Don't You Look Mah-velous!

For all of you who know my struggles with Isaac's skin, doesn't he look wonderful? He looks like a normal baby! No more oozing cheeks and scabs! I've been off of nuts for four weeks and milk for two and so far it seems to be helping. I'm fairly sure he has a milk allergy. Xavier drank some milk, then blew raspberries on Isaac's stomach. Hives followed where Xavier's mouth touched. Seems pretty obvious, eh? But, after I took this photo yesterday, I discovered two new patches of eczema, one on his wrist and one on his thigh and no milk exposure. Arg! Hopefully we'll figure this out soon!

Father Of the Year

Life is too crazy to keep this blog updated, but I figured I'd better make an effort or those blog-stalkers will start harassing me! In all seriousness, I truely believe my husband deserves the title "Father of the Year." He leads our family with integrity, love, compassion, and patience. He takes absolutely no time for himself, yet allows me the breaks I need. I often find him playing "band" with the kids-he with the guitar and they with some sort of percussion item. He instructs them in sports with quiet confidence(unlike my ultra-competitive self.) His ability to explain tough topics so they can understand is unmatched. Most of all, he is humble with his faults and admits his mistakes to them openly. I am honored to be his partner and pray that someday Xavier and Isaac will follow his example.





Xavier and Andy in "the fast car," aka Andy's new toy, aka the Civic Si. The poor old Grand Prix has said goodbye.

Thank you, Andy, for all you do!

Have a Seat

Just hours after I decided Isaac would never sit alone by the age of six months, he sat-at 5 months and 5 days! We've had slight issues with low muscle tone so this came as a great surprise to me! He didn't seem to have the back strength to hold himself up in a sitting position. But, I kept trying. You can tell he feels like such a big kid. I'm just thrilled!

Check out this pearly white!

Isaac popped his first tooth Monday, June 2nd. Yikes! He's following his brother's early teething schedule. Let's just hope he doesn't bite like Xavier did. Ouch!

Kindergarten Graduation

One year down, twelve to go! June 4th was Brooklyn's last day of kindergarten. A graduation ceremony for the kindergarteners and sixth graders followed in the evening. It was a long, long, LONG ceremony, and I was amazed at how well 50 kindergarteners sat for it. For me, the most amazing moment was when all 50 kids recited Psalm 23 in unison. Brooklyn had surprised me a few days earlier by reciting it herself. Their brains are like sponges at this age! We really struggled with school earlier in the year. Brooklyn didn't like it, insisted she was stupid, and was sure she would never be able to read. How time has changed! She loves her school, friends, and decided reading was fun! Now, we're looking forward to a busy summer of vacations, camps, lessons, and just having fun!

We're All In This Together...Literally!

The theme of Brooklyn's recital this year was "We're All In This Together." This definitely rang true for our family. Besides Brooklyn's adorable ballet to "Candle on the Water" and tap to "These Boots Were Made For Walking," Andy and I joined the ranks as performers this year. Andy did the Dad's Dance to a spoof of High School Musical. It was very entertaining and I was surprised to find out my husband has some moves! My friend Julie and I tried our hand at tapping this year. Neither one of us had any experience(ok, I took one year of tap class at the age of 5) but we both made it through without any memorable embarrassing moments. I think we'll both consider dancing again next year. This was Brooklyn's last year for the combo class. I'm excited to see what next year will bring!

The Birthday Girls

My Grandma and I share a birthday. This year, I turned 31 and she turned 90! We had a party/open house for her at her retirement community. If you are the birthday girl, you get to be queen for the day. Lucky for me, they had a crown to spare.

Backyard Photo Shoot

Grandma's been at it again. This is the first official set of matching outfits for all three kids. So, for her birthday I snapped some photos in the backyard. They turned out really well! Yes, Isaac is in the basketball hoop!

Mothers' Tea

The Mothers' Tea is a tradition in the kindergarten classes at Trinity. It was a wonderful party! Brooklyn showed me to my seat, brought me a plate of delicious goodies made by her class(yikes!) and performed a lovely song with her class. It was nice to have some time with just Brooklyn. She's so grown up!


Brooklyn with Pastor Barry and Lucy.

Brooklyn's favorite teacher in the whole world! She's going to miss Mrs. Wolfe this summer!

The class sang a play on The Little Mermaid called "Part of That Word." I'll spare you the video!

4 month appointment

Isaac's four month appointment was on Tuesday. He has some major eczema so we are trying to stop the poor guy from itching. So far, I've seen major improvement. This photo was taken pre-treatment.
His stats are:
Weight-16 pounds, 7 ounces
Height-26 inches

He's no longer in the running for the large baby prize. Xavier was a whopping 17 pounds, 15 ounces and 27 inches long at his four month appointment.

Field Day

Summer must be just around the corner! The kindergarten classes at Trinity had their annual field day at Eljer Park on Tuesday. It was a gorgeous, sunny day but it could have been a little less breezy and a little more warm. Of course, that didn't stop the Hellers from getting sunburned! After a packed lunch, hours of running around, a walk to and from the park, and an evening of dance class, Brooklyn literally collapsed into bed.

