Yippiee... Vacation here I come in 2011

I know where I will be on vacation in 2011. When is up to the Disney Cruise Line but we are going to Alaska!

Halloween Question

Is it to soon to take a Halloween photo of the babies? That way we can enjoy the photos for a while? Or should I wait until October?

I LOVE this time of year the change in Seasons or as much as Seasons can change in California?

My Precious Babies

I cannot believe that Hunter and Mackenzie are now almost 10 months old. Well they are 10 months old if you count how old they are by weeks. But, that gets a little tough.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of having 4 days off with my family. It was so wonderful, after we got back from our wonderful Disney vacation I went back full force to work and was running low on fuel for the lack of other words. It was really refreshing to have time with everyone.

I enjoyed playing with Hunter and Mackenzie, they are getting so big and so interactive. They love playing with one another and Mackenzie loves to take what ever her brother wants or has, it is so funny. I am sure Hunter does not think so but he is finally starting to fight back. Go Mr. Hunter

This weekend we also set up a little table and chairs for them to sit on and eat finger food or play with their toys. And, that has been a huge blessing. We are now able to eat our dinner while they eat their finger food. Which is usually some puffs or cheese. But, wow. They can really sit for like 5 - 10 minutes.

We also spent Sunday at my Aunt's house for my cousin Noey's 7th birthday it was a ton of fun. Happy Birthday again Noey Girl. I have included some photo's from that day. I will post some photos of them sitting at the table as soon as I load them on the hard drive from my camera.

Bed time....

I think one of my favorite part of the day is bedtime. I love giving Hunter and Mackenzie their bath I sing to themin the tub. Right now we are still doing separate bath times, they are to much of wiggle worms for us not to use the Safety First bath ring that connects to the tub... That was the best purchase I have ever made. Well maybe not ever but you understand.

So we have not made bath time into really a play time at this particular moment but they love splashing the water and Mackenzie loves to hold the wash cloth... Not sure what that is about but I think it reminds her of her blanket.

After bath I put lotion on them; Hunter loves this a little more than Mackenzie he loves the lotion and will smile and giggle at you. He also loves you to tickle his little feet, I see a lot of foot massages coming his way.

Just the love in their eyes when you are changing them and loving them. It is so wonderful. And, after we bathe them we say our good nights to Mommy and Daddy and then we go for our field trip to say good night to Oma and Opa. And, depending on their mood depends how well that goes.

After they say their good nights we give them a warm bottle and then it is good night time. I love watching them in their sleep. Sometimes Hunter will kick his right leg to an unknown beat. He loves music and sometimes we catch him moving / dancing to the music. So pure and innocent.

I then sing to them and give extra kisses and they are sound asleep until 6:30 / 7:00 AM. Yes we are very lucky... They have been on this bed time routine since they were about 3 months old. How blessed are we? Oh we know what a blessing our twins are and we count them every single day.

Kenzie Rae

Last Night I was feeding the babies and both Hunter and Mackenzie's strap on their high chairs were a little loose allowing them to move their legs and turn in the opposite direction. Well I did not want any falling babies so I tightened the straps and this morning Jamal sends me this photo of my baby girl sad because she is not happy. Mackenzie wanted to look into the kitchen and do what she wanted to do and eat at the same time.

Oh so sad.. My poor princess.

I'm Back

I have been MIA for a while and no real reason but so much has happened in the last couple of months. I have been really busy.

We just got back from a Magical Disney Cruise on the Disney Magic (like the Magical?) we were suppose to take a Eastern Caribbean cruise but because of the storms we had to make it a Western Caribbean. It was not that big of deal to us at least we were on the cruise. The only bummer for me was they took away one of our sea days but they made it up to us by letting us spend 2 days on Disney's Castaway Cay. Which was nice because the first day was an early all embark due to trying to beat the storms.

We had such a wonderful time and the babies did AMAZING. We had some issues with teething but other than that they were happy babies. They were able to enjoy a little more of our food. They have become very fond of mashed potatoes, Mac and Cheese and some veggies.

Right now the babies are getting so big, I cannot believe how big they are... Hunter just went to the doctor last week for a check up because he had this brutal cough that he had for some time and over the phone they kept telling me it was just a cold but I thought he should be checked out just to be sure. And, sure enough it is just a standard cold. But, our BIG boy now weighs 20 pounds and 5 ounces. While Mackenzie I think only weighs maybe 16 or 17 at the most. She is our little girl but she does not let her size get in her way.

