Liam is on the Go!

These pictures turned out kind of blurry, but Liam is doing great on his tummy. He rolled from his tummy to his back yesterday and he scoots all around the tummy time mat on his belly.

We have our 4 month check up next week. I am anxious to see how much he has grown!

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Isn't he the Cutest?

Liam is doing very well sitting up in the bumbo. He is also very close to rolling over. He will go from his tummy to his side, but hasn't quite made it all the way over yet. I am not very good at doing tummy time with him...

He is such a sweet smiley boy! We have been blessed with 2 boys who have such happy countenance!

Easter Bunny

We went to visit the Easter bunny this past weekend. Kale did NOT like him! As you can tell from the picture, he cried and did not want to sit next to the bunny. Liam was happy to be held though--even if it was by a giant furry animal! 

Happy Easter from the Helling Family!

Family Update

I have not been very good about taking pictures and updating the blog, so I will have to do it all at one time. 

I went back to work this week. These two pictures show me and the boys on our first day back to work/daycare. We managed to get ready and out the door on time (a true miracle). I had to get up 2 1/2 hours before I had to be at work...but we managed to get there at time! By the time I made it to work, I felt like I needed a nap!

My sweet boy is still blessing me with big smiles!

Kale truly loves his little brother. Any time Liam is crying, Kale gets all bent out of shape. He always tries to help by putting Liam's paci in his mouth, giving him kisses, or getting his blankie. 

Kale is finally into wearing hats and sunglasses. 

Kris' grandparents came to visit us this weekend. His grandmother went out to her van to get some clothes while she was in her night gown. Kris thought this was hilarious and had to take a picture. 

Liam loved visiting with his great-grandma and grandpa for the first time. 

We are loving the nice weather and are enjoying playing outside as much as possible!

Check out the progression of these next few pictures. Kale is learning how to jump!

Our Weekend

Liam is loving his baths these days. As you can tell from the pictures, he continues to grow at a rapid rate! He is officially in 9 month clothing. Kale can still wear 12 month pants (in waist, but not length). At this rate, they will be wearing the same size clothing by summer. 

Kale has so many bruises. We went to the zoo on Friday and Kale did a face plant into the concrete. His head looks rough. On a good note, he LOVED the zoo. He was very into the animals and tried to copy all of their noises. I let him out of the stroller and he did a really good job walking from exhibit to exhibit on his own. He listened very well! 

Most of you know my birthday is on St. Patty's Day, so it's one of my favorite "holidays." I made sure the boys had special clothes for the day and we proudly wore our green. Kale loves to hold Liam and will frequently try to take Liam from me when I am feeding him. Kale thinks that's his job. 

I officially turned 30 this weekend. I had a great day...I went and got a pedicure, massage, and haircut, then Kris took me out for dinner and drinks that evening. It was a nice relaxing day! 

We are starting to kind of work on potty training. I was planning to wait until Kale was 2 1/2 to tackle potty training, but he is showing a real interest and the sitter (who is very experienced with little ones) thinks he is ready, so we are working on it! So, far he just sits on the toilet and is not really sure what to do. 

Pics of the Boys

My cousin took these pictures of the boys for me. She has a true talent!























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We are moving!

As many of you know, kris received a transfer to Richmond, Va. We are so excited about this move! We are sad to leave our new house in Amarillo, but ready for this new adventure. Kris and I flew into Richmond for a long weekend and love the area. The downtown area is so alive, there is a ton history, lots of shopping, and my personal favorite, over 200 wineries! Kris will continue in his position as Global key commodities manager for Alstom Wind while I plan to stay home with the boys. I am in talks with one of the area community colleges to teach a few Literature or writing classes part time.



This is our new house. We are renting for the first year while we get to know the area. This home belongs to a guy Kris works with. It will suit our needs perfectly. It is 4 bedroom (or in our case--3 bedrooms and a playroom) and 3 baths. We will move in July 1st.



The back yard is near a wooded area.



We have a screened in porch and back patio.



Living room ( relatively small but will work for us).







This will be Liam's room.







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3 Months

Sweet, happy Liam is 3 months old today. Where has the time gone? I am beyond sad that I go back to work in just 2 weeks. I will sorely miss my cuddle time with my sweet baby boy. One of the hardest things for me about being a mother of 2 boys is feeling like they both get quality time with me. Now that I am almost back at work, I fear this will be even more difficult since my time with my boys will be so limited. Only 9 weeks though, then I am off for the summer! 

Long Road Trip

Well we survived the long road to Poplar Bluff! The boys luckily did fairly well in the car. I, unfortunately took almost no pictures. I guess I just got busy running after both boys and failed to get out my camera. 

In these two pictures, you can see I took Kale on a four-wheeler ride while at my parents. You can probably tell by the first picture that I was a little scared. My brother's four wheeler is so big, I was afraid it would get away from me! Kale, of course, loved it! I enjoyed getting to see my parents and I know the boys loved the attention they got from the grandparents. 

I took Kris to the airport on Friday night and we spent the night with Kenny, Kris' good friend. We enjoyed having dinner and drinks downtown without kids. Thanks to my mom for being a brave grandma and keeping the boys overnight! 

My mom and my friend, Heather, both have great cameras. They took several pictures of Kale and Liam and sent them to me. I love each of these pics and plan to get them enlarged! 

We are so blessed to have such a happy little man. Liam literally came out of the womb smiling and laughing. From the time he was a newborn, he would laugh in his sleep.  

Love these two! 

Two best friends with their babies!

Heather had Ella in October and about 6 weeks later I had Liam. Our kids are 6 weeks apart in age and coincidentally, Heather and I are 6 weeks apart in age. 

Liam and sweet Ella. I loved getting to meet Ella and see Heather. Unfortunately I didn't get to spend as much time with Heather as I planned. I ended up with mastitis AGAIN during this trip and stayed at my mom's in bed instead of traveling to Heather's. We did get to spend an afternoon together though. 

On Thursday night we drove to Memphis to spend time with my friend Danielle and her family. She had 3 kids, so we just added to the chaos. It was lots to fun to see the kids interact and to catch up with Danielle and Renee. I also got to see Renee's sweet son, Matthew, who is now 13. I used to babysit him when he was 3 and 4...wow! He has changed a ton, but is still such a sweet boy. 

I ended up making the 12 hour trek back to Amarillo without Kris. I was very, very nervous about this. I literally had knots in my stomach as I was departing from Memphis. Fortunately for me, things went great! We drove 5 hours on Friday night and stopped and got a room. Then, we drove the rest of the way the next day. It turns out, Kale is a great car rider and did wonderfully. Liam was a little fussy at times. I kept an arsenal of pacis next to me and would lean back and put one in his mouth when he needed one. We stopped every 2 hours or so to run around and stretch. We made it though, and I am a much more confident momma for it. (As a matter of fact, I felt a little like super mom once the trip was over.)

Funny story--on the ride to Amarillo, Kale was coloring in the back seat. A few minutes later he started cracking up laughing. This went on for several minutes. When I got the boys out of the car, I discovered why--Liam's carseat was right next to Kale and Kale colored all over Liam's clothes. Apparently, he thought this was hilarious. 

Kale is currently obsessed with Liam. Every chance he gets, he will "pick" him up. He loves to lay right next to him and wants to have his arm around Liam at all times. It thrills my heart to see him act this way, but I do have to be cautious because Kale is unintentionally rough with Liam and will try to pick him up and carry him around by the arm, etc.