The New Adventure

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2010-03-07T17:30:00.001-05:00

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Molly's Home

2010-01-25T12:21:00.004-05:00

Molly was finally released from the hospital on Saturday afternoon. It only took about 5 hours from the time we were told we were going to be released until we actually got signed out and released. Molly seems to be feeling much better. It took a bit of time for her and McKenzie to become reacquainted with each other. They don't like sharing. I think they have spent too much time as only children over the last week. I'm sure that will get better soon.

Now for some other updates we had been meaning to make. Both Molly and McKenzie have had their first haircuts. McKenzie had what Lindsey called "her wispys" cut just before Christmas. Her are a few pictures of the process.

Before we begin and we're not sure we like it.

Partway through...still not sure.

After we're done with our stylist Aunt Liza

Molly has been blessed with a mullet: business up front and party in the back. For some reason, her mother didn't like this very much. So, Molly got her hair cut as well. Here are some pictures and a video!

Before we begin

This isn't so bad...

Oops...we were wrong

And a video of the event...

And that's it for now.

Molly's Fun and Games

2010-01-22T01:23:00.004-05:00

It has been quite a week for the girls. Starting on Friday night, McKenzie started coughing and had a runny nose. By Saturday, she had a fever. We started the Motrin and tylenol and laid low for a few days. Skipped church on Sunday. By Monday, we decided it would be best to take the girls to see Dr. Jeanie.

A blood test confirmed that McKenzie had RSV. At that time, Molly had no fever and no congestion in her lungs. RSV is quite contagious so there was never really any doubt that Molly would come down with it. Boy, did she ever...

On Tuesday, both girls were coughing and running fevers. By late in the evening, Molly started breathing pretty hard. After calling our pediatrician's after hours call service, Lindsey took Molly to the PM Pediatrics office in Hixson. I don't think we'll be going back to this particular office. They can't do much of anything. If you need blood work, an x-ray, etc they'll send you out to Hamilton Place.

So, they got sent to Hamilton Place. They took an x-ray and started monitoring her oxygen levels. Apparently, Molly couldn't keep her oxygen up. Due to their crazy office policies, since her oxygen level was less than 93%, they called an ambulance to transport Molly to the hospital. That's crazy...

So, Molly got to go to the hospital in an ambulance. Lindsey rode with her. First time for both of them. Yay.

We all got to the ER pretty close to the same time, around 9:45. Unfortunately, we would spend a lot more time in the ER. The doctor made it in to see us at some point. We did a breathing treatment and had some more tylenol. Molly's temperature was spiking at 104.7. We watched Cheers and Golden Girls for a few hours. At some point, we realized that we were the only people in our half of the ER. By now, it was 1:30 or 2 in the morning.

I finally left the hospital just before 3am. I had left my mom at home with McKenzie and we really needed to get back to them. Molly was finally admitted to a room at 5:15. For some reason, 17 people were admitted overnight. We were number 14. Yay.

Molly finally received the antibiotics that the ER doctor recommended at midnight at 1:30PM; only 13 hours later. They also confirmed that Molly had RSV with double pneumonia as well.

So, they continue to give her antibiotics and tylenol. Tonight is her 2nd "official" night in the hospital; the 3rd if you count the night in the ER. She has now spent more time in the hospital than McKenzie did after BRAIN SURGERY. Seriously? Yeah.

Ok, so now I'm getting snippy because it's late. Here are 2 pictures of Molly we took tonight in order to document the whole experience.

Up and about for the first time in a few days:

Relaxing and watching a bunch of TV:

So, that's it. Hopefully we'll be coming home tomorrow. Hopefully...

Post Christmas Updates!

2010-01-12T11:50:00.003-05:00

When we last left off, we were a few days away from Christmas. Here is what has happened since then.

We got the results of Molly's allergy test back. The blood test showed that Molly had a level 1 (out of 6) reaction to milk. Everything else came back negative. Since she had the reaction, we were referred on to an allergist. We got an appointment with the allergist the very next day. We went and had a skin test for milk. There was no reaction.

Basically, the allergist said that she doesn't have a milk allergy but a milk intolerance. Apparently though it doesn't take a great deal of milk to trigger the bad reaction. We're in a trial and error period where we are gradually reintroducing some milk stuff and seeing what happens. Yogurt is not a problem but we haven't gone and started cheese or whole milk yet. Might not happen for a while.

Here's a picture of our Christmas tree this year.

On Christmas Eve, we went to the 5pm service at Hixson UMC. After the service was over, my parents came over and we had shrimp gumbo. Before the girls went to bed, we did the traditional Christmas Eve stuff.

Here's a picture of the family.

Here is a picture of just the girls in their Christmas dresses...

We also hung stockings by the chimney with care...

The last step was to read the Night Before Christmas. It ended up being a family affair with my parents there with us and John and Sue joining in via Skype video chat on the computer. The girls were much more active and squirmy compared to last year.

Christmas morning came.

The girls seemed to enjoy going through their different gifts. I don't think they "get it" yet but that's coming soon enough.

After we wrapped things up at home, we went over to my parents house. Here are some pictures of the girls and their grandparents.

McKenzie and her favorite toy...

The day after Christmas, we loaded up and headed to Maryville. We had a lot of family fun over the next 3 days. First, we went to Fred and Cynthia's house and had "Fajitas Navidad". On Sunday there was a family brunch at Billy and Emmy's. Late that night, McKenzie decided to cut some new teeth. We were up with her from 11pm til 2am and again at 5am. Fun times were had by all...

The girls got some more new toys to play with. First was a small couch that they can both sit on and share. Here they are doing what they typically do: climbing on the couch.

And finally, a riding toy that also doubles as a walker. Here the girls are sharing.

After Christmas, Lindsey had the rest of the week off. The girls went to stay with Gigi and G-Daddy for New Year's Eve while Lindsey and I had our Sunday School Christmas party. I'm not sure who went to bed first, the girls or the grandparents.

The girls started back at their parents day out program this past week. Molly and McKenzie moved up to the 1 year old class. We tried this once before Christmas but the girls didn't do so well. There were a lot of older kids in there and the girls didn't handle the transition well. Now, most of the older kids moved up to the next class.

Amazingly, both of the girls have transitioned pretty well. They are both able to take a nap on a mat on the floor. We might have cheated a little by sending their lovies and pacifiers but really, whatever works.

So, that's it for now. We keep rocking right along...

Post Thanksgiving Update

2009-12-18T14:06:00.006-05:00

Another month has slipped by so I guess it's time for an update on the family.

