Here's the progress!

After we lived through the toughest week of our lives we were blessed to have these amazing milestones to grace our household!

November 12th-
I'm 9 months old!
November 14th-
Lorelei pulls herself to a stand while sitting on the edge of her carseat!
November 17th-
Lorelei said her first word "look"... I think she's just sassy and is saying "Look now, I don't want to eat this mush! Give me a steak!"
November 18th-
Lorelei cut her first tooth!
November 27th-
Lorelei learned how to crawl and she got her second tooth!
November 28th-
Lorelei slept without waking up... 6pm-5am!

I will put pictures up soon. She's getting so big.
OHHH and I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is preparing not only in decorations but in their spirit for this amazing holiday season!

Pictures from loretta

Click here to view these pictures larger

Pictures from loretta

Click here to view these pictures larger

Halloween

So Lorelei has been talking A LOT! She has not actually said a word, but she babbles and says "yea" pretty often. She laughs ALL the time, and is easily happy by watching other babies. But when she's alone she's hard to entertain! She's doing great though. She will be 9 months old on the 12th and then we'll find out how much she weighs and how long she is.

For halloween she was a ladybug and Smokey was a skeleton. We had a great time. That day we went to see Grandma Nancy and Uncle Jerry at Ruby Tuesdays! Then we spent the evening at our neighbors "Aunt Mel's"

So Lorelei is eating pureed foods and the melt away yogurt and puffs... and the biter biscuits that I have called many times "bitter biscuits"... She's also mainly breastfed with a bottle or two of formula a day. I really think adding the formula has helped her digestion and hydration.

Lets see... I really think that's all the big things that I will mention!

Enjoys the pictures to come!

New pictures are up!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Long time away

So it has been a long journey since we have found out we were having twins. Thinking back hurts a lot... but looking at Lorelei brings such joy.

I don't know what to write anymore, but she is getting big and starting to hit those fun milestones. We're starting to baby proof the house because she is thinking about crawling! The knees went up yesterday underneath her like she was going to push herself to all 4s but she just kicked them back out. She is eating A LOT and loves sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, prunes, and carrots. She also loves bananas and is okay with oatmeal (she hated the rice cereal). She still cries a lot, but has more periods of checking out her surroundings and taking everything in. She laughs a lot, rolls over like she is on a mission, and has an attitude! She has the most beautiful smile if I may say so myself!

Lorelei and I went out to NJ to surprise my parents this past weekend. I met up with Jacque (my great friend from HS) and her daughter at the airport. We went down to my moms school and surprised her! (She was soooo surprised, but had an inkling something was going to happen). SO after that I called my dad (if he answered I was going to say, LETS GO TO LUCNH<>

I apologize to those that I didn't tell I was going. I was only out for 3 days and I was pretty busy...

I do want to thank everyone for all the prayers we have received and all the gifts. If you know me I am horrible with getting thank you cards out, but they will get out (from this summer). I usually have them written up soon after the fact, but addressing them is a problem (especially when my computer crashes and looses all the addresses!). I will now print out all the addresses and keep them in a safe place!!!

Well everyone stay safe and enjoy the fall with the cool air, changing leaves, new smells, and warm apply cider :)

God Bless and make today a day that you're proud of!

(and pictures will come soon)

Gerber Baby!

http://www.gerber.com/photo/?entryid=91797&/#/detail/

Please go to the link abover everyday and vote for Lorelei. You can vote once a day per email address and computer. So if you have 3 computers vote from them all with 3 different email addresses!

Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!!!!

5-6 month pictures are up :)

Click here to view these pictures larger

CEREAL!

So tonight was the fist night for cereal... no pictures or video because Lorelei was screaming the entire time so we just put it in a bottle. But she's out like a light... we'll see how long that lasts! All in all she's doing great and we're getting by! We want to thank everyone again for all your gifts and prayers for this year!

She rolled!

So Lorelei has been rolling from front to back for quite some time... but as of July 24th Lorelei rolled from her back to her front! Here is the video. Enjoy!!!

