26 Weeks

26 weeks has finally arrived. It is a huge milemarker for me. With Maddy and Morgan my water broke at 24 weeks but I was able to stave off actual labor until 26 weeks. At that point I developed an infection and had an emergency C-section. I delivered two tiny girls weighing in at just 1lb. 13oz and 1lb. 14oz. The first time I saw them in person they were scary tiny. Their skin was translucent and they had tubes and wires coming from everywhere. Despite their tiny structure they were pefect and beautiful and wonderfully mine. I was in love instantly and forever.

Today I saw my third daughter, my youngest, my final baby; this time it was on an ultrasound machine in my doctor's cozy office instead of the cold and sterile NICU. This time I looked on in excitement instead of fear and listened intently as the ultrasound tech checked off each feature and bone and organ on a list with a "perfect today" rating. She looked at her fluid and her umbilical cord. She looked at her femurs and her heart and spine, her kidneys and her tiny feet. She said everything, including my cervix looks perfectly perfect at this moment and there is no reason to expect delivery anytime soon.

We are so excited with this news and are looking forward to several more weeks of normal pregnancy. We have picked a name for our third daughter and here is her sweet picture from todays visit.

Kayleigh Noelle at 26 weeks 1 day gestation. Estimated weight 1lb. 10oz.

P.S. This ultrasound profile is almost identical to Maddy's profile ultrasound from 20weeks. From the tip up of her little nose, little lips, to the forhead curve, they are literally identical. I wonder if this means she will favor daddy just like her big sister. Guess we will find out in July.

Happy Spring and Happy Easter

Some sweetie-pie pics from the weekend. We took the girls to see the Easter Bunny at the mall and took advantage of how cute they looked by taking some extra photos while there. Happy Spring and Happy Easter too!

It's a ...

It's a baby GIRL !!!

Another sweet girl to love! We are so excited. I can't believe I am going to be a mommy to three little girls!

Pictures of My Blessings

Here are some updated pictures of the girls:

Morgan and Maddy on Christmas Eve

Morgan gets in bed to wait on Santa!

Maddy ready for Santa, but not as thrilled with going to bed.

Here is a picture of my 9 week ultrasound. I am 14 weeks now.

One Year and Three Months Later ...

I can't believe it has been over a year since I last updated. To say I have been busy is a huge understatement. I guess I just got bored with blogging after and while. Plus it was the first thing I cut out when my days became overfilled with the fun and frenzy two toddlers bring.

Maddy and Morgan are doing phenomenally. They are sweet, caring, silly, full of energy girls. Their personalities couldn't be any more different at this point.

Maddy is reserved and shy around others. But at home she lets it all out and is full of energy and movement. She is sometimes bossy and whiny and her favorite statement as of late is "It's Miiinnne" or "It's My Turn". She is the perfect little "mama" to her dolls and to Morgan, whom she still refers to as "baby". She is extremely attentive to her sister as long as Morgan doesn't have a cool toy or gadget in her hand. She is very loving and giving, although it is definately on her terms. She is studious and loves to learn. She has a wonderful attention span for a three year old.

Morgan is wild and outgoing, both in good ways. She is the life of a party and she loves everyone. She is extremely empathetic to how others around her feel and is very giving of herself and her things if it will make us or her sister happy. She is not demanding or whiny but is sneaky and stubborn. She loves to pretend. She loves dress up and playing house and playing with her barbies. She keeps me on my toes and needs lots of supervision as she often find herself being mischevious if left alone for long periods of time. The things she comes up with almost always take my breath away. I never know what she is going to say or do next.

The girls graduated out of therapy in July of last year and have been doing great. They are growing and changing all the time. Maddy weighs 31lbs now and Morgan is around 28lbs. They are beautiful little girls. Morgan was prescribed glasses in December and she is so cute in her Spongebob "Pensants", her pronunciation of "Princess", glasses. They are so adorable on her - that is when we can get her to keep them on. She also has two cavities we are having filled in February :(. These are some of the tiny remnants of their early arrival, but all in all I think we came away amazingly blessed.