We started our Thanksgiving holiday by traveling to Maryville to be with Lindsey's family on Wednesday afternoon. Thursday was the typical cabin luncheon with only about 65 family members this year and then a journey into Knoxville to Fred and Cynthia's house so I could FINALLY get some bread and some mashed potatoes. I don't know what is up with people who don't think bread and mashed potatoes are part of a Thanksgiving dinner. Thank God for Cynthia! She loves me!

Here are some pictures of the girls bundled up and playing in the leaves at the cabin.

On Friday, we had a birthday celebration for Molly, McKenzie, John, and Lew. The girls got to eat some delicious cupcakes. Once again, Molly tore into hers like there was no tomorrow.

McKenzie though prefers to keep her hands clean. Therefore, she just went into the thing face first...at least until all the icing was gone.

We returned home on Saturday and had another Thanksgiving lunch with my family. Then it was time to rest...

On Monday, the girls had their one year checkup with the doctor. We were supposed to get shots but neither girl was well enough for them. Isn't that odd? I thought so. McKenzie had a double ear infection and Molly had a wheeziness in her chest. McKenzie got "the pink stuff" which she likes way too much and Molly got to do breathing treatments 3 or 4 times a day for a week or two. Fun!

Molly weighed in at 21 pounds 7 oz and was 29" tall. She's 60th percentile in weight and 50th in height.

McKenzie weighed in at 19 pounds 5 ounces and was 30" tall. She's 25th percentile in weight and 60th percentile in height. This was the first time that the girls measured differently in height.

Head circumference for both was 46cm which is right at the 50th percentile.

On the following Saturday, we actually got snow! First time in a long time that we've actually had anything that stuck to the ground. We got the girls all bundled up and went out to see what was going on. McKenzie went nuts crawling all over the place. Molly stood on the sidewalk and cried. Shocking...

Here are some pictures from that morning.

On Thursday, the 10th, we decided to take the girls to see Santa for the first time. In order to get ready, we decided to get all dressed up and then play some so we would be in good moods. Here are some "getting ready for Santa" pictures:

And finally, the big moment...

Once again, McKenzie is kinda passive and Molly is about 2 seconds from losing it entirely. We're gonna need to get Molly over her fears at some point. I just don't think it's going to happen today.

Yesterday, we went back to the doctor to finally get our one year shots and some other stuff. Each girl got 4 shots including the swine flu shot. It wasn't pretty. McKenzie had a finger stick to draw blood for her iron levels. They are finally in the normal range so we're good for now. Molly had a vial of blood drawn from her arm so that the doctors can run an allergy screening.

The thought right now is that Molly has a milk allergy. Whenever she has milk, she gets a really bad, blistery diaper rash and has really loose stools. We took her off milk everything about 2 weeks ago and things have gotten A LOT better. Some of the strangest things have milk in them though. Case in point: soy yogurt. The yogurt cultures are milk based. Same for soy cheese and a lot of the rice based products.

We went to Greenlife Grocery (cool place by the way. A ton more people were there for lunch, not buying groceries...) earlier this week and found some Vegan Cheddar "Cheese". It's...odd. It's kinda crumbly and wet for some reason. Also, expensive ($5 for 8 ounces). Apparently Molly likes it though.

We're kinda hoping that this allergy is something she'll grow out of. If not, she's not going to enjoy sitting in the car while we eat Nana's Custard =)

We'll know the results of the allergy screening in about a week.

So, that's it for now. We're gearing up for Christmas traveling as best we can. Santa's going to bring us lots of fun stuff (not that we need any more toys in this house!)

2008

2009

Til later...

Has It Been a Year Already?

2009-11-17T00:50:00.003-05:00

Wow, it has been a year since Molly and McKenzie arrived to torment and destroy our lives...

A whole year. So, for this grand occasion, I was told that I have to update the blog and let people know what has been going on in the last 6 weeks or so. This will be mainly pictures since I know that is what you guys like the best. So, here goes...

A few years ago around Christmas, there was some sort of promotion where if you spent X number of dollars, you got a free stuffed animal. One day, we pulled it out and let the girls play with it. And let me tell you, it was a hit. It's nuts...

Here's a picture of McKenzie:

And here's a picture of McKenzie doing what they do to poor old Pooh...

A few weeks later, we started getting ready for Halloween. Part of that entailed going to a Pumpkin Farm near Athens, TN. The girls got to see a bunch of different animals, pick out pumpkins, and generally just enjoy the great weather. Here are some pictures and a quick video from that day.

Checking out the baby cow. We're not too sure about this stuff yet.

Here's McKenzie checking everything out.

And here's Molly thinking about the horses...

Maybe the goats are more our thing.

Ahhh...finally something our size. The chicks and ducklings were very interesting.

Now, it was time to find our pumpkins.

That one might be a bit too big.

Here's some more our size...

A quick family shot at the end of the day.

And a video of McKenzie going nuts with the straw...

Soon, it was time for our Sunday School Pumpkin Carving Party. It's an annual affair hosted by the Hill's. The girls went as scarecrows.

We're not too sure about these hats.

McKenzie enjoyed the swing. Here she is with the Pillsbury Doughgirl watching over her to make sure nothing went horribly wrong.

Molly tried to help out a bit with the pumpkin carving...

Finally, it was actually Halloween. The girls went as scarecrows again. Gotta get some use out of the outfits when you can.

Here they are looking particularly thrilled with their outfits.

We spent most of the day with GiGi and G-Daddy since the girls were getting ready to spend an entire week with their other grandparents in Maryville while Lindsey and I were in Washington, DC.

Here they are enjoying their little rocking chairs. I think they actually figured out that the chairs can rock.

Here is a quick video of Molly and McKenzie enjoying the swings in Maryville while Lindsey and I were in DC. Apparently they are able to enjoy themselves even if we're not with them. Shocking...

And finally, here is a quick video of the girls at their birthday party this past Sunday. They were a bit hesitant at first when we gave them their cakes. Molly had no trouble tunneling right through the middle of hers once she got started though...

Wow, that's quite a year...

Unprecedented! Updates two days in a row!

2009-09-22T20:20:00.003-04:00

Well, it must really be something special if you're getting updates less than 24 hours apart. And, I guess it is for something special.

It appears that our eldest child has decided to step out on her own and see what she can do. So, here's a cellphone video of her latest trick...

Yeah, those are steps. We got a walker!

God help us...

Video Update!

