Suter babies

Toddler Beds: Night 1

2010-06-16T21:18:00.000-07:00

We converted both the kids beds to toddler beds. Jack did so good...he cried for about 15mins, but did really well staying in bed. Mackenzie played a lot. At one point we heard her coughing/choking so we went to check on her....she was in Jack's bed eating a book (needless to say we put the books up), Jack was just laying there...maybe even asleep, but he woke up when we opened the door.

At about 10:30 Mackenzie started crying-we knew she was tired. She cried until about 10:50. At about 11:15 John and I went in to see where she landed....our bets were on the floor in front of the door. But, this is what we found

My little escapee

2010-06-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

Mackenzie has finally done it-climbed out of her crib. I am super nervous about this transition to a toddler bed. John will be converting Mackenzie's bed to a toddler bed tonight, we are still trying to decide if we want to transition Jack right now as well, or wait with him (they share a room). Pray for me ;-)

Its been a while....

2010-05-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

I havent posted since Feb! my bad...

Things are going well-we are finally getting settled into our home and new town.

~~Babies~~ toddlers are now 20 months old...I cant believe they will be 2 in just a few short months! They are both growing and learning a lot. Mackenzie is about 21lbs now and Jack weighs in at around 23lbs. A month or so ago we started sending them to daycare once a week-its been interesting. They have had good days and bad days, as to be expected.

Jack is talking quite a bit-he says and signs a lot of words. He enjoys dancing, watching Yo Gabba Gabba, cars, and playing outside.

Mackenzie has just started saying a few words in the last month or so, she also signs the words she says. She enjoys watching Yo Gabba Gabba, playing in the sandbox/outside, stacking blocks, and puzzles.

Puzzles, Stacking, and Blocks

2010-02-11T17:32:00.000-08:00

Some of the twins favorite current activities include puzzles, stacking/sorting, and blocks. Mackenzie is pretty good with the blocks, unfortunately one of her brothers favorite activities is knocking down towers of blocks :-).

UPDATES!

2010-01-23T17:43:00.000-08:00

Wow, I just realized I havent posted anything since halloween?! Yikes.

Well, a lot has happened/changed in the last few months. We moved from Ohio to South Dakota where John is pursuing his phd at the University of South Dakota.

We bought our first house-which was/is a bit of a fixer upper. So far upgrades include all new flooring throughout the house, new paint throughout the house, new furnace, a few new light fixtures, new window treatments, and a new kitchen-new counters, cabinets, stove, and dishwasher. We arrived in SD around Dec 1 but we werent able to move into our house until about 2 weeks later due to all of the work being done. Its been about a month since we'ved moved in and I still have a lot of boxes to unpack.

John started classes a few weeks ago and is enjoying them so far. I've still been staying home with the kids but will hopefully be going back to work, part time, in the spring.

The babies are doing well. They did have a fairly rough time adjusting. A few days after we got to SD Jack spiked a fever of 104 so we took him to acute care where he was diagnosed with pneumonia. Mackenzie had a weird stomache bug for about 5 days where she would be fine all day but around 2 am she would wake up and throw up a few times, then go back to sleep and be fine again until the next night at 2am. John spent 2 weeks sleeping with Jack on the couch so he would hold him upright most of the night and I spent two weeks sleeping with Mackenzie. Once we moved in we took Jack back to the doctor to make sure the pneumonia was gone. It was, but he then had a double ear infection.
After about a week of living in our house the babies finally started acting like themselves again.

At their 15 month check up Jack was 22lbs and Mackenzie was 19. I cant remember how tall they were.
Mackenzie is a very active little girl. She loves to climb, run, and just be busy. Her favorite activities for now are stacking rings, puzzles, blocks, looking at books, and playing with balls.
Jack is a pretty active little boy as well, but not quite as much so as his sister. He too enjoys climbing-the other day I found him standing on the kitchen table. Someone had left a chair pulled out and he climbed right up onto the chair and then right up onto the table. His favorite activities for now are looking at books, push toys (lawnmower, corn popper, ride on car), knocking over what his sister builds with blocks, and cars.
Jack does say a few words-mama, dada, ball, and he will mimic me if I tell Mackenzie "no no". And he definately babbles a lot. When he babbles to us we act like we're having a conversation with him and we must say "yeah" a lot. So now Jack says "umm...yeah" a lot. Which is very funny and cute, especially if he gets the timing right and does it after you asking him a question.
Mackenzie is a little behind in communication-she sometimes says mama and dada. She prefers yelling (not in a mean or negative way, just-ahhhhhhh) to babbling. She seems to be too busy to talk.

Sorry I dont have any pictures to post. I actually just found my camera like last week. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will post some pictures of the kids as well as the house (before and after).

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T10:03:00.000-08:00

I asked John to pick up some bear costumes for Halloween....

