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

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween. I haven't written in awhile because I was afraid I would write something about the surprise addition we were working on for Chris' Grandparents. They left for NH 3 weeks ago and the last 2 weeks everyone in Salina has been at their house working on a kitchen addition. They arrived in Salina Tuesday night at 5:30 to a brand new and huge kitchen. If you haven't been in their old kitchen, it was so narrow that the refrigerator door wouldn't even open all the way and there was only enough room in there for one person to work. As you can see, we can get alot more people in than one now.

Yesterday, Grandma Betty made breakfast for the girls. Jane, Terri and I came over for breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa. It was so good and I know Grandma had a ball cooking in her kitchen. Madi and I were at their house most of the day yesterday. Jane and I took Grandma Betty out to find a table to put in the kitchen. We found a nice one at K-Mart and went back and set it up. It looks really nice. Grandpa is excited that they can sit in the kitchen and drink coffee now. It will be so nice at Christmas this year when everyone comes home and it will be easier to fix a big meal!!















My mom and I got Madi's costume done this last weekend. Madi also had orange booties that went with her costume, but I don't have any really good pictures with them on. She was so cute. She had her costume on at Grandma Betty's, so everyone got to see her there. We then went to Chris' other Grandma's house and stayed and visited. Then we went to my Mom and Dad's and visited with them for awhile. We didn't want to have to get her in and out of a carseat this year to visit a bunch of people. Next year we will do the drive all over town and hit everyone's house thing.








Chris is off to Beloit this weekend to go pheasant hunting. Dan, Bob, Bobby and Chris will stay in Bob's big tent out at the farm. Dad and Jason will also be there. They always have a big party Saturday night out in the shop. Eat, eat and eat. Also drink, drink and drink. We thought about taking Madi up this year but have decided not to. Sorry Andrea. We always have our girls weekend when the guys leave. We sew and watch movies and order pizza. Just hang out and have fun. This year we have two new girls joining us, Madi and Tabatha. So it will be a lot of fun!!! I figure this will probably be our last year for our girls weekend. Next year it will be alot easier to take Madi up and she will have alot more fun, running around and playing.


Well, I have to finish getting the house cleaned up, it has been neglected for three days. And also finish getting everything washed up for Chris for the weekend. Take care and have a wonderful weekend!!

Love, Amy

We had a fun and crazy weekend. Bob's Creative Taxidermy had its open house Saturday. He had a great turn out and we all had a really good time.

Friday was supposed to be a cleanup and get ready day. Turned out to be a mess of an afternoon. Chris and Ryan(his employee) were moving dirt on the side of the building and getting ready to lay more rock in the parking lot. They were leaving to haul off some dirt and concrete when the wheat truck they were driving fell into a sink hole behind the shop. Totally destroyed the truck. The ground gave out underneath the back left wheels and fell into a 3 ft hole. They were okay, but a little shocked. We had the police and city workers out. It took an hour for the tow truck driver to get the truck out of the hole. (Pictures should be coming soon!) Crazy sight to see.

Here are some pics from the open house. The top picture is Bob (on the left) and his son Bobby. Bob had two drawings for pheasant mountings. Chris went crazy at Wal-Mart Friday night and got a bunch of stuff to give out as door prizes. He had so much stuff, almost everyone there walked away with something and he was drawing numbers every five minutes. It was great and the kids that were there had fun.

The second picture is some of Bob's mounts. He has a lot of neat mounts and I will have more pics in my photo albums.



I had Madi in her camo outfit. She was so cute. These two pictures were in the workroom in Bob's shop. He had a bear skin laying on the table. We layed Madi on it and started snapping pics. I think they turned out pretty neat.

She had fun Saturday too. She had a lot to look at and people holding her. She did really good. She took an hour nap in the morning before everyone got there and then a half hour nap in the afternoon when things started slowing down. She was a tired girl that night.

I hope everyone has a great week!!

Love, Amy

Next Saturday is Bob's (Chris' cousin) open house for his Taxadermy business. There will be food and a chance to see alot of Bob's awesome work. He just finished a peacock yesterday. I haven't seen it, but I can only imagine that it is just beautiful. If you aren't busy, please stop by. He is in the new addition to Chris' shop. I think everyone knows where it is, if not, give me a call.