Pictures from loretta

Click here to view these pictures larger

Trips

So Lorelei and I made it to and back from NJ in one piece... but not by much. I did almost throw her out a window, but my parents saved her :) So she was teething... is teething... is cranky and in lots of pain. But all in all we had a great time. We met with lots of friends and family. Lorelei, Grammy and I met with some new friends and their sons, Michael Jr and Jacob. They are identical twins and I will include a picture below. Michael is Lorelei's boyfriend :-P

So we came back and Lorelei was baptized. It was great and Grandpa Jeff did a great job! We were so thankful that everyone was able to make it :) And today Lorelei is 5 months old...

Grammy and PopPop will be here until the 18th and it's amazing!

Quite a while

Sorry it has been quite a while. I will include links to the picture sites for the new pictures of Lorelei. She's doing great by the way! She's a little spit fire and has a set of lungs and an attidue! We're out in NJ and having a blast with family and friends. We will be heading back to NJ on July 9th and arriving the 10th. We will be having her baptism on the 11th.

Firsts for Lorelei...
Beach (Ocean)
Boardwalk
Blatimore
Meeting many family and friends including Great Aunt Chubby :)
Baltimore National Aquarium
LBI
...
And probably more and definitely more to come!

I will include pictures later on tonight and hope everyone will enjoy their 4th of july! We will be heading to LBI for the day/night!

Four months old!

So my baby girl was 4 months old on Saturday! She just went to the doctors today and weighs about 10lbs 2oz. She is about 22in long.

She's cutting back on the hysterical crying, but is definitely a drama queen... no idea where she gets that from :-P

So we've had the worst and craziest rains and storms here. Thank God we're in an area that doesn't get tornados due to the rivers. But we pray for all of those who are affected by the storms. We have a creek right outside out bedroom window and it's flowing very well!

Lore Mac and I will be out to NJ on the 26th. We're staying until July 9th. And July 11th she is going to be baptized.

Lorelei is growing very well and hitting all of her milestones for a 4 mo old! She is just slacking in muscle control with holding her head. She does very well most times, but sometimes she just lets is bobble.

One and all please join us on June 27th at 1pm for a BBQ to celebrate little Lorelei MacKenzie!

Just RSVP to me via email lorettahmennuti@gmail.com

Pictures from loretta

Click here to view these pictures larger

Pictures from loretta

Click here to view these pictures larger

Pictures from loretta

Click here to view these pictures larger

Pictures from loretta

Click here to view these pictures larger

Just some more

Our first ride to the park

As promised

Here are some photos for you.

BTW! I have switched to using shutterfly instead of snapfish. I realized that when you went to print out photos from snapfish you can't alternate the cropping feature. It's easy to do in shutterfly... and shurtterfly works with target and other programs and gives better discounts. I'm all up for discounts now!

Gymboree!

So I took Lorelei to Gymboree on Saturday to see how she would do. And at first she cried and screamed. The other parents there were so supportive and said that their kids held up class because of screaming so loud sometimes. It's nice to meet with other parents and talk about these things! Lorelei was so stimulated and interacted so well with the toys, scarves, and gymbo. This was the most interactive I have seen her in one sitting!

I am pictures and will post them later in the day! She is growing so well, but still cries A LOT! We will see if there is anything else we can do for that!

Happy Memorial Day to all!!! (tomorrow)

Teeth rolling and swimming oh my!

So Lorelei rolled over on Sunday. She's almost gotten it a few times before, but she just flipped and it was awesome to watch!

We noticed on Tuesday that there was something white in her mouth on her gums... and it's a tooth!

Wed we took the little girl swimming. She did so well!!!

I will get picture up as soon as I can!

Lorelei and I will be driving to NJ with the MN clan on june 25th!

Happy 3 month old day!