Speaking of blessings... The girls are most excited right now about a new baby coming later this year. Yep, we're pregnant again. We weren't planning for this at all. We were surprised (surprised is an understatment really). But we are extremely excited about baby #3. We don't know the sex of the new baby yet but will probably first week of March.

Everyone polled is saying they think it is a boy, but I wonder if it isn't another girl. I really don't care as long as it is healthy! I just don't want another 1 lb. baby. It is such a hard road to go down. We do know that this pregnancy is just one baby. I have had three ultrasounds so far and we are confident that only one is there this time. My doctors are very optimistic that this will be a much easier and healthier pregnancy. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

So far my only problems this go round have been the anxiety and stress of "what if's" I do great for the first two weeks after my prenatal appt., then I stress out and worry over every little thing the two weeks before my next appt. It is like high highs when everything is all right and low lows when I feel a muscle pull or other strange sensation and start to worry until I hear all is well again. It is a battle of wills and I am trying really hard to be relaxed and optimistic too. I want to enjoy this pregnancy as it will surely be my last!

Well I hope someone out there still checks in on us every once in a while, although it has been so long that I sort of doubt anyone does. But part of writing this blog, or most of writing this blog was just for my own memories and "getting it out".

I know, I know ...

I know. I have been gone FOREVER ... Things around here have been really good lately but really busy. The girls are afterall 2 now, and two 2 year olds is a handful on a good day. Plus my computer is ancient and I have dial up internet and that combination means it is so SLLLOOOOWWW slow slow and it takes a really long time to even log into blogger much less post something (WITH PICTURES).

But I have been getting emails from some asking how the girls are and asking why I haven't posted anything new in months. Um. Sorry about that. Here are some cute pictures of the girls.

They have been well. They are growing like weeds and gained a whole pound each in the last month. Maddy now weighs 24lbs and Morgan is 23lbs. They are so tall and lanky but I think they are adorable. They are growing up so fast and they are talking so much more now. Morgan's favorite thing to say is "No way" and "C'mon mommy, right now". Maddy's latest phrase is "Hush Jenny" and "More Cacoo (cookies). William is calling Maddy the cookie monster because she is in LOVE with all things cookie.

Well hope everyone out there in blog land is having a nice autumn and I will try to post some pics of the girls in their Halloween costumes later this month.

For now, here are the cute pics I promised.

Maddy at the zoo on Saturday.

Morgan at the museum on Saturday

God Bless America

Water Babies

Morgan hams it up for the camera at a recent family pool party :)

While Maddy relaxes on a raft!

Lazy Summer? Days ...

So far this spring has been unusually warm, hot even. Today the temperature is supposed to be around 90 degrees. We have been taking advantage of these warmer days by playing outside with the girls. They love the space to run and move and we have bought them a few outdoor toys to keep them from getting too bored.

I haven't had much time to blog these last few months as the girls literally keep me on my feet all day. I wouldn't even be on here today if I hadn't placated them for a few minutes with a Disney movie. But I wanted to share some recent pics of them and update everyone with what we've been up to. Hope to hear from you all soon! Enjoy.

Maddy and Morgan have their first pudding pops! Yummy!

Maddy plays with her sand and water table. This is the coolest toy. They love it and it keeps their attention endlessly.

This is the newest outdoor toy we purchased. We went to the March of Dimes WalkAmerica a couple of weeks ago and Maddy went crazy over the moon walk. This bouncy thing was only $24.00 at an outlet store here. I had to get it for them.

This is what I have been waiting for forever since the girls' NICU days. Sitting back and watching my sweet girls splashing and playing in their baby pool. They love it. It gets all grassy but who cares.

(That's Maddy standing up and Morgan in the water)
And here is a super cute pic of Maddy and Daddy "horsing" around!

