The Heller Family of 3

Best part of being a mom

2012-02-06T19:58:00.009-07:00

This is my favorite part of being a mommy. Both kids fell asleep on me while i was rocking them one night. I could of sat there all night holding my two babies in my arms. I feel so blessed when i experience moments like this. What healthy, strong, smart and beautiful children i have.

Eric jr

2012-02-01T19:13:00.008-07:00

I can't get over how much Bentley looks like his daddy. I think i am going to start calling him EJ. (Eric Jr.) They are so handsome!

Daddy's helper

2012-02-01T19:10:00.005-07:00

Eric has either a helper to be or an audience. He sat there watching dad tear out the carpet in the basement and seemed to enjoy the noise or his daddy.

Bentley's smile

2012-01-30T18:07:00.006-07:00

Eric was playing around with Bentley one morning and he told me to grab the camera cause he got Bentley to giggle at him. Of course we missed it, but we sure did get some good video of Bentley smiling from ear to ear at his daddy's funny laugh. Love the toothless smiles..

Airborne

2012-01-27T18:59:00.001-07:00

Eric surprised Brooklyn and I, and took us to a place called Airborne. It's full of trampolines and a dodge ball area that has trampolines on the floor and walls. The evens joined us in the fun.

The boys: Chris, Eric, and Bentley hanging out

The kids loved jumping into the pill and throwing "blocks" at one another.

The kids jumped, fell and jumped some more. What a great way to get that extra energy out.

A day in the life of Bentley

2012-01-27T18:44:00.012-07:00

Yes that is Bentley in Brooklyn's blanket...poor boy.

Mommy took Brooklyn out to ride her bike around the block and we had to dress Bentley up warm. He reminds me of a. a snowman or b. the boy off of A Christmas story, when we was sent to school with so much clothes on he couldn't move.

Brooklyn has been playing with our camera a lot recently. A good and bad thing. However, she was able to capture this picture for me. so precious

Bath time x 2

2012-01-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

You don't understand how nervous you get now having two kids. I was very nervous the first time i took them both to the store by my self, i was nervous at bath time. ETC. I know i don't have to give them a bath at the same time. But Brooklyn loved it and she was able to help me bath Bentley and she is pretty independent at washing herself anyway.

*I don't know why i was so nervous, taking them to the store was a breeze, he slept and she got attention, and bath time was the same. He was content in the warm water and she enjoyed washing him and helping mommy.

Just for the record

2012-01-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post a picture of myself with Bentley, so one day he will realized i carried him around with me while i cleaned, on the computer, got the mail, played games and if i was making a simple meal (not using the oven) He was my right hand man. Boy, did he love it.

Princess

2012-01-24T18:04:00.005-07:00

"Look mom, I'm a princess"

Sibling love

2012-01-20T17:54:00.000-07:00

There is beauty all around, when there's love at home.

Bentley's 1 month old

2012-01-15T17:54:00.001-07:00

This boy is so handsome I can't get over it. He is growing so well and FAST. We don't see the doctors until his 2 month appointment so i am not sure what his weight or height is. But he is eating like normal every 3 hours on que.

At night he sleeps for 4 hours and then 3 hours after that. We are not on any schedule yet.
He eats and sleeps whenever he wants to.
He seems like he fights trying to sleep, he rather be awake hanging out with everyone.
He is gripped onto things very well, shirts, hoddie strings, and blankets
He has taken a bottle and breast without a problem. I am so blessed for that.
My breast don't hurt any more when he nurses! HORRAY
He grunts ALL DAY LONG. When he is either farting or pooping. But he is always grunting which i think wakes or keeps him up often.
Brooklyn loves her brother still, and is doing very well with him.
My sister Rayna made his blanket..Love the fabric.
Eric is able to spend more father and son time with him, now that he is awake more.
We are so in love!

Grandma is here!

2012-01-15T17:37:00.000-07:00

Lets just say grandma was in heaven. At least that is what she said. After all you do get to hang out with your grandchildren, meals cooked for you, etc. I know Grandma loved spending some girly time with Brooklyn and playing games all day long.

We wont mention how spoiled Bentley was. He was held i think every minute of the day that he was not in his car seat or at night time. Grandma was in love with that little guy.

She was a mother of three once so i think she revered back to motherhood, playing games with one child and holding the baby. She was sweet enough to allow Eric and I to have some alone time, that ended up costing around $600. ( we were driving and got a nail in the tire, had to replace all 4 tires cause our car is AWD) Two thumbs down way down.

Brooklyn loved having Grandma here. She took Brooklyn Christmas shopping and boy was Brooklyn excited to pick out some toys with Grandma. They played "Supermarket" and " number computer" the rest of the day.

This last night Grandma was here, she was able to spend some quality time with her only and first grandson. She rocked him to sleep and was able to cuddle with him on the bed and make as many memories and she could. As she said, " I know the next time i see him he will be so different"

* Which makes me think, they truly do change and grow so so fast. Which is why i am trying to preserve all these memories and photos instead of doing laundry, dishes and mopping.

Hat buddies

2012-01-12T17:32:00.000-07:00

My sister Rayna sent Bentley a package full of blankets ( she made) and this adorable hat she made also. She also made the hat Brooklyn is wearing. Which she absolutely loves. So i figured dress them up together to go our on our adventure of picking up Grandma at the Airport. They look too darn cute!

First snow in our house

2012-01-07T17:29:00.000-07:00

Most people hate shoveling the drive way and walk way during winter. But i can say this time Eric literally jumped to the occasion of doing the dreaded job. I would of got pictures of him doing it with a smile on his face; but seeing we moved in 2 days before i miss played our camera. Luckily i found it, so i could grab this wonderful shot.

It is what it is

2012-01-07T17:25:00.005-07:00

Brooklyn made sure she had the Bobbie, blanket and the. . . Baby. She is so much wanting to play mommy, she tells me on a daily basis. I am the mommy you are the Brooklyn. She is in love with Bentley and everything to do with being a mommy. Except the diapers with poop in them. "They are so icky" she says.

He is only so small once.

2012-01-05T15:21:00.002-07:00

Just some random pictures of Bentley. As most mothers wish; they wish their babies would stay small forever. Everything is so much more adorable when its small. Toes, fingers, and so on. I am enjoying every minute of our Mr. Bentley, cause i know each day he is changing and growing up.

Daddy and his kid...s

2011-12-31T20:00:00.004-07:00

Just some cute pictures of Daddy playing with the kids.

Weight does matter

2011-12-31T18:13:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of Bentley when he was 2 weeks old.

We had tons of weight checks, because of his low birth weight.

So his birth weight was: 6lbs and 13 oz

At one day old:6 lbs 6oz

At one week old: 6lb 9oz

At 2 weeks old: 7lb 9oz

The doctor was amazed he gained basically a 1lb in a week. Go Bentley. It helps that he is finally all breastfeed or breast milk in a bottle. The first week we bottle fed him, cause we had to try to get his weight up. But now that my milk has came in, he eats. Not like a champ, but getting there we hope.

Bentley's stocking

2011-12-31T18:13:00.000-07:00

This article was taken from our local news online:

Babies delivered to parents in hand-made Christmas stockings

SALT LAKE CITY -- Some new parents got a special delivery wrapped in a stocking today - their newborn children.

For the past 33 years, employees and volunteers at St. Mark's hospital have created giant stockings to give to the parents of newborns. Each is personalized for the baby and given to the parents to take home.
The hospital says many of the parents use the stocking for their kids every year.
"I think it's special for the parents. It's something neat for us to go home with. It will definitely be a memorable Christmas for us," said new father Matt Gibbs.
The St. Mark's Hospital has hand-sewn about 250 stockings for parents to take their babies home in.
The hospital says many of the parents use the stocking for their kids' yearly stocking. Gibbs said that he intends to do just that.

"It's just something to hang on to. A fun story to tell their family," said St. Marks communication director Jenifer Bridges.

Christmas 2012

2011-12-31T16:18:00.000-07:00

We had a very low key Christmas this year. Having Bentley 10 days before Christmas and half the house is packed up due to moving in a week after Christmas. It was nice and simple.

Santa was nice enough to visit us, bringing us some goodies in our stockings and Brooklyn a princess bike! Goodness she must of been a good girl this year.

Our tree Christmas morning.

Christmas morning Brooklyn, mommy and Bentley walking into the living room to see what Christmas morning brings.

Lets just say Brooklyn was so excited to see a bike that she couldn't help but jump right on it, and get started.

Bentley got a gift from Grandma & papa Cottriel. He couldn't help but sleep his way through Christmas day, but we opened his present for him anyways. :)

2011-12-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

We were at Wal mart the other day, and Brooklyn saw this...from her eye level.

