Christmas Tree Hunt with the Speckeens

Well, after years of an artificial tree, we finally went to a tree farm and cut our own tree down! Now, our house smells like pine tree and cinnamon pine cones (I discovered those last year- they're the best!).
So, it was nothing like finding a tree in Wisconsin. It was almost 70 degrees outside. Jeremiah was in shorts and a t-shirt and I was way over-clothed and suffered the consequence. Pregnant woman in too many clothes= SERIOUS hot flashes. But, regardless of the weather, we tried to make it fun. Elijah happened to be crabby- a typical mood for him lately... Maybe he's pregnant, too. He always tells me there's a baby in his tummy.
Anyway, we went to a tree-farm where they took us on a hay-ride to the hill of trees. It was a neat experience. The tree selection wasn't all that great, but going to another tree farm wasn't an option for us at that point in our son's crabby day, so we picked the best one we could find and it worked out just fine.The whole gang- ready for the hay-ride to the tree hill
Elijah doing what he does best... whipping out his "jingle bells" and peeing in the grass- no shame

After some drama, we found our tree
Elijah and Daddy cutting the tree down
My Dad and Brother Willy, graciously tying the tree to their van

Elijah decorating the tree in his usual attire- his underwear
The Finished Product

Lefse11/20 -11/21

Growing up, we made Lefse as a family each year. And, each year, I was asked "What's Lefse?" Well, I have tried to implement the tradition in my family and have succeeded- minus 1 year, I think. Each time we talk about our up-coming Lefse-making extravaganza, we are still asked what it is, because few people have actually heard of it.
This year, I worked until 11 the night before, and 9-5:30 the next morning, so I had to do the "night before" preparation the afternoon before and we weren't able to start until I got home the next evening... but it all worked out just fine.




So, this year, we did 10 pounds of potatoes... You start by peeling and boiling them the day before



Then, you mash them with cream and butter


And here's what they look like, going into the fridge the night before

The next day (or night), be sure to have PLENTY of flour on hand and plenty of HELPERS... This year, Jeremiah's parents came and helped eat the Lefse... I mean make the Lefse. And, Elijah joined in on the fun, as well.





So, after hours of ricing, rolling and frying we had plenty of Lefse... Didn't get any pictures of the ricing part- which Jeremiah did most of after a lesson from THIS LEFSE MASTER... But, it was a long and tiring process- not to mention the clean-up. I think we worked for a good 4 or 5 hours... Here's me, rolling the VERY LAST piece of Lefse. Okay, so I was being dramatic, but I was feeling this exhausted.

You Just Haffa Believe (a peak into my boys mind)

My son is so funny, sometimes, that I thought I would share some of his famous one-liners (and the stories behind them)

The other day, I gave him a bag of bread crusts that nobody had eaten and were beginning to grow. I said "please throw these over the fence for the birds to eat." He replies "AYE AYE CAPTAIN MOMMY" and did just what he was told.

Last week, we took a trip to the library where they have small computers, with a keyboard, mouse, and games made for small children. We sat down at the computer and I asked him what game he wanted to play first. He said "DORA!" to which I replied; "Elijah, they don't have Dora, but they do have Arthur, I Spy, Little Bill, Clifford..." And Elijah says "Sure they have Dora, Mommy. You just haffa to believe".

Then, on our way home from the library, he saw a yellow school bus- which he always points out. He said "There's the yellow school bus that can take me to school." I said, "Yes, Elijah, when you turn 5 you can go to school and ride a school bus, if you want to. But, you will have to ride without mommy or daddy. Will that be okay with you?" To which he replies; "Yes, Mommy. I won't be scared. If I do get scared, I can just sing a song... OH THE WHEELS ON THE BUS GOES ROUND AND ROUND...."

Today, he came up to me and told me "I have green eyes." I reminded him that his eyes were blue and not green. So, he dropped it and went to do something else. Soon, he came back and told us that he was "going to look in the mirror at his blue eyes."

He really never stops talking. Not even in his sleep. Yesterday morning, I went into his room because I heard him whining. He was still asleep, but he said "I need that apple off the tree."

