We had a wonderful Christmas this year!!! Of course it is Madi's first Christmas and it has been very special. She did pretty good with opening gifts on Christmas morning with us and Christmas Eve at my mom and dad's house. As you could imagine, she received a ton of toys. I had to find a bigger basket to go along with her other basket of toys!!!

Thursday night we went to Kennedy and Coe (Chris' dads work) to see Santa. She did really well and received a present from Santa. We then went to Grandma and Grandpa Helm's house to meet Beth, Walt, Tommy and Marybeth when they arrived in town from SC. Friday, Linda came into town from NH. The rest of the week was go, go, go. Tommy and Marybeth stayed here with us. We had a nice time visiting with them.

Sunday we had Christmas at my mom and dad's house. Jason and Tabatha were there and we spent the day hanging out, playing games, and of course eating. Mom and dad had a nice spread of snacks and soups which made for a nice relaxed day.

Monday we woke up and Madi opened her gifts. Then off to Dan and Jane's house. We opened gifts with them and Jon. They headed to Grandma Betty's for breakfast and we headed home to open our gifts to each other and start getting food and the house ready for supper here at 5:00. Beth, Marybeth, and Tommy came over in the afternoon to help Chris and I get ready and to also help entertain Madi. Dan and Jane also came over later to help. Madi and I both caught a cold Sunday and had a miserable night. So of course Monday, we were both dragging and Madi was a bear. Sunday night we had 23 people for supper and opened gifts. It was a wonderful evening!!!

The last three days, Madi and I have been trying to catch up on sleep and getting the house back in order. We are both still fighting this cold and Madi is having a heck of a time sleeping, which of course means I am also. She has also been very clingy and I can't be out of eye range for too long or it is a total melt down.

Here are some pics from the weekend and have many more on Winkflash. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and hope you have an exciting New Year!!!

Love, Amy

Just wanted to pass along some pictures today. I love sitting in my bed and holding on to the side. I am trying to pull myself up, but I just don't have the strength yet. But once I am up, I can stand holding on for a little bit. Practice, Practice, Practice!!!

Love, Madi (Merry Christmas everyone!!!)

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas....means clean, clean, clean. It seems that is all I have done this week. But, it has been nice. We finally got all of our pictures and memoribilia hung up downstairs. I have been wanting to do this since we moved in. It looks so nice. I also was able to get my sewing room organized and hopefully after the first of the year I can get started again. I have so many projects started and in mind.

While Chris was at deer camp I started hacking at the bushes in front of our house. I hate them!!! They are so overgrown and look awful. Wednesday I hacked at them again and then had to haul all the branches off. They still don't look the best, but I trimmed them and they look better. It will do until this spring when we finally cut them all down.

This week I have to finish my Christmas shopping. Madi is done, the rest of the family is done except Tabatha and I need to start shopping for Chris. This is the first year without a list...it should be interesting. Especially since I have to shop with a 6 month old. There won't be any running all over town this year, two stores at max. And then I have a whole list of baking and snacks that I want to make. I have also found with a six month old that I need several days to get things done where it took only one day before. So, snack mixes will get started today and cookies and dips will have to wait until the end of the week.

Madi is doing well. I have been awful about taking pictures this month. But I am sure we will make up for it this weekend. She loves her food. We had carrots this last week. She is so funny!! She sees me making her food and she starts saying MMMMM!!! After every bite she says MMMMM and she opens her mouth big and if I wait too long for each bite she gets mad. Her little personality is showing up BIG the last couple of weeks. She is sitting up well, still needs some practice. She doesn't catch herself all the time when she starts falling and is still a little wobbly. But she wants to move so bad, shouldn't be long now. She is doing the rocking thing when on her hands and knees.

Well, my list isn't getting any shorter. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and safe traveling.

Love, Amy

Madi's first vegetable. She had squash last night for supper. She did really well. Her first bite she just sat there with it in her mouth for a couple of seconds with a wondering look on her face and then she ate it. She loves the rice with apples...so she will continue with that and squash for a couple of days and then carrots are next.

