The Helman Family

Easter Party Party

2009-04-19T07:24:00.004-04:00

We've had a crazy, fun couple weeks. We headed to Ohio to spend Easter with Justin's family. Jarrett had a great time; he got to hunt eggs in the morning with Justin's parents and did pretty well. However, Jarrett missed the big easter egg hunt with all his cousins because he was asleep, but he loved his Easter basket from G & G Cox because he got bubbles and a squirt gun. Let's just say Lewis HATES the squirt gun. Poor dogs, we just let Jarrett torture them ;)

This weekend, a bunch of my friends from high school and I celebrated Ashlee's bachelorette party! The night started off with a Pure Romance party at a friend's house! It was so fun to be able to catch up with everybody because it's just so difficult to find time to keep in touch and actually have nights out together. Ash's big day is in 1 month! We are so excited!

Yesterday, Jarrett and I went up to Crown Point, IN to celebrate Krissy and Prater's baby shower with them. A long drive for one day, but so worth it. Krissy is due May 15th, so it is getting so close. I always love to see Krissy and Prater since our visits are so few and far between. It's so weird to think that Justin and I spent every single day with these two in college and now we only get to see each other 2 or 3 times a year. We miss them like crazy! They are doing so well and after yesterday I'm sure they are now prepared for Baby Prater to be here! I wasn't able to catch any pictures yesterday, but Jarrett loved all the little babies at the shower, especially one certain little girl. He kept laying on her and touching her. At one point, her mom tried to pick her up and Jarrett pulled her legs to keep her down! Oh my son!!!!! I'm positive the principle will be giving us calls quite often once Jarrett starts school. :)

Well, that's enough for now

More Pictures

2009-04-06T20:49:00.002-04:00

Vacation

2009-04-06T20:41:00.003-04:00

So, I'm no good at posting regularly...sorry :( We just got back from a weeks vacation down in Gatlinburg, TN. We went with my sister, Kristy, and her four kids for their spring break. We really had a great time, but were really tired by the time we got back home on Saturday evening. None of us have ever been to Gatlinburg, so we decided to head down there for a few days, then venture back up to visit family in northern TN. The kids had a blast in Gatlinburg at the Aquarium, Ripley's Museum, mini golf, and WonderWorks (which is the coolest place I've ever been). Jarrett and Will really loved the aquarium getting to see all the different kinds of fish and sharks (MEAN, which is what Jarrett calls them). Real quick, funny story....Later in the week, Will was acting like a shark and chasing Jarrett. Jarrett was laughing and screaming "MEAN" at Will. Well, Will then proceeded to bite Jarrett's pantleg, again, Jarrett still laughing and saying MEAN. Then Will actually got some skin with his bite, again, Jarrett is STILL laughing, but the MEAN changed tones! He had a shark bite on his knee from Will! Never once did he cry, but he was sure proud to show everyone his MEAN Boo Boo! Overall, we had a great time in Tennessee!

Elmo, Scooby Doo, Library and More...

2009-02-19T22:11:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I don't have any updated pictures, so sorry sorry. A nice young pregnant best friend of mine yelled at me for not updating our blog, so here I am at 10:12pm on Thursday night (12 minutes past my bedtime)updating our blog for her! :)

Jarrett has been speaking up more and more the past couple weeks. He has grown a new love for Elmo, or should I say Melmo. We MUST watch Elmo everyday when we get home from the babysitters. Mind you, I'm sure he has conned the babysitters into watching Elmo throughout the day. But, how can you resist the sweet little smile...Him and Cayson LOVE to watch Elmo together!!! It is so cute! They are going to be great friends and troublemakers, I'm sure of it. Jarrett and I also stopped by the Library to pick up some tax forms and he fell in love with it. Now, mind you, we didn't even go into the actual library, just in entryway, and he screamed when we left! But he did learn to say Library, all three syllables and all! He now also says Scooby Doo Be Doo. It's the cutest thing in the world!

Jarrett had some check up doctor's appointments last week and we got great news! He can now stop taking his Prilosec and we were released from his GI Doctor. Yah! When then we to see his favorite Dr. Akanli, his Pulmonologist, and she told us we can stop breathing treatments at the end of March! YES! YES! He is weighing in at a hefty 28 lbs and 34 inches long. He is a growing boy!

He got to spend last weekend over in Ohio with his Grandma and Grandpa Helman and Aunt Crystal and Uncle Bino. He had a blast that included bowling (where he threw is basketball down the lane) and his first Hibatchi sp? bar. Justin and I were able to have a weekend to ourselves, which was nice, but we missed Jarrett terribly. We were able to go out to Rexas Toadhouse (that is for you buddy). It was so weird for us to not have to say, "Stop that, eat your food, etc etc etc). We also got a lot of work done on the house. We painted our playroom a hideous shade of red that will be changed soon, cleaned the house, and ripped out our upstairs shower (kind of unexpectadley) So, now onto our next project....a new bathroom!

Where Has The Time Gone???

