The Mack Babies

More pictures

2011-05-11T09:56:00.005-04:00

April 2011

May 2011

a lot has changed

2011-04-30T08:57:00.006-04:00

Here are pictures from January when we were in Florida. Need to download rest of photos so that I can put more recent photos on. I'm still working on that.

Sorry for the delay in posting. Emily is doing well. She sings a lot and is a little chatter box. She is much better with Shaun now. She gives him hugs, they wrestle and chase each other around the house. She started swim lessons last and is doing okay with it so far. Going under water is a bit of a challenge but she is getting better.

Shaun is doing great. He is now probably about 23 - 24 lbs and is starting to eat solid food. He has 6 teeth, 2 on the bottom and 4 on top. He now crawls up the stairs and stands on his own. He may start walking in the next month or so. He is a very well mannered baby like Emily so we are not complaining about anything. We recently sleep trained him so we are now spoiled with full nights of sleep. Its weird to put both kids down at the same time and both go to sleep. We haven't had a quiet house at night for so long. Brad and I don't know what to do with ourselves.

We just went to a Reds game last night (4/30) and both kids were great. Emily wanted to see fireworks but the Reds didn't have any home runs and we couldn't stay until the end because it was already after 10pm. The Reds did end up winning in the 10th inning.

getting bigger and a tooth

2011-01-10T13:21:00.003-05:00

I know its been a while. Shaun had his 6 month check up in December. He was around 19 pounds and 27 1/2 inches long. That's the same size Emily was at her 1 year visit. Since then I think he has put on another pound and has sprouted a tooth. We didn't even notice the tooth until we were on vacation. I thought I would check and I found one little tooth trying to push out. He is trying to crawl but has not been successful yet. He can move around backwards and is now pulling himself forward. Emily is good. She is speaking in sentences now, well at least when she wants to. We were in Florida for Christmas and finally got on my dad's boat. The kids did great. They both fell asleep on the way out the first time. The second time Shaun slept for about 2 or more hours while we fished and Emily ran around playing. She did not care about having to wear a vest the whole time and got to see dolphins. Three came right up to the boat. It was fun and great to get out of the cold. Emily actually slept pretty good in a strange crib which is the first time since I can remember. Usually she ends up in bed with us during vacations.

Shaun doing one of his push ups. They did pretty good with Santa. No tears.

Emily and Shaun at the festival of lights at the zoo.

Emily somewhat interested but not that much.

Shaun trying to open a present.

Kayla, Emily, and Zoe relaxing after opening presents at grandma and grandpas. Emily has the same pjs but she wanted to wear her Christmas ones that night.

Emily riding a dino at the Creation museum. Every Christmas eve its free to get in so Brad took the kids.

Halloween

2010-11-10T11:34:00.007-05:00

Well Halloween was very fun. Emily actually went and got candy herself. She didn't want to hold her bag but at least she took candy. Before we went trick or treating Grandma and Grandpa took us all to the pumpkin patch by our house. Everyone had a lot of fun. Below is a picture of Emily riding a little tractor.

Here's Emily and Shaun in our front yard. We always make a little cemetery in our yard for Halloween.

The girls eating candy after tricking or treating.

Just hanging around the house.

Our two friends got married Nov 12th. Its was a lovely ceremony and we were so happy to share their very special moment. I was her maid of honor and Brad was a groomsman. Here's a picture of us that night. And guess what, we were kids free!!! The only thing that sucked was that Brad had been sick the other day and it was still lingering that day. Then I woke up with out a voice that day and had to give a toast. It didn't matter though because the bride was beautiful and they are so happy together.

Baptism and 4 month check up

2010-10-12T12:17:00.007-04:00

Well a lot has happened since the last post. Shaun is now 4 months old. He is starting to roll over and sitting up much better on his own. We had his baptism October 3rd. He did not cry once. He looked so cute in his little white tux. After the baptism we had everyone over for food. Brad's mom Marilyn was able to come out so she got to babysit a lot since Brad and I still had work while she was in town. She was even kind enough to lets us go to a movie Monday night after having the kids all day. Yesterday was Shaun's 4 month check up. I like taking him the doctors more than Emily. He only cries when they give him a shot. He now weighs 16lbs 2oz and is 26.25 inches. He went up about 2.5 lbs and 2.25 inches from his 2 month visit. He is in the 72% for weight and 87% in length. So he's pretty big. To put it in perspective Shaun is about 2 lbs and 2 inches bigger then Emily was at 4 months.

Emily is doing well. Her vocabulary gets bigger and bigger everyday. She has finally learned how to jump!! That means she has finally gotten both feet off the ground at the same time. We went to the pumpkin patch this past weekend with my mom. Emily had a lot of fun running around in all the pumpkins. We went to 2 different places. The first one had animals that Emily kept waving at and Shaun slept through that one. The second place was much busier and had an actual pumpkin patch that you did not need to take a hayride to get to it. Below are a bunch of pictures of everything that has happened in the past month. Enjoy.

vacation and computer problems

2010-09-08T14:28:00.006-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting but we have had some computer problems. When we returned from vacation we realized our computer had a virus which took a couple of days to find and remove. Then we had problems with our Internet which I fixed today.

Well in August we went to my parents' place in Florida for 2 weeks. It was a lot of fun but really hot. The Johnsons and our friend Nathan were there for the first 5 days of our stay. We all went to the beach and then Busch Gardens. Brad's mom came out to visit the last week we were there so she could hang out with the kids. Her and my dad were kind enough to watch the two for a day so Brad and I could go to the Miami Zoo. It's a big zoo and was pretty cool to see. Emily enjoyed the pool at my parents' place but it took her 4 times to really enjoy the ocean. She screamed the first time and Brad held her most of the time. The second time the sand was okay but she was not happy with the water. The third time we did not put her in her bathing suit and of course that was the day she decided she liked the ocean. There is a video of her playing in the ocean at the bottom. The fourth time was a piece of cake for Emily.

Shaun has changed a lot since our last post. He has started to roll over, talks, smiles a lot, and can hold his head up pretty good. He prefers to be sitting or standing and doesn't always care for laying down. He is getting big and will soon be out of his 3 month clothes. So far he still fits but some outfits are pretty tight.