4 Free to A Good Home

We have four adorable and playful kitties who are free to a good home. They are ready to go home with you today! Here is a quick look at the four so you can pick which one will be "purrfect" for your family!

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We call this one "Princess". I am pretty sure she is a girl. She is probably the friendliest of the group and the most fearless. She is very playful and loves to be nuzzled. She is the only one who has consistently come up to us when we go looking for the four. She is mostly black, brown, and white as you can see but she has this one little patch of gold hair on the right side of her head and it looks like a crown so that is why we have called her princess. Of course no matter which kitty you pick you can name them yourselves. None of them know their names yet. :)

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This next one we have been calling "Smokey". He is gray and peach and has a white belly. I have looked at his "parts" and though teeny tiny at this point I am pretty sure he is a he. I could be wrong because I am no vet but I am pretty sure he is a he. The peach color is really pretty and unique. We thought he was going to be off white but when you get up close it is almost a pink off white color and I love the little patch of peach on his nose and paw. He is really cute and very friendly. He doesn't just run up to us but he is comfortable playing on the front porch while I sit there and watch him and when I picked him up he snuggled in to me.
Smokey seen here with "Mama"
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This is "Tabby" She is almost identical to princess when you first glance at her but when she steps back from you you can see all these cute stripes under her fur. She is the most obvious mixture of "Mama" stray cat and our pet cat "Kitty". Both of these calico looking cats I have been told are girls. My best friend said that she remembers from biology class that if they have more than three colors they are always a female. I am pretty sure she is female too, just from looking for myself :) She is friendly and very playful but a little more shy than princess. She will let me hold her for a really long time though if I want to and I love that about her.

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Our last kitty and most shy is "Boo". We call him that because he is the most fearful of the pack. He has been held and will come out and play around us but if you move too fast or lean towards him he will jump back or hide under something. I tried to tell for sure if he was a he but he is too furry to see anything and because he is so shy it is hard to get enough time with him turn him over and look around. I am going with him being a he because of a few reasons. His face is a little wider than the others and he looks really different from the two girls. He is completely all black. And if I had to pick one as my favorite looking it would be him. He is so cute and fluffy and because he is so shy I just want to snuggle him more, plus I just think it would be so cool to have an all black cat.

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So these are the four. I think they are somewhere between seven and eight weeks old. I am guessing closer to seven. The are still little bitty even though some of these zoomed in pictures make them look bigger.

They are free to any good home on a first to come get them basis. I can probably deliver them to you if you live or work close by me. They seem to be really healthy. They eat plenty and they are growing appropriately. I haven't noticed anything unusual with any of them. I think they would make great inside or outside cats.

I am really hoping some of you will consider taking one of them. I am doing my best to find them each a great family but if I can't I will probably turn them over to the Bartlett Animal Shelter sometime in the next couple of weeks. I am hoping to avoid that if at all possible, but I can't keep six cats, and a dog, a fish, plus two kids, it is just too much for me to take on long term. I love my two kids. I am fairly fond of my dog and cat. I have decided to keep "mama" if I can catch her and get her fixed (soon) so that just leaves the kittens and the fish. Anybody want a fish?

Email me at mandygal2004ATaolDOTcom for more info as needed.

5/9/07----UPDATE----------------------------

"Princess" and "Tabby" are now in a loving home together. A family with two sweet girls and a baby boy adopted them this past Saturday. I am sure they will all be happy together.

Cute Pics and the Easter Bunny

I took some cute pictures of the girls yesterday afternoon in my front yard. They turned out so cute that I felt I needed to post them and show everyone how sweet my baby girls are. I think they look like little angels in these dresses.

Also, today my mom and I took the girls to the mall to visit the Easter Bunny. Here are are our pics from that.

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What? You don't see them sitting pretty in E.B.'s lap? Hmmm, must be because Maddy FREAKED out. She was terrified of him and then because she was so upset and clawing my arms to get me to pick her back up that Morgan started to panic too.