2009-02-01T17:17:00.006-05:00

Okay Okay, I know, it's been almost two months since our last post. Please forgive me! First of all, we had a great holiday season spent with family, friends, and coworkers. Christmas was soooo much fun this year with Jarrett, he really had a great time opening all his gifts and playing with them. Let alone screaming at me when I took one away so he could open another :)
Justin has been soooo busy with work because as many of you know, rates dropped dramatically thus making my husband work A LOT! I'm so glad he LOVES his job! We had some nights without daddy until about 9ish, so Jarrett was already sleeping soundly, but that's okay. We appreciate all of Justin's hard work and like I've mentioned before, I'm so thankful that he has a job that he loves so much!!! It definitely helps to have him in a great mood at home after work to help pick up grumpy old me who doesn't like my current situation!
Jarrett has started talking so much more lately, he can just about anything and everything...so watch your mouths!
You'll be able to see watch he has been up to lately...see below

Okay, so I'm having some problems with uploading pictures, I can't seem to get captions under them.
The first one is Jarrett at the eye dr. He has a blocked tear duct and apparently he was pretty excited about it.
The second picture is his new POUTY FACE!
Then we have him and his cousin Gracie playing a musical piece for all of us on New Years Day.
Last are a couple pics of Xmas.

Here are a couple pictures from this weekend. We went to visit our best friends from college, Krissy and Andrew Prater, up in Valparaiso. They have two dogs, Dodger and Coco, and Jarrett fell in love with Dodger as you can see. Krissy and Prater are expecting a little one in May. We can't wait to meet him/her! Jarrett also got to play in the snow today since it was somewhat warm out. I hate cold weather which is why today was the first day to play in the snow! He seemed to like it all right, but he loved to eat it as you can see from the picture!

We hope everyone is doing well!

Where Has The Time Gone???

2009-02-01T17:17:00.001-05:00

It's beginning to look a lot like...

2008-12-17T20:10:00.002-05:00

Things have been crazy here at the Helman household trying to get ready for Christmas! We've had Xmas parties, Xmas shopping, plays, ball games, etc. You name it, we've probably had it! Unfortunately, Jarrett has caught his first real cold:( And with his breathing history, we have to take many more precautions. He's had to add more breathing treatments to his day, which he DOESN'T like might I add. His poor little nose is so raw, I just feel so bad for the little guy. Hopefully, he feels better by the weekend because he is staying with Aunt Kristy and the kids again on Saturday night so Justin and I can go to my Xmas party. (Yes, I said another Xmas party)
Also, on another note, I've decided to go back to school to get my Master's Degree and right now I'm thinking of getting it in either Secondary Education or Higher Education, so I can teach! I've really been indecisive on what I want to be when I grow up ;) I really truly loved my first job out of college at Worldwide Express, but it wasn't possible to keep that position and move back home. I then, went to work for IBC for about a year and thought I was ready for a change again (wrong), so I went to Coca Cola. I've now realized that I truly need to help people and have an impact on their lives (while having weekends and holidays off, not to mention the summers ;) I really truly feel this will be the best fit for me and I will be happy doing this. Keep your fingers crossed!
I just want to put a plug in for my wonderful husband too. As many of you know, Justin is a loan officer for MetLife Home Loans. Well, rates are at an all time low!!!! So, if anyone is considering refinancing or purchasing a home anytime soon, now would be the best time, so definitely give him a call or visit his web site at www.lo.mlhl.com/justinhelman. We really appreciate it. Just think, you will be contributing to Jarrett's college fund :)
I can't get away without posting a couple pics of our precious one.

Ooppss..

2008-12-06T12:07:00.005-05:00

So, I completely forgot this Monday about the "Not Me Monday" Oh well, things have been completely crazy around here since Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, oh yes, we had a great Thanksgiving. We were able to spend the day over in Ohio with Justin's family, it was so nice! We came back Thursday night because as many of you know, I LOVE BLACK FRIDAY! Unfortunately, I had to work at 7am! BBOOOOO!! But, nonetheless, I did get up and was at Kohls at 4am with my sis! We always decorate the tree at my parents that night and we also had Sophie's bday party because she had to get her tonsils out this past Wed...right before her bday on the 12th. She was a trooper though and is feeling great! We had my family Thanksgiving on Saturday and family pics on Sundsy...so busy busy is what we've been.

Anyway, it's been a stressful week. As mentioned before, Sophie had her tonsils out on Wednesday, my mom was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday for what they think is a Peptic Ulcer, so she was there for three days. And to top it off, Jarrett had to get the Synagis shot so he doesn't get RSV on Wednesday. A little about this shot...it is typically reserved for preemies and babies who have chronic lung disease and heart problems, but his Pulmonologist recommended he get it to be safe! Luckily she convinced our insurance to cover it; otherwise, we were looking at $2000 a shot! Oh, did I say, he has to get a shot once a month for 5 months! Yah! Thank you Lord for our insurance covering this! Anyways, he wasn't too thrilled about this shot, he had to get two and boy was he mad! He screamed so much that I did see two molars coming in! So, now we have a fussy boy who doesn't feel good from two shots and two teeth!