She tells Eric and I "Look cheese and hot dog"

I just have to say i am one proud mother, that my child does not know who Sponge bob is. Hooray!

This is the full image:

Random pictures I had to post

2011-12-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

Goodness look how tired i look. I guess that is the look of a mother of a new born.

He is so small in his car seat.

Sibling love.

Daddy and his kids.

6 days old

2011-12-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

I let Brooklyn take some pictures of me while i was holding him. I was surprised at how good some of those pictures came out. Since Bentley was so small at birth 6lb 13oz he was drowning in the Newborn size clothes, so we were able to find some preemie for him to wear. He looked so much better, still so small but just as handsome!

I can't get over how handsome he is.

Trying to be just like mom

2011-12-29T15:01:00.010-07:00

Brooklyn has always tried to be a little mommy, or copy the things i do. That's a good and bad thing. Eric and I both found this a little humorous. Love how smart that girl is.

Friends with Bentley

2011-12-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

Michelle holding Bentley.


Melanie holding Bentley.

Melanie, was there for the birth of Brooklyn, like literally there, she was holding my left leg while i pushed. So it was fun to see her with Bentley and Brooklyn.

Being silly.

Michelle, enjoying cuddling time.

Bentley's birth story

2011-12-28T18:13:00.001-07:00

We scheduled an induction on December 15th. I was told to call at 6am to see what time we should come in. I called and was told to call back at 8am. So of course on one of the most important days of your life, you can't just go back to sleep. I have no idea what exactly i did, but at 8am i called and was told to come in.

Last picture at 39 weeks pregnant with Bentley.

Last family picture with Brooklyn and only one kid.

We got to the hospital around 9am after dropping Brooklyn off with the Evans. It to about 30 minutes until they we were able to register and get a room. About 15 minutes or so before we got there they had someone give birth at the gas station, so she was rushed to the labor and delivery. We were counting our blessings we were able to deliver in the hospital vs a car. Very scary thought.

All dressed up "hospital style"

Just some random pictures

All smiles before the contractions start.

They started the pitocin at around 10ish. And honestly we were going to keep track of everything, time of water breaking and etc; but didn't. The nurse predicted that we would have the baby around 5pm. She was off by an hour. I pushed for about an hour. I had the same issue this time that i did with Brooklyn. I didn't know if i was pushing right.

Because of the Epidural i was so numb there, i couldn't tell. Then I felt pressure. lots of pressure, i didn't feel that with Brooklyn, so this time i just HAD to push and no joke 5 minutes later Bentley was brought into this world.

He didn't cry at first, so i had to check to make sure he was alive and okay. Then he let out a nice cry. I was so excited that there were no issues and that i was able to hold Bentley as soon as he came out. He was so adorable, it was so surreal.

He weighed 6 lb and 13 oz. What a small boy he was.

I was so over whelmed with love and amazement that we were parents again, and to a little boy. He is so precious and adorable.

Bentley looking up at his mommy.

Labor and Delivery room the board the nurse wrote on. Kim and Suzanna were my main nurses. Suzanna was the one who helped me with everything and was there for the delivery. She was such a sweet, and patient nurse. On the board it says:

Goal: Healthy baby Boy

Sister is 3yrs old "brooklyn"

Epidural

Breastfeed

Eric-Dad will NOT cut cord.

"Bentley"

Eric making the phone calls to family letting them know of the wonderful news!
We left Labor and Delivery after an hour or so and we got our own room in the recovery level.
After Bentley and I were settled into the room, Eric left to go pick up Brooklyn and bring her to the hospital to introduce her to her brother. When Brooklyn and Eric walked into the room, I asked Brooklyn if she wanted to meet her Brother, she was very nervous and said no, then immediately afterwards she asked to hold him. She was in amazement, that the baby was not in mommies tummy any more, but on her lap.

First time holding her baby brother Bentley.

Brooklyn was still very hesitant to hold him, but when she did she was in love. She got very nervous when he started to cry and didn't want to hold him anymore.

First family photo.

What an exciting day for us all. please ignore how...swollen i look.

Taking a look at his hair, not a ton but at least its not all peach fuzz.

Since i was feeling so great after this delivery, we decided we wanted to leave the hospital after 24 hours, plus i just wanted to sleep in my own bed and be out of the hospital. Brooklyn and I took many walks around the hospital, a. because it felt so good to walk, and b. Brooklyn is 3 and can't sit still. While we were out on our walks, Eric enjoyed some rest along side with his son.

Breastfeeding: I struggled big time with Brooklyn latching on, and the result was she was never breastfeed. I think it was due to the face that i was not able to hold her or have that skin to skin contact until 2-3 hours after i had her. Which broke my heart, because that was always something i looked forward to. So this pregnancy i was determined to have Bentley breastfed. Since i was able to hold him right away and have that immediate bonding experience and offer the breast, i think it helped tremendously. Bentley is still currently breastfeeding, we have stumbled into some issues, but we are working through them. As much as i hate waking up in the middle of the night to feed him, once i am awake and feeding him, i love the time we have together.

I feel so blessed to have such an amazing husband who took care of his family and wife the first week. Cleaned, did laundry, cooked, entertained Brooklyn and so much more. I remember walking around the apartment holding Bentley and Eric was vacuuming and i told him, i am just so happy. He smiled and said, "Good". Thanks again Eric for all you did and always do.

Bentley Eric Heller

2011-12-19T07:17:00.000-07:00

Bentley Eric Heller
6lb 13 oz
Born 12.15.2011
at 6:05pm
18 inches long

He is so adorable, and we are enjoying every minute of it.

A boy....oh boy!

2011-12-12T06:41:00.000-07:00

Looking at this picture gives me butterflies knowing i will meet him in a few days! I am so excited to what Heavenly Father has saved for us to raise. It still doesn't seem real, the fact that i am pregnant and we are going to be holding our son in a couple days. It really is a miracle how, the whole thing. Creating a child, having it grow inside of you and then the instant love you have for this little person. It keeps me in amazement.
To be honest i am a little scared, scared cause i have never raised boys or been around boys that were babies. Yes, i watched a dozen or so infant boys for baby sitting and what not. But not a boy 24 hours 7 days a week. I had all sisters, all nieces i lived with, and our own little girl.. now we are hit with a boy. Where is the user manual! I know Eric will be a lot of help. But being a mother to an infant i feel so unsure of my self....again. I am sure once i hold that baby in my arms that my hesitation will diminish, and i will be left with a flood of memories of Brooklyn as a baby.
I am hoping this delivery, if i make it to Thursday, will be a lot more simple them Brooklyn was. I hope for speed to be on our side along with a healthy child who wants to come out. I hope for skin to skin contact immediately after delivery. And a child who is hungry and will let mother nature take its course. I feel like i will be a lot less stressed out this delivery, since i have done it before and i know what to expect.
I am looking forward to Thursday no doubt, but i am also making sure Brooklyn gets plenty of mommy and me time before then. Lots of Candy land, coloring, play dough, painting, movies with hot cocoa and cuddling.

Let's go swimming in Dec....in Utah?

2011-12-08T10:27:00.001-07:00

So you guessed it, Brooklyn was begging Eric to take her swimming and he kept telling her "no, its to cold out side". She later She told Eric that mom will take her swimming..

Boy that girl is lucky! After explaining it to her and almost having her stand out side in 20 degree weather with her bathing suit on, that its too cold to go swimming out side; she was okay with going swimming in the bath tub. Bathing suit, floats and WARM water she was set. Some times she just makes you laugh and wonder what is going on in that head of hers.

Almost time!

2011-12-08T09:26:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn was trying to show me how big her tummy is, she said she has 2 babies in there! What a ham.

Basically 38 weeks. Technically in that picture I am 37 5/7 pregnant. That doctors appointment was successful. Let me rewind.

Started going weekly:

35 5/7: 50% effaced and 0 Dilated

36 5/7 weeks: 50% effaced and 0 Dilated

37 5/7 weeks: 70% effaced and 2 cm Dilated.

Excited cause since i was dilated or my cervix was "favorable" we were able to talk induction or inducing dates. We were scared to have a Christmas baby, being due on the 22 and all. Not the fact that i would be in the hospital on Christmas, but in the future. I would hate to have our son's birthday over looked on Christmas or visa versa. I know Christmas is such an amazing holiday it would almost be a blessing to be born on the "date" we celebrate Christ's birth, but i wanted him to have his own special day. So back on track, our doctor was okay with scheduling a date to be induced. We decided on the 15th since i will be 39 weeks then. However, we have another Birthday on the 15th of December as well. So if all goes to plan he will be sharing his birthday with Grandpa Heller. ( Eric's dad) We are excited since it is a week from today we will be at the hospital! And thankful our dear friends will be watching Brooklyn for us. So many blessings are being placed in our lives, we couldn't ask for more.

