My little Chipmonk!

This is an honorable mention...My sweet, amazing and one whom is becoming a bit stubborn little Reed has a bit of a bad habit. Well either a bad habit or a mother who is trying to be too strict with following through on her words. The story...the other day we were eating lunch, spaghetti o' were the pick of the day. We haven't had many of these at our house but for some reason Reed has an issue with them, I am still trying to figure it out. He would eat some and then when it came down to about the last 2-3 bites he didn't want anything to do with them. So thumbs up for what he ate but I had told him he needed to eat one more bite so he could have a cookie when we got to my sister Kristin's. We were going to be making valentines cookies at her house and I really wanted him to eat lunch before he could have a cookie. I'm trying to be a good mom...anywho-he put the last bit in his mouth, YEAH! we could continue with our day. So we headed over to Kristin's and as I proceeded to take him out of the car seat I could see that he wouldn't talk, just nod. "Reed, do you seriously have your lunch STILL in your mouth?" With a grin and a wide open mouth he showed me the contents that were slowly disintegrating in his mouth. This is not the first time, he smiled with sealed lips and continued on into the house. Well my sister started to talk to him and his reply was not the usual, just a nod, hand gestures, or a monkey sounding grunt. She became a bit curious. I asked him again (15 minutes later) "Did you swallow your lunch yet?" Shake of the head. "Gross Reed, please just swallow your food." How long was my child storing this food in his mouth??? Oh, at least 1 hour. Finally I made him spit out the remaining, non recognizable, disintegrated, brown solidified mass of goo. It was gross. Maybe I took it too far, but the kid is amazing! and he did get to eat a cookie or two. Hey, I'm only human.

Finally Enjoying Some Cookies!

Draper Temple Open House January 2009

Steve being the good guy he is decided to make arrangements to go to the Draper Temple open house. I am not up to date on things so it is good that Steve has the open ear when it comes to the world around me. We made it a family event! What better way to teach the little kiddies and get a good Family Home Evening activity in? On Monday around 11:30 am we set off to pick Steve up from work and head to the temple. The boys really enjoyed the bus ride from the church up to the Temple. Probably their very first experience on a bus. Reed continued to tell me that we were all going to tip over because the bus was a bit bumpy. Then it was a race to see who could point out Angel Moroni on top. They love to find that Angel Moroni! We had perfect timing, not busy, cold, but not snowing, and we went at our own pace. Eventually we got through the tunnel of tents and into the beautiful Temple. The boys were handed a little pamphlet with pictures and then we began our tour. The boys loved skidding their little feet on the plastic floor protectors(they did make a pretty neat sound), liked the elevator with the magic door and they thought their "maps" were great. They would look at the pictures on the pamphlet and then when we got to that room they would check it off the map. It was really sweet. All in all the boys were awesome! No potty breaks, no crying, no diapers changes, not too many reminders to whisper, and at the end they were happy to enjoy a delicious cookie. Noah's favorite things " I liked the rooms and Moroni, why is Moroni pretend again?"(talking about the statue of course)-Reed's favorite, "I liked the Temple and Kung Fu Panda." Hey who said you can't have it all? We had a great time and loved that we got to go as a family. Thanks babe for being so on top!
Yes, I brought my camera but did I bring it into the temple? No, I wasn't sure if they would let me have a camera but I was wrong. Once again, another picture perfect moment lost. Sorry

A Side Note!

Today was a bit momentous for me. Jamison finally took a bottle! well I do have to say that it was a little creative. Watered down banana baby food + some formula. Hopefully we have turned a new leaf. I just have to say I was very happy. We will see if he takes another liking. Cross your fingers!
So here are some updates on the Helm Family...
Jamison is two teeth bigger, and one bottle prouder
Reed is nursery stir crazy and wants out-Tried sunbeams on Sunday.
Noah is a SUNBEAM, it is official. So cute and shy- but he is getting better.
Brittany is a Primary 2nd counselor-Yes, in my Spanish Branch-I am really liking it so far-I gave my first sharing time last week and the stake presidency was there to support me for my very first balancing act. A picture perfect moment...there is me, in front getting ready for my sharing time when...Noah has to go to the bathroom, Reed is in the nursery leaders arms with a beet red face wanting me to hold him and then Steve is standing in the hall with a crying and very hungry, tired Jamison. Oh is was exciting! It was nice though feeling that I could speak English. Pretty much all of the children speak English and Spanish so I am able to teach in English. Very convenient for someone who doesn't speak Spanish. Anyway...I love who I serve with and I am having a good time.
Steve is working hard at Allegiance and doing great. He finally got to work on his shelving project in the shed and is excited for me to organize it. Of course he gets veto power. He is still the Young Men's 2nd counselor and is looking forward to all of his planned triathlons this year.
---Sorry that my portion of the updates was the longest. I just had to give you a visual.
The Helms are doing great and we are grateful for all of our blessings!!!