Mackenzie loves to take toys from Hunter, and Hunter does not like when she does that. At one time he would take it and find another toy but as of right now he gets mad and tries to take it back. Sometimes he wins and sometimes he doesn't. We have also entered the 'fit stage'. Especially Mackenzie she will throw her whole body backwards if she does not get her way while Hunter will just scream. He does have the Toon lungs.

Hunter is starting to talk more he has such a cute little voice, while Mackenzie says Dadda and Hi. Both are waving (at times, depends on the mood) and I think we are getting VERY VERY close to walk. Only time should tell....

Jamal and I were talking the other day and Summer use to be my favorite 'season' or as much as 'seasons' as we get here in California but I think my favorite 'season' is now Fall and the change of the weather along with the colors.

Till next time, babies are finishing their bottles and I need to get some stuff done. sorry again for the long delay in my blogging but I will get back to doing it more often. I promise..

Until later

Much Love,

Heather

Love my TWINS

Being a mom of twins is AMAZING. I always get asked how you do it, and I say, "we dont know any different" which is SO true. What you do for one you do for two.

Two bath's
Two diaper changes
Two bottles
Two... You get the point

But, unlike a singleton I get the BEST

Two kisses at the end of the night
Two smiling faces
Two laughing babies
Two happy babies.

That is the best part of everything! I love my babies with all of my heart and they are completely AMAZING!

The Doctor even said so today. He was amazed at all of our new found freedom:

Two crawling babies
One talking baby
One sitting up baby
One lifting up baby
And... Oh so more... He was amazed that they have done all of this in 7 months. And, with two strikes against them (1) multiples (2) preemies

Mackenzie is now 24 3/4 long and 13.5 pounds

Hunter is now 25 1/4 long and 18 pounds

Try carying them at the same time.. OUCH! 31.5 pounds.

Mackenzie is now talking she says, "Hi" it is the sweetest little voice you could ever hear and Hunter man is now laughing MORE and MORE.

He is sitting up and playing and Mackenzie does not sit still long enough to stay in one spot.

Life has been busy but wonderful and the babies are getting so BIG.

I am so blessed...

I am so blessed to have two healthy and happy children who were 7 weeks premature who have no issues of being a preemie. As Jamal and I started in our normal evening routine I was thinking oh my gosh... time does fly by.

Hunter and Mackenzie loved to be swaddled when they went to sleep and they slept on their wedges; Mackenzie would scoot herself off of her wedge and wiggle her way out of being swaddled. So I knew it was time for my little girl to "grow" up another stage gone. So last week their was no more swaddling and no more asking her who was going to win, and listening to her laugh. We made it a game where I would have her say goodnight to her hand. She slept with one hand in the swaddle and one hand outside. Mackenzie had her right hand swaddled and her left hand out. For no particular reason except that was the side that she slept on.

As I was changing Mackenzie the other night I was looking at her sleeper and noticed it was getting a little tight length wise so it came to the point to go to size 6 months for sleepers. Which is a big deal since my baby girl can still wear newborn shorts or anything width wise. I cannot put 3 month jeans on her because they still slide off of her bottom. God Bless her for being petite. I weighed her last week and she is now over 13 pounds. Way to go Kenzie Girl!~

Kenzie also has been very close to crawling which makes me happy, sad, nevous and overwhelmed to think I could have a "mobile" baby very soon. Where nothing will be safe.

Mackenzie also LOVES LOVES LOVES to look and play with her brother, when I put them together she just wants to touch his face, grab his clothes and make his life miserable. I keep telling her she needs to be nice to her brother and she laughs at me. I took her this weekend to a party, it was a cooking party thing and their was a boy who maybe was 5 and I felt weird telling my 6 month old daughter to be nice, the mom thought I did not want her son around my daughter but that was not the case I was more nervous what she would do to him. And, yes my Mother instinct was right. She grabbed his shirt and the boy was sad.


Now on to Mr. Hunter Man. He loves to smile I cannot get him to laugh for the life of me but I can get him to smile like it is nothing. We have maybe gotten 3 laughs out of him and millions of smiles.