He isn't funny all the time. I'm sure I will find some things slightly more humorous when I am older, and not living that particular experience. But, for example, we have taught him his manners. He is really good at his please, thank-you's, and excuse me's. So good, in fact, that occasionally, when I tell him to do something, he replies "I'm sorry, Mommy, but I'm not going to right now." Or, "No thanks, Mommy, I'm playing with my tractors right now." We often hear people say "at least he was being polite about it" but I almost wonder if you can really make deliberate disobedience "polite." Well, if you can, my son has found a way.

All I can say is, when he's 15, I don't want to know what he'll come up with. He's a clever kid.

13 Weeks and Counting

So, yesterday when Jeremiah, Elijah and I arrived at the doctor's office, I did my normal stuff; BP, Weight, Pee in a Cup.... However, as I was walking into the room the doctor was flying down the hallway and out the door. He had to go deliver a baby... bad timing on that lady's part ;) Anyway, Jeremiah was bummed because he doesn't get to come to every appointment, so missing out on this one was disappointing. However, we re-scheduled for today and it couldn't have gone better (except if Jeremiah could have been there).
With Elijah asleep across two chairs in the exam room, we proceeded with the ultra-sound.... no baby calls today. Usually, we have about 15 minutes or less, but I was the only patient in the building today, so the doctor decided to play with his machine. He took these really cool pictures...

This is a full frontal of Baby Helvey... who will remain Baby Helvey until it's birthday... we will keep the sex a secret when we find out what we're having. Deal with it, Mom ;)

Hear Rate was right around 164- I forget the exact number, due to hormones :)

Dr. Helvey

This year, for Halloween, we made Elijah a Doctor. He always loves to play "doctor", so we felt it would suit him quite well. He loved it. I took an old bathroom bag of ours and hot-glued some red fabric on it and created handles for his "medical bag/candy holder". I bought a stethoscope at Wal-Mart for $1, blue "scrub looking" pants for $4, and an over-sized white button up shirt at Good-Will for $2. I made his name-tag out of paper, cardboard, and a safety pin. His head piece was made out of one of my headbands, a cut-out yogurt lid, and some silver scribbled paper. For $7 and a little (very little) work, we had a costume. I don't think we'll get that lucky next year, as he will probably know what he wants to be and the costume will cost us real money....

The Costume: Pre- Doctor Helvey

He really got into ringing the bell and opening his bag... He said "Trick My Treat" LOL

He kept lagging behind, doing his own thing- wanted to keep his bag zipped until we got to the door... a little OCD

"I'm a Doctor Helvey!"

This sums it up. He had fun, and we- yes, we, got lots of candy. His bag was bulging and overflowing.

Baking cookies on Halloween Day

This past Valentine's Day, I made sugar cookies with all the kids (when I was doing day-care). We cut the cookies into heart shapes and painted them with pink frosting. Well, for about the past 2 weeks, Elijah has been asking me daily to make hearts cookies. How he remembers this stuff, I'll never know, but I'm glad he does. Now I truly know that the things I do with him are creating memories for my little boy... what a reward for this mommy. So, today, I finally decided to suck it up and bake the cookies. This is a challenge for me, as I am not the type of mommy who loves help in the kitchen from little fingers.... I don't even love help from big fingers. I prefer to work on my own. I realize that this is a fault of mine, and I accept it. I let Elijah dump everything into the mixing bowl- he even threw a whole egg in there and I didn't freak! Well, okay, I freaked on the inside, but laughed on the outside. I guess God is working on my patience level on a daily basis... especially since I'm pregnant. My temper grows and patience shrinks when I'm carrying a child, for some reason. Hormones, I guess. Anyway, I didn't get pictures of the pre-baked cookies but here they are, fresh from the oven...

Pumpkins! Actually, it's an apple cookie cutter shape, but we made them pumpkins.

Here's the fun part... painting the cookies...

He is saying "dis is so much fun, Mommy."