2009-09-22T03:10:00.004-04:00

In my last blog update, I promised that some videos would be posted by the end of the week. Well, since then, both girls have been sick, mom has been sick, and I've been tasked with taking care of everything else around here. So, video updates kinda got pushed to the bottom of the pile.

Well, no more! Our audience demands video and so video you shall have! At least a few...

Our first video is McKenzie attempting to pull to stand on her own for the first time. It just so happened that she tried it in her crib and I also just so happened to have just gotten a new Blackberry with a video camera built in. This is from the end of July. Enjoy!

Yeah, ouch...

Next up is a short video of Molly and McKenzie practicing for an upcoming talent show. I'm not sure they've practiced the duet enough to perform in front of actual people. Tell me what you think...

Bach it's not...

Next up is a terrifying video on many levels. Apparently, the only thing keeping us safe from the invading hordes are doorknobs. Here's Molly overcoming another obstacle.

Scary...

Here's another video mainly of Molly showing off her latest fun thing to do...

Yeah, she just stands then drops, stands then drops...hope she's awful pretty when she grows up!

Last video for now is from our recent Labor Day visit to Maryville. Here's aunt Jamie entertaining both the girls with her crazy antics.

And that's it for now. Goodnight!

Finally Time for an Update

2009-09-13T00:23:00.007-04:00

So, it's been a few months since the last real update. I guess it's time to give everyone a run down of what has been going on since the first of July. So, here we go...

In the middle of July, we went on vacation to Boone, NC with Lindsey's parents and some of their friends from California. The weather could not have been much better for the trip. We left the 96 degree weather in Chattanooga and hit the mid-70's weather in the NC mountains. It was awesome. We had a great cabin where we stayed with lots of room for us all. Somehow we never made it to the downstairs area where the air hockey and ping pong were. We just had too much else to do.

The view from the Moses Cone Memorial Park

Molly and McKenzie enjoying the sun at a winery. Don't worry, they were the DD's...

Molly and McKenzie taking flight in Blowing Rock on a perfect fall-like day.

Our last day on vacation...

The girls enjoyed hanging out with everyone and seeing the sights with the rest of us. We drove home on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Beautiful drive but make sure you have ALL DAY to do it. It took us 7 hours to go almost 200 miles. It was a poor decision but we made it home around midnight and the girls weren't terribly upset.

After we returned from North Carolina, the girls were exhausted. Here's McKenzie trying to recover while playing.

One new addition to our home also made an appearance after we got back from North Carolina. That would be a gate. The girls are getting much more mobile and are moving around the house a lot easier these days. So, we decided to try and keep them out of the kitchen and just keep most of the other doors in the house closed. Here's a picture of the unhappy prisoners.

Now, the astute viewers out there will notice something new in this picture...other than the gate...

Who can tell me what it is? Anybody?

Yeah, that's a picture of Molly standing. She started pulling to stand right towards the end of July. Now that Molly is standing a bit, she was free to learn some new skills. Here's just one example...

We have to be careful where we leave stuff now. Molly also has an affinity for chewing on the computer power cord. That's already cost us a new adapter for the computer. And no, before anyone asks, she did not chew through the cable nor was there ever any risk of her getting a shock. I'm not sure how she actually killed it but it wouldn't work after she had it in her mouth for about 20 seconds.

As part of their new-found mobility, Molly and McKenzie have been able to get into more trouble than before. Here's one recent example of the havoc they unleashed on their nursery in about 3 minutes.

Molly was pretty happy with herself...

McKenzie tried to play all sweet and innocent...

Yeah, not that innocent...

The girls had their 9-month pediatrician visit towards the end of August. Both Molly and McKenzie are almost exactly the same in height and head circumference. The place where they're different is in weight. Molly weighed in at 20 pounds 4 ounces while McKenzie managed 17 pounds 4 ounces. Only a three pound difference between the two. Everything else checked out well for both of them. Now we just have flu shots coming up shortly. Yay!

We attempted a photo shoot a few weeks back with the girls outside. Only problem was that they were more interested in eating the leaves and grass than posing pretty. We got a few good shots.

They got better when we went inside...

The next weekend was Camp Horizon. The girls decided to get all festive and dress for the occasion.

Labor Day weekend we all went to Maryville to be with Lindsey's family. Aunt Jamie came down from Chicago for the occasion. Got to go to the UT game on Saturday as well. Lots of fun, especially since they won.

Here are a couple of more pictures and then we're done...

Alright, so massive update and now we're done. I hope everyone enjoys everything. I'll post some more pictures and maybe even some videos in the next few days. This should tide you over until then...

Delayed Updates are Good for You!

2009-07-09T00:52:00.019-04:00

Yeah, yeah...I know how long it has been since I updated the blog. I blame Comcast, but that's a big, long story that I really don't want to get into again tonight. Instead, let's tell you what all has been going on over the last few weeks with us and the girls.

The weekend after the last update, we travelled up to Maryville to visit with the grandparents and help them pack up the house so they could move at the end of the month. Here's a short video of the girls helping out as much as they could.

So, McKenzie had her follow-up appointment in Birmingham with Dr. Oakes on June 23. We just went down for the day. Long drive back and forth but we ended up getting good news. They did a CT scan which showed that the cyst is still there but it is much smaller and does not appear to be growing at all. So, we've been told that we don't have to come back until next year. Yay! Unfortunately, we were not able to get a copy of the CT scan this time around so we don't have any pictures to post. That reminds me that I called about this a few weeks ago but haven't heard back. Hmmm...

A few days after we got back from Birmingham, our friend Laura was in town from Albuquerque, NM for a week. She invited us to come over with the girls and go swimming. We had been waiting for a few weeks to go swimming at my parent's house but they kept having issues with their pool to where we couldn't ever go swimming. So, to Laura's we went.

The girls seemed to enjoy their time in the pool, for a while. Here's a quick video of Lindsey and Laura taking the girls around the pool. Ignore the goofy hats...

We also did some stuff that could potentially be considered child abuse. Somewhere we heard that you blow in a baby's face so that they hold their breath and then you could dunk them. So, we decided to try it out...our kids are going to hate us someday...

My family has a lot of birthdays in the month of June. A lot...like 10. It's nuts. Unfortunately, the calendar got a little bit more crowded towards the end of the month. My cousin Ryan and his wife Esther had a baby on June 30. His name is Thijs Austin Sharpe. I didn't misspell it or anything. It's Dutch! Thijs is pronounced like "Twice" without the "W"...Tice. With him being born on the 30th, he got his own day all to himself. We already had my brother Michael on the 29th, Lindsey on July 1, and Ryan on July 2. Yay for babies! He's 8 pounds 8 ounces and still looks tiny. I don't remember the girls being that small even though he's a good 3 pounds bigger than McKenzie was at birth.

