Friday, November 30, 2007

Road map of milestones

I'm obsessed that it's been ONE YEAR ALREADY! Can you tell with all these posts?
Here's another one to mark this amazing journey - a map of the milestones we've crossed:
NOVEMBER
11/27/06: Girls were born at 5:49 pm & 5:53 pm
11/29/06: First time holding Mary-Gail! (Rebecca wasn't doing well and still had her umbilical catheters in place)


11/29: Colostrum - yahoo! (Don't forget the bags of ice for the belly)


11/29: Took some memorable pics of the girls next to a $1 bill


11/30: C-Section staples removed (I'll spare you the pictures of that!)

DECEMBER
12/1: Learned that Mary-Gail's PDA (valve in her heart) didn't close upon delivery. Would try a series of drugs (Neprophin) to close valve. Checked out of Room 415; went home without any babies :( Here's my support crew: Mom, Dad, JoJo, and Car Sue

12/3: Learned Mary-Gail's PDA closed with the drug therapy. First time holding Rebecca!



12/4: Girls are co-bedding (lasted 1 1/2 days)


12/7: Mary-Gail's PDA re-opened. Mary-Gail diagnosed with a bilateral grade 3 brain bleed. Head circumference measurements to be taken 2x day.
12/11: LifeFlight team took Mary-Gail to McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden for PDA Ligation surgery.
12/12: Mary-Gail had heart surgery - she has two teeny, tiny titanium clips that crimped the valve closed.
12/13: Return to UVRMC with open arms - HATED McKay Dee Hospital!!

Months and months of Cherry Coke

Months and months of cherry coke = then and now
(Rebecca is on the left; Mary-Gail is on the right)
7 days old(1+lbs); 1-year old (15+lbs)
Rebecca
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Mary-Gail
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4 months old (March)
10 months old (September)
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I can't find my 6 or 8 month pictures for side-by-side viewing, but here are my 11 month pics:
11 months old pictures (October)

Side-by-side memories

The top pictures are from Wednesday, November 29th, 2006. The girls were 2 days old. The bottom pics are from January 18th, 2007. They are almost 2 months old and weigh 5 lbs 4 oz (Rebecca) and 5 lbs 2 oz (Mary-Gail).
Rebecca (L) & Mary-Gail (R)
Rebecca (L) & Mary-Gail (R)

Memories from November 27th

Rebecca & Mary-Gail are our tiny, little miracle babies. They have done so remarably well for being born 3 months early (actually 13weeks). These Coke pictures have been fun taking and fun looking back at.

Once upon a time when Rebecca & Mary-Gail were 7 days old, they were the size of a 20 oz Coke bottle and weighed less then the bottle...

Rebecca (L) & Mary-Gail (R)

7- days old (1st time they were co-bedded since they were born)

The nurses played a trick and drank/drained the Coke bottle



Tony & I choose these two pictures for our Christmas Card Dec 2006

Rebecca LaRae Kemp: 1lbs 13 oz

Mary-Gail Darleen Kemp: 1 lbs 5oz

Thursday, November 29, 2007

All I want for Christmas is...

All Rebecca wants for Christmas is her two front teeth!

Rebecca has had 3 teeth for a few months now, and they're not the typical teeth that come in first: Rebecca has one tooth on the bottom, and two teeth on top - the side teeth, not her two front teeth. So, when she smiles she looks like she a little vampire. But it is the cutest smile ever!

Last night I was playing with Rebecca while we changed diapers, and I saw the ridges from her left front tooth peeking through her so swollen, blistered gums. Hooray! She'll have at least one of her two front teeth for Christmas! :)

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

The stages of Christmas

Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree! Finally you're finished.


Day 1 of Christmas tree decorating


Day 2...Viola!
It only took 2 days of putting this tree together to finish. And although we finished on Saturday, it's only taken me 4 days to post it! When I added the last strand of lights to wrap the top of the tree, all the lights went out! Go figure right? I was able to find the broken strand - which happened to be the very bottom strand - and bypassed it. So, if you look closely, you'll see that the lights on half of the bottom branches are out...

Here are the cute little elves that helped me

Sunday, November 25, 2007

1 year old celebration - the CAKE

Rebecca & Mary-Gail while everyone sings to them...

Singing "Happy Birthday to You"

Oooh - fire!

Rebecca having her first taste of chocolate cake & frosting from her "#1" birthday candle.
The jury is still out...


Reese w/buns in her hair, Mary-Gail loving the gooey feeling between her fingers; Isaac waiting patiently for cake; Rebecca wanting to bite the candle; and Gage adding "sprinkles" to his cake and ice cream.


Serving up cake and ice cream - yummy! Mary-Gail dropped her cake & it landed upside down - NUTS!

Kemp Kuties on the Charleston Pier

Kemp Kuties on the Charleston Pier
September 2007