Brooklyn's group in the foot race. She's in pink shorts.

The three legged race was quite entertaining. All the girl groups would walk calmly to and from the starting line. The boys would take off running and end up in a tangled heap on the ground. Brooklyn is with our neighbor, Lucy.

They were so kind to let Xavier join in the fun. He wanted to stay at the tug of war all day long!

This is Brooklyn after the water balloon toss that turned into a water balloon fight. I know who started it, Miss 'name starts with A!' I can't believe what your mom puts you up to!

Happy Mothers' Day!

What a wonderful day!
I received a breakfast in bed(after the 8:00am smoke alarm wake-up call!)of blueberry muffins and coffee. Andy then read a list of

"Reasons we love Mommy."

1. Helps me do the hard part of the buckle
2. Gets food to make dinner
3. Drives me in the car to special things, like parties
4. Helps me feel better when I'm itchy
5. Very kind to us
6. Read books together
7. Good to play with
8. Plays fun games
9. Has good ideas
10. Makes good food
11. Helps tell us when we do things wrong
12. Puts my blankets on me
13. Helps me learn about Jesus

Andy said these were all unprompted responses. I am humbled and grateful that I have this much of an impact on my children. Sometimes I feel like I'm just the lady with the perma-frown acting on number 11. Thanks to my kiddos and husband for making me feel like a million bucks!

No Rest for the Weary

Sun, beach, no plans, what could go wrong? Andy's only plan for this trip was to catch up on his sleep. Unfortunately, Xavier got sick the night we arrived in Daytona. For the rest of the week we had to deal with incessant coughing, fevers, and no sleep. Isaac came down with it too and added "pink eye" to the mix. Otherwise, the vacation was marvelous! I really appreciate my parents allowing us to tag along on their trip.

Brooklyn absolutely loved the beach. She screamed as she ran in and out of the waves, did cartwheels all down the beach, and "saved" every little clam that washed up on shore. Xavier was less enthusiastic. He thought the water was cold and the sand hurt his feet. I wonder what he would have been like had he been healthy. He definitely perked up in the pool. We purchased foam super soakers to use in the pool. He discovered he could put an empty one to his skin and make fart noises. You'll never guess who taught him that one. Boys...

Isn't he a cutie? Isaac was so tolerant of us dragging him everywhere. He seemed to enjoy his first dip in the pool, but the chlorine, sunscreen, and daily bathing were not kind to his eczema prone skin.

Andy took Brooklyn and Xavier deep sea fishing while I stayed on shore with the baby. He said Brooklyn had a great time helping him with the bait and was very excited to see him catch a fish they could keep. The horror came when they "cleaned" the fish upon returning to the dock. She said, "Next time Daddy, can we just catch fish and put them back in the ocean?"

It's a miracle! Everyone is looking in the general direction of the camera!

We went to a Daytona Cubs baseball game. Xavier loved it! He watched so intently throughout the entire game and asked all sorts of questions. During one episode of extreme cheering, Brooklyn wanted to know, "Did they score a touchdown?"

Soarin'

We just returned from a week in Daytona Beach. Xavier and Isaac took their first airplane rides. Brooklyn was 18 months old the last time she was in the air. The flights were wonderful! The kids were very well behaved. On the way home, Brooklyn and Xavier sat together which allowed Andy and I to sit together. Ah, adult conversation and a crossword puzzle...I was in heaven!

Don't you dig the 80's inspired stroller? Everyone loves a good paint-splatter print. My mom loaned it to us so we wouldn't have to ruin ours in the salt water. Brooklyn was so kind to inform my mom how ugly Andy thought it was. But, it served it's purpose!

The kids thought the moving sidewalks in the Charlotte airport were the best playground ever!

My mom bought each of the kids a Webkinz in the Daytona airport. They played with them for the entire flight home. Thanks, Mom!

Biker Babe

Is she really getting that big? Brooklyn is now on two wheels. She decided that her old, wobbly training wheels needed to go. She was determined! We took her to the soccer fields at the elementary school and sent her down a couple of grassy hills. We figured it would be a softer landing. Riding on grass is difficult so the transition to the blacktop was a piece of cake! She took off like she'd been riding her entire life! Now we just need to work on starting, stoping, and steering. All ready to go! She's flexing those biking muscles. This is the only photo I got of her on two wheels, then the camera batteries died! Arg!

Now we have a three year old who thinks his training wheels need to go. Refer to post titled "captain disaster." Need I say more?



Update: I finally got a video of Brooklyn on two wheels! We went for a 3 mile walk/bike at Glacier Ridge yesterday which greatly improved her starting and stopping. Steering is a work in progress. We've now moved her to a bigger bike and are having to start all over again. Yeesh.

Spring is Here!

Spring has finally sprung(for the moment!) Brooklyn's friend Avery came to our house on Tuesday to play beauty shop to get ready for their dance photos. The weather was beautiful! It feels so good to get outside, get some fresh air, and burn some energy!

Easter

We went to my parents' for Easter this year then onward to my aunt and uncle's house in Cincinnati. Nothing too exciting or out of the ordinary happened, but we did enjoy the usual egg decorating and yummy treats!