A little more

Some things I forgot to mention...



Mackenzie gives high 5's whenever you put your hand out or even when you ask her.



She also loves to give kisses again. I just say give Mommy kisses, and she leans over with an open mouth and "kisses" me.



She still loves her bath, and no matter how mad she is at night because she is tired, she lights up when we put her in the bathtub.

She is also into EVERYTHING! She loves the trash, toilet paper, cabinets in the kitchen, etc. She wants to get her hands on anything and everything.

10 Months Old

I can't believe she has hit the double digits already! I feel like she was born only a few months ago.

Mackenzie is now

17 pounds

28 inches ish...

She is standing on her own and trying to start walking. Yesterday, she actually took 6 steps at a friends house, so we didn't have our video camera with us. I will have to get her on tape next time. I also have decided on a new nickname. She will now be called Monkey! Yesterday at church she wanted to get to the people who were sitting behind us so she climbed just as hard as she could over me. She used every surface to climb and step(my lap, stomach, chest, shoulders). She also has started throwing a fit when she doesn't get her way.

The other day, she was playing with our entertainment center. She was opening the doors (they have a glass inlay and also spring loaded hinges) and letting go of the door so that it would close hard. Well, I pulled her away from it and kinda popped her hand to let her no that was a bad thing. She decided she didn't want to stop or to have her hand popped so she threw herself on the floor (sitting up) and pouted her lips and screamed while throwing her arms in her lap. She was seriously mad at me the rest of the day.

Oh the joys of starting toddlerhood.

She loves to read books. She brings me books to read and hands them to me numerous times until I read the book about 10 times. She also likes to sit on the floor and "read" books by herself for a while.

She can give high fives and loves to clap her hands when she is happy or when she sees/hears people clap.

We do have a problem with her eating. She isn't interested. She really doesn't like to eat. It doesn't matter what we feed her. She does not like sitting in her high chair. We have gotten up to eating about and half cup of oatmeal and cinnamon applesauce for breakfast, 1 chicken nugget for lunch, and a size 2 baby food of a "meal".

No this isn't what I feed her everyday, but that is about the most she eats. She still nurses about 3-5 times a day, but she that doesn't last very long. I doubt it helps with any weight gain. As you can tell, she hasn't really gained wait in a while.

If anyone has any ideas, they would be appreciated. When she is done eating she gets really upset and won't open her mouth when food comes near it. When she is feeding herself she will put the food in her mouth and then reach in and pull it out over and over when she is done.

The only way she will eat for real is when she eats off of mine and Adam's plates when she is walking around and out of her high chair. I don't want to teach her that she can eat wherever she wants to.

Also, she isn't a great sleepers still. She wakes up once or twice a night. I am exhausted still, but I wake up with her and feed her because I feel like she is starving. When she is hardly eating during the day, she needs to eat if she is willing during the night.

She loves talking on the phone and will actually take the phone from me and put it up to her ear and say HI HI HI HI HI.

She now says Hi, Bye, Dada, and then lots of other babble.

She is getting so big and loves being around lots of people. She really hasn't gone through stranger anxiety which is wonderful. She loves it when people pay attention to her, and works hard to get your attention if you aren't watching her.

I had lots of fun videos to put up here, but they aren't working, so I will work on that later.

Update from the doctor!

We went yesterday to the Pediatric Hematologist. Instead of drawing blood from Mackenzie's arm or her foot, today they just pricked her finger.

Normally when we go to the doctor, Mackenzie freaks out and cries and hits and screams while we are getting her blood. This time she didn't hardly flinch. The nurse was so great. You can tell that she does this (draws kids blood) all the time. She was a pro. Mackenzie even got a stuffed animal from the toy closet for being so good.

The doctor looked at her blood under a microscope and did a CBC and the results are in......

All your prayers have helped SO MUCH!

Her neutrophil count is now up to 1100. The doctor told me because she is so healthy, other than her numbers, treat her like any other 10 month old. The only reason we should be concerned is if she gets a fever over 101 I need to call the doctor and get her blood drawn immediately.

We don't have to go back to anyone for another MONTH!!!! YAY FOR NO DOCTORS!!!

Her official diagnosis as of now is Benign Neutropenia!

Well, Mackenzie went to the doctor yesterday. This was a big one because either her numbers would go up and we wouldn't have to go to the doctor every week, or her numbers would go down and we would be off the the pediatric hematologist to figure out what is going on in her little body.



Well we got a call from the doctor last night and well the results are.....



They went DOWN. Her neutrophil number is at 490.



So I called the hematologist today and well their soonest appointment is September. UMMMMM That isn't going to work. They said they will call me back later today

Well, today is Friday now (I started this post on Thursday) and I finally called the Hematologist. They still don't know anything so I am waiting to hear back from my pediatrician.

We will figure things out at some point.

Happy Birthday

It is weird getting older. I forgot it was my birthday when I woke up this morning. I just went on with my day, getting up with Mackenzie, making breakfast, and calling my mom to say hi. Then she said..."You didn't even give me a chance to call you." I was confused for a second and then she started singing Happy Birthday (well a primary version of the song). Wow, I didn't think I would get to this point. I rememebered yesterday and also before I went to bed, but oh well. I got my present a month or 3 ago (someone stole my camera, so I got a new one for my birthday). So yeah. WEIRD.

But I am a whopping 24 years old.

YAY. I am one year older and WISER too, Happy Birthday to ME.

I thought she was dead!

Last night was a BIG night. Mackenzie went to bed around 10 and this morning Adam woke me up when he shut the door to the bathroom when he was getting ready. I freaked out when I looked at the clock. I finally decided to go into Mackenzie's room to make sure she was still alive! When I opened the door she woke up, but I nursed her and she went right back to sleep. SHE IS GROWING UP!!! I can't believe that she finally slept through the night!