Back to the doctors, the last check-up showed that both Molly and McKenzie were anemic. Molly was just barely but McKenzie was pretty low. So, we got to give them an iron supplement in their first bottle of the day to hopefully raise the levels. McKenzie had her re-test on July 2. The initial results in the doctor's office showed that her iron levels were actually worse now than they were before. Therefore, McKenzie got to go to the hospital for a more complete lab panel. After a few days, the doctor called us and let us know that their in-office testing is just simply horrible and McKenzie was actually just fine. Gotta love unnecessary testing and treatments...

Next was the 4th of July weekend. The pool at my parent's house was finally ready for swimming so we spent both Friday and Saturday up there swimming a bit. Molly and McKenzie seemed to be a bit more comfortable being in the water. Here's a video of McKenzie splashing and Molly chilling...

Michael and Liza took a bunch of good pictures that I'll post in a few days. I figured that the videos will hold you over for now.

Lindsey and I got to have a date night on Friday. The girls spent the night with the grandparents while we went out to dinner and then went to a 10pm movie. Lindsey just about slept through the previews but perked up for the movie. We saw My Sister's Keeper...it's sad. Lindsey was crying like 20 minutes into it. Yikes.

It was nice to sleep in the next morning but we eventually got up and went back to the grandparent's to see the girls. Another day in the pool, some dinner and finally some fireworks. The girls didn't make it to see the fireworks. Maybe next year. The problem was that they went to sleep for an hour or so, we put them in their car seats and drove home. By the time we got home, the girls decided that they'd had a nice little 2 hour nap and now it was time to get up! At midnight!

I don't think so ladies...

Molly went back down pretty easy but McKenzie kept crying and waking her up. McKenzie settled back down after a bit and I think we were all in bed by 1. Whew...

So, that's pretty much it for now. Next week we are all going to Boone, NC with Lindsey's parents for a much needed vacation. We've got a pretty sweet cabin where we're going to hang out for 4 days or so. We've been looking forward to this for a while. Maybe we'll get some good pictures to share in a few weeks. Til then!

Updates! Get your Updates here!

2009-06-08T00:48:00.007-04:00

Ok, so yeah, it's been a while since I've posted an update. I'm sure nothing at all has happened in the last 3 weeks...

So, that's it. Thanks for checking in with us and we hope to see you again soon!

Ok, so I was told that wasn't a real update and that I had better post a real one or else whatever that means...

So, here's what has been going on. First things first, Molly and McKenzie are now attending a Parent's Morning Out program on Monday's and Wednesday's. It runs from 9:30 to 2PM and gives me an opportunity to use that time to actual focus on real estate stuff. The first time they went I actually got a lot of stuff accomplished. Let's hope that continues.

Speaking of real estate, it seems that a bunch of people are buying and selling houses right now. My in-laws John and Sue have their house under contract, my brother and his wife are looking to buy, and some dear friends of ours just closed on their new home last Friday. So, if you know of anyone who's looking at buying or selling, let me know!

Ok, ad over...

On to more about the girls...McKenzie has a new favorite toy...a Cheez-It box!

Really, it's just a toy when mommy's not home...

Speaking of McKenzie, she had a very scary experience about a week ago. The girls were playing on the floor in the living room. I went up to my office to send a few emails. While I was gone, somebody broke into our house and moved McKenzie from the living room to the kitchen! About 15 feet! Holy moley!

True story cause surely she didn't crawl/roll all that way on her own...

The girls are much more mobile these days. They're also sitting independently fairly well. Here's a picture of the two of them sharing their blocks.

And what sharing usually leads to...

On Thursday, Molly had her follow-up appointment with Dr. Moses concerning her hips. After getting an x-ray and reviewing everything, Dr. Moses thinks that Molly is perfectly normal and doesn't want to see us anymore! Yay! That's one specialist down and only the heart guy to go (and hopefully we'll be done with him by the end of September).

Speaking of doctors, the girls got to finally get their 6-month shots on Thursday as well. A great time was had by all. Bandaids for everyone! Seriously, those shots look huge compared to the girls' tiny legs (ok, compared to McKenzie's legs...sorry Molly...)

McKenzie goes back to Birmingham on June 23 for a follow-up CT scan. Hopefully everything will still look great and we won't have to worry about "next steps" to fix the problem. We were reassured this past week that we made the right choice in going to Birmingham.

Earlier this evening, we went to a Children's Picnic put on by our church at Rivermont Park. The girls seemed to enjoy their time at the park. I'll leave you with a few pictures and a short video...

McKenzie digs Mixed Vegetables with Pasta

Molly eats bibs...no lie...

We kinda dig this swing thing...

Sweet!

Alright, that's it! Hope you have a great week and we'll see you again soon!

6 Month Pediatrician Update!

2009-05-18T19:44:00.006-04:00

So, today was our 6 month Pediatrician visit with Dr. Jeanie. Now typically, this would mean a big round of shots and some pretty upset children. What we ended up with was no shots and some pretty upset children anyway...

The stats: Molly is now 17 pounds on the nose. Head circumference is 43cm and height is 25 inches.

McKenzie is 14 pounds 4 ounces. Head circumference is 42.5cm and height is 25 inches.

This puts Molly in the 75th percentile for weight, McKenzie in the 25th. They're both in the 25th percentile for height and the head circumference is in the 50th percentile.

No wonder carrying those car seats is starting to hurt!

Now, the fun stuff. I've decided that Lindsey is no longer allowed to go to the doctor with us. Every simple "issue" that she thinks that the girls are having resulted in a prescription (or 3!) and some sort of new treatment, therapy, equipment, etc.

Seriously, Molly came out of the appointment with a breathing treatment machine (like an actual piece of equipment that has it's own motor and bag and stuff) and a prescription for breathing treatments 4 times a day. All because of a little wheeze probably from the cold she's had for the last 10 days. Now it's bronchio-something-or-other and we have to do breathing treatments.

McKenzie got 2 prescriptions for medicine to help her skin. Plus an over-the-counter medicine that apparently costs $25 for a tiny little tube. We're supposed to coat her with this stuff and hope whatever is going on with her skin goes away really soon.

Gah...if it isn't one thing it's another...for real.