We had a busy day yesterday. We went and had family pics done at Sears. What a joke!!! By the time we were ordering Chris was ready to get up and leave and not order a thing. We had a new lady, she didn't now a thing she was doing, and we had 18 pics to choose from. That was it. We were there for 2 hours!!! We figured out what we wanted and then asked about the same day pics. It is all over the studio, "Same Day Portraits", "Take your pics home today". What it doesn't tell you is that it is an additional $3 a page to have them today. So, we asked when would we get them if it isn't today. "Oh, they'll be in on Dec. 20." There goes Christmas cards, everyone would be receiving New Year's Cards. Well, we went ahead and had wallets printed at the store...everyone will be getting Christmas cards this week. As you can probably tell, we won't be going back to Sears and having our pics done again. Which was what Chris said the second we walked out. I didn't tell you, this is all at 9 am, on a Sunday. I told Chris it should be faster, no waiting, we should be in and out if we do it early. Oh well!!!

So, after the Sears fun filled morning we went home, Chris and Madi rested. Then we went to Wal-Mart to do some Christmas shopping. Next year, I am shopping in July!!! What a madhouse. But we had fun picking out gifts. It really is more fun to give than to receive, especially with all the little ones in our family!!! Christmas day is going to be awesome this year!!!!

Can't wait to see all of you!!! I've got to get busy. Chris finally brought in his hunting stuff this weekend.

Love, Amy

The guys are back from deer camp and they did really well this year. Chris got his first buck with horns. Very nice 10 point antlers. He also got a doe. We will be having alot of venison now!! Between the five that went out this year, they brought home 8 deer and a coyote. We spent the last two nights down at the shop cutting the meat off. Everybody gets it cut how they want; steaks, roasts, ground. Now, the next couple of evenings will be cleanup. I don't have any pics yet, but will post some when I get some.

Not much else going on. Madi is doing well with her cereal. Tonight we will try rice with apples...see how that goes for a week and then next week she will start yellow vegetables. How exciting!! Tomorrow night she is going to her first movie. The Stiefel Theatre is showing the classic Holiday Inn from 1942 with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. The Stiefel shows different Christmas movies every year. It will be so neat to see the movie on the big screen. It's one of mine and Chris' favorite Christmas movies.

Other than that, I am just trying to get the house in order and ready for family to come for Christmas. Chris' Aunt Beth and her family is coming from SC and Aunt Linda from NH and Chris' cousin Chantelle and her boyfriend from TX. We will be having Christmas dinner here for everyone on Christmas day. It will be a lot of fun!!

Take care.
Love, Amy

Just a quick update from Madi's doctors appointment. The doctor said she is doing great, growing and a smart little girl. She is now 14 lbs 1 oz. (14%) gained 2 lbs in 2 months and is 26 in. long (57%) grew 1.5 inches. We will be eating cereal now and in a week we can start yellow vegetables. Then she can try green vegetables and fruits after that. She got three shots again today and a flu shot. She has to go back in a month for the second half of the flu shot. Her next well-baby checkup is at 9 months in February. The nurse was so quick with the shots that she didn't start crying until the third shot. She fussed a little bit and then took a little nap. But she is playing now and is just fine!! We are going to hibernate now for the rest of the week. It is cold outside and the wind is just awful.

Take care and stay warm!!

Love, Amy and Madi

Chris is off to deer camp. He left last night and will be back on Sunday. We went out to Lake Wilson Sunday to help setup. It was the first time I had seen the campsite all setup. They have it pretty good out there. Of course it would be too cold for me (and most people I would imagine). But I think it would be fun. I helped get the tent up and all of Chris' things unloaded while Madi slept in the van. After she woke up, I fed here and then Jane took her over to the playground. She had fun on the green frog, talking up a storm. When I put her in the car she immediately grabed the steering wheel and was turning it. I tell you, she is a Nascar girl!!! It was her first time in the leaves. And yes, they went straight to her mouth, just like everything else. I have been wanting to get her outside and get some pictures at home and just wasn't able to. This worked out perfectly because she is sitting so well now that I was able to get some good pics of her sitting and playing with the leaves also.

Yesterday, I raked the leaves in the front yard. Our two trees in front are always the last ones to lose its leaves. And with the overgrown bushes, our house looks like it isn't lived in. I am hoping to get out there this morning while Madi takes her nap and get the bushes trimmed down. We are eventually going to take them out, but not until the spring and I can at least make them look a little nicer. And then tomorrow is Madi's 6 month checkup, more shots. I can't believe it's already been 6 months. It seems like we just brought her home from the hospital. Everybody tells me how fast it goes and it sure does.