This was just too cute to pass up taking a picture of. I had her on the counter while I was making supper and had all the bottles out for hamburgers next to her. She is very persistent in reaching and getting what she wants. And of course everything goes into her mouth. (Don't worry, it was empty and cleaned out.)

This is the face she makes when she is trying to get something. It is so funny. She juts her chin out and sticks her tongue out and tips her head back. She is such a card.

This same night, one year ago, I had just found out I was pregnant. What a trying and rewarding year it has been. And if you know me, keeping a secret is really hard. But we wanted to make sure everything was going to be okay this time before we told all of our family. So we had to wait until Thanksgiving before we would tell anyone. (Except our parents and siblings of course). After that, it was still really hard for me to plan too much or buy anything. I don't think I bought anything until February. I had morning sickness almost the whole pregnancy and if I let myself get too hungry, it would make me nausious. We had only been in our new house for two months when I started having pregnancy symptoms and one of mine was getting sick with certain smells. Our house had sat empty for awhile before we bought it and they smoked in the kitchen. There was this odor in the walls when you walk in the backdoor (at least I could smell it, maybe not everyone else) but everyday when I came home for lunch it would make me sick and I would have to run to the bathroom. It was horrible. But I would do it again in a heartbeat!! Madi is the greatest reward ever!! I couldn't imagine life without her and more babies would be icing on the cake.

Take care and have a great week!!

Love, Amy

Burr!!!! It went from being nice and having the windows open to being cold and needing the heater. What happened to the nice low 70s fall weather?

Well, I guess my projects right now fit the weather. I have 3 sewing projects going. I am still working on a baby announcement cross-stitch wall hanging for Madi's room. I have been working on this since I was put on bed rest before she came. Slow going. I am also working on quilts. I am making Chris a jean quilt to take with him to deer camp and if I get it done soon, he can take it pheasant hunting also. I thought I was done with the top and I had him make sure it was long enough. Of course, he wants it longer so I need to add a couple more rows. But it isn't hard and I am having fun working on it. My mom came over this weekend and we worked on it together. Sewing is something we both enjoy doing and it is so fun to work on projects together. I am also working on baby rag quilts. I have one that needs to be done very soon and then I have 2 more cousins that are pregnant and will need to start on those. I also still haven't made Madi one and want to get that done before it gets too terribly cold. I have moved my sewing machine upstairs onto the dining table so I can work on them more while Madi is playing.

Two weekends ago Jason and Tabatha were in town. We all went out to eat Sunday and then wanted to go to the Bison Company and pick pumpkins. Of course, the guys didn't want to go, so the four girls went. Madi made her first trip to the pumpkin patch!!! But she will never know, because she slept the whole time. I was so surprised. We had her in a wagon in her carseat and pulled her through the pumpkin patch and she didn't even budge! (Insert pic but blogger won't, ugh!! Check out October pics in my pictures) It really didn't feel like pumpkin pickin' time that day because it was 97 degrees. Hot, sweaty, but fun!! We should go again now that it is cooler.

Last weekend Chris was at his parents house all weekend helping to reroof two sides of their house. Madi and I went over for a little bit on Saturday to watch. She enjoyed sitting outside and watching the trees blowing in the wind. It was cute!! We went home and meet my mom to start sewing while Dad went to Beloit.

I am off to cut more jeans up. If anyone has any jeans laying around they want to get rid of. Let me know, I would be glad to take them off your hands. I am hoping to make several more. Everyone take care and enjoy the weather!!

Love, Amy

We are home!!!! We had a nice vacation, but I was so ready to be back in Kansas and on familiar roads.

We left Salina at 2 pm Friday. We drove straight through to Chris' Aunt Beth's house in South Carolina, pulling in at noon on Saturday. They didn't know we were coming so it was a surprise for them. Walter (Chris' cousin) and his wife Laura came to town and we went out for supper and had a nice visit with them. Walt and Beth and Marybeth took us to Krispy Kreme at 11 pm. We had fresh hot donuts. It was wonderful, Chris fell in love! That was a lot of fun. And you wouldn't believe how busy this place is that late at night. Sunday we went shopping and Tommy (Chris' cousin) came home for the evening. Beth cooked supper and we had a nice visit. We had a wonderful time at Walt and Beth's.