Oh, and the kicker...the doctor's office was out of one of the shots the girls were supposed to get so we put off all the shots until a week or 2 from now. Even though they didn't get stuck, they still had pretty darn foul attitudes. Molly got super hungry and was trying to drink a bottle and get a breathing treatment all at the same time. Not fun...she was screaming like we'd stuck her with needles anyway.

Oops...almost forgot another "problem" for the girls. They both have low iron. So, that's yet another medicine that we have to give them every day to help boost their iron levels. Apparently, it tastes awful. I have no intention of trying it but maybe Lindsey will since she's sampled all the other baby food we've given them.

Ok, so enough of that nonsense. Here's a video from this past weekend. John and Sue came down on Saturday to visit. I was out most of the day showing homes to an out of town couple but apparently the girls were still able to have bath time without me.

So, that's it for now. Enjoy your week...

I am horrible...

2009-05-10T22:55:00.007-04:00

My goodness, you should see the hate mail I'm getting claiming that I am neglecting this blog by not updating it. Harassment is coming via hurtful comments shouted across the room, emails coming from all directions, posts on Facebook, and even text messages that cost me $0.25 a piece since I don't have a texting plan (hint hint haters...)

Ok, so, what do we do about this? I guess we post an update. Yay...whatever...

This is going to be way picture heavy without much of my witty comments so I hope you all enjoy.

Alright, here we go back in time. Pictures from McKenzie's brain surgery back at the end of April.

This is the night before we left for Birmingham. This is Addie and McKenzie hanging out:

Once we got to Birmingham, Dr. Oakes marked and autographed the incision site for the surgery. Part of that mark is still there even today...

Here we are in the day surgery room. It's about 6:30am and McKenzie is wearing her awesome yellow surgical gown. She still looks pretty happy here...

Here we are post surgery and recovery room. We got to a real room on the floor by 10am or so. Here is mommy and McKenzie resting a bit. We're not so happy now...

A bit later and McKenzie is busy chewing on a duck that one of the nurses gave her before surgery.

This is the day after surgery once we'd been discharged from the hospital. We're in our hotel and obviously McKenzie is suffering the ill effects of the surgery...

And here is Molly. She took the opportunity to learn how to read while we were in Birmingham. Here she is enjoying the Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Shhhh...don't interrupt me...

She had quite the set-up going here. We were rocking like 8 pillows...

Ok, moving on to something entirely new. After we returned from Birmingham, we decided to start the girls on some solid foods. The very beginning is rice cereal. The girls have matching high chairs but look so darn tiny in them.

Lindsey dressed for the occasion. Something that could get dirty if necessary...

One for McKenzie...

We're not really sure we like this...

And one for Molly...

The girls have done pretty well with solids so far. We've added avocado, oatmeal cereal, bananas, and sweet potatoes. McKenzie still doesn't really care for solids but she's getting there. I'll post up a video of the process later...

Last event, Mother's Day 2009!

This was Lindsey's first Mother's Day. We spent the day at church and then with my family. Since we weren't able to get Easter pictures due to Molly's fun attitude, we decided to do some today.

Here's Lindsey with both girls.

And one where Molly isn't eating her wrist...

Individual shots with Molly first...

And now McKenzie...

And finally one with Molly and the best face ever...

Not sure if that's surprise, fear, shock, or what...but it's funny.

So, that's it for now. A bunch of pictures but that's what you've been asking for. We have our six month pediatrician visit in about a week. We'll get updated weights and measurements then and also see about getting some professional pictures taken.

One other fun thing was Lindsey's Mother's Day present. She got a new side-by-side stroller. It's from Baby Jogger and is called the City Mini Double. Anyone who wants to make a contribution towards this purchase is welcome to. It's an awesome stroller and it should last us for several years. I know Lindsey's thrilled to get away from the current Snap and Go bus she's driving.

So, hopefully you are all satisfied with the update. Til next time...

McKenzie's Brain Exploration

2009-04-22T13:22:00.002-04:00

McKenzie's cyst fenestration took place this morning way too early. We had to be at the hospital at 5:30, had meetings with anesthesia, nursing, etc, and finally got into surgery about 7:30. The procedure took about 45 minutes. We met with the doctor right after. He told us that they had located the cyst and made a hole in one end of it. The fluid in the cyst was basically stagnant cerebrospinal fluid that was a bright canary yellow instead of the normal crystal clear. The doctor was able to draw a lot of that fluid off through the catheter. He said that when they looked at the cyst again via ultrasound there was a dramatic difference in size.

Dr. Oakes decided not to go back in and poke a hole in the other side of the cyst. Doing so would have required using a larger endoscope which could have cause additional damage to the brain tissue itself. The cyst will continue to drain into the ventricle of the brain where the fluid will be reabsorbed by the body.

The brain itself seemed to react fairly well. The brain tissue that had been pushed aside by the cyst started to fill in the cyst area right after the doctor punched the hole in it. That's a really good sign that the brain should go back to its' normal location without any issues.

We're in a room now where we'll stay overnight for observation. Tomorrow morning, we've got some additional blood work to check for infection as well as a CT scan to see what the cyst did overnight. We'll schedule a follow-up next week hopefully with our pediatrician to get the incision site checked for problems. We'll also schedule another CT scan in about 2 months and again at 1 year to check the cyst. If there is no additional growth, we'll pretty much be done.

We'll be in Birmingham for a few more days just to make sure that there aren't any problems. We appreciate all the support from friends and family over the last few weeks. It's certainly made the trip easier. We'll post pictures once we get home since I forgot the cable for the camera. Til then...

Molly's Hip Update

2009-04-16T17:54:00.002-04:00

Today was our visit with Dr. Moses, the pediatric ortho doc at the hospital. We reviewed the x-rays that Molly had done on Monday and the doc wasn't terribly happy with what he saw. The left hip appears to be fine but the angles and ossification on the right hip aren't too great.

Molly's left hip is showing signs of ossification, or bone development, that is relatively normal. Her right hip is just showing tiny specks of bone growth. This means that her right hip is lagging behind in developing the socket that surrounds the head of the femur (big leg bone). As I understand it, if the socket doesn't develop well, there is a greater chance of the hip being loose due to stretched ligaments and increased chances of dislocation and possible hip replacement at some point.

So, at this point we're basically going to be getting x-rays every month or so to track development. Bracing is a possibility at some point in the future but is not necessary right now. Yay...I guess.

In other news, we received our authorization from Blue Cross for McKenzie's surgery next week. They auth'd us for 3 days inpatient...I hope they don't know something that we don't know since the doc told us it's a 1 day deal. Guess we'll see.