We hope everyone is doing well. Here are a couple pics from Thanksgiving.

Not Me...Mondays

2008-11-24T20:41:00.005-05:00

So, my friend, Lindsey, has started doing this and I decided to give it a shot. Every Monday, I, along with many other moms, get to take a "time out" to be brutally honest. Sounds fun, right? We'll see...

Just thinking back on this past week, I can think of so much to be thankful for with Thanksgiving approaching. Number one...I'm so incredibly thankful for God blessing Justin and I with an amazing little boy. (who by the way, cracks us up every single day) I can't even imagine life without him. But, I did not have a sigh of relief when Justin came home from work tonight and said HE would take care of Jarrett's breathing treatment tonight.

I also did not allow Jarrett to brush his teeth in the tub and continue to dip his toothbrush into his bath water only to put it back in his mouth. Did you say diaper changes? Oh yes, I definitely did not let Jarrett rub his hands in the diaper cream already applied!

And our poor dogs, I most definitely didn't watch Jarrett sit on Taylor and hop up and down because he thought she was a horse. And I did not see her pitiful eyes telling me to please make him stop.

Cleaning up dinner while daddy isn't home. Oh yes, I did not leave Jarrett in his high chair to keep him contained after dinner so I could clean the kitchen! I would have loved to chase him back and forth and to and from the dog water while trying to clean the kitchen!

To be continued....Next Monday (if I remember)

Welcome Darrin!

2008-11-10T21:45:00.006-05:00

This past weekend we traveled up to Berrien Springs, MI to visit our friends Doug and Sarah. Sarah recently gave birth to little Darrin as I mentioned in a previous post, so we wanted to make our way up there and meet him! Jarrett and Alex had a great time playing together and we had a great time catching up with Doug and Sarah.

Jarrett and Alex decided to play IN the toy box....Look at that big cheeser!

Also, on Friday before heading up to Michigan, we stopped by St. Vincent's hospital in Indy to visit our very good friend Morgan, who is in there with pancreatitis (sp?) She is getting much better and we are so thankful for that and for the wonderful doctors down at St. V's! We can't wait for Morgan to come home to her precious baby girl, Layla! Get better soon, Morg! We love ya!

The Last one tonight...I promise

2008-11-02T18:45:00.004-05:00

We've had a busy fun filled weekend!

On Saturday while we were up visiting Aunt Crystal and Uncle Cameron, my great friend from college, Kelly, had her beautiful baby girl, Khloe Marie Goble! Weighing in at 8lbs 2oz, Khloe made her entrance at 12:51pm on Saturday. Jarrett wasn't able to visit her today because he is awful snotty, but Justin and I went to meet her. She is so sweet! I'm sure her and Jarrett will be great friends that cause an awful lot of trouble! Congrats Kelly and Jeff.

Also, Justin's great friend from college, Doug and his wife Sarah welcomed their second little boy today around 3pm. Weighing in at 9lbs. 15oz...Sarah is my hero!!!! Baby O'dell doesn't have a name yet, but will soon. We are going to visit this weekend, so we will have to re-introduce him to you all. Big brother Alex (2yrs) will have plenty to teach his little brother.

Just wanted to post a couple pics of how excited Jarrett is to meet his new friends

Yes, he still has his tattoo!

Monster Golf!

2008-11-02T18:38:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, we decided to make the trip up to Lafayette to see Aunt Crystal and Uncle Cameron. We went Monster Golfing, which is miniature golf in black lights! So fun! They also had animated monsters, dragons, etc. Jarrett had a big time!

Jarrett even got his own golf club

Picking the goblin's nose

Future brain surgeon?

Doing the chicken dance with Aunt Crystal

He also got his first tattoo!

Don't worry, it's not real!! :)

We had a ROARING Halloween

2008-11-02T18:32:00.003-05:00

Well, this was actually Jarrett's second Halloween, but considering he was only a little over a month old last year, we had a little more fun this year. He dressed up as a fierocious lion!

Trick or treating started on Thursday night for us. We attended a local church's Trunk or Treat with Aunt Kristy and the kids.

Will dressed up as an Imagination Mover from the Disney Channel. He thought Jarrett needed to wear his cowboy hat.

Grandpa Robbins made a surprise visit from Tennessee. He went Trunk or Treating with all of us.

Jarrett got a little fussy because he was so tired, but it was nothing a sucker couldn't heal.

Joshua and Jarrett meet......again

2008-10-25T15:24:00.005-04:00

A couple days ago, Lindsey, Adam and sweet little Joshua came to visit us. They are in town from Atlanta and Lindsey and I always like to get the boys together since they are only five days apart. They will be moving here soon and we are so excited! Lindsey and I were college roommates for a while and rekindled our friendship when we both found out we were pregnant at the same time! I'm sure Joshua and Jarrett will become great friends.....or should I say great troublemakers together! :)

Playing baseball together

They kept throwing balls over the gate

Joshua was tickling Jarrett

Have a safe trip back to Georgia!

