Happy Birthday Helen!

Helen Sue is one year old today. She was born on her Grandma Patty's birthday, which is pretty special. Helen and Lucy love each other so much, and Ben and I are blessed beyond words to have these two sweet girls and to be looking forward to the arrival of our next child at the end of August. The Lord has certainly given us far more than we deserve!

Here's a video from when she was brand new, only a few hours old. 

Now here's a video I just made. Helen is practicing taking care of her baby, so she'll be all ready to help when our new little baby arrives in a few months. Looks like she'll be quite a helper, doesn't it?

Quiet Time

Lucy and Helen were very tired but they have too much fun together to actually lay still for more than a few seconds. Helen has always been a wiggle worm.



p.s. I never would actually expect them to get any resting done unless I put them in their cribs in their separate rooms. This separate room thing is a luxury we will no longer have once baby #3 arrives. I'm enjoying it while it lasts :-)

Never Lonely

How could I ever get lonely with these two sweet children following me from room to room. Sometimes they both drag their blankets around and settle down right by my feet - no matter what I'm doing at the moment. Although it's frustrating at times, trying to actually get anything done, it's pretty special!

Hummingbirds

Ben and I recently got a nice new digital camera. This was my first attempt at capturing video footage of the two lovely hummingbirds that visit our feeder. Hopefully more to follow, as I can squeeze in the video time in between normal life priorities!

How low can you go?

Ok, I know everyone is looking for something to believe in, but seriously, how low can you go? Ben and I got a good laugh out of this one...

your "SMELLF" huh?

One man's trash is another man's treasure

Or in this case

"One Daddy's weed is a little girl's treasure".

Lucy is already having fun exploring the yard this spring. Every piece of gravel and every stick is a new discovery for her. She loves the "pretty" dandelions that her daddy let her have. Imagine if we grown-ups could simply enjoy everything that we see, as much as this little two year old does!

Helping?

Lucy really likes Helen and "helps" her in everything :-)

Baby Dear - out for a walk

As you may already know from my earlier post here, Baby Dear is one of my favorite children's books. The other day it was actually sunny here, a small glimpse that spring really is coming. Lucy took her "Baby Dear" for a walk and I took Helen. Somehow the photo of us doesn't look quite as sweet and nostalgic as the illustration from the book, but we love our babies every bit as much as that mommy and daughter do!

Lucy's 2nd Birthday

Lucy turned two on March 30th. And yes, I'm terribly late on posting this! It'll be Helen's birthday (she's turning one on April 30th) before I know it. All along their dad and I have said we're not going to be those kind of parents that have crazy big parties for their 1 and 2 year olds. They don't need tons of toys. They're happy with one new book or sheet of stickers. Right. But it sounded so fun to have a lot of friends over to our house - to actually host a party and make special treats and make everything look fancy. We ended up squeezing 32 people (14 of which were 10 and under) into our little house. All my good intentions of taking photos of the whole party went to the wind once the guests actually started arriving, so I don't have any pictures of the whole group squeezed in. I got this video and photos from a friend, Ruth Hicks. Thanks Ruth! It was very fun, although I have to admit it was more for me than for Lucy. Although she has opened presents before she really didn't have any concept of what a "birthday" meant. When everyone started singing "Happy Birthday" to her the pressure was simply too much. (see the video below) However, once she saw the mound of presents and we let her open the first one she got the picture really quickly :-) A very memorable evening - but Helen better not get any ideas. We're NOT having a huge one year birthday party for her in two weeks!

Lucy opening her present from Auntie Missy

Helen enjoyed all the friends

A new kitchen set from Daddy & Mommy!