Just kidding :-). The twins didnt have Halloween costumes or go trick or treating this year, but they are ready for some football today!

Mackenzie has a new trick as well...

2009-10-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

Before nap-showing off her Harley Davidson outfit
After nap-she has taken to taking off her socks and pants every time I put her down for a nap (unless she is utterly exhausted, then she just lays down and goes to sleep), she seems quite proud of this as you can tell.

Jack showing off his Harley Davidson outfit :-)

What Jack learned today...

2009-10-27T18:57:00.001-07:00

Today Jack decided he was ready to practice his climbing. He managed to climb onto the coffee table as well as onto a tote in our living room (yup, we have a few totes in our living room right now...working on packing-so please excuse the mess).

Reading and Playing

2009-10-19T15:31:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend we got out the kiddos swimming pool and bought a bag of 100 balls to make a ball pit-they both enjoyed it, particularly Jack
The babies really do like to look at books-unfortunately I've had to throw away quite a few as they eat them/destroy them

13 months

2009-10-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

One of the twins favorite things to do is push each other around the house on their ride on car

1yr old!

2009-09-19T11:22:00.000-07:00

We made it through the first year...hoooray! We definately had our ups and downs, but overall it could have been a lot worse-especially since it was just John and I.

We had the babies 1yr check up last week and Jack was 22lbs 7oz and 29.5in. Mackenzie was 18lbs 3oz and 28in. Jack jumped to the 50th percentile for height and weight, Mackenzie pretty much stayed the same in her percentiles. Both babies are healthy and doing great.

Jack is walking all over the place now...although he still has a bit of a waddle because he doesnt quite bend his legs, but he's working on it. He waves if you say "hi" or "bye" and loves playing peek-a-boo.

Mackenzie practically runs everywhere and is learning to bounce and jump while holding onto something-she loves to practice in her crib. She too loves to play peek-a-boo but mostly prefers to just carry around the blanket we play with instead.

They both say mama and dada and babble a lot. They interact with each other all the time and like to laugh with/at each other. They both eat and drink well...although Mackenzie still doesnt care for fruit-texture thing.

We had some 1yr pictures taken so I thought I would share a them...

Jack walks!!

2009-08-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

Happy early birthday from mommy and daddy

2009-08-18T09:25:00.000-07:00

John and I decided to get the twins a chair for their birthday. We got the actual chair inserts off of ebay for a good price, so we just had to buy the slip cover. And of course once John saw this one we had to get it :-) and we even got it personalized for free.
Unfortunately, Jack has already had an incident with the chair. John set it up and it was just sitting in the middle of the living room. Jack was excited, climbed right up onto it, and fell right over the side (over the arm rest) causing him to have a run in with our entertainment center. He has a mark near his eye and a nice scratch on his forehead. Last night the bump on his forehead was the size of half an egg, and I'm pretty sure it freaked us out more than him. We were trying to clean him up but he just wanted us to let go of him and stop holding him so he could go play on the chair.

Some people have asked what they can get the twins for their birthday. We made a wishlist at http://www.toysrus.com/ if you just click on wish list and enter my name it should come up. Of course thats mostly a dream list :-) and the twins dont need much...a card for their memory book from you would do just as well! But, they do enjoy toys and books, and we are saving up for a toddlerish outdoor playset so giftcards are always nice.

11 months old!!

2009-08-13T15:22:00.001-07:00

Babies are 11 months old today...time has gone by so fast-I cant believe we will have 2 toddlers in just one month.
They are both doing well and are very active. Mackenzie is practically running around the house with Jack crawling as fast as he can behind. Jack is working on walking, but will only pracice while holding our hands-if we let go he will sit down right away (even though he CAN stand) and give us a sad face.
They both say Mama and Dada, and I'm pretty sure Mackenzie's next word will be "no" as she hears it often.
They are both eating mostly table foods now-although Jack is working on finishing off the last of the purees we have. Jack will eat pretty much anything you put in front of him, but Mackenzie is a little bit picky-right now she loves peas but refuses any fruits...pretty sure its a texture thing and hopefully she will overcome it soon. They both get a little bit of whole milk a day and really like it; they also like water and Jack likes juice.
Here are a few snapshots I took today...

Buchtel Park

2009-08-06T16:25:00.000-07:00

There's a park in Buchtel?! You might ask. Why yes...beside the gas station in town there used to be a run down "playground" but the city recently renovated that area and put in a very nice playground! The babies enjoyed the swing, Mackenzie enjoyed the bridge and climbing in the tunnel (although dad didnt particularly enjoy following her through the tunnel), and Jack just enjoyed practicing his walking on the ground with mom.