I painted the faces on, because Elijah had decided to go take a bubble bath; random? Yes. Looks like I could use some cookie painting practice... But, hey, I actually had fun.

Elijah testing the cookies... "Mmmm... dese are so yummy"

Hiking @ Rock Bridge State Park

The State Park near our house is loaded full of trails. We love to go for hikes on nice days. It's beautiful. We even saw a huge doe this particular time, but I couldn't get the camera to get a good enough shot through the trees in the shade.

On our way to go "fiking"... that's what Elijah calls "hiking"

Gathering his nature treasures in his special zip-loc bag

"Indian's Toilet Paper" is what I told him it was last summer... he still remembers what it is and points it out to me... smart kid

Notice that his bag is empty? That's because he threw all of his treasures in the water behind him. What a fun "fike".

Our final summer picnic

I have been watching my nephew since last fall (today is my final day of that business, however) and let me tell you, 2 two year old boys are a lot to handle at times. This summer, we took lots of outings to the park right around noon. We played for a while, then had ourselves a picnic. My hope was always to burn the boys out enough for them to fall asleep in the van on the way home, but alas, it never did quite work out that way. Here are a few pictures from our last summer picnic... Nothing like some good 'ol PB&J

Serious Business

Hurry and eat so we can play some more!!



BUBBLE TIME!


Now, this is just sweet


He lost his shoe so Elijah was being a helper

However, why hand it to him when you can throw it... Here, Catch!

Due May 12, 2010

A few short weeks ago we found out that I was pregnant. Due to the miscarriage in July, we decided to keep it a secret until we had our first doctor's appointment. We had that appointment today; Wednesday, September 30th. We have been so excited and wanted to share with everyone but didn't want to jump the gun. Today I am 8 weeks along with Baby Helvey. Elijah was at the appointment and got to see his baby brother or sister on the screen... however, he is set on it just being a brother. Today, at the doctor's office was the first time we told him I was pregnant. We are really excited about this pregnancy and have a good feeling about God's timing on it. I have been feeling the normal symptoms; tired and nauseous. Fortunately, though, I have only thrown up a few times. That's good for me. We'll see what the next few weeks bring, but hopefully I won't spend this whole pregnancy with my head in a toilet wherever I am. My doctor will be seeing me again next week and just about as often as that throughout the pregnancy. He has no reason to be concerned right now, but due to the last two losses, he just wants to be on the safe side. How comforting. We love my doctor. We are so blessed to have a doctor as wise and loving as he. He is a strong Christian man. He is a widower with 5 children and has a heart bigger than most anyone I know.




I know the pictures aren't much to see right now, but they are to us. You can see the heartbeat in the 3 second video clip...Heart rate is 142- the same as Elijah's first ultrasound.... does that mean Elijah will get his wish of having a baby brother? We will find out in about 12 weeks!!!!!

(Not a) Twins Fan....

While visiting my family in July, my parents graced us with this lovely outfit for Elijah... Nothing against the Twins, but we are Cardinal's fans here. Later, while leaving Valleyfair, we found this ginormous Twins baseball bat... later creating the perfect photo op! All candid photos, since Elijah refuses to pose for the camera

Nostalgia

When I was four years old, I wore this belt. As I grew, it became something to tie my sleeping bag with. Once I moved from home, I debated getting rid of it, but the pack rat in me (that part of me was inherited from my daddy) decided to hang on to it. I kept it with my other belts, as if I were going to get small enough to wear it again at it's largest extension. However, one day a couple of weeks ago, I put a new pair of shorts on Elijah. For some strange reason, these 24 month shorts had a waist that was too big for my 3T boy. He has short legs, so we have to get him pants in a smaller size or roll the legs up, but he generally doesn't have issues with the waist being too big- it's usually the opposite.
Anyway, I thought "this boy needs a belt, but what am I going to do? We have to leave for church in 10 minutes." Then, it dawned on me... I still have a child's belt tucked away in one of my un-used purses! So, I put it on him and it worked perfectly! He was so excited! He loves to be "just like mommy and daddy", so this was right up his alley.