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

We hit another milestone today...Madi rolled over two times this morning all on her own!!! I layed her down on her tummy this morning and pulled her arms up in front of her so she could push herself up. Right away she tucked one shoulder in and got to her side. I couldn't believe she was doing it. A few kicks of her feet and she got herself turned over. She just layed there and smiled!!! It was soo cute!! I turned her back onto her belly and went for the phone to call Chris and when I turned back around she had rolled over again. After I talked to Chris, I tried it again and had the video camera out, but she was mad by this point and ready to take a nap. She didn't try again. We'll try again this evening and hopefully I can get it on video. What a big girl!!!

Here is the progress on the building so far. They got the outside trenched Tuesday and concrete poured on Wednesday for the footings. They were setting more rebar Thursday and the next step is to pour the floor. I told Chris it doesn't look all that big, but the main building didn't look all that big before walls went up either.

Everyone have a great weekend.
Love, Amy

Here are some new pics from today. We went down to Airgas to see the chopper. It's a pretty cool bike and very loud. Even though it was only 83 degrees outside, the humidity is awful and the sun made it so hot outside. I guess it could be worse, 100 degrees with humidity and the sun shining!

Enjoy the pics!
Love, Amy

She is so happy after waking up from a nap!!

They wouldn't even let me sit her on the seat, what a bummer!

What a week the Helm family has had!! I am just glad it is a new one and so far so good. Last week the Helm's spent more time in hospitals than anyone usually does in a whole year. Jane (Chris' mom) was in the hospital 3 times with back problems. Luckily it wasn't ruptured disks or something new, but she has a degenerative bone disease in her lower back that is getting worse and worse. She is still not feeling great and is spending most of her time taking it easy in bed. Then, Jon (Chris' brother) was jumped and they smashed his eye socket to pieces. Wednesday, Madi and I and my mom went also, we took Jon to see a specialist in Wichita. We spent all morning in the doctors office and then they sent us straight over to Wesley so Jon could have surgery later that evening. We left Wichita at 5:00 when Dan (Chris' dad) made it to the hospital to stay during surgery and until he was out and everything was fine. The next day, Chris, Madi and I drove back to Wichita to pick Jon up from the hospital. Friday we were finally able to relax and I am sure Madi was glad she didn't have to sit in her carseat anymore. But she did do a wonderful job.

Chris has been working a lot lately. Saturday and most of Sunday he worked all day down at the shop getting dirt moved around and weeds taken care of. Chris and his second cousin Bob (who just retired in June from the City of Salina after 30 years of service) started construction on the new addition to the shop today. We were down there just a couple of hours ago and they were trenching out the outside to get the footings started. It will be a 20 x 50 ft addition on the south side of the building. Bob is going to move into it and start doing his taxadermy full time from there. He is really talented and does an awesome job. Some of you have seen his work. Remember, Bob Helm if you ever have any taxadermy needs. Wow, maybe I should start advertising for people! Well, all this construction means more late nights for Chris. I am just glad there is finally going to be a break in the 100 degree temps around here. This is his third big personal construction job that he has decided to work on during the month of August. I keep asking him to pick cooler months to work on these things! Oh well, I'll post pictures of the progress.

In other big news around here, my dad is traveling this week for his job. The Teutle's in NY made an Airgas themed chopper motorcycle and as a promo, charity thing, it is being taken around KS the next week and a half to different Airgas stores. They are collecting money for the Cystic Fibrosis foundation and dad gets to travel with it. Yesterday they were in Garden City, today in Hutchinson, Wednesday in Wichita, Thursday in Salina, Friday in Topeka, Monday in KC and Tuesday in St. Jo, MO. They have hotdogs and chips and pop they are serving at lunch time and you can take pictures of the bike. Sounds like fun. Madi and I are going to go down on Thursday. I am trying to put together a cute little biker chic outfit for Madi! Will definetly pass pictures on of that one! I guess everybody thinks the Teutle's will be there, but they won't be. I think Dad could probably pass for Paul Sr. though. We should have planned ahead and had him grow some chops and wear an OCC tank top, I think it would have worked!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week and I will be posting pics real soon.

Love, Amy

I am getting so fed up with blogger not posting pics. What a pain!!