Monday, after everyone left for work and school, we went to Charlotte, NC for the day. We went to Lowes Motor Speedway and were able to go into the middle of the track. It was so awesome. Richard Petty driving school was there that day and they had cars out racing. They had a Dale Jr. car and we got our pictures next to it. A man working for Petty came over and we started talking to him and asking questions. He then asked if I wanted to sit in the car and get my picture taken. Of Course!!! It was so COOL!!! We walked around like we owned the place, no one said a word and it didn't cost a thing. I was on cloud nine of course and I really want to go to a race now. We left there and went to Hendrick Motorsports. He owns Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch's race teams. Not at all fan of those drivers but we wanted to get Chris' dad something, he likes Gordon (Blah!!) We then went to Roush Racing. Saw the shops of Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth. While we were at Kenseth's shop, his crew chief, Robbie Riser walked out of the shop and Chris asked if we could get his picture. So, I got my pic with him. Still not one of our favorite drivers, but he is a past champion and could win again this year. Next was Dale Earnhardt Inc. They had a nice place and a lot of Dale Sr. memorabilia. Got a bunch of stuff in the gift shop. We were hoping to see Jr. there, but we didn't (darn). Ya right, I probably would have peed my pants!!! We then rushed to Richard Childress' shop and museum. They said they were open until 5. We got there at 4:15 and they wouldn't let us go through the museum with less than an hour until they closed. Would have been nice to know that before we drove an hour to get there. Oh well. Got a lot of nice things in the gift shop. But we know there was a lot of Dale Sr. stuff in the museum, we could see part of it through the back door. So, we left there and drove back to Beth's and stayed the night.

Tuesday we said our goodbyes and left for Charleston, SC. This starts the Civil War hunting of our vacation. Chris is really in to wanting to find relics and learning all about the Civil War. Really wanted to get himself a gun. We went to Charleston and visited Fort Sumter, which is where the Civil War began. We took a boat ride out into the mouth of the harbor right before it opens into the Atlantic Ocean and visited the Fort. It was really neat. Madi had her first boat ride!!! She did such an awesome job. She got a little sun that day but she was such a doll. After we got back we went to the open air market and shops. But everything closes at 5, it was a little disappointing. But it was such a busy town and so cramped. We decided to leave town and head towards Atlanta. We wound ourselves through Georgia, Tennessee, and Missouri for the next couple of days just visiting battle sites.

Madi had her 4 month checkup on Friday before we left town. She is 11 lbs 15 oz and 24.5 in long. She has made it to the 72 percentile in height and 18 percentile for weight. No cereal yet, she wants to wait until 6 months. Which is fine, she is doing much better with her bottles. I also asked about the teething and the doctor said that babies really start to drool at this age but teeth don't usually come until 6 months. She got a cold while we were gone. She has a cough and you can feel it rattling in her chest, it's getting better, just keeping up with the cough medicine. We finally graduated to 3-6 month onesies but alot of the separates are still way too big for her. Her waist is just so little, she was still wearing a pair of premie shorts on our vacation. Her new thing is that she has found her toes. It kept her occupied several times on our trip.







I am still working on downloading pictures. So, please check back soon and they should be done.

Love, Amy

I haven't been keeping up lately like I have been. When my back went out, I couldn't get on the computer and I just haven't been in the mood lately to sit down and do anything.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Beloit and got pictures taken by my cousin Andrea. Here are a couple of my favorites.


She did such an awesome job. It is going to be tough choosing which one I want to put in the living room.

My mom and dad are on vacation right now. I talked to them yesterday and they were in Yellowstone. They left last Wednesday and were headed to Montana. Dad has always wanted to see that part of the country. I am sure it is just beautiful. I can't wait to see their pictures.

Chris has been working non stop for the last month and a half. I don't think he has taken a day off yet. But it is wearing on him and he is ready to get away. As long as nothing comes up in the next couple of days, we are planning on leaving town Friday for a weeks vacation. Chris wants to go to Tennessee and Virginia. There are alot of Civil War sites in both of these states. We had so much fun 2 years ago in Gettysburg exploring and learning about the battles that went on there. It should be fun learning and visiting other battle sites. It will also be an experience doing this with a 4 month old!!!

