Mackenzie Grace Hammann

It was a typical summer day

At 2:08 in the morning, on

9.13.2012

They placed a 9 lb 10 oz

Miracle in our arms.

Four Days Early, and 12 hours after arriving at the hospital,

She was Perfect.

We named her

Mackenzie Grace

No one will ever know the strength of my Love for you.  After all, you’re the only one who knows what my Heart sounds like from the inside.

I sat in Adrianna's bed one night and had a little discussion with her after baby Kenzie came home.  I told her that no one would ever come between us and that I brought baby Kenzie into this world so that she would have a best friend to grow up with and have in her life forever.  I don't know if she understood my words exactly, but I could tell she could feel what I was saying was good and she had such a sweet demeanor about her after our conversation.  I am so proud to have such amazing girls.

The bond was instant and unforced.  It was so natural for Adrianna to want to lie down with her baby sister and hold her.  She instantly had a connection and fell in love with her little sister. 

One of our first photos with Baby Kenzie's eyes open.

Adrianna asks me every day "mom, I wanna carry the baby"  with adult supervision we let baby Kenzie cuddle up on Addie's lap and she sits there and kisses her face and she loves to rub her head.

I had to take a picture of daddy and daughter so comfortably napping together.  These are the moments in life that make everything else worth it.  Moments to be cherished forever.

                  Mommy and her Girls

Kenzie's First Hair Cut

Adrianna and Mackenzie were born with the same beautiful, soft, black hair with a heavy receding hairline.  After going through Adrianna bad hair days for the first 18 months of her life, I decided we are going to go a different route with Kenzie and shave her head so it can all grow in at the same time.  Addie went through the balding spots of hair all over her head to the flock of seagulls hair style.  Hopefully Kenzie will have a little more luck.

Mackenzie's Welcoming Party

August 5, 2012

We had a fun summer / baby welcoming party this past Sunday.  The party was a blast, but the greatest part was a surprise visit from my parents and brother Todd, Abby, Chloe and Avery.  How fun to have family come to one of my special parties!!  

I wanted to do a baby shower theme in the pavilion.  I decided to go with a yellow, white and grey color scheme with Daisies.  The favor was a homeade Peach Raspberry Jam and I framed "Thank You for coming, please take a fresh peach raspberry jam and 'Spread the Love'."  My sister and brother and his girlfriend Lisa were here a few weeks ago and helped me decorate all of the jars of jam.  My girlfriend Trina, Abby and Lisa put together the pom poms.

As you all know the Dessert table is always my favorite part of a party!  I kept it in a "white and yellow" theme with the exception of the Lollipop Tree which was all colors.  My mom said the only thing missing was Chocolate!  I said, well brown was just not part of the color scheme, so I just couldn't go there! ;) Plus I knew it would be a hot day and I didn't want all the desserts melted!  I filled a cookie jar with white chocolate macadamia cookies.  The cupcake tower had vanilla cupcakes with a lemon curd filling and lemon buttercream frosting.  The sugar cookies were decorated like daisies and the banana bars were just a favorite of mine that we added.  The donuts were not homeade!  But I sampled a few shops until I found a spot that did good powdered sugar cake donuts.

The park/grass area was set up summer party themed.  We hired Hula Girls Hawaiian Shave Ice were they set up a canopy and table set up.  The Shave Ice was SO DELICIOUS and you can imagine a big hit with all of the kids.  The yard was set up with Volleyball, Ladder ball, Hula Hoops, Sidewalk Chalk and bubbles.  Fun for all ages!

The kids Loved the Shave Ice.  But to be honest, I think the adults loved it just as much!!

Adrianna and her friends and cousins had fun playing with all the party supplies!

The adults enjoyed mingling, playing games, eating, drinking and being merry!

Thank You to everyone that came out to celebrate Mackenzie's welcoming to the world!  We are so excited to meet her and introduce her to all of you!

Christine & Chris' Wedding

Pittsfield, VT

Gregory and I took a mini vacation across the country to celebrate our great friends marriage.  We were very fortunate to have my little brother Stephen come down to our house and watch little Addie while we had some quality time together and with friends.  We may have traveled more hours than we actually were at the wedding, but it was worth it.  This was our first trip to Vermont and everything from the farm that the wedding took place on, to the trees, to the ceremony, to the reception were breathtaking.  The colored pictures are not touched up... it was really that vibrant.

Father's Day Candy Bar Card

For Father's Day Adrianna and I put this card together for Gregory's enjoyment.  I don't know if it was more fun to watch Addie helping make the card or watching Gregory's face when he saw the card for the first time?

This is a little collage of some 6 month belly bump photos.

The background of the baby bump collage is the wall of our new baby girls nursery.  

I finished painting and stenciling yesterday. Here are some photos of the finished paint job...

I was impressed that even with the texture on the drywall the stencil still turned out pretty and neat.  Ignore the paint supplies mess in the corner. ;)

I will post more pictures when we bring the furniture in.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and anything Lemon I have to Pin!  I love the fresh taste of lemon in desserts.  These Cookies are more like a sugar cookie with a hint of lemon.  They are soft and chewy and really delicious.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Makes 2 dozen

Ingredients:
½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.  Or use Silpats as I always do and no need to grease cookie sheet.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. 

Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.