Hunter is now in pretty much 9 month clothes, some things he still wears 6 months. I have him in a size 3 diaper which is so sad... And, he is wearing a size 4 night time diaper at night.

Last Friday, Hunter made me sad when he kept getting out of his wedge and I was like okay it is now your turn to "grow" up and not need the wedge. That was a sad day for me... Both of my babies no longer needed their wedge or to be swaddled.


Hunter can sit up now and he loves to watch Hanny Manny, I think it is so cute how the little theme song can get his attention and he LOVES it. He has been LOVING his jumper this past week and he will jump until his little heart is content. Last weekend he was so tired and Jamal and I knew he was exhausted, but we put him in his jumper and he was so tired he kept leaning forward and dozing off. I picked him up, and he put his arm around me and put his head down is was so priceless.

Hunter is close to crawling as well but not as "close" as Mackenzie he just is trying to find a way to get away from her so she is not pulling or grabbing at him. Oh, I feel so sorry for what I did to my brother.

Last week we also went on the hunt for another high chair. I purchased a second one and I was so excited because it folded "flat" twins can take up a lot of space! And, then after thinking and watching John & Kate Plus 8 I got to thinking I should purchase the restaurant high chairs and I can stack them. Great Idea, I went online and bought them and they came in tonight with some help from Kenzie and Hunter we convinced Uncle to put them together. It actually did not take much convincing the UPS driver came and Eric was outside so he was like this looks like something I have to put together and he took it right to his room.


I took some photos of my babies tonight as they are asleep, no longer in their wedge, or swaddled, or co-cribing. Wow we are growing up and only 6 months old! To think in another 6 months they will be a year!

Mackenzie sleeping away


Family photo

cool Mr. Hunter Man

This weekend was a lot of "first" for Hunter and Mackenzie. We started off the weekend on Saturday with attending a wedding. This was a good friend of mine she married her long time boyfriend. It was such a beautiful day! Hunter and Mackenzie did an amazing job at the wedding, no crying, just perfect. We gave Hunter and Mackenzie a bottle during the service and my friend Kari told me that they make a lot of noise when they eat. And, boy isnt that the truth. It was actually funny to hear all of the small sound effects. Towards the end of the service they were getting loud but not nearly as loud as the other babies so we moved to the back where it was cooler and more comfy.

On Sunday, we did our first family boating experience. We went out boating and it was a blast. Hunter loved being able to drive with Opa. He did not like the boat staying still he wanted it to be moving. And, Mackenzie loved everything about it. I think she was more in tune to eating what Oma had, she would fling her body towards Oma and her muffin and of course Oma gave in to Mackenzie's wants. It was cute!

Monday, we had a nice family day of swimming at my Aunt Noel's house and we had a wonderful time. Hunter went swimming for a short period of time, and the decided he was tired and hungry and feel asleep eating his bottle and then he slept on on the couch. It was fun. Mackenzie did not want to miss a beat, she was up and swimming and had no interest in falling asleep.

It was such a wonderful weekend with my family. It was a blast, like always we still had a million of things to do last night, but I am 100% thankful to my wonderful husband who did all of the laundry. Together we put all of the clothes away, and I was able to some what clean Hunter and Mackenzie's room before the went to bed for the night. I am going to try and do more of a cleaning tonight but it depends on their mood and my energy level.

6 Months

Wow, I am amazed where time goes. It feels like yesterday that Hunter and Mackenzie were just born or Jamal and I just found out we were pregnant. And, it is hard to believe that it is coming up to the point where we found out we were having twins! That was such a joyous day. Jamal and I did not think that we were going to be having twins. Yes, I am a twin myself but what are the chances? I was at the table lying on my back and Jamal was sitting in the chair like a mile away from me. And, we were nervous because I had some spotting and I thought we had lost the baby. So the doctor was trying to find the baby and he was having trouble I remember looking at Jamal like OH NO! And, then the doctor said. Look? I said what and he moved the monitor so I could see and he said look, he moved it from left to right and right to left and asked how many sacs did we see. And, I looked at him and smiled and said two and so did Jamal. That was the most amazing day! Of course my husband is texting the world at this point!

So where has time gone? Hunter and Mackenzie are both sitting up and loving life. We have started swimming in the spa and at my Aunt's pool and they LOVE IT. Hunter is a fish and he is always sticking out his tongue. It is so cute.