ZOO

2011-12-08T07:20:00.004-07:00

Brooklyn and I headed up to the zoo one last time this year to get a gimps of what crazy animals would be active when its 20 degrees outside. Well to be surprised not many, and some were moved for the "season"

yes that is my belly, nice and round.

There were animals here and there, but the Tigers were by far the most active. We were lucky enough to actually see one pounce on another. Far from the movies but still very entertaining.

Salt lake Temple Lights

2011-12-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

While Grandma and Grandpa Heller were in town we enjoyed some Holiday spirit by going to walk on Temple grounds and enjoy the Christmas lights!

Kathy, Kevin and Jeff

Beautiful shot of the temple and lights on trees

The temple with the reflection pond that has a white nativity in the middle with floating lights...simply beautiful.

Such a beautiful place to remember the saviors birth and to stand on such sacred grounds.

Grandma and papa Heller Visit

2011-12-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

Basically Brooklyn had a blast with Grandma and papa Heller! They did TONS of activities together and played all day long.

Out to dinner eating with Grandma

Playing foam crafts

Playing Domino s with Grandma

Up to the sky with Grandma, after she dressed him with her winter hat.

Grandpa shared his special cereal and OJ with Brooklyn, boy was she a happy girl.

Playing with her animals. I think she was telling me that they were about to pray..(sacrament meeting?)

Grandpa's turn to play with the animals

Brooklyn's great grandma made her these fabric dolls that you can change their outfit, she had a blast playing with them. Thanks Big grandma!

Getting dinner ready.

We painted our hands on a table cloth this year to start a new tradition, I think B was waiting to see who was next. She even helped set the table.

Sneaking in some turkey while grandpa was carving it. She oh so loved it.

Papa and his grand ol` turkey! it was so delicious!

Painting crafts after dinner

Brooklyn helped papa play some games on his phone and cuddled and watch a movie with him later on.

It was a fun filled weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Heller, and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Just another day

2011-12-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

If you were to go into Brooklyn's room you would see toys and stuffed animals. Not a ton, but not by any means a small amount of toys. We have tried to "declutter" her room many times, and our bags end up empty. She is a very well rounded child. She plays with all her stuffed animals. As you can see they are either her babies ( with a diaper on) or She makes them all watch a movie or reads books to them. Second she plays with anything from Blocks to little Toy story action figures to Little people people and babies. She loves them all.

This picture is a picture of the mommy Elephant and HER baby elephant which name is princess, she finally told us. I think its cute she is leaning in towards them to take a picture. What a silly girl.

Princess on Ice

2011-12-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

So our Anniversary and my birthday are just days apart and they both happen to be on the weekend. So Eric surprised Brooklyn and I with tickets to go see Princess on Ice. It was such a sweet idea, something he knew both her and I would love. Unfortunately, Eric and I came down with cold flu days before we were suppose to go, but like champs we were all drugged up and ready to enjoy our event regardless of how we felt. Plus the tickets were not refundable. :)

Brooklyn was so excited to get in. I love seeing what a big girl she is, giving the usher her ticket and acting independent.

Waiting for it to start. I was amazed at how amazingly close Eric got our seats to be, we were like row 5 or something. Perfect.

It first started with Micky Mouse and the group talking and goofing off of course, and then it started with doing some story lines with songs and ice skating.

Alice in wonderland.

( Brooklyn has never seen this movie, so i think she was a little out of it at first.)

But then came Peter Pan!

She was in aw at how Tinker Bell flew over the ice and then landed and started to skate. They even had a Crocodile. I was impressed at how well the skaters skated, "sang" and acted. It was such an adorable performance.

The Lion King, Brooklyn's favorite.

Except when scar came out and did his stuff she started to cry, she thought he was so real. I had to explain to her that he was in a costume just like Halloween. After that she was all for it! And even shared dad her little secret.

The Little Mermaid

The costumes were so well put together.

Aladdin

Jasmine and Aladdin, flowing on a carpet ride.

Snow White and the seven dwarfs.

Brooklyn hasn't seen this one either, but once she saw it on the ice we have watched it half a dozen times at home since then. She gets all excited cause she has seem them before on the ice.

Princess and the frog & Tangled

Both are movies Brooklyn love. She was beside her self when she saw tangled and then when she saw Tania ( princess and the frog) she was amazed. She kept telling us who they were.

All the princess and their princes' skating around singing some Disney love song.

All the princess and prince again waving good bye.

I would of LOVED to watch then perform the "story line" of each of the princess. They only did a few due to time i assume. But over all i was very impressed and i loved watching Brooklyn want to skate, sing and dance. What a fun experience.

Good job sweetie your girls enjoyed every minute of it!

A little proud

2011-11-16T09:24:00.003-07:00

Last night Brooklyn was watching Monsters Inc. while i was doing house stuff, she comes up to me near the end of the movie and says.." mom i see Jesse, and Nemo" I was a little confused at first and she kept on pointing to the TV. Brooklyn is a very smart girl and has surprised us a dozen or more times. So i replayed the clip a few minutes back and sure enough, we saw Jesse ( Toy Story2/3) and Nemo. I was amazed that she caught those little subliminal notes.

A little in aww of how smart and observant that girl is. She is very much like her father. But at the same time a little scared. Pixar can throw in little things like that and a 3 year old notices it. I wonder what other movies have hidden stuff in them, that are not so noticeable to the naked eye, but we see and accept it. Just a little something to think about.

Under contract.

2011-11-16T08:04:00.000-07:00

Under contract

Short sale

Mortgage

Closing costs

Appraisal

lender

Finance

FHA

Offer/ Back up offer

Final walk through

Mortgage rates

Signing

Earnest money

Settlements

Lock in your rate

Title

. . . boy the list can go on.

All these words really didn't mean much to use 6 months ago. Could I of told you what they all meant, probably not. But we were hit with the quick crash course on Real Estate and Financing since Oct. And boy has it been an interesting ride. At first we were so excited to look at homes. We knew what we wanted, and we knew what we wanted to pay, but did i ever think we would get there... absolutely not. After about the 3 week of looking a homes often throughout the week and looking on line almost hourly, we felt so tired of the whole process.

I like to compare it to dating. Dating is fun and exciting at first, and over time you just want to find your husband and get on with your life. Right?

Well, this is how we stumbled upon "our" house, we really liked the area and once we saw the house we put a back up offer on it. Assuming we wouldn't get it, because of how well kept it was, the area and the price. A few weeks went by and we got a call from our Agent, the price the bank wanted was more than we offered, but we were the first one to be offered it. After many phone calls between our Loan officer, Agent, Eric and I. We decided to accept it at that price. It all started.

So for the time being we were DONE looking at homes! Let me rephrase that, I was done and happy to be done looking at homes. Eric on the other hand as much as he wanted that house, he still kept an eye out for Plan B. We got all our paper work together, everything but a urine sample to give to the Mortgage company.

We received our Acceptance letter from the bank on Monday, Nov 14th. So in Real Estate terms, We are currently under contract.

This whole journey has been a lot of fun and quick!

The plan is to close in January. We originally agreed to move in Dec 8th, but this is Real Estate, NOTHING is certain. Which, if you know me drives me crazy! I have a baby and holidays to prepare for i need to know when i am moving. But in the end it's a blessing we are not moving until Jan. A blessing we didn't realized until Heavenly Father put it in front of us. We will be able to start the new year with a new baby, new house and a new appreciation for owning a home.

We are so happy to say good bye to apartment life; and finally have a home to call our own.

Just a few things I love about this home:

It looks beautiful from the out side, and once we get inside of it, it will be more beautiful inside.

I love the size of our back yard. Perfect for us.

I love our bedroom

I think I will love having a basement and able to have that be the TV/Play area.

I am glad we were able to get a 2 car garage= STORAGE!

Basement- guest can stay and not have their stuff in the living room, it will help minimize clutter.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-09T08:19:00.003-07:00

Truck or Treat:

Brooklyn loved mom's "bone" shirt, and she would pet her brother over and over.

Eric passed out candy and Brooklyn helped once she was done getting her own.

Look how excited that little Rapunzel is to go out and get some CANDY!

Showing off her PURPLE ( new favorite color) bucket.