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-13T21:03:00.005-04:00

Okay, so I usually never post two days in a row just because I don't have the time, but I couldn't resist. Tonight, instead of going on a walk, we decided to carve Jarrett's pumpkin! He was so excited. He kept pounding on our front door until I went out to bring his pumpkin in to carve. The great Neice got Jarrett a stencil of Goodnight Moon (Jarrett's fav book) for his pumpkin.

He kept taking the top off and putting it back on

Daddy shows him how to do it and he thinks its pretty funny

Let me try now

This is pretty fun

Yes, him and Justin started throwing it!

Digging out the "guts"

Finished project

Goats Goats Goats

2008-10-12T13:05:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I took Jarrett to Jacobs Family Orchard to pick out his pumpkin. He had such a blast! We started off by sampling their famous Apple Doughnuts...yummy. He and Will chowed down on them. Oh ya, by the way, Aunt Kristy and the kids went with us. Next, we went for the Apple Slushies...mmmmm mmmmm good. Aunt Kristy gave Jarrett a drink and he took it from her and drank all the juice! She only had ice left...that little stinker. We made our way over to the goats. I wasn't so sure how Jarrett would react to them, boy was I surprised. He took the goat food and went right up to the goats. He made a fist so they couldn't get the food, so they licked and nibbled his hand. I've never heard the little guy cackle so much. It was hysterical. I wish I would've gotten it on video. Then the little stinker snuck to my apple cider and drank all my juice! We made our way over to the hay bales that the kids could climb on and got some really good pictures. While the older kids went on a hay ride, we let Will and Jarrett play in the pumpkins. Sooo cute. Jarrett rode a pumpkin while Will climbed all over them. Check out our fun day below....

New Games

2008-09-28T20:51:00.004-04:00

Jarrett has developed some new games that he now likes to play. One being helping me with laundry by climbing in and out of the basket while I'm trying to fold clothes.

He also likes to feed himself now

Jarrett isn't allowed to climb up the stairs by himself, so he just sits then stands up on the first step. He gets so proud of himself.

However, I'm not so sure what this face means...

It looks like he is saying, "Whatch you gonna do about it"

Fall Festival

2008-09-21T15:47:00.002-04:00

This Saturday, Sept. 27th, there is a fall festival at LP Greenhouse right off Kennard Road. There will be food, music, and many booths for people to shop. It is from 9am-5pm. Kristy and I will have our Uppercase Living booth set up, so please stop by. It should be a great time and a great way to welcome fall!!! If you need directions, please let me know.

Our Uppercase Living business is really doing well and we really enjoy helping people decorate their homes, pick out gifts for friends/families, etc. People are falling in love with the expressions we offer and the opportunity to create their own expressions. With the new fall/winter catalog just coming out, there are many new expressions and colors. These expressions can really "warm" up a home! I really hope you guys can take a look at our own web site and view the catalog! If you do so choose, you can have an open house, but I know many of you don't live around here. We have done a couple catalog parties for people who live far away and they have been so successful and the ladies have gotten a lot of free expressions for themselves.

So, back to the festival....we are going to have a door prize drawing and other giveaways for people who come.

Hope to see you there!

Jarrett is 1!!!!!!

2008-09-18T13:54:00.002-04:00

So, we had a really busy weekend. First, Justin, Jarrett and I celebrated his first bday on Thursday (his actual bday). Jarrett opened presents from us and got his first go round with a cake. Then, on Saturday, we had his BIG bday party. Thanks so much to everyone who came and a special thanks to Melissa for making the best little cake for Jarrett. It was a goodnight moon cake!!! Jarrett got so many presents that we still don't know what to do with everything! We can't believe our little man is 1 yrs. old already. He is really walking everywhere now and growing up so fast! :(

On Sunday, we had my friend from college, Kelly's, baby shower. Little Khloe will be here around Nov. Jarrett can't wait to meet her. He is going to have so many little girlfriends! He know has his cousin, Mia, 2nd cousin, Gracie, and little miss Layla Pryor to play with. He isn't going to know what to do with another little girl. Luckily, Justin's cousin, Tara, is due to have a little boy in December. Whew!

Oh oh oh!!!! Exciting news!!!! Our very bestest friends, Krissy and Prater! Yes....they are expecting too!!!! Yah!!!!!!!

Jarrett had a dr. appt. yesterday with his Pulmonologist. Everything looks good and she sees improvement in his breathing from our last appt. Yah! We have to continue with 1 breathing treatment a day through the cold/flu season. He has to get a flu shot as well as another shot to help prevent him from getting RSV. We are going to see his GI doctor today, so we will update you on that.

Hope everyone is doing well.

He climbed on top of his present while opening it.

What's in there?

We are still alive...