Yes, this is often how we communicate with one another

2009-08-01T14:39:00.000-07:00

Often Jack and Mackenzie communicate via screaming...so it can get very loud in our house-and this can go on all day :-)
do notice Mackenzie's outfit which she is swimming in-grandma got it for her in Okoboji, its size 12 months. I had to break out the summer 12 month clothes because I'm pretty sure she wont fit in them next summer and I wanted her to be able to wear them...thankfully there are only a few outfits :-)

PS-sorry the video quality is so bad...dont know what happened

Trouble Makers

2009-07-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

Climbing/crawling where we shouldnt

Jack and Mackenzie found their way to the yogurt bites and somehow managed to open them...

10 months

2009-07-14T09:46:00.001-07:00

Babies are 10 months old now...I cant believe it! They will be 1 before we know it!

Mackenzie is mastering the art of walking and loves it. She tries to walk everywhere she goes, often falling halfway to her destination. She has quite the personality...very outgoing and friendly-she is definately the louder of the two. We've even started seeing a few small "temper tantrums" which mainly occur when John or I take something away from her, oddly enough when her brother steals a toy its no problem though...yet. She is definately a strong willed child and prefers to do things herself. Because of this it is being reccomended to us by Mackenzie's occupational and speech therapist (who are helping with feeding issues) to give her her own special spoon so she can learn to feed herself-oh the mess! The therapists decided that she has a slight aversion to liquids and the spoon...as well as people trying to feed her, so its best that we let her do it on her own. So, we are introducing lots of table foods (of which her favorite is sandwiches) and letting her play with it or eat it or do whatever she will with it.

Due to Mackenzie's issues Jack also gets lots of table foods too-which he does enjoy, however he sometimes gets lazy and prefers that we put it in his mouth for him; other times he gets too excited and puts as much food possible into his little mouth. As you can see in the picture above wearing a bib full time is back in for Jack due to some wicked drooling that we havent seen for quite a while-lots of teeth coming in! You can also see the bruise under his eye...he had a slight run in with the bouncy seat-poor boy. Jack has a personality that is a little calmer than Mackenzie, he will gladly sit on your lap and read books or sing a song. He is a little more shy and doesnt take as kindly to strangers, but once he has some time to warm up he can be a friendly little guy.

Jack crawling, pulling up, and smiling :-)

2009-07-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

Mackenzie walks!

2009-07-05T13:48:00.000-07:00

9 month stats....and Mackenzie walks!!

2009-07-01T13:19:00.001-07:00

Babies had their 9 month check up last week. Stats are as follows
JACK
Weight-18lbs 3oz (25th percentile)
Height-29in (25th percentile)
Head size-big (90th percentile)

MACKENZIE
Weight-16lbs 8oz (dropped from 20th to 15th percentile)
Height- 27in (20th percentile)
Head size-dont remember, but in the 15th percentile

The pediatrician said they looked perfectly healthy and she's hoping Mackenzie's weight gain doesnt slow too much or that she atleast doesnt lose any weight. Within the next week or so we will be referred to a feeding therapist for Mackenzie, hopefully we can get her bottle issues straightened out as I dont really want to be feeding my 1yr old whole milk (or pediasure) via spoon! This has gone on for way too long as it is.

Also over the weekend Mackenzie decided she was ready to take a few steps!! She will take 2-3 steps, pause, then 1-2 more, then fall...but its a start! This week she's even been braving it without my help...pulling up on the couch, turning, then trying to walk to wherever she wants to go.
Jack has started pulling up on everything and is starting to cruise around the furniture too-I will have 2 walkers before I know it!!

Hoping to post a video this weekend of the kids playing, Jack pulling up on things, and Mackenzie walking!

Swimming!

2009-06-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

Today we bought a baby pool for the twins so that they could atleast get outside for a bit in the hot humid weather. They actually really enjoyed crawling around and splashing in the pool! And I think they just enjoyed being outside for a little while too; plus they looked super cute in their new swimsuits!

Washington DC

2009-06-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

Last week we had some company come out! John's mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, and of course our 2 cutest nieces all came out for the week. Once they arrived we spent a day in Athens and then headed to DC for a few days. Overall the twins did pretty well-being in a car seat for a day, stroller for 2 days, and car seats for another day.

Us with the babies at the Smithsonian

Dad and the babies at the Museum of Natural History

The twins at the tomb of the unknown soliders

Grandpa and the twins

Me and the babies at the WWII memorial w/the Lincoln memorial in the background

9 Months Old!

2009-06-13T17:53:00.000-07:00

Today the babies turned 9 months old...I cant believe how big they are getting! We dont have their 9 month appt until next week, so unfortunately I dont have any stats to report, but I do have some pictures to share!

A few weeks ago we switched from our infant tub to the big kid duckie tub. Unfortunately Jack didnt care for it too much but Mackenzie loved it!

8 months old!!