So we didn't get any pics this year with him (Not that the mall didn't try to convince us to go ahead with the picture, cause they did - but I wasn't paying 25.00 for a picture of my child throwing down in the floor beneath the Easter Bunny). They did visit with him though, from the safe distance of mommy and Mimi's arms. They got their suckers, which made them very happy AND very sticky girls and we went on about our merry way. Here is a picture as proof that I did dress them all cute to see the bunny in hopes of a second great EB picture. Oh well, maybe next year!

The Sweetest Thing

My dad is a driver and he has had the same route to Georgia for the past couple of years. Every other night he has stayed at the same hotel on his trip while away from home. He quickly made good friends with the office staff at this hotel. Two weeks ago his route was changed and he was informed that he would have to go to Alabama for a while (hopefully not for too long, but at least for several months). This was a big change in his schedule and would mean he wouldn't get to see the people he has seen every other day for the past couple of years. On his last night at his favorite hotel in GA the staff presented him with going away presents, but instead of traditional going away presents for him they gave him gifts for the girls. Because he talks about "his babies" so much and shows his friends down there our blog, they have come to be like family. They kept in touch with what the girls were doing through the blog and knew dad well enough to know that nothing in the world would make him happier than watching the girls get spoiled with cute Easter toys.

So this weekend dad came over to the house and brought with him two gift bags chocked full of surprises for the girls. They had a blast opening it and playing with all the goodies inside. Morgan love love loved the sunglasses and is still bringing them to me over and over today to put on her. Maddy really like the purses she and Morgan got and has kind of claimed them as both hers. They got these really pretty faint pink butterfly sequin purses I put up for Easter day. I think it will go great with their dresses. Everything they got was so cute. My favorite toys were these little bubble squeezy blowers shaped like Peeps candies. You stick the blower in the bubble solution and squeeze the peep and little micro bubbles go everywhere. We had a lot of fun with that one in therapy today.

To Evelyn, Nina, Tammy(April), Jamie, and Norma:
Thank you so much for all the wonderfully cute gifts for the girls. They had a blast playing with them all. What you did for them and for my dad was just the sweetest thing ever. Thanks for thinking of us and for being such a good friend to him these last few years! Thanks for all the prayers you have sent our way since their early arrival. May God bless you all. Please feel free to comment on my blog anytime or to shoot me an email for updates. I look forward to talking to you all again.

Mandy

Raising Funds for March of Dimes

This year we are working hard to raise money for the March of Dimes in honor of our girls Maddy and Morgan. We are holding a spaghetti dinner fundraiser on March 3rd, 2007 in hopes of raising $500.00 for MOD. Everyone is invited!

If you are in town and would like to come, please shoot me an email or leave me a comment on here. I can then get you directions and details. Tickets are $10.00 a plate and kids eat free. We could really use the support.

We also have a website set up through the March of Dimes WalkAmerica.com to raise online funds. If you would like to make a donation please see the link on the right side of the screen or click this link: Maddy and Morgan's MOD website We are so thankful to have family and friends who support us.

We are so thankful to the March of Dimes for their hard work and continuous efforts to prevent premature birth and birth defects. We believe because of this organization our doctors had the equipment and the knowledge to save our sweet girls. We hope with all of our support and others like us, we can make a difference in the lives of tiny babies born in the future. Maybe they won't have to suffer as much as our girls did; and maybe their parents won't have to worry about NEC and other conditions preemies develop now, but doctor's don't yet know why. March of Dimes mission is "Saving Babies Together" and we just hope to be a small part of that.

Thanks for all of your help, we couldn't ask for better friends and family! You have always been supportive when we needed you most and we can't tell you how much that means to us!

Love,
Mandy and William
Maddy and Morgan

Watch Your Mouth, A Random Thought, and Hot Wheels!!!

Watch Your Mouth ...