Finally posted

Yes, It has been quite a while (in my world) since I have posted a little tid bit. Well there has been a lot and yet not a whole lot going on, but what can I say? Life is wonderful! This past week we have stayed near home for the sake of the snow and I haven't minded too much. I got my house clean...At one point, don't look at it now. We went to Jamison's 6 month Dr. Apt. HOLY COW! he is 6 months. He is looking great. Tall but underweight???doesn't sound like he is related to me. j/k I am happy with who I am for those of you who might wonder if I have some self-esteem issues. I have been trying to get Jamison to take a bottle for the past week and lets just say...NO WAY JOSE'-He does not dig the formula/bottle any concoction I try to mask it with- He has taken a bottle with my leche. Formula is not his cup of tea. I will succeed one of these days. I have to. I will. I can.

TEA TIME!!!
Anywho-speaking of tea??? Steve is on this great health kick and is doing a fantastic job at sticking with the good stuff. His newest thing though...Herbal tea??? a little while ago he was on this spiced apple cider kick and he would always make a nice cup before bed. Well with the new year and all he has come to the conclusion it had too much sugar. He found his own herbal tea fetish now. I have never tried any such thing and so he was nice enough to make me a spot.
OH MY GOODNESS!!! what does he see in the stuff? The kind he made for me smelled yummy and I had much anticipation in trying it. Talk about a let down. No taste, no closure, just a nice warm yummy smelling mug with a string and bag attached to it. And of course some nasty watery liquid. I took not one, not two, but three sips of the stuff just to make sure it wasn't just me. Oh no it was the tea. YUCK! definitely not my cup of tea. I think I will stick with the stuff that smells like it tastes.
January 9th...So the boys got to take a little spin on the ice thanks to my sweet dad. He invited our family to go skating along with all the singles in his ward and I think a majority of Provo. The boys had a blast! I got to sit above on the benches and watch with Jamison as my dad pushed them around and handed them off to complete strangers. He does have some very talented skaters in his ward. I do have to mention, because I am a paranoid parent, I was a bit freakish about the handing them off to skate with the unknown. Grateful though that they were safe and had a great time. Noah did NOT want to get off. After each circle around the rink he would plead for "one more time."Once the open skating was over we had to get off and head home. Noah enjoyed himself so much he decided that I needed to get myself a pair of skates along with a pair for him. I told him we were going to have to go skating a little more often than once every three years. Way to go boys!
So for some more randomness... January 10th, 2009 my cute mom threw a little birthday celebration for my Grandma VanWagenen. Her birthday is on January 11th and so for this year she would be 100 years old. WOULD BE...she passed away apx. 10 years ago I think. So if she WAS still on this earth she would have hit the 100 yr. mark. WOW! back to the celebration...I was trying to explain to the boys where we were going and why and all those little details. It was hard enough trying to explain it to Steve so I knew I had to be simple with the facts. My explanation, "We are going to a birthday party for Grandma Sunny's Mom. Her mom is now in Heaven, but if she were here she would be turning 100..."you can see the tiny challenge. Well we were going to my mom's childhood church house and old neighborhood in Sugar House. The drive was just long enough for the boys to take a nap. When we arrived we woke the boys and unloaded the fam. As we walked across the parking lot, Noah held my hand looked up at me with those sparkling yet tired eyes and said, "Mom, is this Heaven?" I melted right then and there. No it was not quite Heaven but It was just as sweet. We continued on with the party with relatives, stories, music, cupcakes, a 100 balloon launch and even some bag pipes. I think my family has this thing for parties. We love to get together! Good job Sunny for successfully pulling together a fantastic celebration. Happy Birthday Grandma Van!!!
January 11th, 2009...OUR 6 year Anniversary-WOW!
It was a great day other than the fact that I was up all night with some crazy motion sickness and down half the day trying not to move or throw up. I don't even know what was up. Kinda weird and I am very thankful that the yuckiness has past and that Steve was home to take care of me.I do have to give a great big Thank You and an I Love You to my love, Steve. He truly is amazing and I am blessed to have another memorable year with the best of the best! Happy Anniversary!!!