2009-05-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

Babies are 8 months old today...time is flying by! I would post some pictures but Mackenzie has had a cold the last few days and Jack is has started to catch it today...so we dont have the happiest babies today :-(.
They are both doing well. Mackenzie is crawling everywhere and getting into everything. She pulls up on anything she can. She loves to pull up in her crib and walk around it...this makes bed time interesting. Her reflux seems to be controled but she still has eating/bottle issues. She hasnt had a bottle in quite a while and we end up having to spoon feed her her formula, fun fun! We've been seeing an occupational therapist and hope to get these issues under control-we'll see! At her last weight check she weighed 15lbs 12oz.
Jack is going to be crawling before I know it. On his belly he goes in circles and he has lately been trying to army crawl. But if there is somewhere he really wants to get, he will just roll! He, fortunately, has no eating problems and love loves solids...he could eat solids all day if we let him :-). At his last weight check he was 17lbs 10oz.
They are so fun to watch and play with. They love to interact with each other as well. They dont mind strangers as long as we are right next to them. They enjoy going to the park and watching the big kids...although now that Mackenzie can crawl she often tries to join them.
All in all things are going well and I cant believe I have 8 month olds!

Crawling and communicating

2009-05-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

5/5/09 video

2009-05-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

7 months!

2009-04-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

Babies are 7 months now...time is starting to go by quickly!

They are both all over the place, Mackenzie is crawling backwards for sure and is just starting to make some moves forward. Jack rolls everywhere and can sometimes inch forward if there is a particular toy he wants. Both are sitting very well independently. They both love to play and love each other-its funny to watch them interact...they just smile and giggle with/at each other.

Here are a few snap shots...

Happy Easter!

2009-04-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

We hope everyone had a great Easter! We just enjoyed the day at home!
We just put up a bunch of new pictures in our 6-9 month photo album (the link is at the top of the blog) so feel free to check them out!

6 month check up

2009-04-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

Babies had their 6 month check up yesterday (even though they are almost 7 months) and here are the stats:
Jack-16lbs 4oz, 26in
Mackenzie 14lbs 12oz, 24in
Both are about in the 25th-30th percentile, except Jacks head...its in the 80th percentile.

They are both very healthy and happy. Our pediatrician referred us to a great occupational therapist down in Marietta (about 1.5hrs south) to help with Mackenzie's feeding problems.

We also have 3 teeth-Jacks 2 bottom teeth have broken through the gum and one of Mackenzie's bottom teeth has broken through as well!

They both smile and laugh all the time and love to play. We were just recently able to take the pillow out from underneath the jumperoo-they can finally reach the ground!

Mackenzie is working on crawling, she gets up on all fours all the time, rocks back and fourth a lot, and can move backwards. She is starting to kind of hop forwards now...its funny to watch.

Jack is still pretty content just rolling and watching his sister.

Our Day yesterday

2009-03-29T17:49:00.000-07:00

This starts with the previous video then includes a shot of the twins having solids and playing before bed

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2009-03-29T17:33:00.001-07:00

Jack and Mackenzie update

2009-03-25T16:30:00.000-07:00

So last time I posted some information Jack wasnt rolling and Mackenzie was doing great eating wise.
Well, about 3 days after I wrote that Jack started really rolling consistantly from back to belly. Sometimes he can roll belly to back but he generally gets "stuck" and cries. This is exactly how Mackenzie started so Im sure he'll be fully rolling in no time.
For the last week Mackenzie has been struggling again, as I mentioned before she sort of cycles. She will only take bottles while asleep again (maybe 1oz awake if I'm lucky) and is eating slightly less. I'm not sure if its a med stability thing (hard to explain unless you know a lot about reflux and the prilosec compound med) or if she just cycles and thats how she is. Anyway, hopefully this downhill phase doesnt last too long.
We bought a few new toys last weekend and they are really enjoying them! They love to play, laugh, and giggle.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T16:18:00.001-07:00

Our McCutie! Look at that pose :-)

Jack (a better look at his onesie)

Little Miss Mackenzie

Together

Half way to a year...

2009-03-14T19:15:00.001-07:00

Babies turned 6 months old on Friday the 13th! Unfortunately we dont have their 6 month check up until April...they will be almost 7 months, 6 months adjusted.

Babies are doing well. Mackenzie had a GI appointment last week and she went from being in the 10th percentile in weight back up to the 25th percentile...which is great! She is still only averaging about 16oz a day but her bottles are highly thickened w/rice cereal. She gets almost 3 tablespoons of rice per bottle-most people while spoon feeding a 6 month old baby rice cereal give about 1-2 tablespoons in one feeding-this is in her 4oz bottle. So she is getting a lot of extra calories from the rice. She has even begun taking small amouts from her bottle while awake...this is huge! She has even taken to eating about 1 jar of baby food a day...another big step. She has been known to do this before though...do very well for 2ish weeks and then kind of crash again. So far I think its actually been 3 weeks so hopefully the new med is doing the trick for her. Other than that she is a very happy healthy baby. She rolls all over the place (particularly in her crib), giggles, and "talks" all the time. Lately she has been working on sitting. She can sit and play without falling over for a few minutes. If we put a boppy pillow behind her and she can sit forever.

