General Update

Boy, does time fly?  It's been over twelve weeks since Mackenzie was born.  And I only have 1 1/2 more weeks before I have to go back to work.  It sure has been a fun and wonderful twelve weeks thus far. 

Well, we went to visit Richard and Carla at the end of last month and got to see the twins for the first time.  They were so cute and adorable.  We took quite a few pictures of them and I have created a new page just for them.  If you want to see their pictures, click on this.  It's amazing how one can forget so quickly how small a baby was.  I placed Mackenzie next to the twins and she looked like a giant compared to them.  It was also the first time that we visited Richard and Carla's house.  They have a very nice and cozy house.  The house had many wonderful and nice decorations all over.  It really makes me wish I could decorate our house as nicely as Carla did to hers.  Overall we had a great time and the twins were wonderful.  Once again, we would like to congratulate Richard and Carla and hope you guys enjoy your new company.

Mackenzie.  Well, she's over twelve weeks old now.  She grown quite a bit.  She probably about 13 pounds now which is amazing since she was only a little over 7 pounds when she was born.  Since I've been staying home with her, I have been nursing her but work is on the horizon so we're trying to get her use to a bottle.  Let's just say, it's been a rough few days for her.  She's not use to it and refuses to take it even though she's really hungry.  The first night we tried this, she drank 2 ounces in 10 hours.  She was fussy the whole time, but refused to eat from a bottle.  Once she fell asleep, she eat another 3 ounces.  The second day, she went about 5 hours before she would take some milk and when she did, she drank quite a few ounces.  Today is the fifth day that we're trying the bottle and she's still somewhat resistant to it.  I tried this morning to give her a bottle, but she wouldn't take it until she fell asleep.  As we speak right now, she crying and complaining about being hungry, but refuses to take the bottle.  I still do nurse her, but only at night when both of us are really tired and sleepy.  Hopefully, she will adapt to the bottle soon or else my parents are going to have a fun time with her when I go back to work. 

Besides the bottle issue, she's doing great.  She likes to talk and smile at you when you play with her.  She's starting to learn how to grab things like the toys that are in front of her.   She still sleeps quite a bit during the day, but has adapted to a routine.  She normally will wake up around 7 AM, then take a nap at 9 AM until noon or so.  Then she's awake and will take short 30 minutes naps until 7 or 8 at night.  Once she's asleep at night, she will sleep for 5 hours or so (if she full).  Then she'll sleep again for another 3 hours and wake up again the next day around 7 AM again.  With her current routine, I do get more sleep than I use to when she was waking up every 2 hours at night.  I am not looking forward to going back to work with this type of interrupted sleep every day.  I really have no idea how I'm going to react to the lack of sleep every night.  There are days where I feel like a zombie because I don't get enough sleep.  Okay, enough about me.  Back to Mackenzie.  She hasn't learned to flip over yet, but she loves to sit up.  Every morning, I put her on the bouncer and she quietly sits there and plays.  It's really amazing how fast she has grown.

Zachary.  Well, he's been home with me ever since December 2006 and he's still not tired of me yet.  Zachary really loves Mackenzie and enjoys her company.  Every morning when Mackenzie is on the bouncer, Zachary would sit there and play with her.  He is learning how to "talk" to her and most of the time, she will response to him.  He is also very protective of her.  He does not like other people messing with her and will get very upset if others make Mackenzie mad or cry.  Zachary loves to hug or touch Mackenzie affectionately.  Sometimes, he's too affectionate.  For example, he likes to put his two hands on her face to talk to her and there have been times where Mackenzie cries because Zachary is being a little too rough.  Overall, Zachary would probably say that she's a keeper.

Zachary is going to be going to school this year in August and I'm not too looking forward to it yet.  You see, Zachary has this one bad little habit. He throws a really bad temper tantrum.  Whenever he gets upset, he will start one of these tantrums.  He'll start crying and sometimes won't stop even if you ask him to.  Then there are times where he will drop himself to the floor and cry at the same time.  We are trying to undo these bad habits before he starts school. 

Nicholas.  He's going great.  He's is doing great in school and seems to love school very much.  Since I am home after he gets off school, I am able help him with his homework and most of the time, he really doesn't need much help.  His current interest is still video games.  Once he's done with his school work, he's either on his computer, playing with a Gameboy, or playing on his Wii.  Sometimes, we actually have to tell him to stop playing and do something else.

Michael.  I would have to say that he's going great also.  Now that I stay home, I am able to make him dinner every night which is cool because when I was working, dinner was either really late or we would get something on the way home.  Also, every morning, I would make him his breakfast and pack his lunch.  If you ask him whether he has enjoyed my stay at home for the last 3 months, I am pretty sure that the answer would be "It's been great!"  This will be another thing I will miss when I get back to work.  In the past, I don't get off work until 6 PM or so and depending on the traffic, may not get home until really late. Sometimes around 8 PM therefore dinner is not ready until 8:30 or 9 PM.  I really need to try getting to work earlier so that I can get home at a decent time to prepare dinner.  Nicholas normally has to be in bed by 9:30 so having such a late dinner is never a good idea. 

I also need to get better at making dinners because Michael can no longer eat dairy or mayo.  When I am not home and he's hungry, he would make himself a sandwich.  Well, without cheese and mayo, a sandwich isn't really all that great.  This is why I need to get better at making food for him that he will eat and can heat up quickly when I'm not home.  Not to say that Michael cannot make his own food, but it's just easier if there is already food ready when you're hungry.  You're probably wondering why Michael can't eat dairy or mayo.  Well, he's been having some stomach issues and his doctor has asked him to cut out a few things.

April has been a busy month.  First there were birthday parties for two of my nieces, then there was Easter, and this past weekend, it was my nephew's birthday party.  Of course at the end of the month, it'll be my birthday also.  Well, this year's Easter celebration was at our house.  It was such a nice day that we decided to BBQ for the first time this year.  I believe everyone had a lot of fun.  There were a lot of kids here and we did some egg coloring and decorating first.  After that, the kids made Easter cards while the adults went and hid the eggs at the park down the street.  Once they were ready and the kids were done with their cards, we headed out for the park.  I was not sure how many kids were going to be there so I prepared over 300 eggs just in case.  The kids all had fun with the hunt and afterwards they got to play in the park.  Some of the adults even participated in a game of duck duck goose.  After that, we went back to the house and everyone just hung out and enjoyed their Sunday afternoon.  Michael took some pictures of all the activities and I have added a page for the April birthdays and Easter. 

Well, like I said, 11 more days and it'll be work time again.  Hopefully, I will find time next month to write another update and add more stuff to the website.  Until then, have a wonderful day!