So being a mommy is awesome, tiring, exciting, stressful, annoying, cheerful, lovely, frustrating... and so many more! Lorelei is now 8lbs 7oz (5/10). She is at the bottom of the slope for length and still quite under the curve for weight. But she's doing amazingly! She has begun to be colicky... Now for preemies, this is normal. Most babies start a few weeks after birth and it's gone by 3 months. Lorelei is 3 months old today! Her adjusted age is 24 days old... so relating what she's doing now... she's advanced in certain areas, but on track for her actual age. She has acid reflux so we're going to start her on prilosec and hope that helps. On 4/25 she smiled... 4/30 she really really smiled and on 5/1 she laughed. Since then she's been cooing and making razzle noises when she talks to her stuffed animal friends. She is starting to hold her head even with her body when pulled up by her arms. She is beginning to push herself up on her arms, and her head control is improving every day. She has always had great strength, by holding her head up for more then 5 seconds hasn't really worked until about 2 weeks ago. Her leg strength is the same and she has a mean grasp of the hair... my hair that is! Lorelei is doing so well... we are so thankful everyday for her progress and that she is here with us. She is our miracle baby and we thank God everyday for her. We want to make sure she knows she has a sister and we need to pray on how to raise her with the knowledge. It's difficult when saying that your sister didn't make it... I can only imagine those children feeling like it's their fault, hating God, being depressed... so many things!

I need need need to get pictures up. She is changing so much everyday! I have heard that she is looking like me, I have heard that she is doing things like Jared, etc. Lorelei and I will be out in NJ from June 26-July 9. We will be having a BBQ on the 27th so that should be fun! I would love to see everyone who is keeping up with us!

I will get some sleep now. But I promise to get pictures up as soon as I make time! Also, her announcement cards will be going out as soon as I finish addressing them! I have about 10 minutes each day to complete that... yea like that's enough time!

Hugs and drool!

1 mo anniversary

So today is Lorelei's 1 mo anniversary of coming home. In 12 days she will be 3 months old and on Monday she will be 2 weeks old (adjusted).

We went to the neonatologist toady for a follow up preemie appointment. She's doing great for being 2 weeks old! She is now weighing 8lbs which means she has gained 21.5 oz in 21 days... averaging just over 1oz per day... and that was her goal!

I will post more pictures when I put them up. I am also going to try and figure out how to post video.

I hope everyone has received their thank you cards, and if not then hopefully soon! I've been getting some sent back for random reasons... so please know that we are so thankful for everyone and everything we're been given. We wouldn't be able to get through without the help, prayers and love from all of you!

OH And NJ... Party at my place (in Brick) on June 27th at about 12pm. I'll get formal invites out within the month!

Easter 10' (11 photos), by Lorel Smith

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

First visit to Great Grandma's!

So this was our first visit to Great Grandma's and we were greeted by cousins Audrey and Hannah, Uncle Dan and Aunt Dee, Uncle Jerry, and of course, Great Grandma! She was held, loved, passed, enjoyed, fed, changed, slept, and cried. Pretty typical weekend, just with more people. Aunt Jessica, Grandpa Jeff, Grandma Ronda, and Uncle Luke came on Saturday. I was so happy everyone got to see her and spend positive time with her.

We've been working on our tummy time. She has been scooting with assistance. We put her on her tummy and tuck her legs in and her hands on the floor under her shoulders. We will put our hand against one foot and she will push off and how she moves is with the other foot pushing off the ground. She's slowly understanding that she needs to move her arms back to the start after each move. It's awesome to watch! I hope to get a video up here soon... but no promises. She also can roll over when I put her on her side (you're probably saying, duh! But she's almost on her tummy and she kicks off to roll over... she doesn't know she's doing it though)

Today we went to Bruners for the first time! (Lorelei's first trip). It's a family restaurant in Muncie that we all LOVE!!! Also today we went to visit Great Grandpa Ralph's grave site. We took video of Great Grandma holding Lorelei while we visited the site. On Tuesday it will be two years since Grandpa Ralph left this world... he was definitely a great man who will never be forgotten. Two years ago this month we lost my Uncle Terry who will never be forgotten... he was my Godfather... my heart goes out to my cousin and Aunt who are so terribly strong for living day by day. On a positive note, my cousin Corey was married to Sandy on the 19th (tomorrow). And birthday's... soooo many! But tomorrow is Jacque's and Josh's birthdays and Lorelei's due date!!! So as of right now Lorelei is -1 day old!!!