2008-09-03T18:56:00.002-04:00

I apologize for not posting in like a month! Things have been crazy at the Helman household. First, Jarrett will be 1 next week!!!! Oh my, I can't believe how fast this past year has went, it's really kind of sad, but also exciting because he is reaching new milestones all the time...like...walking! Yes, he is walking! We have been busy planning his bday party as well as my friend from college, Kelly's, baby shower. (which I so kindly said we could have at my house..the day after Jarrett's party!) I only have to clean once then, right? Ha, yeah right! I'm very excited for both though.

My job at Coke is going pretty good, just a lot to learn and take in. It has been overwhelming, but I think I will really enjoy it once I grasp everything. It has been nice to be home with Jarrett about 4-4:30pm everyday!

Justin's job is keeping him busy too and he is still loving it. He now works for MetLife Home Loans rather than First Horizon because MetLife bought First Horizon.

Jarrett has started going to a new babysitter until December because Miss Linda has a seasonal job she does every year. His new babysitter watches him Mon and Wed, which he likes her a lot, and the wonderful Melissa Lovett watches him Tues/Thurs. We all know Jarrett LOVES Melissa. (Well, both Melissas now...his new babysitter's name is Melissa too)

I will definitely try to get some pics up soon, but I just wanted you all to know..we are still here and kicking it.

Oh yeah...can't forget our very good friends John and Morgan. They are going into the hospital tonight to have little miss Layla Grace Pryor tomorrow!! We are so excited for them and can't wait to meet Layla!!!

Check it Out!

2008-08-07T13:05:00.001-04:00

Check out my sister and mine's new web site!
http://middletownsisters.uppercaseliving.net

Rambling Departure

2008-08-05T08:46:00.002-04:00

Well, it's time for a career change for me yet once again. On Friday, July 25th, I accepted a job at Coca-Cola as an Account Manager. I really feel this position is more "Me" and that I will truly love the job and find it to be very rewarding. However, it was difficult for me to relay that news to my coworkers, managers, etc here at Indiana Business College. I have been at IBC a little over a year and have really developed some great relationships, so it will be difficult to depart from them, but I couldn't turn down the opportunity at Coca Cola. First, my hours are much better to where I will be home every evening with Justin and Jarrett, which is huge for me because 1-2 nights a week, I wouldn't get home from work until 8pm or so and my sweet little boy would already be in bed. (Thank you to my amazing husband for taking over Jarrett's bedtime routine on those nights..love you) I will also receive a company car and gas card, so we are finally going to be able to get rid of our HHR (thank heavens!), and be able to save that money each month! I'm really excited about this opportunity and look forward to joining the Coca Cola team next Monday!

What else are we up to? Well, Jarrett is just about walking..taking about 4-5 steps at a time, so the baby gates are up! I would think in the next couple weeks, he will on the run. Justin and I have been working on the house some more trying to get it finished before Jarrett's first birthday party! What! Our baby is going to be 1 already??? I can't believe how time flies. Stayed tuned for more info on his celebration. Anyway, back to the house, Justin has been working on our landscaping in the front and back yard (with a fountain and everything..woo!) and I have been scraping wallpaper (yuck!) in our downstairs bathroom so we can paint it. I want it painted by this Sunday because my sister and I are having an Uppercase Living open house at our house, so if you aren't doing anything, come on over! It is from 2-4pm and it is a come and go as you please. You will be able to take home a free expression too! If you need directions, let me know. Also, if you can't make it, but would like to see the catalog, let me know.

Justin and my dad have been golfing every week for a couple months now, and now they think its my turn to golf...oh goodness! I borrowed Morgan's golf clubs to try it out...I'll keep you posted on that one too! HA!

Well, I think I've rambled on long enough. Hope you all have a great day!

How could you not just eat him up?

2008-08-01T12:47:00.002-04:00

Linda, Jarrett's wonderful babysitter, took this picture of him after he ate lunch. I just loved it, so I wanted to share.

P.S. (I think he looks like me in this picture.... ;) )

First Haircut! Well....kinda

2008-07-29T09:03:00.003-04:00

We have been wanting to get Jarrett's haircut for a while now because his hair is out of control! This kid always has the worst case of bed head I've ever seen. Even when we wet it, brush it, gel it....it still seems to be everywhere 10 minutes afterwards. We haven't been able to find time to go get it cut, so Justin decided to give it a whirl last Saturday. Take a look...

Jarrett LOVES the sweeper. Everytime I vaccum, he chases me around trying to catch the sweeper...weird, I know. So, in these pictures, Jarrett was sitting next to the vaccum (while it was on, so he couldn't hear the trimmers). Everything was going great until Jarrett leaned back and SNIP! He know has a small shaved area at the back of his head! Ha! Just adds character, right? So, Justin decided to call it quits and we will just have his hair cut some other time!

Congratulations!

2008-07-21T08:48:00.003-04:00

Now introducing...Mr. and Mrs. Rich and Nikki Gilman!

My college roommate, Nikki, got married this past weekend up in Lafayette. It was such a pretty ceremony and I've never seen Nikki so happy! Rich is the perfect guy for her. Congratulations Nikki and Rich!

Justin and I right before the wedding.