When we got back from vacation my mom gave us her tickets to the Reds game so the three of us could go out on a special night without Shaun. On Labor Day we watched the fireworks on TV. Emily loved them. She kept asking for more and saying "wooo". She had enjoyed the fireworks at the Reds game so we were sure she would like these. There is a video of her watching the fireworks below.

Here's Marilyn and Emily looking outside. That's Emily's favorite new word and place. When she wakes up she immediately says outside. Its funny.

Marilyn getting a slobbery wet kiss from a crying Shaun.

Emily at the beach. This is her 4th time at the beach. No tears.

This is her third time. See no bathing suit. That was our mistake.

Brad and Shaun hanging out at the beach.

Grandma and Emily in the pool.

This was Emily's 2nd try at the beach.

Aren't they so cute?

Zoe and Emily on the train at Busch Gardens;

Grandpa and Emily in the pool.

That's a big baby.

Emily at the Reds game when we got home from vacation. Emily using Shaun's chair and pacifier.Emily's special night with mom and dad at the Reds game without Shaun.

2 month and 18 month check up

2010-08-09T12:57:00.005-04:00

Today Emily had her 18 month check-up. She is now 22.36 lbs and 31.25 inches. She stayed in the same percentages as last her 15 month check (19 for weight and 33 for height). She did very well and did not cry that much. She did have to get a shot but just one. Shaun had is 2 month check-up today. He is 13.41 lbs and 24 inches. He went up almost 2 lbs in one month and grew another inch. Compared to Emily he is about where she was at 4 months. The question is whether he will stay at this rate and be big or will he slow down like Emily did. Only time will tell.

We are leaving for Florida tomorrow. Below are pictures and a video of Shaun talking. Sorry the delay in posting. It's busy around here with 2 kids which many of our friends know. Emily is learning more words ever day. She likes to point the birds and planes in the sky. She also says animal sounds whenever she sees that animal. We were in the grocery store the other day in the pet food isle and every time she saw a cat she would say meow. It was funny. Shaun is more awake these days and is cooing and smiling more. He still has all his hair as you can see in the pictures.

Emily just had to draw all over herself with her brown marker.

Shaun's 1 month visit

2010-07-13T09:54:00.005-04:00

Shaun is now 1 month old and weighs 12 lbs and is almost 23 inches. I thought those were pretty good numbers until I heard how much his cousin had grown in 1 month. My nephew Hugh went from 8 lbs to 11 lbs in 1 month. Now that's impressive. Shaun is doing good. He is trying to hold his head up and is staying awake more during the day. We had to put Shaun on soy formula because he has a sensitive stomach like Emily had when she was his age. We recently took some family photos. Both Emily and Shaun did not cooperate, but we got some cute pictures. We were at the Johnson's for Zoe's birthday party this past weekend and all the kids went swimming in just their swim diapers. Emily had alot of fun. She was splashing everybody. At one point she was the only baby in the pool.

Now Brad turned off the camera before he finished his comment but the whole comment goes " We've got the pole dancer and the mud wrestler." He is referring to Zoe as the pole dancer since she was hugging a pole in Florida this past January and Emily as the mud wrestler since she was rolling around in the pool.

More pictures

2010-06-27T13:07:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures of both Emily and Shaun. We recently bought Emily a chair that's her size and here's a picture of her in it. Everybody is doing good at our house. Shaun is awake more these days but still sleeps a lot. right now he sleeps pretty well through the night and usually in his crib. Brad takes the late night shift and I take the early morning. That gives us at least 4 -5 hours of straight sleep for the both of us which works for us.

Here's a daddy's girl in the making.

The boys of the house taking a nap. Typical male behavior.

Finally a picture with Shaun awake.

Emily enjoying her car ride.

Shaun with his great aunt Diane.

POW! BANG! Batman!!!!

Brad prefers Batman but Shaun looks cute in his Superman outfit as well.

Marilyn, Tom and Emily strolling down the street in Newport.

Here's a fun video if Emily saying waffle.

Shaun Alexander Mack

2010-06-15T20:35:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the late update. Shaun was born on 6/8/10 at 12:29pm. He weighed in at 10lbs 15.7 ounces (basically 11lbs) and was 22in in length. He came out with a full head of hair which surprised both of us. We knew he would be big but I was expecting him to be bald. I'm sure it will all fall out and come in another color. We are all doing well and adjusting. There is a picture of me the day before we went to the hospital so you can see how big I got towards the end.

I did not forget about Emily. Here she is coloring on the floor. she likes to lay down on her belly and color. Its really cute and funny.

Last post before the hospital

2010-06-06T22:49:00.005-04:00

Here are some pictures of Emily and of the baby's room. Everything is good here but we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the newest Mack. We will post pictures of him once we have some. Enjoy these for now.

Busy and lazy

2010-04-07T10:09:00.005-04:00

Well, we have been busy lately but I also rather get to bed early some nights then post. That's why it has been so long since my last post. Emily is changing everyday. She finally has moved into her forward facing car seat, which she enjoys. She is walking much better now almost running but not quite there yet. She is starting to say more. Emily can say hello, bye, baba for her bottle, ba for ball, pretty close to saying flower and row(she likes the song row, row, row your boat), yes and no. She also started saying animal sounds. Her best ones are lion, sheep and cat. We are working on others. she is also starting to do the motions for the wheels on the bus and says t,t,t when the horn toots in the song. Its really cute.

We went to the Johnson's house for Easter. Emily took a ride on her first swing and loved it. I have a video of her below. we had our first ear infection. Emily went to the doctors because of a cough and came out with a double ear infection. She never had a fever and never really pulled on her ears like kids usually do so we had no idea there was an infection. But she is all cured and better now. I think Emily might be growing since she has been taking her naps earlier than usual and is crankier than usual. Hopefully that is the case or we are hitting the terrible twos really early.