Halloween night:

We went out with the Evans once again. The kids always have so much fun together. They were calling each other by their costume name, instead of their actual name...Rapunzel wait up! Where did the Cat in the hat go? Come on Cowboy! They were such troopers this year they went from house to house, ( Brooklyn ran) for a little over an hour. Until it got cold and their candy buckets were to heavy! What a great time we had.

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins!

2011-11-03T12:39:00.000-06:00

First, look at how Brooklyn is arching herself back so while dad STABS the pumpkin! I thought that was funny and didn't realize it until i uploaded the image. So on that note, Brooklyn was very excited about getting pumpkins and coloring and carving them.

Brooklyn and i started to work on ours while dad was carving his master piece. I realized just how big my stomach was when i was holding onto that pumpkin. Thanks goodness the baby is not that heavy, but i feel like my stomach is just as BIG.

Trying to document the size of my stomach and the pumpkin size, you can see Eric's true feelings for his pregnant wife!

I have to say i really honestly hate putting my hands inside the pumpkin and cleaning it out. Its sticky, slimy and makes me itch. But I do it anyways. However, Brooklyn would not put her hands inside and Eric had to use gloves. So maybe i should of joined in on the wussing out part.

Look at my baby go to work...wait do u see his muscles..i do.. hehe

Our finished products.

You can call us the typical carvers, we didn't go over and beyond, we didn't carve out a ghost or a vampire. We were simple Eyes, nose and a mouth and we were happy.

and obviously Brooklyn was happy too. She was trying to be silly like the pumpkins!

My 31 week photo.

A visit from a young friend

2011-11-03T10:06:00.000-06:00

We had a good friend of mine and Brooklyn move away a few months ago, and Brooklyn was missing Ruby for the first few weeks like crazy. So when Tiffany called me up and said she was going to be in town, we knew we had to get the girls together. Plus we are both pregnant and due in Dec so we had to see one another's belly bump.

We headed to the Farm once again the year and met up with our long lost friends. The younger girls were so funny together. And i am kicking myself i didn't get a picture of Tiffany and I together with our baby bumps! ahh. But we had such a nice time talking and catching up.

The Dinosaur is coming!

2011-11-02T11:14:00.004-06:00

This is one reason why i don't mind buying Brooklyn toys. She reminds me of Andy off Toy Story who plays with all his toys, even Mrs. Potato head ( who is his sister's toy)

She came into the living room and was telling Eric and I, how we needed to see the Dinosaur is coming. So we continue into her room and see this.

The Dinosaur is coming!

So all the toys and people are hiding behind her little people car wash.

Its so cute to see the dinosaur is all by him self, because everyone else is scared. Very great imagination!

This is how Brooklyn shares

2011-11-02T10:03:00.001-06:00

Brooklyn puts ALL her animals into the laundry basket and tries to read to them. When she is not reading to them, she is pushing them around. I love watching her play.

Eric's another year. . . wiser!

2011-11-02T09:48:00.004-06:00

Eric turned another year wiser, and with just one gift to open, he wasn't even able to open it! His main gift is not "available" until mid November.

Brooklyn made her dad a mug that she colored and decorated. She was so excited about it, that she opened it for him and then gave it to him. She was proud of her art work!

Eric got a cake, but once again we were told by Brooklyn that Daddy needed a Dragon cake. Dragon cake: How to train your Dragon movie. So mom tried to make that happen

Once Brooklyn saw the water, grass, flowers and the Dragon she was so beside herself. And of course once again, Brooklyn HELPED dad blow out the candles.

Why i love that girl!

2011-11-01T08:07:00.003-06:00

Brooklyn will always put a smile on my face. Even if she is doing something she is not suppose to be doing. She is very smart.

She reminds me so much of my self; she has my attitude, emotion, charm, silliness, and love.

She has a great imagination, and loves to play with all her toys and LOVES the crafts mom brings home for her. (Felt boards, puppets etc) She is very diverse in her love of playing. She loves to push her babies in the stroller and she will have her dinosaurs fighting the next minute.

She loves to cuddle. I could never get her to cuddle with me when she was a baby, but now she loves to be rocked, held, back rubbed, and hugged.

She is going to be a great BIG sister. Whenever we see a baby she o0o and ahhhs over them. She whispers to me, how cute the baby is. She has the most adorable smile on her face when she is adoring that baby.

She tells us often, what to do when the baby comes, and how she is going to pet him and feed him and she change his diaper! We are very much excited for Brooklyn to be a big sister, and enter this chapter into her life that she will excel at. It has been an amazing 3 years only having Brooklyn as our only child. We love the one on one time we get with her and we hope to continue it when her Brother is born. We are looking forward to having our hands full once again with a new born and the joys of a toddler along with them! Wish us luck.

Do what mommy do.

2011-10-23T13:43:00.000-06:00

Brooklyn joins me to see my OBGYN for the pregnancy. She has learned a few things the last few times. She asked me to lay down many times to measure me. Or she will measure herself and then listen to the heart beat at well. What a smart girl..She loves do to anything mommy is doing regarding the baby.

She always says " I do what mommy do" She will touch the tummy and try to feel the baby "bump" or "kick". She will sit by me and rub the tummy. She is so excited for her baby brother. She tells me stories of what we are going to do when he comes out. I love it. I just hope it continues, when the baby does come out.

I'm like Jesus

2011-10-15T13:27:00.000-06:00

Brooklyn got out of the shower one evening, and said..." Look mom, I'm Jesus." Super cute, I explained to her that Jesus' mom had cloth over her head as well. And that many people did just like Jesus. She is so cute..I love the stuff she says.

Pumpkin cookies

2011-10-10T07:45:00.000-06:00

A few days ago, I was asking Brooklyn if she wanted to make Pumpkin cookies, in my mind i was thinking Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies. So we continued along with mixing and baking them up. Brooklyn thought the dough was yummy, of course. However, half way through baking the cookies, she asked me when are we going to make Pumpkin cookies. I continued to tell her "honey, these are pumpkin cookies" , i showed her the pumpkin picture on the can. She almost broke down crying. I was thinking these:

And she was thinking these:

Needless to say i told Eric the story, how simple one little thing could be confusing to a kid who has not been around and knows what sugar cookies are vs pumpkin cookies. Daddy was kind enough to make some with her Saturday night. She was so excited. I think she actually eat more frosting from the can then she got onto the cookies. The joys of childhood.

Brooklyn turned 3!

2011-09-19T08:07:00.001-06:00

Our first born is 3 years old, and boy does she fit the part. She is way to smart for her age, she is independent, emotional and is going on 13.

Brooklyn got some awesome gifts from friends and family. She was thrilled to open up the most simplest thing...like M&M's. Enjoying the simple things.

Zoo with Grandma

2011-09-19T07:40:00.001-06:00

When we started telling Brooklyn that her Birthday was coming up, she didn't fully understand. We continued to explain, Grandmas going to be here, you get to eat cake, have some presents and blow out candles. We eventually added on, when grandma comes and you turn 3 we are going to go to the zoo. Gosh was she excited about that.

For about a month before her birthday she would tell us, "when grandma comes, and i turn 3, i get a pink cake and go to zoo!" she was thrilled with the idea. When we pulled into the zoo, Brooklyn could not help but want to jump out and run to all the animals.

It was so cute, Brooklyn found this "mommy and Brooklyn" lion and wanted me to come sit on them with her. It was so adorable. She enjoyed every minute of it.

Brooklyn and Grandma got to spend a lot of time together.

It has been over maybe 20 years since Eric and his mom have been to the zoo together. I had to get a picture! Love the face sweetie- NOT.

Brooklyn thought the rhinos shinny horns on the mental display was pretty cool.

We were able to see half of the Elephant show, which is always my favorite. I could watch the Elephants and Giraffes for hours. Brooklyn, Grandma and mom were sitting down watching the end of the show. And one of the trainers gave the Elephant a command and i guess he did the wrong act for the command, cause the next thing you see is water being squired all over us. Don't ask me where the water came from, but Brooklyn was so excited to be splashed by the Elephants. It is one of the things she talks about when she sees an Elephant or a picture of one.

It was so cute, when we passed this sign, Brooklyn ran right up to it and put our her hands. like she knew mom would want a picture. Looks like she is almost a Juvenile - no please no, not ready for that yet.

We went on a train ride to see some other cool animals as well. Brooklyn sat with Grandma and was a little nervous, but she held onto grandma's hand and was safe.

Some cute cubs we found.

Brooklyn and Grandma outside of the zoo. It was a beautiful and perfect day.

3 year old check up

2011-09-12T13:58:00.001-06:00

Brooklyn is officially 3, and boy does she act it. I truly believe now, that 3 is a harder age then 2.