Easter Time Updates

2009-04-13T23:59:00.002-04:00

So, Easter has come and gone so we thought we could post a quick update as to what has been going on.

We went to Maryville on Friday and Saturday to visit with Lindsey's family. Here's a picture of McKenzie getting ready to go...

Friday night we went out with a bunch of the Maryville gang. It was nice to go out to dinner and hang out without worrying about the girls for a while.

Saturday, the family came over and we had dinner and an easter egg hunt. Each of the kids was supposed to get 19 eggs but apparently someone miscounted how many we started with. Whoops.

We came home Saturday night so we could go to our church on Sunday. The girls got new easter dresses to wear. Here are a few pictures of them modeling.

We had lunch at my parent's house and the girls really racked up on candy and clothes. Like, a ton of stuff. I think we're all set for 9 month stuff. Yay.

On Monday, Molly had her follow-up appointment with Dr. Parsons the cardiologist. Molly got to do an EKG and a chest x-ray. We went ahead and got her hip x-rays done today too since we'll be back at the hospital for that visit on Thursday. Anyway, the holter monitor results from a few weeks ago showed less than 1500 PVCs (premature heartbeats) in 24 hours. There also were no back-to-back PVCs on the test. This is a really good thing and typically means that the baby is perfectly normal and the PVCs are just something they'll grow out of. The EKG only showed 1 PVC in the 2 minutes they did the test. So, the doctor has scheduled us to do another holter test in 4 months or so. If it's normal, we don't have to go back anymore. Yay! Maybe one specialist down...

On a side note, Molly got measured and weighed today. She was up to 15 pounds 4 ounces and 25 inches long. That's an increase of almost 2 pounds in three weeks.

So, one more doctor visit this week then the big Birmingham trip next week for McKenzie. Anyone have any recommendations for restaurants and stuff? We'll be staying in the Five Points area downtown near UAB.

Alright, so that's it for now. Hope everyone is enjoying their week. More later...

And the date is...

2009-04-01T14:34:00.003-04:00

April 22nd. My baby is having brain surgery on April 22nd in Birmingham.

Yay.

We'll be meeting with the doctor on April 21st and doing our pre-admission stuff. As of right now we are the first surgical case for the day so we will have to be there at 5:30am (!) to get ready for surgery. As long as everything, we'll be on our way home on Thursday the 23rd. Sounds like a fun plan doesn't it?

So, let's take a look at why we're doing this. As I said yesterday, McKenzie had an MRI done and that is how they determined that there was indeed a cyst growing in her ventricle. Here's an image from the MRI.

Here we can see McKenzie's brain. The blue line is down the center of the brain. The left and right sides of the brain are supposed to be mirror images of each other. Obviously, one thing is not like the other.

The cyst is on the left side outlined in blue. If you look closely, you can see that it's kind of a grey, fuzzy area. The dark black below the cyst is the normal fluid that is supposed to be in the ventricle. On the right side, you can see the normal sized ventricle.

So, that's what they are going after. We're still working on our plans in terms of travel and stuff but we'll let you know if we need anything. We appreciate the support from our family and friends so far and ask that you continue to think about us and pray for McKenzie as the surgery date gets closer.

If I Only had a Brain...

2009-03-31T20:44:00.002-04:00

So it's time for an update of sorts. McKenzie had her doctor's appointment in Birmingham with Dr. Oakes today. We had to wait until she was a few months old so she could handle the anesthesia better since the doctor wanted an MRI of the head.

We spent the night in Birmingham since the MRI was scheduled for 6:30am this morning. Early mornings are fun! So, McKenzie tolerated the lack of feeding much better than Molly would have and had no issues at all with the anesthesia or the MRI itself. We were done and released from the recovery room by 9:30 this morning. Then we went and waited to meet with Dr. Oakes.

Dr. Oakes showed us the scans. The mass within her ventricle in the brain had gotten quite a bit larger since December. The mass is a fairly large cyst. The doctor is concerned because McKenzie's head circumference is crossing lines on the growth chart. Back in December, she was in the 25th percentile; today, she measured out in the 75th percentile. Not good since the brain is apparently getting bigger at a rate faster than her skull is growing. As a result, things are starting to get squished and pushed around.

So, our options were presented as either we have surgery or we don't. If we don't have surgery and just wait to do something until she's showing some sort of symptoms, we're playing with the danger of permanent brain damage being done. That probably wouldn't be a good thing.

The surgical option is something called a cyst fenestration. It's a endoscopic procedure where the doctor would cut a small hole, drill through the skull, and insert a tiny "telescope". Once inserted, the scope would be pushed down through the brain until they reach the ventricle where the cyst is. They would then punch a hole in the cyst and allow it to drain normally.

It's a fairly simple procedure (simple for brain surgery at least) that would only take 30 - 45 minutes. We'd spend a night in the hospital and then be able to go home the next day as long as there are no complications.

The doctor feels good about this procedure being effective. We are trying to avoid having a shunt installed simply because a shunt is something that will be there forever. The cyst fenestration is effective between 65 and 75% effective to where if we do it, there's a 65 - 75% chance that it will completely solve the problem and we'll never have to do anything else.

That might sound like a bad percentage but I'd rather have a second operation than a shunt replacement every 10 years. The doctor told us that the chances of "serious and permanent" damages as a result of the surgery are about 1 in 35. That's less than 3%.

So, that's the info. It isn't necessarily what we wanted to hear today but it is something we have to deal with. The doctor has told us that this isn't emergent but it is something that we need to handle in the next few weeks to a month. So, it looks like we'll be back in Birmingham before the end of April.

We have to call the doctor tomorrow to schedule the procedure. I'm sure we'll let everyone know what's going on when we know it. Brain surgery isn't something to be taken lightly but we're trying hard to push through it right now.

We'll post more details as we get them. We've got one of the best pediatric neurosurgeon's in the country working with us so we feel confident in our course of action. We ask for your prayers of support as we go through the next month or so...

Til later...

More doctors and more doctors...

2009-03-16T23:41:00.005-04:00

Hello again all. Not a whole lot of updates but we have had some fun the last week so we decided we'd give you a little update. Today was actually a pretty big day with lots of stuff going on. First, the girls got to go to the hospital and be guinea pigs for a couple of students in the Children's Therapy department. First, Molly and McKenzie were evaluated by a PT student from UTC for all of their deficiencies. Then, a student from Ole Miss (maybe?) who is studying to be a speech therapist got to feed both of the girls. Now, it really wasn't fair since she only had to do one at a time. But, I'll cut her some slack since it's the first time she's ever done any real bottle feeding. Plus, it apparently is useful to practice on "normal" babies before you have to deal with the crazy NICU babies or something.

