Hidden Hollow Shower

My team threw a wonderful shower for me at school on Thursday. I am lucky to work at such a great place!!

Here is a picture of all of the great gifts I received from my coworkers. After this shower, I really don't have many more items to buy. We are pretty much ready for Kale's arrival.

Here is the Baby Einstein Tummy Time mat that we received. The second grade team went together and got us this great gift.

And finally, here is my great team who put together the shower.

Our Redneck Yard

Since Jonah is such a naughty dog, he has insisted on digging out into the neighbor's yard. When he gets into the neighbor's yard, she opens her gate and lets him wonder the neighborhood (instead of telling us--I know, a great neighbor we have!) We originally tried to fill his holes with dirt, but apparently that is just more fun to dig up since the dirt is kind of loose. So...our only option has been to line our fence with cinder blocks. We are out of blocks at this point, but we are really hoping Jonah has gotten his fill of digging for now. Kris has caught him doing it a couple of times and spanked him really hard, and (cross your fingers) he seems to have stopped. I can't wait for it to get hot because when it hot outside the dogs don't move and therefore can't get into trouble.


Here is a picture of our lovely gate. About a year ago Jonah decided he was a beaver and in just one day's time, chewed through the bottom of the gate. We replaced the boards and he did it all over again the next day! So, we then put up the metal gate inside the wooden gate. That worked for awhile, but then he figured out how he could knock the metal gate down (by running into it over and over again with all his might.) So, we then had to go to the cinder blocks. They are like duct tape for us--they fix everything!

Kris actually was able to fix the fence the week. He replaced the boards and left the metal gate inside, but moved the cinder blocks. We are hoping that Jonah will leave it alone at least for awhile. We have such a naughty dog!!

Baby gifts

Kale got his first package the other day! The UPS man rang the bell, and I told Kris that I would get it because it was probably a package for me. Much to both of our surprises, the package wasn't addressed to either one of us. Instead, it was for Kale!!! It was so neat to get a package with his name on it.

As for an update, things are still progressing well. At this point, he has settled in and is not measuring as big as he was. We are only about 2 1/2 weeks ahead of schedule at this point. We will have an ultrasound March 1st, so we will find out his weight and length then. It is getting hard for him to fit though. He routinely sticks out whole body parts. It feels so weird and looks ever weirder. If I try to push him back in, he fights back. He is fiesty!!

Valentine's Day

Since Valentine's Day was on a Sunday this year, we celebrated by going to church and making a nice dinner at home. Kris, of course, insisted on taking a picture of my bulging stomach. He is very good at making sure we capture the growth of the baby (and me!) on film. Without him, I don't think we'd have many pictures at all! I am 31 weeks in this picture.


We wanted to take a picture of the two of us, which is pretty hard to do when there is no one available to take the picture! We are celebrating our 5th Valentine' Day together--this is only the 2nd one Kris has been present for though. He almost always has to travel on Valentine's Day!

Here is a picture of our lovely dessert. We had chocolate fondue on pineapple and strawberries. I tried to form a heart out of the pineapple, but it didn't work too well. Kris got these beautiful red roses for me, along with a pregnancy massage for Valentine's Day.

I meant to take a picture of our dinner, but I was too excited to eat and forgot! Kris grilled steaks, while I made baked potatoes, zucchini, and french bread. It was delicious!!

Molly and Jonah got romantic under the coffee table on Valentine's Night. They have been very lovey dovey lately.

Iowa Shower

Kris and I traveled to Iowa near the end of January for baby shower. We got to see both sides of Kris' extended family. His mom worked very hard to throw a really nice shower.


We played in game in which people had to guess how big I was by cutting a length of ribbon. We then tried to wrap the ribbon around my waist to see whose ribbon was the closest. Kris' cousin, Heather, won the game.

This outfit is just one of the many cute items we received at the shower. We brought an extra suitcase for the gifts, but ended up having to mail a box home as well.

This is a cute diaper cake made by Melissa, our sister-in-law. She did a great job...the cake was so cute and very practical!!

We had a few different kinds of yummy dessert, as well as punch at the shower. We were very lucky to have the opportunity to go to Iowa! (and it wasn't even THAT cold while we were there!)

Houston Shower

My sweet friends decided to throw a shower for the baby and I at the beginning of February. My mom and grandmother came up to visit and attend the shower. It was great to see everyone and the shower was great fun. This is me wearing my "minnie mouse" dress, as Kris likes to call it, before the shower.


We had great cupcakes from Crave and yummy luncheon finger foods to eat. My mom made a delicious punch that was "baby blue." We received lots of great gifts, along with money and gift cards. Kale is already one spoiled baby!

These are the pregnant girls. These girls are some of my best friends in Houston and we are all pregnant at the same time! Ironically, we are standing in the order of the due dates of our babies. (That wasn't on purpose.) Elizabeth is due at the end of March. Jen is due at the beginning of April. I am due at the end of April and Julie is due mid-May. Elizabeth and Julie are having girls, while Jen and I are having boys. I am sure we will have lots of play dates coming up soon!

We have a name!!!

We have decided on a name for the baby...Kale Thomas Helling. Yes, yes, I know Kale is a vegetable, but it was a name that could both agree. I have also never taught a kid named Kale before and that is a big plus. I associate every name with a student--and that's not always a good thing! Kris came up with the name Kale. We decided to spell it with a K and not a C, due to the spelling of Kris' name. Thomas is Kris' middle name and his grandfather's first name.

29 weeks

More baby bump pictures...Kris just loves taking these! I think he is excited that my belly is bigger than his!

It is amazing to me the things people say. I am so sick of hearing, "are you sure there's just one in there" or "the doctor must have your due date wrong because there is no way you are making it to April" or my personal favorite, "my God, you are huge!!" I have just started saying, that's not a very nice thing to say.

Some people say that they felt their best when they were pregnant. I have decided that those people are lieing. There is nothing comfortable about having an extra 20 pounds around your stomach. I can't bend over to pick anything up anymore because my legs are not strong enough to lift my bulking body. I hope the baby enjoys being an only child!