Jack is also doing well. We recently took him to see the pediatrician as he was just very fussy-whiney/crying all day which is just not like him. We just wanted to make sure he didnt have an ear infection or anything. The pediatrician said no ear infection or anything but she could see some teeth just below his gums so we suspect teething...hopefully these things pop through soon! We previously mentioned that Jack was rolling some...this is now very rare and actually hasnt happend for weeks. The pediatrician gave us some ideas to help him get going so hopefully he will be rolling consistantly by his check up. Jack definately loves eating solids and the pediatrician told us to go ahead and start with some stage 2 things. Yesterday we gave him oatmeal with bananas and peaches and he loved it...ate all 4oz! We've recently started making our own baby food as well...good money saver!

Here are a few 6 month pictures...you can click on our photo album for 6-9 months above and see all of them.

This picture is actually from the 3-6 month album...but its just so cute I had to show it off!

Michigan-dogs and swimming

2009-03-03T08:08:00.001-08:00

This past weekend we took a trip up to Michigan to visit my sister (auntie H)...my dad and his wife also came over from Iowa.

The babies got to see a doggie (Stout) for the first time

and the babies went swimming for the first time...

For those who cant tell the picture on the bottom is Mackenzie and the one right above it is Jack.

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-17T17:16:00.000-08:00

YO!

WASSUP?!

Holding hands

5 Months old

2009-02-17T17:00:00.000-08:00

The babies are now 5 months old. They continue to grow and learn new things all the time. Jack is becoming more vocal and enjoys cooing and spitting :-). Mackenzie is still the more outgoing one...she loves to be heard and prefers to not be in one place for too long. Now a days I often put her on her back only to watch her roll to the other side of the play area. Sometimes she will roll over and grab Jack's toy and roll back-luckily he doesnt seem to mind for now. Jack just prefers to watch. They are both working on sitting by themselves and both love to stand.

Up until a few weeks ago we were still swaddling the babies at night. Jack kept breaking free and getting his arms out so we just put him in a sleep sack and he slept just fine. Mackenzie still prefered to be swaddled. Well, the other night we heard her crying so we went in to check on her...only to find her on her belly in the corner of the crib. Needless to say she is now unswaddled as well and loves to sleep on her belly. Unfortunately she will occasionally wake in the middle of the night and "forget" how to roll back onto her back; so we go flip her and she falls right back asleep-and then of course rolls back onto her belly. Jack enjoys sleeping on his side.

Mackenzie is still struggling with feeding. The GI changed her med so hopefully we will see some improvement. We saw a speech pathologist this week to see if she needs some feeding therapy. Unfortunately that appointment was pretty worthless-I was told to keep doing what we're doing and hopefully the new med will help. If not, come back in a month. So, we will see.Sadly Jack too has started to show some reflux symptoms...a few weeks ago he started crying through his bottles. We took him to the pediatrician and she put him on some medication. Luckily his reflux seems more mild and he will still eat!

Babies are still working on solids...Jack LOVES it and gets pretty excited. Mackenzie smiles and gets excited (she gets excited about everything) but then only swallows about 5 bites or so...atleast she isnt crying!

Our adventure and other updates

2009-02-01T17:40:00.000-08:00

We've had quite the adventure over the last few days. We got a bad snow/ice storm here early last week-they even closed the university. Wednesday our power had been flickering all day and it finally went out for good around 6. We called the power company and were told that our power would be back on Saturday around 8pm. So, we got a hotel in Athens for the night. The first night did not go well...babies were up late, sleeping in a new place, sleeping in their pack n play instead of their bed-they both eventually ended up in bed with mom. The next night we tried to get a hotel in Athens but no rooms were available. We then tried to head for Michigan to stay with my sister...it did not go well-babies crying and mom and dad were both tired. So we ended up staying in a hotel in Columbus for the next 2 nights. We found out that our power came back on Friday night and headed home Saturday morning. It was very nice to be home!

Some other updates-
at their 4 month check up Jack weighed 13lbs 4oz and Mackenzie weighed 12lbs 3oz. They were both in the 25th percentile for their age. Jack was in the 75th percentile for head size-his head is so big to hold his big brain :-)
Jack one day decided he was ready to roll over-since then we've been working with both of them rolling back to front. Mackenzie gets almost all the way but just needs some extra umph.
Babies are both doing well with solids-Jack devours his and Mackenzie takes it a little slower.
Mackenzie seems to be doing OK with her reflux. Unfortunately she has gotten to the point where we have to feed her while she is asleep, she will not take a bottle while awake. This problem slowly evolved as she would occasionally take a bottle while awake but now will not accept it at all. Our GI is reffering us to a speech pathologist as well as an occupational therapist for feeding therapy so that we can get this problem under control right away. What a nightmare!

