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