So the stats on Brooklyn from the Doctors

Weight: 33lbs (71 percentile )

Height: 38.25 inches ( 76 percentile )

She is right on track with everything.

She is doing wonderful with talking and colors, shapes, numbers and so on.

She uses about 4-5 word sentences.

She gives us her opinion on things.

She tells us what she likes and doesn't like.

She understands her baby brother is in mommies tummy.

She liked to make friends.

Still pretty shy, but once she warms up she is herself.

One thing i noticed is, it seems like she doesn't like attention. When i tell her good job on a task, and other people are around, she will give me a look or tell me no.

She is potty trained and has been for a few months now. -whew!

We are very proud of her.

Yellowstone Bear World

2011-08-31T10:10:00.000-06:00

This is how it all started:

We planned an extra day off together one weekend in Aug to get something done, when that fell through we decided to keep the day off so we could spend some time together. We didn't have anything planned; at least that is what i thought. Thursday i come walking into the house after work, and i am not greeted with the normal. . . silence. (except for the normal tv and brooklyn noise) I was told the second i walked in, by Eric, that i had 5 minutes to pack what i wanted to wear today and tomorrow. Let me just tell you, this boy has done this before and he always has something up his sleeve, but gosh i love it!

So i hurried into the room and saw a suit case with our normal stuff in it, and some outfits Eric thought i might like. I pack everything that i need into the bag, while i continue to ask question after question about where we are going? will it be indoor or out?bathing suit? the list goes on. not a peep from him, just "hurry you got 2 minutes left"

We get into the car, and its all packed up with books and goodies for Brooklyn. . .and I. ( this pregnant girl has to eat). I continue with the questions and to my surprise Eric tells me he told Brooklyn. So i knew i could find out. I ask Brooklyn where we are driving to and she responds with going on a plane. I knew we weren't due to the 3 oz liquid rule. :) So i ask her a few more times and she tells me to see. . . BEARS!

Bear World! We had talked about it before and thought it would be fun to go, and we were on our way. I was excited to be out and about with the family. And on a road trip, since we haven't been on one recently!

And one thing i was extremely excited about was our hotel. Let me explain, i don't care to much about the hotel in general, the little bottles of shampoo and uneasy feeling about the blankets. But what i love most of all is the breakfast! Eric thinks i am very weird for being excited over something so small. and to be honest with you i am not sure why i look forward to it, Is is the free breakfast that gets me, or the variety, or the endless supply. I am not sure still but either way it was wonderful to say the least. We went swimming, out to dinner and on a walk, it was a very nice evening. Getting ready for the day ahead.

Brooklyn was excited once she saw the sign and the bear.

She kept telling me that was the mama bear. Just admiring the bear and the flowers. We were planning on driving thought first then getting out and looking around. But Eric has to use the restroom and once Brooklyn and i got out we were so hooked on looking and petting all the animals!

We walked into the petting zoo, a real petting zoo you can walk around in and those two deers were either trying to get out or getting ready for breakfast. But i was surprised at how confident Brooklyn was with going up to the animals and petting them.

My favorite part was the pig of course! he was so huge and didn't move the whole time we were there. Smart one he was, he was in the shade on some wet grass, why move.

Brooklyn and the big fat PIG!

Brooklyn trying to feed the deer grass, but unfortunately they were smart enough to wait until daddy got some quarters to put into the food dispenser to wait for some real food.

This was the baby deer, we were told not to pet her because she has been getting sick from humans. Poor thing. She was quiet adorable soaking up the sun.

okay i am going to make myself sound really dumb, but i am not sure what he is. He looks like a lama, but i'm not sure. Anyways he was super cute and attentive as well.

After the restroom visit and some petting zoo, we headed into the car to see the bears! Once again unfortunately we were stuck behind a HUGE RV that was towing a car along, which made it a lot slower. Eric was getting a tiny nervous when we entered the bear part, cause the park ranger told us to keep our windows up, don't stop the car and the bears will probably want to get on top of the pilot. Great! now we get to worry about that. The HUGE rv took forever trying to make the turned which made us stop, countless times, but thank goodness the bears were not too active cause we didn't have any issues with bears on our car!

We were surprised with how many bears there actually were, some in the water. Most of them either walking around or sleeping in the shaded areas.

You know bears are big, but i guess you don't realized how big they actually are until you see them in person. Amazing animals! After that we headed back to the petting zoo, Brooklyn and i couldn't get enough of the interaction with the animals.

Even daddy joined in on feeding the dears.

And everything one else that came up to him.

He was a popular man for a while, with all that food in his hand.

While daddy and Brooklyn fed the animals i sat down next to some deer to enjoy some time with them.

They are so beautiful! I was able to sit with them for a while and just pet and rub their noses. Boy do those deers love to have their noses rubbed. Just like dogs!

Eric came up to me and was watching me sit next to the deer, I quickly looked up with the biggest puppy dog eyes i could have and asked if we could have a deer! But you know what his response was.

while i was spending time with the deers, i look over and saw Brooklyn approach. . him and enjoy him just as much as i was. It was so sweet to watch her be so gentle with these animals.

Next we watched the baby bears! Up close and personal! They were so cute! The trainers got them all roudy so they would splash in the water or jump on each other and play. Brooklyn loved watching them "fight" as she says.

Couldn't resist the next picture!

Almost there sweetie!

Mama and baby bear!

They also had a place were you could ride the amusement rides! The bonus of going on a week day and int he morning was no lines! Plus this was Brooklyn's first time on a roller coaster or ride ever! Since there was a weight limit, I was luck enough to take brooklyn. Not sure if my stomach fit in all of those rides, but hey i was under the 180lbs mark! She has so much fun, waving at dad, putting her arms in the air. She is for sure a dare devil! She made it so much fun, i couldn't stop laughing.

We had such a great time, we will for sure go ahead in the near future. Thanks sweetie for making this surprise trip PERFECT!

Thanksgiving point 2011

2011-08-30T11:35:00.000-06:00

In August Thanksgiving point lets you enter into their "park" for 2 dollars a person on Tuesday! So of course we took full advantage of this. Michelle and I packed up the kids and headed south. The kids loved being so close to one another.

If you would of thought they would of had enough of each other in the car, no way they continued hand in hand as we approached the Dinasour Museum. Boy were they excited to see dinosaurs.

Half way through the museum they have a "sand bar" where you can play with sand, water and little dinosaurs. I don't know what the designers were thinking, putting a bunch of little toddlers in a room with sand and water. That room stunk so bad, and the kids always come out wet and who knows what on their hands. Yes, they did have a hand washing station, but of course the paper towels were out and the water worked if you were able to jump in a circle and pat your tummy at the same time. So after that "fun" experience, we continued on through the museum.

What a cute picture of Michelle and her boys! Brooklyn on the other hand wanted nothing to do with this room. She is scared of sharks, and whenever she sees one and is calm enough to look at it, she is asking for a band aid for its owies in its mouth. ( the blood on its teeth) poor girl, i guess we won't be watching Jaws anytime soon.

The kids really enjoyed all the bones and how they were arranged together. Example, a couple of cavemen throwing spears at the Mammoth.

In another park of the museum they had a more hands on fun for the kids, they were able to dig for fossils. Which also included sand and thank goodness no water with it. Just stinky feet, and sand throwing. The boys caught on with the paint brush and brushing away at the fossils over time, but Brooklyn kept on wanting to dig with it.

Next on the list was to visit the Farm. This is a different farm then the one we go to often. We should of just lived on a farm, now that i think of all the times we have "visited" farm animals! This Barn/Farm land you were able to pet the animals and go on a hay ride along with a pony ride. Yee- Haaw!

Ben and Brooklyn watching the other kids on the pony, and trying to wait patiently for their turn. They had their ponies all picked out and were ready to ride!

Owen on his horse, what a proud boy.

Brooklyn, should of been a cow girl,. . . or horse girl!

Ben riding that horse like a pro.

This is my little pride and joy after i told her we were all done with our turn. What a broken heart she had. Maybe she can ask Daddy for a pony for her Birthday.

Some of the horses you see at these places look so warn down, but this horse was beautiful! i am going to call her a she, cause i don't remember what {she} is. She was so tall, dark, build and clean looking i was amazed. She defiantly needed to be out in the fields running around vs sitting in this gated area.

After we saw all the animals and did the hay ride we got ice cream, and boy did they enjoy every bite. Even the bites that didn't make it into their mouths.

What made me smile

2011-08-15T12:39:00.000-06:00

Things that made me smile this week:
We have been practicing names for example, Brooklyn Heller Eric Heller, and Ben & Owen ( her boyfriends names) etc. Saturday, Brooklyn was in the kitchen, Eric and I were in our room organizing and all of a sudden you hear, EWIC! I started to laugh, it was so cute! she didn't try dad or mom but Ewic. way to cute! By the way, i am mommy Heller.