Here are some pictures and videos.

pictures at last

2010-02-20T18:50:00.004-05:00

Here are the pictures I promised a couple of weeks ago. They are not in order of events but I have put captions with them so that you will know when things happened. Emily had a great 1st birthday. The weekend of her birthday party the weather decided that we needed snow. It didn't effect anything and the party went on as planned. The visit with grandma and Uncle Tyler was great. I took her to her 1 year check up on the 8th. She was 18.46 lbs (9%) and 28.5 in (26%). She went from 29% in weight to 9% and 47% in height to 26%. We weighed her a week later since she had not been eating very well the week before her doctor visit due to her illness to see what she was. In one week she had put on 0.2 lbs. We keep weighing her every week because the doctor said once she is 20lbs we can put her in her forward facing car seat.

In other news she started walking the Friday!! She still prefers to crawl but she can walk just slowly. I have video of her walking below. Her top teeth are finally coming in as well. Soon we will be able to give her more solid food since she will be able to chew it.

With only 4 months until the next one we decided to go crib shopping today. We did not find one until the very last place we went. It should be here in 6-10 weeks. The theme of his room is dinosaurs.

Here's a picture of Emily playing with the TV remote.

Emily loves her doll that Grammy gave her. She hugs it and then spanks it. Not sure where she picked up the spanking.

Just a random picture of her smiling at home.

Here's Kayla, Zoe and Emily playing in the balls in Florida earlier in January.

Emily loves to talk on her phone. That's why she has two cordless phones, one old fashion phone, and one cell phone. Of course she prefers mommy's and daddy's cell phones.

Emily liked to pick up the sand but did not like it on her hands. She would immediately try to brush the sand off while sitting on the beach at Sanibel Island in Florida.

She loved being tossed gently on and off the bed in Florida with Kayla.

Just being a goofball at the zoo in Florida.

One year old and it's a boy!!!

2010-01-31T13:36:00.004-05:00

Emily celebrated her 1 year birthday on Friday!! It was a good day until she vomited that night. She is still sick. She doesn't eat anything and barely drinks anything. The nurse told us to bring her in Monday if she is not any better. I guess there is an intestinal bug going around right now which starts with vomiting and ends with diarrhea. Other than that she is doing good. She is not running a fever or anything else. We just have to keep her hydrated.

We were in Florida the first week in January visiting Grandma, Grandpa, and Grammy while they were vacationing in Florida. The weather was not as warm as everyone hoped it would be and none of us had packed the right clothing. Emily had fun playing the Kayla and sprouted another tooth. Now she has 3 teeth on the bottom. Although I think she is trying to sprout 4 more currently but they are on the top. Emily had a lot of fun jumping off the bed and jumping up the bed. She did not actually jump. Grandma lifted her up and down but she loved it anyways. There was a place called the Monkey Playhouse which is for kids 6 and under. All the kids enjoyed that place. Emily really liked the pit of balls.

On Monday we found out that we are having a boy! It's very exciting but we are just happy that he is healthy as far as the doctors can tell. I am already showing and feel him a lot more than I did a few weeks ago so he must be getting big.

Emily's birthday party is this Saturday so I will post pictures after this weekend.

Christmas

2009-12-30T15:55:00.003-05:00

Emily had her first Christmas. We all went over to my parents house on the 20th to celebrate. Emily got some fantastic toys. She loves the car Grandma and grandpa Rosenberger gave her. She loves for us to push her around the house. She also really loves the kitchen that Grandma Mack bought her. I clean it up after she goes down for a nap and then she loves to throw everything on the floor when she wakes up. Emily is getting closer to walking. She will walk with her car or if you are holding her hands. It won't be long now. I almost forgot, Emily is feeding herself now. She can hold her own bottle and her water bottle. Its kind of fun to watch her feed herself. Here are pictures of Christmas and some other random ones.

Here is a video of her walking with her car for a split second. I went to get the camera but she stopped walking right when I got the thing turned on. Oh yeah, in case you did not notice the top of the blog we are expecting number 2 on June 13th.

Vacation and Festival of Lights

2009-12-09T10:33:00.006-05:00

We recently went on vacation with Grandma Mack and Tom. The first destination was Atlanta, GA so Brad could dive with the shark whales. Emily had a lot of fun looking at the jelly fish. Then we headed out to meet up with Brad's cousin Amy and her two kids. Emily ate a pickle and crackers for the first time at lunch that day. It was nice to see them again. Next stop was Savannah, SC. That was a neat town. We went to two plantations, a couple house, the slave mart, and Ft. Sumter. We made a quick stop at Hilton Head where Emily got to see her first ocean. The last stop was Amelia, FL. We stayed at Grandma Mack's friends' house. It was nice and Emily crawled up her first stairs there. On the way back Brad, Emily and I stopped by the Tennessee Aquarium. Here are pictures from the vacation.

This past weekend we went to the Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo with, Cathy, Brent, Zoe, Kayla, Brian, Nikki, Ellie, and Nathan. It was a lot of fun but very cold. Here are a couple of pictures.

Halloween and 9 month check up

2009-11-02T18:06:00.007-05:00

Emily is now 9 months old and not getting so big. HA HA HA! Emily had her 9 month check this past Friday and cried as usually. She only got one shot and a finger prick but she still cried like a little baby. She is now 17.76 lbs and 27.5 inches tall. She gained 2 lbs and grew 1.5 inches since her 6 month visit. That puts her in the 29% for weight and 47% for height. This past Thursday we also had her 9 month photos which did not go as well as planned. Here are some of the pictures.

Halloween was a lot of fun. we went over to Aunt Cathy and Uncle Brent's house to play with Zoe and Kayla. We tried to get some fall pictures but it did not go to well. Kayla was distracted by the dogs down the street and Emily just wanted to pull Kayla's hair. Here are some pictures of the girls and Emily in her costume. Below is a video of Emily crawling in her costume. It was so cute!! I think you will agree.Emily (dronkey), Zoe (lobster) and Kayla (peacock)Emily figured out how to crawl under the table and stand up. All that without bumping her head and getting stuck.She likes to stick out her tongue now so I had to get a picture of it.