Madi is doing well. We are dealing with teething right now. At least I think it is teething. She is constantly chewing on her fingers and anything she can get in her mouth. Drooling like crazy. Since last Friday she gets very cranky in the afternoons and I couldn't do anything to relieve her pain. I called the doctor and he said to give her Tylenol as needed. It has helped but I can't wait to get her to the doctor on Friday. She has her 4 month checkup and shots. I am debating on whether to take her for her shots tomorrow or wait until Friday. I just don't feel comfortable getting her shots Friday morning and then making her travel. I am also hoping they will say to start giving her cereal. She just doesn't seem satisfied with just a bottle anymore. But I will keep you posted and let you know on Friday.

I have to finish laundry and getting the house cleaned up before leaving Friday.

Love, Amy

It has been a tough week around here for me. My back has been out and I have been in pain since last Wednesday. It got so bad that I couldn't pick Madi up or hold her for very long. Chris' mom came over Friday, Monday, Tuesday and this morning to help me out. This weekend we both went to my parent's house. I have been going to the Chiropractor and got some medicine from my regular doctor. Both seem to be working and I have finally been able to take care of Madi today by myself.

Chris is still working on the inside of the new addition. They got the electrical done, insulation in, and wood put on the walls. He has been painting when he can. He has been forced into coming home early and taking care of Madi. He has been a trooper. I don't have any new pics but will probably get some this weekend.

Have a great rest of the week
Love, Amy

Wow!!!! In just 3 days, Chris was able to get the whole addition done on his building. Just amazing. Here is everyone who helped work on it: Chris, Dan, Jane (Chris' parents), Jon (his brother), Bob (cousin to Dan and moving into the new addition to do Taxedermy), Bobby (Bob's son), Vicki and Jeff (Bob's daughter and her husband), Patty (Bob's wife), Claire (Bobby's wife), Tom and Betty (Chris' grandparents), and I finally made it down Monday afternoon. My mom and dad cooked lunch and brought it down on Sunday. Which was very nice. To see the transformation look at the pics in my shop photo album on the left. Satuday it rained almost all day. They were all wet and cold. They had the heater running in the shop during the day. By Monday it was sunny and warm and they had the fans blowing.

Saturday, Mom, Dad, Madi and I went to Beloit to get pictures taken by my cousin Andrea. She did a wonderful job and she got a lot of great photos. I'll pass them on once I get them. It was a great day. We stayed at Andrea's and visited all day. Of course we had plenty of entertainment between Ella, Andrea's almost 2 year old, and Madi.

Well, we have determined that Madi is teething. For the last month she has been drooling like crazy. And the last couple weeks she can't keep her fingers out of her mouth. But, she doesn't have enough coordination yet with her hands to keep a teething ring in her mouth for any length. I have been sitting with her in the evenings and holding it for her and massaging her gums. It seems to help. I think that may also be the cause of her non sleeping habits. I am just glad that it hasn't been keeping her up at night, yet.

I hope everyone has a great rest of this short week!

Love, Amy

Last night, we had all of Dan's family over for supper. That means we fed 14 adults and 3 kids. I made swiss steak, mashed potatoes, corn, and vinegar cucumbers. It was so good. I have never cooked that much food for that many people. It was hard work but I enjoyed it so much!! I could probably have Christmas at my house, now that I know I can do it. Madi was such a trooper during the day. She played on the floor and sat in her swing while I chopped and peeled vegetables. But she was so tired last night. She had a few really good crying spells while everyone was here. She is starting to tell me when she has had enough with noise and people I think. Good thing about it was she went to sleep pretty good last night!! She must have been exhausted because it is 9:00 am and she is still sleeping.

I had to post this pic. She is just too cute. They said she was trying to look at the glasses on her face and she was looking cross eyed!!


Chris starts building walls tomorrow down at the shop. Hopefully it doesn't rain. Madi and I and my parents are going to Beloit tomorrow to have pictures taken. My cousin Andrea is going to take them. We also want to visit my Great Aunt Marlene and Uncle Tom, stop at the cemetary, and make a trip out to the farm. We are just going to hang out in Beloit for the day, it is going to be a lot of fun.