Second thing that made me smile:

We had a GPS in our car for a few weeks and have been in between them currently. So no GPS in the car this week. However, Sunday we were driving to a friends house to pick up some stuff, and Brooklyn says, turn right.
Just like the voice on the GPS. It made me laugh for a good while. :)

We are having a. . .

2011-08-08T19:15:00.000-06:00

We are very excited about having a little boy to add to our family. When we were told in the ultrasound room i got a little emotional. Maybe for more than two reasons, maybe because it makes it more official and real. Maybe because i have no idea how a boy is and what to expect. Maybe because this little guy is going to be out in a few months and our lives will be changed forever by him. Either way we are thrilled and excited, Eric is too. His ultrasound results in: being a boy and totally healthy. We were lucky to get about 11 pictures and a DVD of him. Brooklyn knows it's a boy in the tummy and she is so ready to play with him and take a bath with him. She tells me every night. We are so blessed to be given this child to raise on this earth. I just hope we are ready do a good job.

Baby Belly. . . half way there

2011-08-08T15:53:00.001-06:00

What Brooklyn is good with

2011-08-04T15:30:00.001-06:00

Brooklyn has been "matching" things for the last few months like crazy, shoes, toys food you name it, she will find its match. so she did the same thing to her letters on the fridge. And if your luck and there are 3 of the same thing, she will tell you which one is the daddy, mommy and Brooklyn. :)

2 of a kind is a "same"

3 of a kind is a daddy, mommy and Brooklyn.

4 of a kind she might add in the baby.

Such an important person in her life

2011-08-04T07:37:00.000-06:00

I think growing up with your father being active in your life, is very important. I feel blessed to have my dad as an important figure in my life. And i am glad Brooklyn has a dad that spends time with her too. Its so important to a daughter to have that in her life. Brooklyn is so in love with her dad its adorable. She LOVES anything dad does. And i am glad to see Eric do somethings with her she enjoys.

Southern California trip

2011-07-28T15:36:00.004-06:00

Our trip to visit family in Southern California was pretty fun and filled with lots of . . .family. :) We stayed at my mom and Brooklyn just loved the cats; of course. On Friday we went to a place called Sky City (goggle it) very smart company idea. They had 3 different rooms for different age groups full of bounce houses and bounce slides. Brooklyn had so much fun we went to the older kids room, where the slides were steeper, but there was nothing that was going to stop here. She is our little dare devil. Plus grandma had just as much fun going down the slides and boy were they both warn out. Brooklyn even did a few face plants, when her feet would get in the way. Pretty fun place.

Click on image to enlarge

Saturday morning we were up bright and early, which was not any different then when Brooklyn and i woke up. . .around 5:30 ..ugh. But this time we were up with a purpose, to go on Aunt Rayna and Uncle Travis' boat. Brooklyn has seen lakes before, but was never this personal with one. This was her first time on the boat and in a lake..she acted how she acts most of the time when something new arises. She was unsure, but trusting with mommy, she acted shy until she knew what was going to be happening. Once she saw people start jumping in the water and wake boarding she was once again unsure of it all. I am sure she thought we were going to throw her in next. So she stayed next to Grandma. where she was safe. We stopped in a cove and jumped in, and yes mommy made Brooklyn come with since she LOVES the water...she EVENTUALLY enjoyed it..and swam a little on her own. Next up, Rayna and I went on the inter tube. Since i am pregnant i should of not done that either, but Travis promised to go slow...yes you heard me he promises..But i don't think that happened. Brooklyn cried the whole time i was out in the water, poor girl probably had her life flash through her eyes. It was pretty fun going on the boat we had a great time. And Brooklyn to this day will ask to go on the boat or when she sees one she wants to go back on it. Funny how that works.

Click on image to enlarge

We spent Saturday evening having a BBQ and had my Dad and meg join us. Brooklyn loved seeing papa and of course getting presents. Rayna gave her an early Birthday present that was an adorable, i mean adorable hat and scarf she made with bows you can inner chance. Meg and my dad bought Brooklyn a Snow White dress, since Brooklyn loves dress up so much. We had a great time, playing with the marble game, going swimming, eating some BBQ and playing games as adults in the week hours... i think around 9..:)

Click on image to enlarge

Thanks again for such a great visit Mom and Jessie, Rayna and Travis and Dad and Meg.

Brooklyn's cute sayings

2011-07-11T08:51:00.004-06:00

We were driving in the car Sunday afternoon, when it was lightly raining outside.

Brooklyn said, " its sad"

Mom said, " whats sad sweetie?"

Brooklyn replied, "the car is crying" continued with moping noises.

. . . What a soft little heart she has.

Jumping into the pool

2011-07-10T18:14:00.000-06:00

She definitely is a water baby, look at her go, at 2 1/2!

Summer love

2011-07-06T15:01:00.000-06:00

That girl loves i mean loves the water. Recently, we got her that pink tub thing and she can stay in it all by her self. She loves the independence it gives her. she can swim, splash, jump and float all by her self.

She is pretty fun in the pool now, especially cause i can play with her now with out having to hold her on my hip. Thank goodness.

Showing me her feet. she is pretty good with floating on her back.

Swimming to the side of the pool so she can jump in.

Ready for the jump!

And she does it.

Baby Belly

2011-07-05T19:14:00.002-06:00

So I had family as if i was showing, i sure am. I am in the weird stage, i either look pregnant or fat. I feel pregnant, FINALLY! Got some more maternity clothes that i am looking forward to wearing. Surprisingly I have only gained around 4 lbs since we found out i was pregnant. I keep telling Eric that our scale is broken cause its not showing i have gained weight, trust me i am not complaining about not gaining weight.However, I am just afraid to step on a "working" scale and it says i have gained 15 lbs or something. :) But i believe the scale is working, since it changes for Brooklyn and Eric. So i should just shut up and cross my fingers i keep my weight normal. ( I gained far more then i wanted to with B, so i am going to be on top of it this time)

My happy face

2011-07-05T18:56:00.001-06:00

I had to post a picture of Brooklyn and her "Happy face"plate. Every time we pull that plate out for a meal, she gets so excited, cause . . . Its a Happy Face. She said it's the same. Her happy face and the plates. Way to cute to pass up.

Brooklyn's Funnies

2011-06-22T06:51:00.000-06:00

After we took 2-3 pregnancy test, Brooklyn would see pictures or look at the test and say oh.. baby

We explained to her many times, the baby is in mommies tummy, showed pictures of when she was in mommies tummy and we ask her, where is the baby, she lifts up her shirt and points to her tummy! MY BABY!

I ( the mom) have has a little morning sickness in the evenings, so Brooklyn and I often, go lay in my bed and watch a movie while i sleep or just "deal" with the sickness. Brooklyn will lay with me and say "My tummy hurts" or through out the day she will tell Eric, "Mommy's tummy hurts"- what a sweetheart.

As with morning sickness, you get sore and LARGE boobs, So we have gone bra shopping a few times, and Brooklyn each times grabs bras, the biggest ones, and holds them up to her, and will show Eric her bra or she will dance around the house in my bras.

Sometimes she will even hold her "chest" and say "my boobs" - i think we are going through a big possessive stage.

Baby 2 info

2011-06-21T13:46:00.001-06:00

Due on Dec 22, 2011

Should find out the sex the beginning of Aug

We are very exciting to have another of Heavenly Father's Children to take care of

Brooklyn and Baby 2 will be 3 years and 3 months apart

Hoping the baby comes out BEFORE Christmas, as is home for Christmas

I thank goodness didn't experience to much morning sickness. I felt a little sick in the evening, thank goodness cause it saved me from eating dessert every night. :)

Brooklyn has some exciting news!

2011-06-21T06:46:00.000-06:00

Ear Pierced!

2011-06-15T14:57:00.001-06:00

Before, she was so ready to get them done...Poor girl has no idea what was about to happen..

No holes!

Face of many colors

2011-06-14T14:34:00.000-06:00

The summer has finally, well kinda hit us, we need the rain to be done for sure. But in our house we have for sure started summer at least summer produce! One reason why i love summer is you get such great tasting produce and its cheap too! Last night is one of the reasons why i LOVE being the mother of one child, cause i can get away with this...

Yep, we had corn on the cob and strawberries and grapes for dinner. Call me a slacker all you want..it was great!

And as you can see Brooklyn really enjoys produce!

Probably will be her last...