Maddy and Morgan are repeating everything now. This weekend the we were all over at my mom's house and Poppy said "doo do" as Morgan was walking through the room. Morgan repeated the word "doo do" and kept walking. I know this isn't a bad word but we thought it was hilarious. Poppy was using this word in place of another common bad word and boy are we glad he did, because it wouldn't have been so funny to hear my 19 mo. old saying curse words while strolling through the living room.

Speaking of "Bad Words" ....

This afternoon I turned on the t.v. for the first time all day, just mostly to have some noise. I didn't pay attention to the channel until later when I heard Dr. Phil coming on. I went in the kitchen and got busy and out of the living room I hear "bleep" this and "bleep" that. Really it was bleeps, not real words. They were sensoring whatever the people on the show were saying. The people were arguing and it was almost constant strings of that "bleep" noise. I wanted to go turn it off or onto cartoons but was too busy to break away from what I was in the middle of. A little while later I realized the noise had stopped ... completely. As in there was complete silence coming from the living room. I finally went in to see what was going on, only to find Maddy walking around with the remote control and the t.v. was off. I guess she got tired of the trash talking bleeping noise and decided to just turn it off. That's my girl!

A Random Thought ...

Why do my kids always wait until I have just changed their diapers to poop? Don't they know how expensive Huggies x2 are these days :)

and HOT wheels ...

Yesterday was a gorgeous day outside and so we took the girls out to play in the yard. Here they are playing on the new wheels daddy got them for Valentine's Day!

All of these pics are of Maddy, but don't worry Morgan had her turn to. She was just off playing with something else by the time I got my camera out :)

Finally it Snows!

Well the weatherman said it would snow Wednesday night, but nothing came down. Maybe a few flakes here and there. I was super dissappointed.

Then yesterday afternoon I went shopping and as soon as I got across town, William called me from work to tell me to head back home as soon as possible because it was snowing like crazy and he didn't want me out with the girls in traffic. So I tried to hurry my shopping and in the process made a rooky mistake of taking that third eye off the girls. I looked over at the basket just in time to see Maddy diving over the side of the shopping cart head first into the floor. Everyone freaked out, me included. I picked her up and tried to calm her down but she was crying so hard that her face was too red for me to figure out what was wrong, if anything. After being escorted back to the store's breakroom and getting her calmed down we realized it was just a slight bruise on her forehead and she was fine. She was back to herself relatively fast and I was relieved. I felt, of course, like a horrible mother, but then I remembered how when I was little my grandmother let me sit on the bottom of a shopping cart and I put my hands on the floor and she ran over my fingers with the wheels of the shopping cart. So I know these things happen and I am done beating myself up over it. I am just thanking God that it all ended well and my baby is okay. I will not however be letting my babies sit in the back of one of those little shopping carts again. Learned that lesson!

I got the kids in the car and headed back home. It wasn't snowing where I was. It wasn't snowing on the way home and the roads weren't even wet. The weatherman came on the radio and said the temperature was 35 degrees. I of course thought William was crazy for having rushed me before, but I think he saw snow falling for a few minutes and worried it might not stop and then the roads would get bad. It didn't matter anyway, after the incident with Maddy I wasn't going anywhere after that store except home. I was glad to get home and back to the safety of my little house.

When we headed to bed last night. The weatherman on the news said it might snow but probably would just be rain, so I was shocked when William woke me up early this morning and told me to look outside. Everything here was covered in snow. It was so pretty. We got the girls up and opened their windows so they could see it too. Then we got them bundled up and headed out to play for a few minutes before it started to melt. They were mesmerized by it, especially Morgan. Maddy was excited too, but she has the sniffles and was content to mostly just stay next to William. I did manage to get a few great pictures of them playing in it so I will try to post those today, as well as one of them playing in it last year.

Sticking close to Daddy!

Maddy looks around.

Morgan loves it!

February 11, 2006
One Year Ago. I can't believe how little they were.