SHIFT

Sage is now 13 weeks old… 3months on June 2! It’s hard to believe. We have taken lots of pictures of her, but have been a bit slow to post. The first 10 weeks of Sage’s life were rather eventful and now that we have had two plus weeks to breathe a little, we’re getting our heads on straight. In all seriousness, the first 10 weeks of her life we experience three family deaths (both Macy grandparents and a “great aunt”); John got sick twice and I got sick once; and two of the weeks we had out of town visitors that we were excited to spend as much time as possible with (John’s sis Rachel, and our nephew, Oscar, and Erin’s girlfriend from grad school, Amy), and the in between times we were catching our breath. We knew “normal” was going to change when the babe was born, but we weren’t anticipating such an unusual line-up of events in the first two months. It feels like the past two or so weeks we have been able to start a new normal and it’s suiting us.

Sage has had many firsts–not a surprise since everything is new to her. Some notable firsts:

• First time meeting all of her family–aunts, uncles, great aunts, and great uncles, cousins, and second cousins
• First trip to Smith Rock and Bend (two separate trips–she was a real trooper with those 3+ hour car rides!)
• First visit to the tulip farm in Woodburn
• First time to the library
• First graduation ceremonies and graduation parties (wahoo Laura & Tami!!!)
• First smile and giggle–the best!!!
• First swim
• First hike
• …and so many more!

It’s still fairly surreal that we have a child. When I look into her face some times it feels like a dream–perhaps that’s the lack of sleep talking. We are really enjoying being parents, even with the hard moments and days, and are so grateful for Sage. We’re trying to enjoy each day and not get overly excited for what she’s going to be doing and who she will be, but stay focused on what she is doing and who she is right now. It’s amazing how much she has grown in such a short time. She’s around 25 inches and probably about 15 pounds. She is a tall, skinny girl–taking after her dad already.

Here’s a bunch of photos, catching you up over the past two months. I have tried to put them in chronological order so you can see some progression/growth.

Sage vs. the Bear

Meeting Cousin Cody

First time with Cousin Kylan

Aunt Rachel is a fan!

Cousin OK was very sweet with Baby Sage

With Great Aunt Stacey

With Amy at Smith Rock

That’s right…you asked for it! We have been getting requests to post more pictures so, here you go!

Now three weeks old, Sage has gotten into a good rhythm of eating, playing and sleeping. Her favorite playtime activities include chilling out on the activity mat (awesome gift from Aunt Tami and Aunt Martha) and jumping (with our assistance). This week marked her first visit to Chapters (local coffee shop) for a coffee date with Aunt Lins and Uncle Pete as well as her first time on campus at GFU. She’s a total delight and it’s amazing to us that we get to hang out with her all the time.

Listening to Blame It On John during playtime

Hanging with Great Uncle DK

March Madness Bay-bee!

Activity Mat Fun!

Sage vs. The Laundry

Sage vs. Dad

Snuggling with Aunt Lins

Miss Sage Charlotte-Rose appeared on the scene just over two weeks ago. It took all of one second for her to make us melt. We are completely in love. She has changed quite a bit already–we’re trying to keep up with the changes and document the sweet moments as they come. The past two weeks have been a wonderful time of the three of us hanging out, resting, recovering, and getting to know each other. We have been so grateful for the special visitors, gifts, delicious meals, and just the love and support we have felt.

Her stats…
Birthdate: March 2
Height: 21 inches
Weight: 7 lb 13 oz (at 2 week appt, 8 lb 4.3 oz)
Hair Color: Light Brown (maybe a hint of red, but hard to tell)
Eye Color: Blue
Interests: Eating, Sleeping, Pooping, Burping, Staring at her parents

We have decided that all future children (God-willing there are future children ) should be planned around major, multi-day sporting tournaments. Seriously–when else would you have the time to sit and watch every game of March Madness? We’re three games into the second round and enjoying every minute.

Her Name
We started with the middle name Rose. John’s mom’s name was Margaret Rose and among the Macy kids it has been discussed that Rose is on the table for anyone/everyone to use when naming kids. We knew we wanted Rose, but we thought it would be cool to have our own version of it. We liked how Charlotte and Rose went together and then there was a bonus that Charlotte is a family name (John’s great-aunt’s name). The things we know about Charlotte Macy we really respect. From there we found Sage in a baby name book and liked the name, the way it sounded all together, and the meaning (wisdom). We practiced the name before she came and it stuck!

Moments after delivery. Thanks Aunt Lins for the great pics!

Getting weighed

Our midwife who "caught" Sage on her way out

John's finger held by that little sweet hand

Sporting the hat and snuggle sack made by Erin's mom

Sage vs. Dad's Shoe

Sage vs. The Skateboard

Sage vs. The Basketball

Sage vs. The Shoebox

Saluting Colonel Hatch

Doing more of this than ever before in my life!

For her aunts everywhere! (a gift from Aunt Lins)

Can't wait to see her real smile (not just gas) in a few weeks!

Oh those toes!

Just wanted to share a couple of shots of little macy before he or she arrives. Had a lot of fun taking these.  John

Over the past two plus weeks we have been trying to take care of business and make all the preparations we feel are necessary to welcome our new baby into our home. One of the projects on that to-do list was making curtains for the baby’s room. I have never made curtains before, but thought it would be fun to try (with assistance). First I solicited the help of a creative genius, Rachel Morell, for fabric selection and measuring/cutting assistance. The second step of getting Grandma Williams to help was a piece of cake.

On my first day of maternity leave, Grandma and I sat down at her sewing machine and within three hours we had a lovely set of curtains. A few days later, after a trip to IKEA, the new curtains were hung, with John’s help! Although not a necessary item for the nursery, it was fun to see them up, bringing more color to the room, and tying a few items around the room together.

We’re still plugging away at the rest of the list as we patiently wait for Baby Macy!

Our December getaway was out to Redmond/Bend where we enjoyed a three-day weekend relaxing the only way we know how–by getting out and exploring! Day One was intended to be our active day with a planned snowshoe outing. After quite a comedy of events, which ended up with John having to put chains on for the 50 feet we needed the extra boost and the car door nearly being ripped off by the wild wind on top of Mt. Bachelor, we finally got a sno-park permit and got on the trail with just enough time to finish a short loop before dark. Post-’shoe, we enjoyed a delicious dinner in downtown Bend at 900 Wall , per a recommendation from Pete and Lins! As an awesome encore to dinner, we came out of the restaurant to the sounds of a sweet drum line! And, as a bonus, we got to spend the evening with friends Amy and Wyatt. Not a bad Day One.

Day Two was supposed to be our chill day, but when the sun was shining and the temperature was nearly 60 degrees on Day Two, we just couldn’t sit on the couch any longer. We jumped in the car and headed over to Smith Rock where we hiked Misery Ridge up and around to take a look at Monkey’s Face. On the way back to our place we stopped in near the Eagle Crest Lodge to drive through the Christmas light display (note the jump Santa, below).

Although it may be hard to believe, we returned home on Day Three quite rested and relaxed!