Take care!!
Love, Amy

Does it feel like Thanksgiving is only 3 days away to anyone? It sure doesn't to me. But I don't think it has felt like the holiday's since my Grandma Mona died. Our traditions and rituals for the holidays don't exist anymore and we really haven't started our own yet. Every year has been different so far. Oh well, I am sure it will change now that we have Madi.

We went to the Parade of Lights downtown on Saturday evening. It was fun and we saw people we knew in the parade. Madi did wonderful of course. We had her all bundled up in her cute little pink snowsuit and then wrapped in another blanket. She was probably roasting, but I didn't want to take a chance. She just sat and watched. Didn't make any noise and really didn't move much (could have been the 4 layers she had on!) She almost made it to the end. She fell asleep right as the horses started coming. Which of course in every parade means the end!! (Followed by the street sweepers)

Sunday we went to church and then to a baby shower. And of course the last race of the season was yesterday. We rushed home after the shower to watch. No surprise, Jr. didn't win. Oh well, there is always next year! What am I going to do on Sunday's from now on? I don't like football. Good thing the off season is short...looking forward to February!!! Chris went out to scope rifles. Getting ready for deer camp.

Madi isn't taking very good naps again during the day...at most 30 minutes in the morning and 30 in the afternoon. So, I thought Friday we would try giving her cereal and see if she feels fuller and can rest longer. At noon I gave her cereal for the first time. She kept wanting to suck and wasn't swallowing very well. I thinned it down pretty good and just let her suck on the spoon. That seemed to work a lot better than shoveling the same spoon full in 10 times. Of course, it did nothing to help the sleeping situation. We're just going to wait until her appointment on the 29th and see what the doctor says.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and safe travels for those who have to travel this weekend.
Love, Amy




(Friday, first cereal feeding)












(two weeks ago, wanted a drink of daddy's water)












(Girls weekend Nov. 4)















(Girls weekend Nov. 4)

Not much going on with our little family. Chris is finally done with all his extra projects since the weather is getting colder. Which is nice for me and Madi. Last weekend we were able to spend the whole weekend together. Very nice!!!

Now, we are getting ready for deer camp. Next week is Thanksgiving (already, doesn't seem possible) and Chris will leave for deer camp on Monday or Tuesday and be gone all week. This is a Helm boys tradition for the last 3 years. Chris goes with his dad, Bob and Bobby (cousins) and Jeff (Bob's son-in-law). They camp out at Wilson lake and hunt and hang out. They have a lot of fun. Sunday they are going out to get guns sighted in.

Madi is changing so much. It is just amazing to watch. She is sitting up better and better everyday. She loves to watch our dog (Oliver) and we say his name everyday. Last night she was just staring at him and saying dah dah dah over and over. It sounded so close to dog. We go for her 6 month checkup on the 29th. She will get more shots and we should start on cereal. Yah!!! I really think she is ready. She watches so intently when we eat and her little mouth gets to going when food gets anywhere near here. It is so funny to watch. I don't have any new pics lately of her. I'll have to get busy with that this weekend.

Take care and have a wonderful weekend!
Love, Amy

Can you believe we are having 80 degree weather in November. Yesterday it was so nice outside, I called Chris to see if he could have lunch with us in the park. It was so nice!! I wanted to get some pics of Madi in the leaves, but they clean the park up too fast. There wasn't any pretty leaves left on the ground. There are more in my backyard from the neighbors than what was in the park. Also, all the pretty fall flowers have turned brown. So, we didn't get any fall pics taken. But, Madi is slowly starting to sit on her own. She does really good as long as she has toys in front of her and they stay within her reach.

She also has come down with a cold. Saturday she was miserable. She had diahrrea all day and her nose won't stop running. She's getting a little better. She at least isn't as cranky, but still tired and her nose is still running.

I had a wonderful time this weekend with my mom and Tabatha (my sister-in-law). Tabatha got us started in with scrapbooking. We spent a total of 5 hours in Hobby Lobby in two days looking at all the scrapbooking supplies and getting ideas. All three of us were able to get some pages done and they look wonderful. Of course, my subject is Madi. Mom did a page with Madi and my dad. Tabatha did pages on Bud (their dog). But I sent all the scrapbooking tools home with mom so I could get some sewing projects done this week.

Got to get busy. Have a great rest of the week and enjoy the nice weather while we have it!

Love, Amy