March 2016

March came in like a lamb and went out like a... lamb. Speaking of lambs, we went to the Cyr's in Rolling Hills and Lexi got to help feed a baby lamb from a bottle. Lexi, your love for animals is so endearing. Maybe someday we'll have a little hobby farm of our own. Maybe. Anyways, the weather was so beautiful in March that we spent almost every single afternoon outside, gardening and playing in the yard. Mama finally has the flowerbeds the way she wants them, and Lexi... well, Lexi just loves moving dirt around.

Poor Lexi had a bout of croup early on in the month, and it ended up being a pretty special little bonding experience for Lexi and Mama. We went for a 3-am road trip into town, through the McDonalds and Tim Hortons drive-throughts (imagine the looks Mama got when she rolled through at three in the morning with a toddler in the back seat with the window down!) The employee at McDonald's gave Lexi a My Little Pony to go along with her fries. All in all, it was a long night, but a special adventure.

Another adventure was dinosaur hunting with Daddy on a Sunday afternoon. We drove out to Patricia and saw lots of dinos along the way.

Gramma and Papa came back from Hawaii, and we got to spend Easter at the Crowsnest with them. We put easter eggs out in the morning for Lexi, and when Linkin joined us later in the afternoon, we hid all the eggs again. The kids had such a blast finding them.

Lexi's vocabulary and speech just keeps growing, and the 'mistakes' she makes are so cute that they have to be recorded: when she hears something, she says "I saw a noise!" Her reason for being sad is still "my dino... my t-rex" and she calls Macklin 'Mackanee' or 'Mack Attack', which she got from Mama.

To top off a great month, we had some major blessings at the end of the month: Mama sold her car and her condo, so we're building a deck!

Macklin: 2 months old

Dear Macklin:

You are proving to be the happiest baby in existence. You smile more than you cry, and it takes practically no effort at all to make your face break into the cutest grin imaginable, dimples popping out all over the place. In fact, if I could pick one word to describe you overall, it would be just that: HAPPY!

You love being carried; you snuggle right up to Mama when she puts you in your wrap and you fall asleep very quickly on walks (which we've been going for frequently, thanks to unseasonably warm weather.) You also love lying on your back and having Mama or Daddy smiling over you or whistling at you. I pray that that grin never fades - it's capable of melting even the most stony heart!

You go to bed at 8:00 every night, like clockwork. I can't get over it. I can put you down fully awake in your bassinet, all swaddled up in your sleep sack, and within ten minutes, you've fallen asleep. ON. YOUR. OWN. Please forgive me, but I never realized that this was possible. I also didn't know it was possible for babies to refuse the breast when they are legitimately not hungry (forgive me, Lexi, but you would have camped out on the boob 24/7 if it was physically possible.) Macklin, if you're not hungry, you're like, "get that thing OUTTA MY FACE!" Someday, you will be mortified that I wrote that about you. I hope that day doesn't come too quickly. But, seriously? A baby who doesn't comfort nurse? GLORY BE!

I love afternoon naps with you, lying in bed with you on one side, sighing contentedly. We even shared a nap with Lexi one Friday afternoon a few weeks ago, and I can't tell you how absolutely blessed I get to be in bed with my two beautiful babes. 

Speaking of Lexi, she's your #1 fan. She calls you "Macklinee", and continually raves about you: "Macklinee so cute! Macklinee funny! Me love Macklinee!" She cuddles you every chance she gets, so when she came down with croup at the very beginning of March, she was devastated when I wouldn't let her near you for fear of you catching this awful virus. I think that's been one of the biggest fears to date of having two; keeping the toddler away from the infant. Constant vigilance!

Month two has seen you turn from infant to baby, awaken to the world, and hold your head up high, curiously observing the world around you. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU God, for our miraculous, curious, happy Macklin!

Love,

Mama