Cruising

2009-10-14T21:49:00.005-04:00

Sorry for the late post but we have been busy. Emily is now really good at pulling herself up, standing while holding on and getting down on her own. She used to look at the ground then back up trying to decide how to get down. Then she would finally let go and would cry a little from hitting her butt. Now she bends her knees and sits down very nicely. She is also cruising. For those of you who don't know what that is its when a baby walks while holding on to something. I have a video of her crawling, pulling herself up and cruising. Since the house is now baby proof we like to call the area where Emily hangs out baby jail. I have a video of her in baby jail and some pictures. Other than that nothing much is going on. We got her Halloween costume and Emily is going to be a dronkey. That is one of donkey's and dragon's babies from Shrek. Emily can clap now. For some reason it took her awhile to pick it up. She's not perfect at it yet but is getting there. Also she stood all on her own for about 10 seconds the other night. It was great to see. She got so excited to see Ash that she just let go of Brad and stood there.

mobile and traveled baby

2009-09-16T09:32:00.008-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting but we have been busy. Emily is now crawling with the best of them. She is trying to pull herself up as well. She has succeed once pulling herself up on my leg. Emily is good at standing when she is holding on to something. She is getting bigger but she is still small for her size. We will see next month how she has grown since her 6 month visit. It also seems as though she is going to sprout her two bottom teeth at the same time.

We recently went on vacation to South Dakota. Emily did really well flying. She did not scream at all. In fact on the last flight home she was asleep before we took off and did not wake up until after we landed. She takes after her mom when it comes to flying. Grandma and Grandpa Rosenberger were with us on the vacation. Emily enjoyed hanging out with them all week. The cottage we were in was very rustic. It smelled like sulfur for the first 5 days when ever you used the hot water, but the smell finally went away. The walls were so thin you could hear the TV perfectly when you took a shower. It was really funny. We all had fun though and were just happy to be on vacation. We saw herds of buffalo in Custer Park and antelopes. It is really pretty in South Dakota.

Here's Emily on her first plane.

Emily and Grandma at Sylvan Lake.

Brad and Emily at Crazy Horse. Emily will probably never see this completed in her lifetime either. I have seen it twice now and in 18 years it has not changed that much. We were able to see a blasting at Crazy horse which knocked off 3000 tons of rock.

Emily rockin' it out in her car seat.

Us at Mt. Rushmore.

The Badlands.

Hanging out at Wall's Drug store in Wall, SD.

Me feeding a burro.

Emily at Bear country. We saw tons of bears, a white buffalo, pregnant donkey, and about 8 bear cubs.

Mt. Rushmore at night.

Deadwood, SD

Emily in Grandpa's hat.

Hanging out in the shopping cart and at home.

Here are a couple of videos. One of Emily at the airport on the way home and of bath time last night.

contemplating crawling

2009-08-18T16:57:00.006-04:00

Well Emily has started to attempt crawling. She isn't getting any where currently but you can see it on her face that she wants to go somewhere. She's doing a lot better with sitting up by herself. She can now scout herself around in a circle while sitting, get back up to a sitting position when she's on her belly and get up on her hands and knees. She is talking more and more everyday. I think mama will be her first word since she already makes the "ma" sound. Emily now eats carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, and green beans. We tried bananas and peas but she just doesn't have the taste buds for them yet. Emily and I went to our first Pampered Chefs party ever. It was fun. Someone commented on how small Emily is for her age. I guess I need to see her next to another 6 month old to understand how small she is. But I guess when a 4 month old is bigger than you it must mean that you are small. Its cute that is she small but it does make it hard trying to buy clothes for the future because I am not sure what size she will need. She is still in most of her 3-6 months but can wear her 6 months clothes even though they are lose on her.

6 months!

2009-08-04T10:21:00.007-04:00

Time sure does fly. Emily is now 6 months old. It feels like she was only 3 months a few days ago. She had her doctor's visit this past Friday. She is now 15 lbs 7 oz and 26 inches tall. She is in the 40th percentile for weight and 55th percentile for height. This not really surprising. Based on the height of her mother she will not be very tall anyways. Everyone always laughs at her short little legs. Emily is now eating baby food. She is on her third day of sweet potatoes. We will try peas tomorrow. The doctor says we should see a tooth pretty soon. I hope this is the reason that Emily is a little fussy everyday and at night. She is not bad at all (compared to some stories I have heard about teething) but you can tell that her gums bother her sometimes by the way she shoves everything in her mouth. Emily now likes to cuddle and is starting to make some sounds like mama and bababa. It is so cute when she hugs up against you and gets a little grin on her face. There's nothing that compares to that feeling. Emily has also started to push herself backwards. She is able to get her butt up and get up on her hands but does not know how to move forward yet. we think within the next month or so she will be crawling.

We recently moved into our new house. Grandma Mack was nice enough to come watch Emily while we moved and also our but mostly hanging pictures. My friend Kate was in town for a couple days as well. This was the first time she has seen Emily. I think Kate is going to wait awhile before having kids after her visit. It was great having her here though.

Here's Emily eating her bunny.

Emily playing in her exersaucer.

That's a tired baby. This was last night.

Here are some videos. One of Emily eating sweet potatoes for the first time, being a chatter box, and one of her cuddling.

Raspberries and talking

2009-07-12T13:43:00.011-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting. we have been very busy with buying and moving into a new house. The newest thing that Emily is doing is making raspberries. She really gets her tongue out when she does it and sprays the entire area. She is getting really good at putting her pacifier in her mouth. I only wish she would do it in the middle of the night instead of crying so that Brad or I will do it for her. She is just checking to see if we are still there but after getting up 4- 5 times a night you start to get a little tired. We are not sure if she is teething yet because she does not really show any signs except drooling which she as been doing since she was 3 months. Here are some pictures and some videos. She is changing so much we are trying to capture all the different sounds she makes.

more pictures

2009-06-23T08:35:00.006-04:00

We have started Emily on rice cereal. Her first attempt was not so good. There is a video of it below. But since then she has gotten a lot better. She watches us eat all the time so she is definitely close to wanting really food. They say once a baby starts to take interest in your food that its a sign they are ready to try eating. We tried her in the pool again this Sunday at Aunt Cathy and Uncle Brent's but we had the same result as at the grandparents. There is a video of that below as well. I have also included a video of Emily laughing. She is getting better at laughing all the time. Its so funny to hear her laugh. Here are some pictures as well.