Mackenzie loves loves loves her foot. She is always trying to get her WHOLE foot in her mouth when you are trying to feed her whether it be here bottle or baby food. She loves her foot so much when she sits up she wants to bend forward to eat her foot as well.

Right now we both are teething so it is making the days longer and the nights longer. Normally they sleep throughout the whole night but they have been getting up like 3:00 with tooth pain. My poor babies.

Mackenzie has decided that she does not need to nap any more and that naps are for babies and she is a big girl. I swear that is her thinking. But, I am trying to convince her that is not the case. It was so funny the other night I came home early from work and she was still up did not nap the whole day. She looked at me and looked at her Oma and you could see the look like I just got caught and then she started to laugh.

Well today, we bought Hunter and Mackenzie another play system so that should be fun to see tonight. We will have to butter up to their Uncle to ask him to put it together. Jamal and I do not do very well putting things together so that is Uncle's department.

Papci vs. Paci

The question has been asked why we call it a Papci and not a Paci. The story is simple and sweet. When Hunter and Mackenzie were in NICU he just started calling their purple pacifier a Papci and it has been that way ever since. Now it is not an exclusive Papci because everyone else calls it something else; example: Paci, Blug, Binki, etc. But to Jamal and I it will always be a Papci. It is one of the lighter moments from NICU.

Pre-E and HELLP Disease

Here is what caused an Emergency C-Section for Hunter and Mackenzie to be born on Thanksgiving Day.

Pre-eclampsia - is a medical condition where hypertension arises in pregnancy (pregnancy-induced hypertension) in association with significant amounts of protein in the urine. Because pre-eclampsia refers to a set of symptoms rather than any causative factor, it is established that there are many different causes for the syndrome. It also appears likely that there is a substance or substances from the placenta that may cause endothelial dysfunction in the maternal blood vessels of susceptible women.[1] While blood pressure elevation is the most visible sign of the disease, it involves generalized damage to the maternal endothelium and kidneys and liver, with the release of vasopressive factors only secondary to the original damage.
Pre-eclampsia may develop from 20 weeks gestation (it is considered early onset before 32 weeks, which is associated with increased morbidity) and its progress differs among patients; most cases are diagnosed pre-term

HELLP syndrome - is a rare but serious illness in pregnancy. This illness can start quickly, most often in the last 3 months of pregnancy (the third trimester). It can also start soon after you have your baby. HELLP stands for Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzyme levels and a Low Platelet count. These are problems that can occur in women with this syndrome. Women with HELLP syndrome may have bleeding problems, liver problems and blood pressure problems that can hurt both the mother and the baby.

Papci

I am excited but sad I think Mackenzie is officially done with her Papci (Paci). This is a huge she was so dependent on her papci it was getting bad. But now she has found her index finger on her left hand. And, boy does she LOVE it. I have seen her push the Papci out of her mouth when I give it to her before bed or to help soothe her but I guess today she THREW her Papci out of her mouth when her Oma (my mom) gave it to her for her nap. I would have loved to see her throw it on the ground.

On anther note Hunter is still needing his, he does not use it much except going to sleep or to help soothe. I just loved their papci I have included one of my favorite photos with them and the papci. They so needed it for this photo shoot.

Welcome to My Family!

I am so excited to be starting a family blog about my family. Mackenzie and Hunter and getting so big and I wanted to share all of their "big" moments with my family and friends and this is a great way to share all the success of our family.

As many of you know Hunter and Mackenzie were born on Thanksgiving Day 2008. Mackenzie was 4 pounds 9 ounces and 16 1/4 inches long and Hunter was 4 pounds 14 ounces and 17 inches long. Jamal and I call them our Thanksgiving Blessing! They were born 7 weeks early due to Pre-E and HELLP Disease. They were in NICU for 15 days! Praise the LORD their is nothing wrong with them and they are PERFECT!

We also have three dogs who we call "The Potter's" who are Hermonie (4), Ginny (3), and Luna (1). They add so much excitment to our lives and we could not see ourselves with out anyone of them. All of our dogs are all long hair Dachshunds; Hermonie is Chocolate, Ginny is a Chocolate dappled and Luna is a English Creme Piebald