After we finished up at the hospital, today was also the 4 month check-up with our pediatrician, Dr. Jeanie. We had a pool going to see just how much bigger Molly was than McKenzie. Most estimates were in the 2+ pounds heavier range. Their mother was stretching it to 2 and a half right before the appointment. Alright campers, get out your ticket stubs...here's the tally.

Molly: 13 pounds 8 oz 41cm head circumference 24" in length

McKenzie: 12 pounds 3 oz 41cm head circumference 24" in length

Ta da! Who's our winner? So, there's really only a pound and a bit difference between them. Sure does feel like a WHOLE LOT MORE sometimes.

Molly grades out on the charts at exactly 50th percentile across the boards. McKenzie's weight puts her in the 25th percentile but everything else is in the 50th.

Both girls got 4 different shots plus a flea dip. Neither was very happy with the procedures. Tylenol will make it all go away. McKenzie decided that she really didn't want to sleep tonight. She ate and went down just like normal but stayed in her crib and talked for about an hour. Really loud talking to like someone yelling at the movie screen or something.

She got to spend some quality time on the couch and then our bed. I finally was able to put her in her crib again at 11PM. She's crazy but at least she wasn't crying or anything (for the most part).

Now, a couple of pictures. I know this is why you people visit the blog so here you go.

We decided to give the girls a bath this past week...together...yeah. Note the strategically placed duck.

Hello Molly

Ah, hello McKenzie

I think someone is watching us Molly...

McKenzie, I have something to give you...

Oh yeah Molly? And what might that be?

MY FOOT! Try IT!

Umghgpdgnsodg

Ok, I've had enough...thanks for sharing Molly.

And that was our week...

Oh, and as a crazy side note, here's a video of our associate pastor getting in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day.

Weekend Update

2009-03-08T23:31:00.006-04:00

So, it's been another week since our last update. Here is what has been going on.

Amazingly, no doctor appointments this week for either of the girls. That's a good thing cause sitting around the hospital or the doctor's office is not much fun at all. Instead, we got to spend the week hanging out, going to visit with new people, and even on a sleepover with the grandparents.

On Thursday evening, the Chattanooga Moms of Multiples had their bi-annual consignment sale. We went and took the girls hoping to find some good deals on clothes since the girls seem to be growing like weeds these days. We found a couple of outfits but really not much. We did get some new toys and books, including a Fisher Price train for $8 that retails for $42. Lindsey was very happy about that.

This weekend is mine and Lindsey's wedding anniversary. Can't believe that it has already been 6 years but here we are. So, to celebrate, we sent the girls to my parent's house Friday night for a sleepover. We ended up staying for dinner and then put the girls down before coming home. Sleeping in on Saturday morning was awesome though. It's very nice not having to worry about crying or feedings early in the morning.

Lindsey and I spent our time cleaning around the house and doing yard work. Lots of fun. We certainly know how to party. Apparently, the girls had a good time with their grandparents and didn't cause too much trouble. I guess they're invited back to stay again some day.

Sunday morning, the girls got to wear some new outfits and spent some quality time on their tummies. They are both doing really well now with their head control and keeping themselves supported. Here are a few pictures we took of them looking cool...

On Sunday afternoon, we took a family picnic down at the Tennessee Riverpark for our actual anniversary. The girls seemed to enjoy themselves even though it was kind of windy. Molly didn't like it when it blew in her face.

Here's a couple of pics of us with the girls at the park.

On Sunday night, Molly and McKenzie got to take baths. We took a quick video of Molly enjoying her bath.

That's it for now. We still have a few weeks until more doctor's appointments and our trip to Birmingham.

Molly Laughing

2009-03-01T15:33:00.001-05:00

Here's a video of Molly laughing while watching me toss a ball in the air. McKenzie is pretty much indifferent to the whole thing though she does smile.

Ignore me dropping the ball and nearly clocking Molly in the head. That's what makes her laugh the most though...

Molly's Update

2009-02-20T12:59:00.003-05:00

We had our follow-up appointment yesterday with Dr. Moses regarding Molly's hip ultrasound on Monday. There have been no changes in the last 6 weeks and Dr. Moses is still unsure as to how to proceed. Since ultrasounds for breech babies is still relatively new (in the last 7-8 years or so) there isn't enough data to predict if this acetabular insufficiency is something serious or not.

We could try and treat it by putting Molly in a harness for 23 hours a day for 3 months or so. The harness would hold her legs in the correct position to her hips and hopefully keep the hip sockets aligned correctly while the bone developed. The harness would be a royal pain in the butt both for us and for her. Plus, there is no proof out there that the harness now would prevent surgery to correct the problem later.

So, we pretty much decided just to let it ride and watch how things develop over the next year or so. She'll go back in about 2 months just for a normal x-ray to see how the hip socket bones are developing and if they see any problems at that point. If that's clear and a scan at 1 year is clear, we'll be good to go. Otherwise, she'll get yearly scans until she's 13 and possibly face hip socket adjustment surgery in 3 to 5 years which the doc called more like carpentry than surgery. I didn't want any more details on that right now...

So, that's it for now. Regardless of how the hips are lining up, we shouldn't see any issues with her crawling or walking. Yay...

Wow...time flies...

2009-02-18T23:27:00.007-05:00

Yeah, so, it's been almost a month since the last update. Sorry about that. I sincerely apologize to all my passionate readers who have begged me to resume writing this blog. Here's a sample of the please I have received:

"I really love the blog. Please start writing again soon!" Joan B.

and

"I can't go to sleep at night without knowing what's going on in the lives of your precious girls. Please start posting again soon!!!" Hugs and Kisses, Sarah C.

and

"KIND REGARDS. MY NAME IS MOHOMMAD NARANJA AND I AM A BANKER FROM NIGERIA. I HAVE ACQUIRED A VAST SUM OF US DOLLARS I WISH TO SHARE WITH YOU MY NEW FRIEND. PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR WIRE INSTRUCTIONS FOR RECEIVING $13.7M US DOLLARS. GOD BLESS AND BEST REGARDS", MOHAMMAD N.

Ok, ok...I get the point. I'll write another blog post...here you go.