We have to say thank you to my parents for watching Jarrett overnight, so Justin and I could go to the wedding and enjoy a night out together!

Time to Catch Up!

2008-07-21T08:32:00.004-04:00

How cute is he????

Well, I was on vacation last week, so didn't have much time to update everyone. Ha, yeah right! I had all the time in the world because I did absolutely nothing, and loved every minute of it! Jarrett and I spent the whole week together going on walks, playing, swimming, etc. Of course, we missed Justin terribly while he was at work, and we so glad to see him every night when he got home! I didn't get too many pictures this week, but snapped a few at Shadyside Park on Monday when I took Jarrett, Kassidy and Krystin to the park.

4th of July!

2008-07-09T07:47:00.003-04:00

Well, we headed over to Justin's grandparents in Ohio on Thursday night for our annual family campout. We were interested in seeing how Jarrett would react to the campout and to sleeping in a tent. Let's just say by night two, Jarrett and I were sleeping in the house! He was up and down and very restless the whole first night. Teething hit him once again on Friday morning, so combined with not a lot of sleep, he was miserable. He ran a fever off and on until Sunday morning. Poor little guy, he just wasn't his usual self, which was unfortunate because his cousin Gracie was there too and was very active and playful. The few occasions that they did decide to play together, neither of them were wanting to share at all! Each wanted what the other had. Overall it was a pretty good weekend, we got to spend quality time with Justin's family and Jarrett got to go on his first tractor ride! We got home around 5pm on Sunday and Jarrett was out at 6:30pm and slept until 6am the next morning, he was tuckered out!

Oh yeah, Jarrett went to the doctor last Thursday and here are his stats:

Weight: 21lbs (75th percentile)

Height: 30 inches (95th percentile)

He is a healthy baby boy!

This is closest he got to the pool because it was too chilly!

1st tractor ride with Great Grandpa Cox. (He almost fell asleep on the ride)

One of his few smiles of the weekend

Jarrett and Gracie

Joshua and Jarrett meet again

2008-06-24T08:46:00.003-04:00

My friend from college, Lindsey Newton, and her family are up in Anderson visiting. Luckily, we were able to work out a time to get Joshua and Jarrett together to play. Joshua is 8 days older than Jarrett. They met for the first time when Jarrett was 10 days old, now it was time to meet again! Unfortunately, Jarrett was a little grumpy because he has two more teeth popping through and they are giving him fits, but I was able to snap a couple pictures.

We are so glad that we finally got to see Lindsey and Joshua! Thanks so much for coming over! Have a safe trip to Illinois and Arizona then back to Georgia!!!

A Weekend without my boys

2008-06-24T08:38:00.002-04:00

On Friday, Justin, Jarrett, and Justin's parents all went up to visit Crystal and Cameron in Naperville, IL. I didn't go because I already had plans to go wedding dress shopping with my best friend, Ashlee. This was my first time away from Jarrett overnight, it was difficult at first, but I kept Will Friday night(since it was Aunt Kristy's bday), so he kept me pretty busy. They all had a great time over the weekend coming back with some patriotic clothes for Jarrett to wear at our Annual 4th of July family campout in Ohio!

So, what did I do all weekend, you ask?? Cleaned like a mad woman! But there was definitely time for some fun too. Like I said, I went dress shopping with Ash. It was so much fun because Ash and I don't get to spend too much time together anymore. We had a great day shopping for a wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses with a much needed stop at TJ Maxx! I spent Saturday night over at Kristy and Joe's because Kassidy, Krystin and JJ just got back from church camp and I missed them terribly! Lewis, Taylor and I ended up staying the night there too! Kristy and I redecorated her dining room, hung some pictures then ended the night playing cards with Joe. Sunday of course, was set aside for church and Ash and I went to a friend from high school's baby shower, which was fun because all of our high school friends were there that we hadn't seen in a while. Finally, Sunday evening....MY BOYS CAME HOME!

Dress shopping didn't start out too well...

But quickly got better!

More pictures...

2008-06-16T08:32:00.002-04:00

He forgot to move his feet!!

He was a wild man after his bath last night

Aww...Happy Father's Day, dad. I love you!

We can't forget sweet little Mia.

Happy Father's Day and Happy 2nd Birthday Will!

2008-06-16T08:23:00.003-04:00

We had a very busy weekend! My grandparents from Tennessee came up to visit and to meet little Mia, so we all spent a lot of time over at my parents house.

Yesterday was of course, Father's Day, but it was also Will's 2nd birthday! After church we had a party over at Aunt Kristy's. We took all the kids swimming, watched Will open presents, and ate some good food. Jarrett was exhausted from the weekend and swimming, so he took a three hour nap when we got home yesterday from Aunt Kristy's......mommy and daddy got a nap too :)

We can't believe Jarrett is nine months already! We don't go to the doctor for a couple weeks, so you'll have to wait for his official stats, but I will say...we do have a big boy! He has six teeth now and we think more are starting to come in because we go through three bibs a day!