Also, we went to the doctor on Wednesday and her neutrophil numbers are up again. They are now at 860. That is so much better than they were. We are still at the watch and see stage. Hopefully it just gets better on its own and we don't have to worry about going to a specialist.

PS. We are back in CO!

These are some professional shots when Mackenzie was 6 months old!

Not NC, But I Am Not Bored

I thought that I would show everyone what I have been up to while Meredith and Mackenzie have been in NC. Yes, I wish I was there with them, but at least I live in a great state with lots of things to do.

Roxborough State Park

Roxborough State Park

Roxborough State Park

Colorado State Forest State Park

Colorado State Forest State Park

Colorado State Forest State Park

Mount Evans

Farmington Utah (An old picture that I felt like putting up here)

Golden Gate Canyon State Park

Mount Evans

All of these images (except the bald eagle one) were taken in Colorado State Parks. I haven't even begu to explore Colorado yet. I have only visited 4 state parks, but I have loved every minute of it.

Fun in NC

I am just cruisin while Mommy is taking random pictures.



While we were at the airport in Denver, Mommy slammed her arm into a purse hanger hook thing when leaving the bathroom stall. Yeah it HURT!



After working in the yard for hours, Papa Bruce was really, really hot, so he took a break in my pool!


Aunt Katie is embarassed because Uncle Chad didn't know his animal sounds. While we were reading my animal book, Uncle Chad thought all the animals said "Ruff Ruff". It was funny and I kept giving him this look like, "You are how old and don't know what a cow says, you are WEIRD"

FUN AT THE POOL!!!

This is me being the center of attention when my mommy's cousins came to visit.
Mogan, Jenna, and Jason.



I am THIRSTY!!!



Now I need to wash my hands.



SOOO CUTE!



Splashin in the water.



When the cousins came over they brought me a new toy!!!!

9 months

This is a little late, but last Tuesday Mackenzie turned 9 months. I can't believe how fast time is flying!

She is now officially (as of yesterday)
16 lbs 12 oz
and around 28 inches tall.

She is growing little by little.

Her neutrophil numbers are still very low. We went yesterday to a pediatrician here in NC (a friend of the family) to get her blood drawn and they were around 300 something. So they have fallen a little since her last CBC.

But other than that, she is really healthy and developing and growing so fast! I can't believe all the things she can do.



She is crusing around furniture just as fast as she can get those little feet to run. When she gets excited she runs back and forth down the couch. It is so funny to watch. She also does this when she is trying to figure out how to climb on the couch (especially when Daddy has something, like the laptop, that she wants to play with.


She isn't really a good eater, but we have found that she likes spaghetti. We are really worried about how little she eats (especially being here in NC she is down to hardly anything!)
The pediatrician here in NC thinks that her low weight gain is probably just a matter of not enough calories, but if she won't eat, she won't eat.



Here is a precious 9 month picture. She is laying on her little twin bed that is in her room for when Nana Joy comes to visit.

Here she is with her diaper rash cream and her bunny rabbit. I would say she has grown just a little. The only way we could keep her from grabbing and throwing or chewing on the bunny was to give her something else to distract her. Yes, she loves to chew on this tube for some reason.

She also is saying HI! She hasn't gotten the wave down yet, but when you wave at her and say hi, she stretches out her hand and say hi back. It is precious. (I will have to get a video!)

She also, as you can tell from the close-up picture above, that she doesn't have any visible teeth. She does have one that is very sharp and you can feel it, you just can't see it yet. Maybe someday my baby won't be toothless. haha

I have basically kept up on the things that Mackenzie can do, and I can't think of any more at this moment, so I guess if I remember some other things that I haven't blogged about I can do that later!

A few pictures while we are away

These are just some fun pictures we have taken while we have been away from Daddy.

These are for you honey!



I am tackling my new lamb!


Nana was checking to see if my tooth had come in, so I wanted to see how healthy her teeth were.


I love spaghetti


It gets EVERYWHERE!!


Nana bought a pool for me! Mommy, Katie, and Lauren laid out to get some sun while I splashed in my very own pool.

I miss you Daddy!!!

Another Update

For all those who have been checking my blog everyday to see how Mackenzie is, here is your newest update.

The wonderful thing is that it is not the worst we thought. She does not have leukemia or lupus.

The doctor said more would be weird on her blood test if that were the case.

The doctor also doesn't think she has any vitamin deficiency, so he says that isn't it (which I have my doubts about, but whatever).

The doctor said from the information he has right now, she has neutropenia, which basically means she has a low neutrophil count.

He wants to do blood work one more time and then we will have a good pattern to see what her body is doing.

Once we get that, if the numbers stay low, we will be going to a pediatric hematologist to see why they are low and to see if there is anything we can do to fix it.

There are 3 types of neutropenia...

1. It just stays low all the time and if Mackenzie catches something she will have to go to the hospital and/or be put on antibiotics even if it is just a cold.

2. It stays low until she gets sick and then her neutrophil levels just up to protect her until whatever sickness she has is gone and then they drop back down (which if she has to deal with the the rest of her life...we hope it will be this kind)

3. One week her numbers are low and the next they are high...they just form a pattern of high and low and we pray that if she catches something it is when her nuetrophils are at the high point.

So I want to thank you for all of your prayers and I know that has helped us to get through this little speed bump.

I am now in NC visiting my family and we are having a great time. Sorry honey that I had to leave you behind, but you have to work to support my habits! JK. I hope everything is going great back in CO!

If you want to see me while I am here (*Hailey*) and you don't have my new number, just call me at my parents house...they are in the phone book!

Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers! We love you guys!

I will let you know more as we get more info!