Well here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Grandpa Jeff consoling Lorelei

Grandma Ronda taking over when she's calm

When Grandma got me I screamed bloody murder and mommy captured this face!

I love tummy time with Aunt Jess

Cousin Audrey is comfy!

ZzzzZZZZzzzz

So Lorelei has begun being fussy... I think it's because my parents left :-P We're enjoying everything and even how our limits are being tested! Thanks everyone for your support and tips on how to eliminate her fussiness or just cope!

So she is 2 months old tomorrow~ She was 8 weeks old on Friday. Time flies! She now weighs (as of Friday) 6lbs 10.5oz. She is supposed to gain .5-1oz/day She ultimately will weigh 7lbs by her due date, which is an average weight for a term baby. Now Connie is watching her throughout the week while we work.

Life is ultimately good!

Easter!

Lorelei's first easter!

NICU Graduate!

So on Wed around 1pm we left the hospital with our little girl! She graduated and made it home! We have been tired, scared, thrilled, worried, and amazed by God's love to give us this amazingly strong and well behaved baby girl. Our hearts go out to the nurses at the NICU for taking such good care of our baby girl, and teaching us how to do all the little things from changing a diaper to feeding, to consoling... they are very special and amazing people! My parents came out on Friday and we have been blessed to have had some time to sleep and get some well needed rest. I go back to work tomorrow :( but am going to try and do my best to make it all work. Lorelei is very strong and lifts her head, turns it, and does other fun stuff. She has an adorable cry and is a great eater.

Please send me by email your addresses (EVERYONE) so I can send out announcement cards. Even if you think I have your address, I don't! My harddrive died a few months ago and we lost everything... just a few days before it happened I thought I should write down the addresses and never got around to it in time! (lessen learned!)

Here are a few pictures, please check out snapfish and facebook for the rest! (only 6 upload on a blog entry and it takes forever, thus not all the photos are posted!)

PopPop telling many stories!

Lorelei talking to her friends... dirty puppy, red crab, and purple star fish

Lorelei's new trick!

Lorelei loves her boppy seat given by Jackie Salmon!

The outfit from Grammy Mennuti and the booties are made by Great Aunt Cathy!

The picture before she left the NICU!

T-minus 24 hours

Lets pray and hope Lorelei is ready!

Photo shoot tomorrow at 12:30!

So many emotions

Well as you know Friday was the day for her to come home... it didn't happen. She had a self resolving brady that took too long. And they told us they will reevaluate over the weekend for sending home on Monday. But I am totally in a place right now that I cannot believe anything I am hearing. I am angry, frustrated, sad, hurt, etc.

Lorelei is almost 6lbs (about 3 ounces away)... people always say, "oh 5lbs is when they send babies home!" Well she hit that way back... "when they eat on their own!" We hit that a few weeks ago... "when they are gaining weight and keeping their temp in a crib" that's long behind us... So try and feel why we're so angry. I want to scream at them, curse and punch the doctors in the face. But really... it's not their fault, they are sending us home with a HEALTHY BABY GIRL who won't need to be monitored... but can I still do those things? I want my daughter. She is almost 2 months old and I have missed so much. I just want to quit my job because emotionally I can't handle it. Everyone keeps telling me I'm strong, we're strong, etc... well I think that's over. God doesn't give you things you cannot work with/handle. Well I'm at my breaking point. I'm done. I want her to be home for my parents to be with her...

More pictures

Hey grandma what are you lookin at??

OMG that is a huge butterfly!

Doubly Great Aunt Barbra