This is the only way Ash lets Emily pet her.

Emily's life is so hard. She got up this morning before 7am. Around 8:30am I started to make her a bottle but she couldn't wait and fell asleep with her duck. What a hard life.

Here's a video of her trying rice cereal.

Here's Brad making Emily laugh before bedtime.

Our second attempt at swimming.

1st Reds game

2009-06-11T15:26:00.008-04:00

Here is what has been going on since Emily turned 4 months.

A couple weeks ago we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's to go swimming in the baby pool. All I can say is that it did not go as well as we all had hoped. Kayla enjoyed the pool but it was too cold for Emily. I was only able to get the bottom of her feet in the water before she started to cry. There are some cute pictures of her in her bathing suit though.

The following weekend Grandma Mack and Uncle Tyler were in town. Everyone went to the Louisville Slugger Factory on Thursday but me because I was working. Brad said Emily did very well and it wasn't until they reached the museum that he realized they did not have her pacifier. Pretty scary to be away from home with out a net but she did fine. Then Friday night we went the Reds game with LBR. Mom invited Tyler and Marilyn to come as well. Unfortunately Emily did not enjoy her first Reds game. It was just too loud and too much going on for her. Brad and I spent most of the game inside trying to keep her happy. We are definitely going to wait a little longer before taking her to another game. Saturday we all headed up to Columbus to be with Brad's family. It was fun and Emily did very well with being passed around to multiple people. Sunday after I got off of work we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's to have dinner with Uncle Jeff and Aunt Kyoko. The Reds game was the first time they had met Emily. They actually got to hold her and see here on Sunday considering we were trapped inside during the game due to Emily's break down. We still love her though.

Emily is starting to talk louder and is able to hold herself up better. I have a video of her that demonstrates both new changes. The other night Emily turned over unto her stomach three times. She hasn't done it since but we thought that was pretty good. I think that's about it for now. Below are pictures and a video.

Typical Emily smile.

Its okay to wear a hat Kayla, look at me.
Plaid pants? Really Mom?
Does Uncle Jeff know how to hold a baby???

Does Kayla ever stopping moving? Hopefully she doesn't run Aunt Kyoko and me over.

Be very quiet. We're hunting kitty.

4 months old!!

2009-05-30T09:24:00.004-04:00

Time has flown since Emily was born. She had her 4 month check up yesterday. She is 14lbs 6oz and 24.5 inches tall. She is in the 60-70% for her age and doing great. This was the first doctors visit that Emily did not cry the whole time. She actually talked to the doctor and was very calm. That is until she got her shots, but she quickly calmed down once I got her in the car seat and moving.

Here is a picture of her that I took this morning before heading over to Grandma and Grandpa's. They are babysitting her so that I can look at houses.
Memorial Day weekend we went to the zoo which was a lot of fun. We ran into Aunt Cathy, Uncle Brent, and Kayla. Kayla was having a lot of fun as well. It was hot and muggy that day but Emily was very good. She actually fell asleep at one point. We weren't there long so we missed must of the heat for that day and Emily preceded to take a 3 hour nap later that day. Here is a picture of her in the stroller at the zoo and one in the morning before we went to the zoo. She is the leaning tower of Piza.
Ash wanted to go to the zoo as well but we couldn't take her unfortunately.This is how Emily likes to sit sometimes at night when she is fussy. She just talks, farts and drools.
Emily has started playing in her exersaucer this week. Here is a video of her talking and playing in it.

Quick update

2009-05-17T17:21:00.003-04:00

Emily has decided that she only needs 20 minute cat naps these days. I know most of you think this means she sleeps through the night but that is not the case. On the days that Brad and I are both at work she has decided that she will stay up late and get up several times in the night just to see if we are still there. She just wants to hang out. Emily has also decided that she needs to scream about everything whether its that she's hungry or tired. Everything is so dramatic with her. She's really noticing everything around her and likes to look at books while you read them to her. Well I just wanted to give everyone a quick update.

Here are some pictures of her reading a book.

Trying new things

2009-05-07T12:55:00.009-04:00

Just a quick computer update. We have finally fixed our computer so I will be better at posting, I hope. Also I start working next week so that may hamper my postings as well since I won't be home as much to take pictures and videos.

Anyways, here is the stuff you want to hear about. Emily is doing great. She is grabbing a lot more stuff these days. She is very interested at looking around to see everything. She recently rolled over from her stomach to her back and then from her back to her stomach. since then she has never done it again and doesn't even try to roll over.

It is fun to look at the monitor at night because you never know which way she will be facing. Let me just say that it is never the way you placed her in the crib earlier that night. Emily usually will sleep really well through the night but does like to get up at 6:50am every morning regardless of when she got up last which is usually 5:00am. She goes back to sleep she just doesn't want to be in the crib. Sometimes she stays up but usually not. I guess we will have to fix that one day but for now its okay. She's still young.

Emily also had her three month pictures recently. She did really well for 3 being only 3 months old. She actually let us put her in three different outfits, a onesies, a dress, and her diaper. Pretty exciting.

So we have had a babysitter over for 3 days this week and it is working out very well. Emily seems to like her and has no problem with me being gone all day. So when I leave next week for work I won't feel as bad since I know Emily will have fun all day but it will still be hard to leave. Some days I want to go back to work and other days I don't. Oh well, I have to go back to work before my brain goes to mush.

Here is a picture Brad took last night of Emily with one of her new head bands.

Isn't Emily so cute in her little top and skirt outfit. We took her to the Aquarium that day. You really cant see her shirt because of her bib.

Here's Emily posing for the picture.

Emily is starting to fall asleep and was holding on to Brad.

Here she is 2 minutes later passed out.

Below are pictures of the present Grandma Mack gave Emily.

This is a video of Emily trying to roll over, talking, smiling, and looking around all during tummy time.