I miss going up there. We used to go to the farm a lot when we were younger. We had so much fun, riding four wheelers, sleeping outside in the back of the truck, getting scared by a frog that had found its way into the truck on our sleeping bags, shooting off fireworks and watching them fly clear to the "tird cellar" as my Uncle Frank would say. I thought that was so funny and I remember that still today. Darci, do you remember when we were going to walk to Uncle Melvins house and we tied our shoe strings together. As we walked the knot got tighter and tighter and we couldn't get it out. I think you ended up walking back with your shoe off and I had it trailing behind me. We weren't always the brightest kids, but we had fun!!

Enough reminiscing. I need to finish getting the kitchen cleaned back up and dishes done. Have a great weekend.

Love, Amy

What a great week so far!!

Chris' Aunt Linda is in town from New Hampshire. She came in Saturday and is leaving this Saturday. We have all gotten together quite a bit this week and it is so nice. Sunday night Chris, Madi and I went over to his grandparent's house. We ended up staying until after 11:00. We played Trivial Pursuit with Aunt Linda, Aunt Terri, Uncle Ray, and Chris' cousin Raymond. It was a lot of fun. Chris and I were on a team and we stunk. I really don't like that game because the questions can be so hard, but it was fun just to hang out and be silly. Last night we all met at Terri and Ray's house for supper. The food was wonderful and we all sat down and played Outburst together. Thursday night is supper at my house and I think we will be playing Pictionary that night. I love playing games, but very rarely do I get to.

Josh and Raelynn's kids were also there for supper (Raelynn is Chris' cousin and Ray and Terri's daughter). They are so cute with Madi. They love to hold her and be right next to her. As soon as we got there all three kids wanted to hold her, so they each took turns. Then they helped Jane feed her. They all held the bottle and Aiden and Hailey helped burp her. It is so funny to watch two year olds wanting to sit still and hold a baby. My cousin Andrea came to town Saturday also. My Aunt Phyllis, Darci, Darwin, Andrea, and there two year old Ella all came over. Ella did the same thing. She wanted to sit and hold the baby. Just too cute!!

Madi is still fighting sleep. She did much better yesterday. But I am having to trick her into sleeping in the afternoon. She has been taking nice long naps in the morning and by 2:00 she is so tired again but not letting herself rest. So, yesterday I put her in her swing and she was instantly out for 2 hours. It made putting her down for bed last night a lot easier. I'm hoping she is just going through a growth spurt and this will all change soon.

I have added more photos in my photo albums. You do have to create an account with Winkflash in order to look at the photos, but it is free and a lot easier for me to share photos with everyone this way. I hope you enjoy them! Have a great rest of the week and weekend.

Love, Amy

Happy Birthday to Madi!!!

Today is Madi's three month birthday. She is changing so much. Here are a few of her new things. Last Saturday she started grasping her rattle all on her own and she would wave it around and hold on to it for quite a long time. Monday she started talking to her toys. She has a barn yard toy that hangs over her and it has a cow on it that moves with the songs and she loves it. She laughs at it and talks to it. She gets really loud and it is so funny!!! Tuesday night she found her fist. Her arms were just a moving every where and all of a sudden she stopped when it flew past her face and stared at her fist. Very cute. She is pushing up more and is holding her head up and pushing up with her arms to a 90 degree angle. She is just progressing so well it is amazing to watch. I am so glad I am home and able to see these things the first time they happen.

Yesterday was a busy day. Chris called and needed help down at the shop. So, I loaded up Madi and took her to Chris' mom's house. We poured the first half of the concrete for the flooring at 11:00 and finished at 12:30. Took a lunch break and poured the second half at 3:00. I left at 4:00 and went home to get cleaned up before picking up Madi. It was so hot outside yesterday. I am not used to being out in the heat and sun like that anymore. My face and arms are burned. The good news is that I should have a nice tan after this!!! The flooring looks great at the shop and walls will probably start going up this weekend. (Pictures of shop in My Photo Albums on the left side).

