Molly's Fun and Games

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 Thanksgiving Update

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...

Finally Time for an Update

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...

Updates! Get your Updates here!

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!

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...

More doctors and more doctors...

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.