The video below is of her snoring. Its really low so you will have to turn your volume way up. It was louder in person but the camera did not pick up her snoring very well.

Easter

2009-04-22T14:35:00.006-04:00

Sorry for the delay with posting. We have not had Internet access for a week now.

Easter was a lot of fun. We went over to Grandma and Grandpa Rosenberger's house. Brad and I got to take a quick nap while we were there. Emily enjoyed seeing her cousin Kayla. She was all smiles at Kayla. Here are some Easter pictures.

This pictures shows how much fun Emily had on Easter. She was pooped.

Grandma Mack came out for a visit this past weekend. We went to the Zoo and hung out all weekend. Here are some pictures of us at the zoo. It was nice having Grandma out for a visit.

Here is a picture of Emily trying out her Bumbo. She is still too little but it was cute.

I love the duck head on her butt. I just had to get a picture of this before she grew out of these Pj's.

Here is an updated video of Emily during tummy time. She actually hits one of her toys with her head!!

Big steps

2009-04-10T22:44:00.006-04:00

Emily is becoming more active all the time. She is talking more and is starting to notice a lot more things. Unfortunately this new awareness has lead to random screaming fits. They don't last long but are still difficult to listen to. She is getting better with holding her head up. Hopefully she will be able to hold her head on her own by the end of the month. Emily currently likes to be sitting up or standing or being held vertically in your arms as you walk her around the house. She does not let you sit for every long anymore.

I think we have figured out the correct amount of Karo she needs. Emily has been on 1 tsp 3X a day for two days now and has pooped two days in a row. She used to only go every other day and it was hard. Now she has soft bowl movements. Hooray for Emily!!!

Here is a picture of Emily right before she threw up all over her outfit. She was only in it for about 5 minutes. Below is a picture of me with my niece Kayla. I think Kayla is going to be a hair dresser some day. Just look at my beautiful hair-do she gave me.

Here is a video of Kayla playing nicely with Emily while Emily is in her bouncer.

Now Kayla is helping Emily rock her bouncer. This was very nice of Kayla since Emily is not strong enough to do it herself. This video definitely shows that Kayla will teach Emily many things while they are growing up. Most likely she will teach Emily things she should not be doing. I only say that because we have all determined that Kayla is going to be trouble maker when she is older and is going to make sure her cousin and siblings are as mischievous as her.

2 month checkup

2009-03-27T15:27:00.003-04:00

We just got back from the doctor's. Emily is now 11lbs 13oz and 23 inches. She is in the 80% in weight and 70% in height. The doctor says she is very healthy and was glad to hear that she is eating about 3.5oz 8 times a day. She took the Tylenol with no problem but did cry during the visit as she always does. She apparently liked the rhoto virus which is given orally. She screamed during her shots which is typical but shortly after she was sleeping in her carrier. The doctor suggested Karo for her since she does have hard stools. Hopefully this will help and she will have a movement more than every two days. Well that's all the news for today. Go Arizona!!!

Videos and pictures

2009-03-25T20:35:00.007-04:00

This Friday is Emily's 2 month check up so I will update the blog then and let you know how much she has grown. She also has to have her first set of shots so we will see how that goes.

Here are some pictures of Emily. I just had to show everyone how tiny her feet are. I just think it is the cutest thing. Thats my hand if anyone is wondering. Not Brad's.

Here is one of her famous smiles. Its not the biggest smile she has but it is a good one.

Emily is dressed and ready to cheer on Arizona as they play their first game in the March Madness.

Here are a couple of videos. The first on is of her smiling and playing in her bouncer. We just started her in the bouncer last week. The second video is a quick one of her talking. I am trying to get a better one of her but she is camera shy.

Week 7 and still kicking

2009-03-19T22:08:00.007-04:00

We are now at week 7 and Emily is doing very well. She is starting to stay up longer during the day. She has discovered the mobile on her swing and enjoys watching her little friends spin around above her head. She is also doing very well with holding her head up. It will be nice when Emily is able to steady her head on her own. Then we can break out the Bumbo and see how she does. Today Emily repeatedly hit the rattle hanging from her floor mat as though she meant to do that. It was very exciting and I'm sure it was just a coincidence. It would be great if it wasn't but I'm sure it was. We will see tomorrow if her eye and hand coordination is still there. Emily is starting to give us bigger and bigger smiles everyday. I have tried to get a picture of one of these smiles but have failed so far. I will keep trying so that everyone will have the chance to enjoy one of her toothless grins.

Here is a picture of Emily and me on St. Patrick's Day. There are very few pictures of us together so I figured Brad could take a picture of me with Emily all dressed up for the holiday.
Here is the first picture of Emily with her Aunt.Here is the first picture of Grandma with Emily and Kayla (Emily's cousin). As you can see Kayla is still determining whether she likes the new addition or not. Hopefully she will start to like Emily since she will have a little sister in a few months.Here is Emily lounging around the house. Looks as though she should have a drink in her hand after the long hard day she has had which consisted of eating, sleeping and playing occasionally.These are just some pictures of Emily sitting around.This is a little smirk she gave me. I was trying to get the huge smile she gave me but no dice.I would like to think that Emily is pondering the great mysteries of the world in this picture but that would just be ridiculous. She is most likely contemplating why mommy has a shiny metal thing on her face. Eventually Emily will realize that shiny metal thing is a camera and not a deformity on mommy.

More pictures

2009-03-13T21:37:00.004-04:00

Emily is now 6 weeks old and is improving on lifting her head and talking every day. Below are pictures of her taken today at 6 weeks old. She is getting better at hitting the rattles hanging from her play mat.

Here is Emily with Grandpa Rosenberger.

Here is Kayla, Emily's cousin, sneaking up on Grandpa and Emily. But Kayla is a very loud talker so she really can't sneak up on anyone.

This is just another picture of Emily taken a week ago.

Here is a video of Emily during tummy time. She only lasted about a minute this time but is getting better at tummy time. We place her on our stomachs all the time which also counts as tummy time.

Exciting news

2009-03-08T17:42:00.002-04:00

I just had tell everyone that Emily had a very uneventful bath time. She did not cry or fuss at all. She just sat there and let me wash her in silence. I am so proud of her and can't wait to give her another bath. I will post pictures another day.