I am trying something new with pictures. I can't seem to get blogger to work for me when I want to post pictures. So please try my links to my photo albums. I hope they work better. And this way I can share more photos with everyone. I am slowly working on this when I get free time so check back often for more pics, Enjoy!!! (Pictures of Madi on left side).

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Love, Amy

Finally, a quiet weekend!!!

Grandma Taylor is doing better and went home Saturday afternoon. She was supposed to go home earlier but fell Thursday in the hospital and hurt her knee pretty good. It was black and swollen. But she was ready to be home and be able to rest when she wanted without interruption.

Friday night both of our parents came over to visit for awhile. Saturday, Chris worked down at the shop for a couple of hours. Mom came over and helped me get my sewing machine working. I can finally get started on more quilts. Yah!!!!! We went to Mom and Dad's for supper Saturday night and lunch on Sunday. It was very nice. Sunday night we were able to just be lazy and relax.

Madi is doing this weird sleeping thing where she doesn't want to sleep during the day unless she is being held. I don't want her to get used to me holding her when she sleeps, so, I put her down in her bed and she is awake within 10 minutes. Of course she isn't getting much sleep this way during the day and by night time we are both so exhausted and she has a hard time letting herself go to sleep. We have had several late nights the last couple nights. So far this morning she is sleeping better. Cross my fingers and knock on wood!! Maybe it's one of her weekly changes and this week she will sleep better again. I can only hope!!

We finally got some good rain around here. It has rained for about 3 days now. Salina has been on a restricted water consumption for 3 or 4 weeks now. The yards were looking horrible and we could only water two days a week. Hopefully this rain will fill up the rivers and lakes. Kanopolis Lake has been down for so long. Nobody can get their boats on the lake. Last week they closed the last open boat ramp on the lake because the water had fallen soo low. Mom and Dad are going to Topeka this next weekend and taking the boat just to get the gas that's been in it since last summer, ran out.

Well, hope everyone has a great week!!

Love, Amy






12 weeks old

Well, after I posted, I found out that they updated blogger and now have a new format and easier ways to change things. Let me know if it is too hard to read because of the colors. Also, I can now post pictures and a lot easier and faster. So, here are the latest pics.


Playing in her exersaucer. Loves it!!!

(Okay, I got one photo loaded before it wouldn't do it again. I'll post more pics later)

Here we go again....

Well, I was going to post yesterday about our busy, busy weekend. But before I got the chance to, Chris came home and said that his Grandma Taylor had a heartattack and she is in the hospital. 30 minutes later we get a call saying she is not doing well you better get to the hospital. We loaded up and spent the next 5 hours at the hospital. They moved her to ICU in order to monitor her heart. If she started developing pains again they would do a heart catheter. This morning we get a call, she is not doing well and did not get any better overnight. Madi and I met Chris at the hospital. They did the heart cath at 10:30 this morning and all of her arteries are clogged and they cannot do surgery. (What a blow!) But the good news is that it can be managed by diet, exercise, quit smoking and with medicine. The bad news is, she probably won't do any of those things. She is set in her ways and she is ready to go. But she has plenty of kids and grandkids that can hopefully convince her and help her to change. I know I am going to try and do whatever I can to help. We left the hospital to eat and get a little rest and will head back up there later. All of her kids have made it up and most of her grandkids. At least the ones that are here in town and several made trips back from out of town. We have been in and out visiting with her and she is in good spirits and assures us she will not die. She told one of the grandkids yesterday that she's okay, she just wanted to see who still loved her. Very funny grandma!!

