Post Christmas Updates!

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...

Has It Been a Year Already?

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...

Video Update!

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!

Easter Time Updates

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...

Christmas Photo Wrap Up

Here we are, at long last, with photos from Christmas. You can all see what a great time we had!

Let's play "Spot The Children!"

Oh, there they are!

Here are the girls with their very first Christmas present! Now now girls, try to stay calm!

What is it? What is it? Ah, it's their very first Christmas ornament! Here's McKenzie with her Precious Moments Christmas ornament.

And here's Molly with her Snowbaby ornament. We mainly took these pictures so we'll remember next year which girl gets which ornament =)

Next, we went to my parent's house for Christmas with them. Here are the girls with Gigi and G-daddy. Note the tree in the background. That's the girl's tree. Yeah, their very own tree. Full sized and everything...

Here's Molly with her loot bag...

And the same for McKenzie. They even have their names on them...

Finally, we left my parent's house and drove to Maryville for Christmas with Lindsey's family. Here's McKenzie with Lindsey's diva aunt Cynthia and her cousin Jennica.

And here's Molly with Jennica and Lindsey's grandmother.

So, that's it for Christmas. We were wiped out by the end of the week and the girls were way off schedule. But, we had a great time and food. Sorry it took so long to get pictures online but you know how it is!