Family and a baptism

2009-03-04T16:17:00.005-05:00

This past weekend was a very busy weekend for Emily and us. Brad's family was in town to see Emily for the first time. Marilyn (Brad's mom) and Tom arrived Thursday night and we all went to dinner. Emily did very well at the resturant. No crying fits. That Friday we showed Tom and Marilyn downtown Cincinnati and then picked up his brother Tyler at the airport. That night we had dinner with people Marilyn knows. Emily had a rough night that night. She cried for an hour straight. Saturday we went to the Aquarium in the morning and then went to the shower for Emily at my parents' place. She was a little cranky there as well. I think she had been too stimulated and so was a bit overwhelmed by everything. We ended up just having a very relaxing evening hanging out at my parents' after everyone left. That night I gave her a bath and she did better but she still cried through the whole thing. Sunday was the baptism. Emily slept through the entire event. The twins getting baptised with us were funny though. The little boy cried and had snot bubbles coming out of his nose. It was hard for us not to laugh.

Here's when Emily was getting the oil placed on her head. Aunt Cathy and Uncle Brent are the godparents so they were standing with us at the fountain.

That was our eventful weekend. Marilyn and Tom went home Monday and Tyler went home Tuesday. It was a great weekend. Oh yeah, Emily did even better Tuesday night when I gave her another bath. She did not cry while I was putting lotion on her but she still cried through the bathing part. I'm hoping she starts to like bath time soon. The neighbors must think we are killing her when I bath her.

Emily with Grandma Mack.

Tom enjoying holding EPM as he likes to call her.Emily and Uncle Tyler having fun together.

Other news, Emily is changing all the time. She is starting to be more alert during the day. She does not always cry when we change her clothes and diapers. Also she is starting to make cooing sounds. It's cute when she makes her little noises. She smiles alot and sometimes she will smile when you smile at her but I still think it is pretty random. Here are some pictures.

Brad thought Emliy and I looked a like since we were both sleeping. Emily is sporting her Adidas wear that Grandma and Grandpa Rosenberger bought her.
Our little Wildacat! Bear down Arizona!!Brad just likes to take pictures of Emily in the carrier with her hoods up. This is the third picture he has taken like this. I'm sure Emily will be happy when its spring so that she will not have to wear hats or hoods. Then her daddy will not be able to take these pictures anymore. Below is a video of tummy time. Emily keeps hitting the sound buttons inside the book she is laying on everytime she moves. We got a laugh out of it.

1 month doctor's visit

2009-02-25T13:38:00.004-05:00

Sorry I have not posted anything in a while but I was waiting for Emily's one month check up with the pediatrician which was today. Emily weighs in at 10.13lbs and is 21 inches in length. She is in the 88% for her weight and 56% for her length which the doctor says is good. We got a clean bill of health today and the doctor is happy to see how strong Emily is for her age. She is growing so quickly.

Emily is starting to stay up longer during the day which will hopefully continue so that maybe we can get longer intervals at night between feedings. I have to say that Emily does sleep well. She goes about 4 hours between feedings. Here's our "cute little ducky". At least that is what her bib says.

Here is a picture of Emily during tummy time. She is getting so strong.

Put your hands up!! You're under arrest!!

Here's a video of Emily finally enjoying her swing.

Bath time is no fun

2009-02-15T20:37:00.005-05:00

Emily is changing everyday. She is getting very good at holding her head up and she has a very firm grip. As Brad says she seems to find the few chest hairs he has and pulls them. She is trying to push up with her legs but they are still pretty weak. By the end of the month I am sure she will be able to push herself to a somewhat standing position. By request, here are some more pictures.

This is a picture from last week. It was not very fun trying to get her into the bear suit but she does look adorable in it.
Emily is getting better at playing on her mat. Everyday she will let me leave her on it a little longer. This picture was from Friday.

Emily is checking herself out in the mirror.

Here is Emily and daddy hanging out on the couch. This picture was taking today. I don't want everyone to think that I am just putting outdated pictures of her on the blog. There are some current ones like the picture below.

This is a picture of Emily taking a bath. Below is a video of her taking the same bath. Maybe you will notice the difference. Emily has not gotten used to bath time yet but she will eventually. I think the problem is that we can't put her in the water yet since her umbilical cord has not completely fallen off yet.

She used to sound more like a fog horn but she is growing out of it. More pictures to follow in a few days.

Play Date

2009-02-10T20:08:00.004-05:00

Today Emily and I had a visit from her Aunt Cathy and cousin Kayla. Here is a picture of them together on the couch. Kayla is getting used to having another baby around but is not always to sure what to think of Emily.

Here are some other pictures of Emily hanging out around the house.

More pictures

2009-02-03T18:24:00.002-05:00

The picture above is us at the hospital.
The picture below is at home trying tummy time.

This is Emily hanging out in her jungle.

Here is Great Grandma and Emily Super Bowl Sunday.

Our little angel sleeping at the hospital.

The arrival of Emily Paige

2009-02-01T18:49:00.003-05:00

On January 29th I went into labor and that night Emily was born. She weighed in at 9lbs 3oz and was 20in long. The doctor said that she had a hard time pulling her out so it was probably best I had a c-section. I did get to experience labor pain do not wish to experience it again. Those epidurals are fantastic. Emily is doing really well. She goes about 3 hours before she needs to eat and then usually sleeps. Hopefully she will stay this way but I ma sure she will change and not sleep. We were discharged today and get to watch the Super Bowl from the comfort of Grandma's and Grandpa's. Here are some pictures of us at the hospital.

More pictures to follow tomorrow.

Still waiting

2009-01-26T13:14:00.002-05:00

We have changed our plans again. We have now been told by two doctors that we should have a c-section so that is what we are going to do. We were supposed to go in tomorrow to be induced but since we are having a c-section and there are no times available tomorrow we will be going to the hospital next week. We are back to having a February baby. She will say hello to the world February 3, 2009. We will post pictures next week.

