soaking up every single minute of these newborn snuggles.

The girls love playing on our deck for some reason. It does my heart good to see them out there with their blankets and books playing happy.

Macy might have curly hair like her big sister. We'll see!

Baby-wearing is an art form. Notice the hands sticking out one side and the legs out the other...at some point she was properly oriented!

Snuggles in my bed with all of my sweet kiddos.

For the second year in a row Lexi's preschool art project was entered into the district art contest and won first place. We have a little artist on our hands! She was recognized at a ceremony, got a blue ribbon and $25 in cash. She was so thrilled.

Lexi and her art teacher.

Cole also had his art displayed at the public library this month. I have no idea where these kids got their artistic talents, because it wasn't from Dave or me!

Lexi's class earned a dress-up day at school. She wanted to go as a princess, butterfly, toucan, Moana. Quite an eclectic costume that reflects her personality perfectly.

New haircut for me this month!

Cole was very proud of the bus he built.

My mom came to help again (how do people survive babies without a great mom like mine???), and Dave treated us girls to Disney on Ice's "Frozen" show. It was a first for us all and they loved it. Even Macy enjoyed the lights!

Yay for more visitors! Dave's sister Liz came to meet her newest niece as well.