2011-06-06T17:05:00.000-06:00

These bath time photos might be her last photos, since she is not a baby any more. She was just reading and relaxing in the bath that she gets to take about every 5 or so days..She takes showers the rest of the times. :)

Day out with Thomas

2011-06-06T14:51:00.000-06:00

On our way to see Thomas the train, Brooklyn was so excited to "see Thomas" and "ride Thomas".

When we got there we had about an hour or so to waste until we rode the train. Eric helped Brooklyn play a round of golf, it was so cute watching Eric help her shoot it in the hole. Is that the right golf terminology?

Another fun activity we participated in was playing with the wooden Thomas and friend trains, played with bubbles, got lost in the hay maze, animal balloons, and got Thomas tattoos!

Oh yeah we also got Cotton Candy!

Well i should say Mommy and Brooklyn got cotton candy

she kept telling us, " I'm ready!"

Brooklyn loved loved loved riding on Thomas, She was on top of the world, feeling the wind in her face and not having to be in a car seat, it was almost like heaven for her.

She was a little sad to get off, but was excited to get her certificate and see the other adventures.

We got one...

2011-05-24T06:49:00.000-06:00

Yes you heard us...we finally got one.

It was cheap, ( of course)

Saved over 350 Dollars

In good condition

Works wonderfully

Been wanting one for a while

Now we don't have to buy one over year or so

Dyson DC28 Animal Upright Vacuum

Some quiet time

2011-05-19T22:07:00.002-06:00

When any room is pick up, vacuumed and organizes it feels so peaceful and calm in there. So with that i told Brooklyn we are going to enjoy her clean room and have some quiet time.

She did pretty well for the most part. Until she got into one of her books that tells the stories of the 5 pigs
toe piggies) so she had to sing it to her self and play with her toes. Who knows what happened after that.

Our favorite Farm

2011-05-19T21:15:00.001-06:00

Papa and grandma Cottirel came to visit during Easter. Even thought the weather was so rainy to do anything we found a few hours when it was dry to go see the FARM.. Brooklyn loves the farm, almost as much a mom does.

Papa really enjoyed the farm. she should of been born on one. All the animals were giving him so much affection.

Brooklyn thought this was pretty funny, that papa grabbed the mean duck. (geese)

Easter Morning

2011-05-05T08:19:00.000-06:00

The Family

Grandma ,Grandpa Cottriel and Brooklyn

Dad and Mom

G'pa and G'ma

Easter egg hunt 2011

2011-05-02T13:18:00.001-06:00

Brooklyn getting ready for the Easter Egg hunt at the community park. She was so excited to finally "go". She had her basket and jacket in tow.

Could not resit taking one of us

It was a little chilly outside, but totally worth it, Brooklyn was excited to shake the bunnies hand and wait for the fire trucks horn to blow so she could get the eggs. We were impressed with how organized they were this year. Brooklyn being on the tail end of the age group ( 0-2) we put a limit of 5 eggs she could get.

As soon as the horn blew i ran after her into the field and she was on fire. She was so beside herself. :)

Looking around for more. of course.

First dental visit

2011-04-28T10:16:00.000-06:00

Brooklyn went to her first Dental appointment. Her dentist was awesome with her. He showed her how the lights worked, and her new toothbrush..etc. He checked out her mouth and she has NO cavities, which we are so glad. She did have some tiny black stuff along her gums on her bottom teeth in the inside; and the doc strapped it off and was not worried about it. He told us to keep up the good work. And introduce flossing. :) that will be fun.

Being 2 in great!

2011-04-16T14:00:00.001-06:00

What other age can you walk around in boots and a high heal on each foot, pajamas with dogs on them and a backpack? I guess when your young and when your old..anytime in between society will just think your crazy!

Trying to get a smile out of her, she is such a goof!

Doing a silly face, cross eyed and kissy lips!

Umm, would you call that cleaning...?

2011-04-15T14:03:00.002-06:00

So the story behind the video below....

Brooklyn is 2 1/2 and most 2 1/2 year olds need a nap during the day, Brooklyn on the other hand doesn't think so and she will let you know how she feels about that...

For example: about a week or so ago Brooklyn went down for nap like usual, and i was cleaning or some thing. I begin to hear "thump" noises, i walk over to Brooklyn's room and realize, she is throwing toys at the door. She has done this in the past but never to this point. I open the door and there are a ton of toys behind the door, it was a little difficult opening the door. I explain to her how it is naughty to throw your toys...yada yada...go back in bed and take a nap....

....a ~~few~~ bunch of minutes later.....

. . . a few more reminders to Brooklyn to not throw toys aymore. . .

Same sound, so i go back in the room and not only are all her toys on the floor along with tubs, but her book case is empties as well and some books are torn apart...At this point i have no more patients..I shut the door, say a quick pray and head back into her room. I gather all of her toys and books and take them out of her room and didn't say a word to her.

She eventually took a small nap, and woke up with no toys!

She was without toys for about 2 days.

"cruel and unusually punishment"...i think so!

We thought she learned.. . .

until...it happened again. .

I left her in the room to clean up her toys her self and she was not allowed to come out till they were picked up. She got some help from mommy, but eventually did it.

3 D Baby!

2011-04-14T14:00:00.000-06:00

B and her Uncle Kev.

Still looks good with those silly things on!

We have been a little busy!

2011-04-13T17:38:00.000-06:00

YES you see 2 TV's and one laptop and a desktop..Thanks goodness right now we only have the laptop and the 40 inch TV.

See we run into good deals often, and my husband being the ~~frugal~~ deal seeker he is, can't help to upgrade for a small price and sell what we currently have. So we upgraded our TV for i think it was 6 dollars after the new purchase and the selling of our old one on KSL. (Utah classifieds) and the lap top we upgraded for i think a little under 100, which was very much needed!

that was just a little info on how our household runs.

Just a little paint

2011-04-03T19:22:00.000-06:00

Painting is a normal activity in our house, Brooklyn is always entertained when she does it, but i guess when she is quiet to long you know something is up... We found her like this.

As you can see she put on "lipstick" "blush" and "mascara"

Piggy Poop.

2011-03-28T17:13:00.000-06:00

picture will be inserted soon

Grandma Heller tough Brooklyn the piggy song for your feet..

This little piggy when to the market

This little piggy stayed home

This little piggy had roast beef

This little piggy had none

and This little piggy went wee wee wee all the way home..

So Brooklyn always wants to do piggies when her feet are out of shoes or socks. Recently, since she is obsessed with poop, no joke, she looks in between her toes and if she see lint or something she yells out..."Ewww, Piggy Poop"

First time in the Potty!

2011-03-28T17:09:00.000-06:00

Sunday, Brooklyn went "pee" in the potty all by herself.

She was wearing panties the whole day and we put her on the potty every 30 minutes-ISH. After like two in a half hours of her not going potty i was bound her make her go next interval. Low and behold i was on the computer, and Brooklyn comes up to me and says "Poop" First thought, I missed it! she went on the floor..Gross. now i get to clean that up. But to my surprise she walked me over hand in hand to her poppy and there was a pee in it! She did it!! I was so excited, I jumped up and down gave high fives praise after praise after praise.. She then asked for her candy. Smart girl. We have a few uhos after that, but i figure we would since those were inbetween play time and i figure she doesn't want to get up and go pee so just pee where she is playing..kinda gross but yeah. So we have more to work on, but i am so proud of her.

Speech

2011-03-28T17:01:00.000-06:00

Brooklyn and Family have been working on a potty routine. Today mom, Brooklyn and SLP attended home visit. Mom reports that Brooklyn is demonstrating an increased awareness of wet/solid pants. Family will try to implement "potty routine" on a daily basis. Brooklyn verbalized "poop" "pee" several time during therapy. Today therapy focused on /K/ /G/ Sounds and colors.

Plan: Daily routine, vocabulary. Sounds discovery books. Labeling. T

TX: Barney Colors and K/G sounds

*Mom note: I have noted Brooklyn increase in 2-3 work combos. She communicates for everything she wants/needs. She has been doing pretty well with colors, Surprised me when she said "brown" out of no where and pointed to the correct color. She has been loving her 123s and the whole alphabet. We are thinking of dropping the Speech therapist. She has done such a great job, and has helped us and Brooklyn. We will see.

St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-21T19:55:00.002-06:00

Brooklyn and I made Rainbow colored cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day. Tried out a new frosting that was Delicious! Brooklyn really liked all the different colors in the cake...she was so beside her self.

St. Patrick's Day morning we must of got a visitor that left some tracks. . . the leprechaun must of paid a visit.

Look at that hair...wild one

He left us some treats and coins!!! How sweet.