Doctor visit update

2009-01-19T15:47:00.003-05:00

Let me catch you up on whats been going on in our lives. Last week the doctor was a little concerned that the baby has not dropped yet because she might be too big for my body. So she scheduled us for an ultrasound at the next office visit which was today. We go in for the ultrasound this morning and got to see her drinking the amniotic fluid and her heart beating. The tech also verified one more time that we are indeed having a girl. Then she proceeds to measure how big the baby is and to our suprise she is wieghing in at about 9lbs and 5oz. Now the measurement can be off by a pound so she can be ranging from 8 to 10lbs right now. We couldn't stop laughing. Of course I would be the one in the family to carry the large babies. Anyways, the doctor came to our room, looked at the chart, saw the baby's estimated weight, turned to us and asked how we felt about a scheduled C-section. She did not want to schedule us for one immediately but she feels that in the end I will need a c-section. I asked if I could try to go naturally and she was okay with that so that is what we are planning on doing. We go back on Monday to see if I have dilated at all (since currently I have not dilated even a half a cm). If there is nothing we will be induced on that Tuesday (January 27th). So much for a February baby.

36 weeks and counting

2009-01-05T19:27:00.003-05:00

Today was the first of several weekly visits for me. The doctor messured my belly, listened to the baby's heart beat and then checked to see if I was dilating. And as I suspected; nothing. So it appears as though our little girl will not be showing herself anytime soon and I will most likely need to be induced. That means a February baby. Heres a picture of me at 36 weeks. I have 4 more weeks to go and possibly an extra one for a total of 41 weeks. I will post another picture right before I deliver.

I am huge compared to a month ago. Sorry no smile. I was tired this morning before work when we took this picture. Next time I will remember to smile. Otherwise everything is going good and I have no real complaints. We are in a holding pattern and we can't wait for her to arrive.

Ready for Baby and a little richer

2008-12-15T09:44:00.005-05:00

Finally the baby's room is ready. Now all we need to do is get all the necessary things like bottles, formula, you know the usual stuff. Here are pictures of the finished product.

The shelves are hand painted by yours truly. Not bad for someone who is not that into arts and crafts. I'm turning into a little do it yourself monster since I got pregnant.

In other news, we play trivia once a week with four other people and very 3 months or so the trivia company has a tournament. Well last session we won the final; $1000. This session we were defending our title and won again; $1000. Not bad for a two hours of fun on a Saturday.

Christmas and a whale

2008-12-09T09:16:00.002-05:00

Here are some pictures of our Christmas decorations.

Now here is a picture of a whale.

Just kidding. Its just me but I have gotten bigger. This is 8 months or in maternity world 32 weeks. Only two more belly shots for everyone to see; 9 months and right before I pop.

One last try

2008-12-04T08:16:00.005-05:00

Well, I am going to try the video again. My brother-in-law informed me this moring that the video worked so it must be that my computer does not show it. Anyway, here it is and I hope everyone can watch it.

Baby in motion

2008-12-01T16:32:00.018-05:00

Well, today we went to the doctor's to have a 4-D of our baby done. It was really cool to see her smile and yawn. I will admit that some of the faces she made were kind of disturbing. Below are pictures of her grinning and yawning. I tried to put one of the videos of her on here for your viewing pleasure but for some reason it does not work. I hope to have pictures of the baby's room sooner than later. We are putting on the final touches.

I removed the pictures because I just realized that all my information was on the pictures.

The baby's room

2008-11-10T11:36:00.007-05:00

As promised, here are some pictures of the baby's room. My sister and I finished painting it this past weekend. The polka dots were a lot harder to do than we initially thought but her husband was gracious enough to help us with the stencil.

Once we have the furniture and everything else setup in the room I will post more pictures.

Belly shot

2008-11-06T09:59:00.002-05:00

Okay, here is the first real picture of my belly. This is me at 27 weeks, almost 28. In other words 7 months. This picture was taken this morning.

The next picture will be either at 8 months or 9 months. I hope you enjoy the belly shot.

Vacation pictures

2008-11-05T07:27:00.004-05:00

We finally downloaded some vacation pictures from our camera so I have put some on the page for your enjoyment. These are pictures from our North Carolina trip where we volunteered at a sea turtle hospital for a couple days. We worked with 3-4 month old turtles which weighed about 25grams to old turtles that weighed close to 200lbs. We had a lot of fun.

This is us at the beach house and the view behind us was from our back porch.

This turtle has air in his head so he can dive under water. He liked to have the back of his shell scratched.

This turtle had a tumor on her head. The hospital is hoping to release her soon if her yearly examine shows that she is clean of the tumor.

This is one of the 3-4 month old turtles we got to feed and hold. They were so cute.

Excuse the new blogger

2008-10-28T16:22:00.000-04:00

This is my first time blogging and it will probably take me about a month to make our page look really good. Anyone who knows me will understand how computer illiterate I am. Hopefully my husband will be able to help me. I'm sure there will be no pictures for awhile if he does not help.

Anyways, there will not be a lot of blogging until the baby arrives. I just thought I would start one while I am not too busy with the baby.

The Mack Babies

More pictures

a lot has changed

getting bigger and a tooth

Halloween

Baptism and 4 month check up

vacation and computer problems

2 month and 18 month check up

Shaun's 1 month visit

More pictures

Shaun Alexander Mack

Last post before the hospital

Busy and lazy

pictures at last

One year old and it's a boy!!!

Christmas

Vacation and Festival of Lights

Halloween and 9 month check up

Cruising

mobile and traveled baby

contemplating crawling

6 months!

Raspberries and talking

more pictures

1st Reds game

4 months old!!

Quick update

Trying new things

Easter

Big steps

More videos

2 month checkup

Videos and pictures

Week 7 and still kicking

More pictures

Exciting news

Family and a baptism

1 month doctor's visit

Bath time is no fun

Play Date

More pictures

The arrival of Emily Paige

Still waiting

Doctor visit update

36 weeks and counting

Ready for Baby and a little richer

Christmas and a whale

One last try

Baby in motion

The baby's room

Belly shot

Vacation pictures

Excuse the new blogger