Here is a recent picture of the twins...the bibs say it all-seriously

Its feeding time

2009-02-01T17:27:00.000-08:00

At the babies 4 month check up our pediatrican told us to go ahead and start some solids...cereal first then move on to veggies.

Jack didnt know quite what to do, but he got the hang of it pretty quickly.

Mackenzie already has a little eating aversion due to her reflux so she didnt care for it much

Since these were taken the babies have started veggies...well, we're still on our first veggie which is carrots. Jack loves it-crys when you dont feed him fast enough and he eats a whole jar. Mackenzie is doing better with this as well...she eats 1/4-1/2 a jar at a time and even smiles during feeding time. Of course they generally wear a good deal of their food.

3 months/Christmas/4 months

2009-01-16T16:46:00.000-08:00

Wow its been a while...things have been kinda crazy. Our computer broke, then we were in South Dakota for 2 weeks, we came back and found out our hard drive was shot so parts had to be ordered and what not, we just got our computer back this week!
So, the babies turned 3 months on December 13.

They are both smiling and cooing...Mackenzie is much better at both. Jack say's "agooo" but he doesnt quite open his mouth all the way, so lots of spit is involved :-). Jack does smile but often seems emberassed to do so...he will smile and then quickly turn his head like he is trying to hide. Mackenzie says "agoo" something that sounds like "hi" and she squeaks and squeals...she is definately more vocal and seems to be the more outgoing one for the time being.

This year we spent 2 weeks in Canton, South Dakota for Christmas. How did we get there you might ask...we flew; thats right we flew with two 3 month olds, their double stroller, 2 car seats, and 3 diaper bags in tow. All in all it went pretty well. Mackenzie is definately a better flier than Jack...she slept for a good portion of both flights on the way there and she slept through both flights on the way back. Jack struggled the most on the way home...he refused to suck so he may have had some ear trouble.
Our stay in Canton was nice...it was nice to be around family. John and I even went out to dinner a few nights by ourselves. The babies did pretty well...I'm sure it was kind of a culture shock to them-a 5yr old running around with a 3yr old chasing him-both screaming, then there was that other baby who appeared to be a giant next to them, lots of different people holding them and playing with them.

While in South Dakota the babies...

1)Had their first illness...everyone had a 24hr flu bug including John and I. Luckily we seem to have had it worse than the babies.

2)got baptised

3)And had their first Christmas

We arrived back home on January 1...just in time to start the babies first full year together.
After we arrived home Mackenzie had some tests done as she has still been struggling with eating. She had an upper GI-she had to drink some barium and they watched it through an x-ray type machine to make sure her anatamy was ok and her stomache was emptying properly. Everything was fine. Later that day she had a swallow study done-she had to drink more barium and they again watched through an x-ray type machine to make sure she was swallowing properly and no food was getting into her lungs. Everything was fine again. However, approximately 5 minutes after the test she proceeded to throw up all of the barium all over the floor...good times. A few days later she had an endoscopy-she was unconscious and they put a small camera down her throat to check her esophagus and get some tissue samples of her esophagus, small intestine, and stomache. All of these biopsies came back normal. The doctor said her esophagus was irritated from the reflux which was probably what was causing her to not eat as well as she should, but there were no deep ulcers or anything. So positive results, which is good...but she's still struggling. Since her surgery she has been eating better...she was averaging 12-15oz a day and is now averaging 16-20. She has gained some weight but has dropped percentile wise...she was in the 25th percentile and has dropped to the 10th. So the doctor is having us increase the amount of powder formula we add to water when we mix it so that it is 24 calories per oz instead of 20 in hopes that this will help her gain more weight. Everyone say's she is just going to be a little girl...yes, she is absolutely going to be small and petitie just like her mom, which is fine, but she still has a problem and she is still struggling.
Other than that she is very healthy and active. She loves kicking her legs (a future soccer star perhaps), loves to sit up, rolls over, coos, smiles, giggles, is starting to become interested in toys, and is starting to grab for things.
As for Jack...well, he's got this whole eating thing down. He too is very happy and healthy. He loves loves to stand (his sister stands on occasion but she still seems to have her sea legs), smiles, coos, and just recently started giggling.

The babies just turned 4 months old a few days ago. We have their 4 month check up next week...looking forward to seeing weights and heights, not looking forward to the shots.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-28T11:39:00.000-08:00

Babies first Thanksgiving went well...they both enjoyed having family around as my family is in from Iowa and Michigan. We are celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas together!