Well, here are some pictures from the past couple weekends.

Jarrett and I getting ready to walk in the Relay for Life

Jarrett and Gracie at Crystal and Cameron's engagement party

Apparently he was pretty happy about the mohawk Aunt Crystal gave him

Swimming with his mouth open

Going for a wagon ride....Happy Birthday Will!

Summer Fun!

2008-06-11T13:28:00.002-04:00

I will post some pictures later on, but I just wanted to update everyone on our great, but busy weekend.

Jarrett and I walked in the Relay for Life Saturday afternoon. His favorite part of the Relay was the Survivor lap because he got to shake a pom pom in the air; however, he only did that for a second or two, then it ended up in his mouth!!
After the Relay, we all went to Ohio to celebrate Crystal and Cameron's engagement party. It was a lot of fun! We got to see a lot of family and Jarrett got to play with his cousin, Gracie, who is 1 month older than him. I'm sure these two are going to be a handful together before long!
Jarrett is going to be walking before long. The other night he caught himself standing alone, got scared, then did a face plant on the floor! I couldn't help myself but laugh at him (after I realized he was okay, just mad). He is now standing in his crib too, which we thought would never happen. He is growing up so fast :(

Swimming!

2008-06-06T08:15:00.003-04:00

So, it was a scorcher out yesterday...FINALLY!!!! I decided to take Jarrett swimming for the first time out at my sisters. I wasn't sure how he was going to react, but actually enjoyed it and just chilled out in the pool the whole time...actually I think he was too busy watching Will swim because he is fearless!!!!!

"I'm not too sure about this, mom"

The pool was a tad bit green from all the rain...

Wasn't so bad after all.

Will in his new Nemo floating swimsuit

He spent most of his time jumping into the pool.

Fair Week!

2008-06-04T12:06:00.003-04:00

Yes, that's right! This week the fair is in town! Last night, we took Jarrett to his first parade to see his cousins: JJ, Kassidy, and Krystin. They were in the parade for their ball teams. He really seemed to enjoy watching everything go by; however, when the ambulance sirens went off, he started to cry a little. After the parade, we took him down to the fair just for a bit because it was pretty muddy due to all the rain we've been getting. He was happy though because he got a big green balloon. This kid LOVES balloons!

On Thursday night we are supposed to have a cookout at our church then watch the fireworks from the fair; however, with all the rain we got last night, I don't know that the fair will still be in town. The entire fairgrounds were flooded when we drove by this morning...all the "fair workers" were wading in knee deep water!

We will be going to Ohio on Saturday for Aunt Crystal and Uncle Bino's engagement party. Jarrett's cousin, Gracie, who is a month older than him will be there, so I'm sure we are going to have plenty of pictures of these two!

Here are a couple pictures from the parade last night.

Daddy and Jarrett before the parade

Mommy and Jarrett

I'm thirsty...no, it wasn't open!

Welcome Cayson!

2008-05-27T09:48:00.001-04:00

Cayson is here too! Bonnie, Jarrett's babysitter, had little Cayson on Sunday evening. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 2 oz. and was 21 1/4 inches long. Bonnie and Cayson will be coming home tonight! We can't wait to meet him! Congratulations Bonnie!!

Now Introducing...Miss Mia Faith Wilkinson!!!!

2008-05-23T08:25:00.003-04:00

MIA FAITH WILKINSON

Yes, that's right! Mia is finally here!!!! After 9 long months, Mia arrived at 10:21am yesterday morning weighing 7 lbs. 4 oz and 20.5 inches long! (Just a little fun fact...she is the smallest baby that we've had in this family).

Courtney was induced at 6am yesterday morning and only had to push twice before Mia made her grand entrance. We are so proud of Courtney (and Chris ;) ) Sophie is such the proud big sister too!

Here are some pictures from our big day...trust me...there will be more to come.

The proud family...Chris, big sis Sophie, Mia, and Court

I'm such a proud aunt....again!

Congratulations Sophie!

2008-05-22T08:00:00.003-04:00

Last night, Jarrett's cousin, Sophie graduated from preschool. Hooray! Off to Kindergarten she will go in the fall.

Sophie the graduate!

Also, Sophie is going to become a big sister today! As we speak my sister, Courtney and Chris are at the hospital having little Miss Mia. I will definitely have pictures to post tomorrow!

Now, of course I couldn't do a post without any pictures of Jarrett, right?

This is Jarrett and Will at the babysitters yesterday. How evil does Will look?

Oh Where Oh Where is my little cousin, Mia???

2008-05-19T10:33:00.003-04:00

"Don't think you are changing my cartoons!"

Jarrett is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his little cousin, Mia. Aunt Courtney was having contractions on Friday, and we thought that Jarrett and I were going to miss our chance to go up to visit Aunt Crystal and Uncle "Bino" in Naperville, IL. Luckily, Court's contractions settled down, so we decided to go ahead and make the trip.