On a lighter note, we did have a good weekend with the wedding Saturday. Thursday night Chris went to the bachelor party and drank a little too much and stayed out way too late. I realized this on Friday when he got up at 10:00 am, went to work and was back at 12:30 and done for the day. We then went over to the Masonic Temple and helped decorate. By the way, the Masonic Temple is not air conditioned. It was HOT HOT HOT. We then went to find clothes for Chris and I to wear. Chris was an usher and I did the guest book. Went back to the HOT HOT HOT Masonic Temple and had rehearsal. We then left and went to supper at Guiterrez Restaurant (Mexican food). After supper we went to Chris' Grandma and Grandpa Helm's house because his Aunt Joye and Uncle David from Texas were leaving the next morning. We had a nice visit there and headed home at 10:30. Madi was exhausted and Chris and I were just HOT HOT HOT. The next morning, Chris went down to the shop to get some more work done on the building. I took Madi and Oliver (the dog) to my mom and dad's because the bridal brunch was at my house at 10:00 am. Of course, nothing got done Friday because we were running around do other things. I was up at 6:30 cleaning house and getting the tables set. It was a very nice brunch though. Finally, got cleaned up and over to pick up Madi at 1:00 and back home to start getting ready and back to the HOT HOT HOT Masonic Temple at 3:30. The wedding was very nice but because of the heat, not very many people stayed for too long and there was maybe a dozen people left for the dance. It was kind of sad but to be expected when it is 100 degrees outside and in a non airconditioned building.

The party broke up about 10:30 and we loaded our big fans up and went home. Nathan, the son of the bride, stayed with us overnight. He is a pill and likes to have his way. I ended up missing all but the last 10 laps of the Nascar race Sunday because we had to watch cartoons all day. I'm sure I will be more willing to watch cartoons when it is my own child, but it got kind of old hearing an 8 year old whine because he didn't want to watch racing because it was too loud and he wants to watch cartoons. Oh well!!! The rest of Sunday was relaxing. Chris came home about 2:00 and we were lazy the rest of the day.

But, hopefully the rest of the week will be better and I hope everyone has a good one and stay safe!!!

Love you all,
Amy

(Sorry, no pics again today. I tried several times but they won't post)

I am still getting people that ask "Who does Madi look like?" Mom and I were going through some pictures tonight and it amazed me how much she still looks like me when I was a baby. So, I brought Mom's photo albums home so I could scan some of my pictures in and put Madi's next to them. I think we look so much alike!!!

Madi at 2 days old


Me at birth

Both of us at 1 month old

What a busy week we have had and another busy weekend coming up. Chris and I both had family in town from out of state. Unfortunately we did not make it out to see my Uncle Mike and Aunt Tomoko who are in from Washington. Saturday night my Aunt Jackie had a surprise party for Uncle Paul's birthday. But we had a wedding that night and wasn't able to make it to the birthday party. Hopefully they will be back at Christmas and we can see them then.

Chris' Aunt Joye and Uncle David, Tyler and Colter were in town from Texas. We had very nice visits with them and the rest of the Salina Helm's. Sunday, Chris, Dan, Jon, Uncle David, Raymond, Tyler and Colter went to some land owned by a friend of ours to shot guns and ride the four wheeler. Monday night we had supper at Grandma Betty's. Tuesday night I invited everyone over for supper. It was very nice!!

Chris is at a bachelor party tonight. His cousin Candee is getting married Saturday. Chris is an usher and I am doing the guest book. We have rehearsal tomorrow night and decorating. Saturday morning we are having a bridal brunch here at my house. Candee's aunt from Wichita is hosting it but having it here. She expects 13 people will come. Sunday it will be relax day and we will probably be napping most of the day!!

My dad finished the chopper tour Tuesday night. He had a lot of fun. The Salina store raised the most money for Cystic Fibrosis. They had well over 450 people show and raised around $1814. The organizers wanted dad to continue on with the tour through the end of August, ending in Shreveport, LA. While dad was on the road it sounded like a good thing. But once he got home I think he was glad he didn't continue on. He didn't see Madi for almost two weeks and he couldn't believe how much she had changed. I could only imagine what a difference she would be after a whole month away.

Madi is really getting her rolling over perfected. I want her to lay on her tummy and build up her upper body and get to pushing up more. But she isn't on her tummy long before she has already turned herself over. I spend most of the time turning her back on to her tummy. I don't want her to grow up to fast, but I am ready to see her sitting up and able to play a little more on her own. I know Chris is ready too. He can't wait until she is moving around. She has really been exercising her voice the last couple of days. She lays on the floor with her toys and makes all sorts of noises. She acts as though she is ready to talk and loves to be talked to. She is such a joy. It is really hard to get things done when she is awake and playing. I am usually on the floor playing with her. I'll get things done while she is sleeping.

It's almost Friday and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Stay cool!!!

Love, Amy