Jack appears to be deep in thought over this whole Thanksgiving thing.

Our happy girl!

2 months old

2008-11-13T15:24:00.000-08:00

The twins are 2 months old today. Has it been 2 months already? Oh wait...its only been 2 months?!

They are both doing pretty well...last weight check Jack was 10lbs 4oz and Mackenzie 9lbs 9oz. She is not gaining as well as we would like due to some reflux. Lately it has gotten worse and she generally cries every time she eats and wont eat much. We are using some medications and thickening her formula with rice cereal trying to figure out what works. Hopefully we will get it under control soon and she will be back to her normal eating habits.

Both babies have started to smile a little bit, Mackenzie definately smiles more than Jack. They both enjoy play time and like to look around-but they like their naps too!

We are generally on a 3hr schedule with them...eat (30 mins.), play (10-45 minutes), sleep; lather, rinse, repeat! They generally get fussy and show sleepy signs before the 45 minutes of play time is up though. If one baby gets hungrier sooner I will try to feed the other as well just to keep them on the same schedule. Although lately with Mackenzie struggling to eat we try to feed her every 2hrs but Jack is still doing well with the 3hr schedule...as they get older and are awake more we will change it to a 4hr cycle.

Jack is able to sleep a good 6-7hr stretch at night, Mackenzie was sleeping a good 5-6hr stretch but right now we are waking her every 2-3hrs to try to eat.

4 weeks old

2008-10-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

Today the babies are 4 weeks old! Time has gone by both fast and slow...time occasionally seems eerily slow on days when I'm home by myself.

They are both doing well. We had a pediatrician visit last week and Jack weighed 7lbs 8oz and Mackenzie weighed 7lbs 9oz. They are eating every 2-3hrs and sleep most of the rest of the time. Although they are starting to have more awake time now.

Our first family pictures

2008-10-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

The twins are almost 3 weeks old now. At their last weight check on Monday Mackenzie weighed 6lbs 3oz and Jack weighed 6lbs 5oz...so they are both growing well!!

Today we took our first family pictures...they both did a great job and looked adorable of course!

We have babies!!!

2008-09-18T17:11:00.000-07:00

John "Jack" David Suter III and Mackenzie Karen Suter arrived on September 13, 2008. Mackenzie arrived first at 2:52pm and weighed 5lbs 8oz. Jack arrived next at 2:53pm and weighed 5lbs 4oz. I was exactly 36 weeks.

33 Weeks

2008-08-27T13:36:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we had an ultrasound (sorry we cant post video, our ultrasounds are 45min-1hr now so just too long). Everything looks good! Babies weigh about 5lbs each and are in the 50th percentile for a singleton...pretty good for twins!! I cant believe I have 10lbs of baby in me, crazy! Both babies are head down and are pretty low and it appears that they like to be close to each other as their heads are always right next to each other.

I am doing pretty good...starting to feel pretty uncomfortable. I usually sleep in 2-3hr segments as I just cant get comfortable or my mind starts racing with thoughts of the babies arrival. John and I are both getting very excited to meet our little ones.

We will have weekly ultrasounds from now on; in about 2 and a half weeks I will be full term for twins. I cant believe how fast this time has gone by...but I'm definately about ready to be done with this pregnancy :-).

Here is my latest picture...

Nursery

2008-08-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

We've finally finished the nursery and I love it!! Here are a few pictures...

Oh, and Mackenzie's crib is in our room for now :-D

30 Weeks

2008-08-06T08:48:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to give a little update. Things are going pretty well, I am 30 weeks now so about 6ish more weeks to go hopefully!
The babies are very active and we love watching my belly bulge when they are moving around. John loves to poke them and wait for them to kick back.
I am doing pretty well. I've had a few minor complications in the last few weeks. I developed a pregnancy rash called PUPPs. It starts in stretch marks and then spreads to the rest of your body-it is not harmful to the babies it is just very very annoying, stressful, and uncomfortable to mom! For me it did start in my stretch marks, then spread to the rest of my belly, and then spread to my arms and legs. The itching was overwhelming and no cream, lotion, or pill seemed to help. It was pretty miserable for a couple of weeks and I honestly didn't know if I could make it 6-7 more weeks. I then went to see the doctor about it again Monday because nothing was helping. He gave me a shot of steroids (the same steroids often used for women in pre-term labor to help babies lungs mature) and it has helped TREMENDOUSLY! The rash has cleared on my belly, I still have it on my arms and legs but I'm hoping it will fade too. I do still have some itching but it is nothing compared to what it was just 4 days ago; it is definitely bearable for 6 more weeks!
Other than that I just feel big. Doing anything these days is quite a task...I go up the stairs and then have to rest for a few minutes, when doing laundry I have to have John get the laundry out of the bottom of the washer because my belly doesn't allow me to bend over and get it, rolling over in bed is quite a task, and bending over to pick anything up off of the floor is just out of the question.
It has also just occurred to me that we have not announced the names we have picked out on the blog. So, our little boy will be John "Jack" David Suter III and our little girl will be Mackenzie Karen Suter. Many of our family members love referring to them as Mack and Jack :-)
We have a couple of doctors appointments next week and will hopefully be getting an ultrasound to make sure they are both still doing well and growing properly. We will hopefully post some pictures or video then!!