Like father like son

2011-03-21T19:48:00.005-06:00

Some of the Heller boys and their i pods.

Family Visit

2011-03-20T22:40:00.001-06:00

Grandma and Grandpa Heller came and visited to drop off Kevin, who is now living with us. :)

Brooklyn really enjoyed playing with Grandma and Grandpa.. she always enjoys their visits.

Snow & Park

2011-03-20T21:27:00.001-06:00

So we were finally not sick when it snowed. We have been wanting to play in the snow all year. We did a few times, but by the time it snowed at night it was gone by like noon.

So since most of the snow was gone except for some on grass and our park, we headed to the park. Brooklyn got to play in the snow and her rides.

She was loving every minute of it.

Oh Brooklyn. . . .

2011-03-20T19:21:00.019-06:00

Brooklyn is such a ham. She loved the attention of others and will do anything to make someone laugh.

Daddies baseball hat.

Just a cute pictures of Brooklyn drawing on her art board.

30 month check up.

2011-03-09T18:18:00.001-07:00

Weight: 28lbs 43% percentile

Height: 36 1/4 in 63% percentile

Head Circumference: 19.5 82% percentile

Speech

2011-03-09T17:59:00.003-07:00

Completed 6 month review with family today. SLP discussed 6 month ELAP evaluation results with mom.

GM: 36 month
FM: 30 months
CG: 24 months
LN: 21 months
SH: 24 months
SE: 36 months

Cognitive Development (CG)This is the child's ability to learn and solve problems. For example, this includes a two-month-old baby learning to explore the environment with hands or eyes or a five-year-old learning how to do simple math problems.( potty training)

Social and Emotional Development (SE) This is the child's ability to interact with others, including helping themselves and self-control. Examples of this type of development would include: a six-week-old baby smiling, a ten-month-old baby waving bye-bye, or a five-year-old boy knowing how to take turns in games at school.

Speech and Language Development (LN) This is the child's ability to both understand and use language. For example, this includes a 12-month-old baby saying his first words, a two-year-old naming parts of her body, or a five-year-old learning to say "feet" instead of "foots".

Fine Motor Skill Development (FM) This is the child's ability to use small muscles, specifically their hands and fingers, to pick up small objects, hold a spoon, turn pages in a book, or use a crayon to draw.
Gross Motor Skill Development (GM) This is the child's ability to use large muscles. For example, a six-month-old baby learns how to sit up with some support, a 12-month-old baby learns to pull up to a stand holding onto furniture, and a five-year-old learns to skip.

Discussed current level of functioning and goals. Reviewed modified goals to appropriate level of unctions.

Plan: Potty routine/ size discrimination

* Some of the 6 month plans we have is saying name/size discrimination/ more prepositions and potty. :)

Trash to Treasure

2011-03-03T18:34:00.000-07:00

There are so many things Eric and I talk about, but a few of the topics are what items we would like to have or need. For example, Brooklyn pushed out laptop on the floor a few months back and thank goodness it works still with minor issues. By the way that is our only computer. So we are on the look out for a one that is cheap but better then what we have. Being the frugal person i am, i am always on the look out for a good deal. And one quality that i love about my husband is he has an eye for a deal as well. A few things that have been on our list: coffee table, recliner, entertainment center, bed for Brooklyn, night stands, and other odds and ends.

The Coffee Table:


FREE

Brooklyn and i were out walking in the snow when i found it next to the dumpster. I looked it over and approved! A little bit of refurbishing and it would be as good as new.

Bed for Brooklyn:

FREE

We go to a produce store from time to time and we happened to be there on Saturday evening when we drove by and i saw many many mattresses and box springs both in and out of the dumpster, i told Eric he had to stop and let me out. I once again did a look over and approved, they were as good as new. Eric was able to fit them into the pilot!

(we made sure they didn't have bed bugs on them and they were clean- there was a mattress store right next door, they must of got rid of their display models or something.)

Recliner:

35 Dollars

We were shopping at the DI our favorite store! Eric saw this recliner and noticed how clean and in great condition it was. But like most people he saw the back of the recliner was not in place, which would make many passer buyers not even give it a second look. However Eric grew up with a lazy boy and remembered how the backs slip on and off so he gave it a tug and snap the back went into place. He gave it a look over and approved. We carried it out of the DI. paid of course.:) ( Lazy Boy reclines and spins)

Side table:

3 Dollars

DI, very simple and just what i was looking for, terrible picture we have been sick with the cold so water and cold medicine. :)

Book Case

FREE

I was looking for a book case that was taller then what we had and low and behold another dumpster treasure. Sitting by the dumpster with no damage. 3 Shelves in tack. We disinfected it and it was as good as new. (picture has part of Brooklyn's hand..what ham)

After this you guys must think two things. a . we do nothing but hang around the dumpers waiting for furniture or b. spend all our free time at the DI. We do the DI once a week or less, and dumpster, when i take out the trash. I love all of our finds. Getting ALL this free or extremely cheap stuff we would of paid a lot more for normally helps us save up for things we can't find at the DI/dumpster...ie Laptops.

Until our new treasure.....

Valentine's Day

2011-02-20T17:25:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Day is not a HUGE day in our house. We show love for each other every day of the year! But Eric did give me a card ( big smile) and white roses. I know most men give out white roses. But there is a reason behind white roses and us.

His hair is so looong!

First off white is my favorite color and Eric gave me white roses every so often when we were dating. I always had Flowers or roses in my room during our courtship. And then the evening Eric asked me to marry him he gave me a dozen or more white roses. Beautiful! So it made me feel very loved he still remembers. Thanks sweetie.

Brooklyn was invited to a Valentine's Day party!

We didn't have any red/pink outfits so i figured purple is close enough :)

all the girls eating their lunches.

After Lunch we made heart sugar cookies, frosted and put candy on top..boy was it yummy and messy!

Girls and their mommies!

Outing

2011-02-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

Sunday was such a beautiful day, so Brooklyn and I (mommy) decided to head to the farm and look at some animals. Almost as good as the Zoo!

I have never seen her so excited. She was making all sorts of animals noises at them.

this little guy was just so cute, i couldn't help it

As soon as Brooklyn walked by the goat jumped on the gate to get her attention. Boy did he ever get her attention. She loved it.

She ended up petting most of the animals. What a brave girl she was.

This Mama sheet must of just has those babies cause she was really red and the babies still had their umbilical cords on them. They were so adorable.

Moving up in the world

2011-02-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

Well, at lease Brooklyn is moving up in the bed department! We got a twin for lets say...cheap. :) So we headed to Walmart to have her pick out sheets.

Helping mom take apart the crib

Being the first and only child she gets to pick out her own sheets! Out of Flowers, Fairies, Princess, Cars and Toy Story, i am sure you can guess what she picked. And i made her pick twice cause i didn't like the outcome.

Brooklyn was so so excited. She ripped off her sheets on her toddler bed after we explained the new sheets are for her bigger girl bed.

Jumping on the Box Spring- - not the smartest move.

Toy Story Sheets! See she could not wait.

And once they were on, she went to town on jumping on the bed and yelling buzz and woody.

Goofying off

2011-02-16T18:51:00.001-07:00

We totally were squishing her

Dress up buddies

2011-02-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

What little girls don't like dress up? I know these two girls loved it. Yes they are still very young to fully understand it, but they thoroughly enjoy the shoes, crowns earrings, and all. I remember playing dress up with my sisters we absolutely loved it. We would play it for hours and we never had the fancy stuff. Just thrift store dresses and moms heals and fancy hats!

Speech

2011-02-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

Completed 6 month review (ELAP) testing with mom/Brooklyn. Brooklyn did a great job following directions and participating in testing. SLP/Family will conduct 6 on review next scheduled.

Review help chart/prepositions.

Imagination

2011-02-07T17:15:00.000-07:00

What an important thing for a child to have. I really love watching Brooklyn play with her toys and see what they do and "say". Here are a few of them recently.

She was in our room when we were doing cleaning on Saturday and she tucked her few toys into the covers then she climbed in after.

Eric and I were planning on playing Risk this weekend, never got around to it :( however Brooklyn had a party playing with the army men. I think Eric is going to get her some Army men.

She was totally having a ball. Our cute well rounded child.

Just like Grandma...ICE!

2011-02-07T14:26:00.000-07:00

We had Grandma Heller come visit us a week or so ago, and since then Brooklyn has been wanting one thing..ICE! Let me explain, Grandma Heller likes to have soda with her ice. Meaning she gets a cup over flowing with ice and some soda. So the other day Brooklyn dumped dad's soda with ice into her cup. Her cup looked just like Grandmas, i think Brooklyn was pretty happy with herself.