So, here's what has been going on over the last month or so. I closed on a house back in January. I've also written 2 new listings and had 1 deal fall through...yay. I also joined the Kiwanis club, officially. Maybe get some referrals through those guys. Lindsey has been working at the hospital nearly full time. She has Wednesday's off so she can spend time with the girls during the week.

The girls have been laying around, not really doing much of anything. Still eating and sleeping and pooping. Tough life. They did get their share of excitement the first part of February. Lindsey and I took a trip to Las Vegas and left the girls at home, alone.

Well, not really alone. Lindsey's parents came down to stay with them with support from her grandparents as well. They ended up staying 5 days at our house to keep the girls company. It was surprisingly easy to leave them behind. I think it was because we had prepared ourselves for a few months that we were going to be leaving. Since we knew we were leaving, we decided to do a test run the weekend before. We sent the girls to my parent's house on Saturday evening so that they could take them to church with them on Sunday. Needless to say, the experiment was a bit rough on the mother.

Now, in her defense, we did decide kinda late in the day to try this experiment out. Therefore, there was no preparing that took place. It ended up working out ok though. Everyone survived and there was no permanent damage done.

So, back to Vegas. Lindsey and I went for the APTA CSM 2009. Now, to translate that, American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Meeting 2009. Basically, the annual meeting of all physical therapists everywhere. The reason Lindsey went was to receive her award (the Pediatric Clinical Specialist designation she tested for and received last May). Wow, the meeting was BORING. Something about a hospital is a village and we need to protect and make our village run better or something...

The reason why we went:

Other than that, we had a great time in Vegas. We hit nearly all of the main casinos along the strip. It seems that every hotel is a combination hotel, casino, and shopping mall. This makes them huge! Thank goodness for the strip bus that ran up and down the strip 24 hours a day. We went to the top of the Stratosphere, took a gondola ride in the Venetian, and went to a Cirque de Soleil show at the Bellagio.

Gondola ride in the Venetian

View from the top of The Stratosphere

We stayed at the Luxor on the south end of the Strip since the conference was in the Mandalay Bay center. I wouldn't recommend the Luxor. It's quite dated now and is more like an old Holiday Inn than a posh Vegas casino. Oh well, it wasn't bad for spending the night.

So, while we were living it up in Vegas, the girls were hanging out at the house. Here are a few pictures of their adventures:

So, that just about catches us up to the current time. This past weekend, Molly and McKenzie were baptized. We made a video and have it posted on YouTube if you want to take a look.

It looks much better in HD.

We had a luncheon after the service. Here's a picture of the girls in their baptism gowns. One of those was mine and the other was Lindsey's. Ain't that weird...

As this was a major production, we even had a costume change:

So, that just about catches you up to now. Molly had another hip ultrasound on Monday and we will see the doctor later today (ahhh! it's late!) They're just wanting to make sure everything stays the way it is and doesn't get any looser. No word on how much the girls weigh now. We don't go back to the pediatrician until March 16th (I've heard there's something else this day but I'm not sure what...must not be important). We also think that McKenzie is getting her first tooth. There's something sharp and pointy sticking out of her gum...at three months. Yikes.

Alright, so that's it. You're all caught up. Enjoy!

The Change of Routines

2009-01-25T16:53:00.007-05:00

Another week has gone by, too quickly it seems. Not too much going on here at our place, just the same stuff over and over and over again. Let's recap...

Sunday, we had visitors from Maryville! John and Sue came down after church to hang out with the girls for a few hours. I had to go host an open house over in Ooltewah so I missed out on a lot of that. At least Lindsey had someone to keep her company!

The title talks about a change of routines this week and that is what we got. Lindsey went back to work for the first time since November 3rd on Monday. So, it was all me, alone with both girls. I tried to convince Lindsey that McKenzie might still pass for a newborn in the nursery but she thought the nurses might notice. Oh well, she didn't have a whole lot of time to miss them because...

Also on Monday, Molly had an appointment with Dr. Moses at the hospital to review her hip ultrasound results from Dec. 30. We've decided that we're going to try and visit every subspecialty in the hospital. Gotta get 'em all! Anyway, Dr. Moses is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon that Lindsey actually works with on a regular basis. We had a 2:15 appointment, got seen at 3:45, and finally got out at 4:30.

The results: no real results. Yeah, really. It's another one of those, "Well, we'll watch it and see what happens at some point in the future" things. We have some sort of magnet on us that attracts that type of diagnosis. The reason for this one specifically is related to the new policy the hospital has on requiring hip ultrasounds for all babies born breech. Since it is relatively new (maybe the past couple of years) the doctors are really not sure how many babies have shallow hip insertions. It could be thousands and thousands of them but they're really not sure. Oh well, whatever. This guarantees a future of hip ultrasounds and x-rays for the next few years. Thankfully, radiology is covered 100% by our insurance!

Since it took so long to be seen, McKenzie decided to entertain us by talking...She was pretty pitiful since she had just had a heel stick to draw some blood about 30 minutes earlier...

Tuesday was my mom's first full day with the girls. She's going to be staying with them every Tuesday so that I have time to go to my office as necessary. In this case, I had to teach a class. She seemed to do pretty well. She wouldn't let me help out with either one of them saying that she needed to learn how to handle them on her own. Ok, so be it...

I got home Tuesday afternoon and she was making dinner. Yay! Unfortunately, I didn't get to eat it with them since I have joined the Hixson Kiwanis group and had a meeting that night. It was good for lunch the next day.

Lindsey is back to work only 4 days a week and Wednesday is her day off. I'm not sure how that worked out since we have church on Wednesday nights so she doesn't even have to cook! No fair!

Thursday and Friday were just back to being with boring old dad...lame. Nothing exciting happened. There was no walking, talking, rolling over, writing a book, nada. These girls are boring!

This week has been pretty good for them smiling. Both of them will give you big smiles every once in a while. It's not exactly consistent but they'll usually give me a big smile the first time they see me in the morning. That's pretty cool.

Saturday we were out early. We met up with Brian and Cathy Decker to look at a house for them. We used to work at camp together and it had been a few years since we'd seen them. They have a 14-month old who was pretty fun. We even all went out to lunch! Exciting day. As a result, the girls pretty much slept all day long. All day. All day long...

So, all in all a pretty uneventful week. Here are a couple of pictures just to tide everyone over til the next update. Hopefully we'll have something more interesting to show you then...

Molly and McKenzie chillin'

McKenzie's so chill she's going to sleep...

Yep, exciting life...

2009-01-15T19:14:00.005-05:00