Here are a couple of pictures of my ever growing belly.

28 week doctors appointment

2008-07-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had an ultrasound and appointment. Our ultrasound went well...both babies are weighing in at about 3lbs...which is really good for twins. So they are already bigger than I was when I was born (2lbs 4oz) and almost as big as my sister was when she was born (3lbs 6 oz), unfortunately they will not be bigger than John was when he was born (8lbs-ish)
My belly measured about 35 weeks, so I'm measuring about 6-7 weeks ahead. I am starting to feel uncomfortable at times...mostly I just feel big.
We are starting to make final preparations so that everything can be ready by the time I am about 30 weeks because you never know whats going to happen...these little ones will come out whenever they are ready or whenever they think they are ready.

28 weeks

2008-07-23T13:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the latest belly pictures-28 weeks. Yes the stretch mark monster has attacked me...they are inevitable, no matter what people or products tell you they are genetic and cannot be prevented (although my mom never made it far enough in pregnancy to develope stretch marks apparently both my aunt and grandma had them). You will also notice I have a kind of line going down my belly...this is called linea nigra.

Nursery

2008-07-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

We began working on the nursery over the weekend. We received all of our furniture-5 pieces-on Friday and were able to put it all together in 1 weekend without any major incidents...pretty big accomplishment!

Here are a few pictures so far; we will post more when it becomes more organized...we were just excited to get furniture up!

BEFORE

EVERYTHING CLEANED OUT

AFTER

And a little video to help get the whole effect http://s59.photobucket.com/albums/g298/hsuter/?action=view&current=100_1011.flv

25 Weeks

2008-07-02T17:20:00.000-07:00

We recently had our 25 week ultrasound and are happy to report everything looked good! Our little boy is weighing in around 2lbs and our little girl 2lbs 2oz. They are both measuring in the 60-70th percentile for a singleton.

24 Weeks

2008-06-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of me and my belly with our new car!

20 Weeks

2008-05-29T19:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our latest ultrasound. We forgot to bring our DVD in so unfortunately we dont have a video.
The babies are both growing well...our little girls weighs 15oz and our little boy 13oz.

Baby A's face in a 3D scan

On the right are a set of feet kicking the other little one

Baby A's heart beat

Baby A is on my right side and in the breech position

Baby B's heart rate

the big line is when he kicked

19 Weeks

2008-05-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

Below are a few pictures of my ever growing belly at 19 weeks.
I am able to feel the babies kicking now and I will say it is one of the neatest things I've ever experienced. John was able to feel them kicking the other night as well, which he was very excited about!
At our last appointment the Dr measured me and said I was measuring about 7 weeks ahead, so this would be the size of my belly at about 26 weeks if I was carrying a singleton.

17 week anatomy scan

2008-05-09T18:42:00.001-07:00

This past week we had our anatomy scan. We are pleased to announce that we are having 1 BOY and 1 GIRL!
They are both growing well; our little girl weighs 8oz and our little boy weighs 9oz.
We have posted a few pictures below and will post the video as soon as we can! Enjoy!

15 weeks

2008-04-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

Heidi at 12 weeks

2008-04-08T18:22:00.000-07:00

12 week ultrasound OR when baby "B" got hiccups

2008-04-07T19:53:00.000-07:00

12 week ultrasound part 2

2008-04-07T17:07:00.000-07:00

April Fool's Day at the Doctor's Office

2008-04-06T19:44:00.000-07:00

Well, we had a doctors appointment last tuesday (April 1st) for our 12 week checkup/ultrasound. We had a good ultrasound and will be putting up the video from that once we get some computer issues sorted out. The ultrasound technition got a little excited so we have a bunch of pictures to post as well.

Anyway, the doctor we talked with after the ultrasound had a medstudent with him so he had her try to guess how far along Heidi was. After she examined Heidi's stomach her guess of 20 weeks made us all chuckle. The doctor then went on to explain that we were having twins and that Heidi was only 12 weeks along.

9 week Ultrasound

2008-03-11T16:13:00.000-07:00

9 Weeks

2008-03-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

9 Weeks and 3 days

The babies

Top: 3D picture

Bottom: Baby "A"-looks just like a peanut

3D picture of the babies