First, I have to brag on my little boy! It is about a 4 hour trip up to Crystal and Cameron's, and he was an angel!!! Not only on the trip up, but the entire weekend!!!! He was so excited to see his Aunt Crystal and Uncle "Bino" that he would not go to sleep until midnight Friday night and 11pm on Saturday night, even with very little nap time during the day. What a trooper!

On Saturday, we did a lot of running around to get some wedding stuff taken care of, and again, Jarrett was so good! We got home about 12pm on Sunday afternoon and Justin's mom stayed with Jarrett while my sister, Kristy, and I did our first Uppercase Living Open House. By the way, which was a lot of fun and a great success!

Jarrett passed out at about 7:30pm last night, which is a little early, but who could blame him. The boy was tired! He slept until 6:30am this morning! Great job, buddy!

Why haven't we talked about daddy much you ask???? Justin was up in Michigan this weekend turkey hunting!!! However, no turkey this year :(

Jarrett also wants to say congratulations to his Grandpa Helman for getting 2nd place in his Triathalon this weekend!!! Way to go!

Before we end this post, Jarrett also wants to send a little shout out to his future cousin Mia and future friend Cayson: COME ON ALREADY! I'M READY TO HAVE SOME FRIENDS TO PLAY WITH!!

Jarrett and Uncle "Bino" feeding the fish

This is what happens when you let him loose in a bridal botique.

Good News for Mother's Day!

2008-05-14T08:24:00.004-04:00

We have had an eventful and wonderful past couple days. First...happy belated Mother's Day to all the mothers out there!
Jarrett was actually dedicated at church on Mother's Day (what a great present!). He was really fussy because it was right at nap time, but he trooped through it and was able to go down to the nursery afterwards for his nap.

On Monday night, my good friends from college, Katie Beth and Kelly(who is expecting a little one herself!!) came over for dinner. We try to get together for dinner once a month. It was so much fun. I'm so incredibly grateful that Kelly married Jeff who I went to high school with, so she only lives 10 minutes from us!!!! Yah! Katie Beth lives about an hour away, but we are trying our hardest to get her to move down here.

(Man, I need to start tanning!)

Then, on Tuesday we had a couple follow up doctor appointments for Jarrett's breathing. The day started off great because I was off work!!! And, Jarrett and I both got to sleep until 8am (that doesn't happen often). First we went to see Dr. Akanli, our Pulmonolgist, which by the way, Jarrett LOVES her and she is so good to him. We got to go to the Jungle Exam Room, but Jarrett was much more interested in destroying the paper on the table than the tigers on the wall! She gave us a great report. He no longer has to sleep with the sleep apnea monitor, but she wants us to keep it for another month in case he should get a cold, then we should use it. We get to decrease his breathing treatments down to once a day for another month, and if he continues to do well, we can stop them altogether!!! Woo!!! She kept telling Justin and I that we did such a great job fighting Jarrett's Laryngomalacia. It made us feel so good to hear that we have done everything right.
We then, went to see Dr. Bax, Jarrett's GI Doctor. He said he definitely saw an improvement with Jarrett and to continue giving him Prilosec and the thickened formula for a couple more months. We go back to see him in July, and then we will start weaning him off the "honey thick" formula down to the "nectar thick" then eventually to no thickness at all! Yah! Our baby boy is getting so much better. His breathing really only gets noisy when he is taking a bath because he gets so excited!
I do have to brag on Jarrett a little bit. He has been cutting his I teeth and they are definitely giving him fits. But yesterday, he was in such a good mood and Justin and I say he was hyper! He was talking, smiling, laughing and flirting all day long! He played with all the kids in the waiting room, crawled all over the place and wouldn't sit still on our laps for anything. After doing this from 11:30-2:30pm while at the doctors, he finally crashed out on the way home!

This is how Jarrett likes to do his breathing treatments now. He doesn't like to wear the mask. He will take it off his face, so I hold the nebulizer under his mouth while he chews on his mask. He thinks its so fun to cover the steam (medicine) with his mouth. At least we know he is getting the medicine this way!!!

This was yesterday right before we went for a walk. He thought he was so funny standing in his stroller.

Here is his 8 month stats:
Weight: 20lbs 4 oz. (53rd percentile)
Length: 29.25 in. long (92 percentile)
He has to wear 12 month pants so they are long enough.

New Opportunity

2008-05-08T12:46:00.002-04:00

My sister, Kristy, and I have decided to team up and start a new business venture....Uppercase Living. It is fairly new to this area, but essentially it is a new, innovative way to decorate your home to your tastes. It includes a variety of embellishments, sayings, quotes, etc that can be put on any smooth surface. You can even design your own, whether it be a name, quote, inspirational saying, etc. Please visit the Web Site and take a look. You will better understand what I'm talking about once you view the catalog. The Web site is www.uppercaseliving.com. Click on Customer Corner. Enter 501928 as the Demonstrator ID and Abbett as the token. You will have to register, but your info doesn't go anywhere but to us. (You won't receive thousands of emails either from Uppercase Living). Once you are logged in, click on View the Catalog. Thanks so much! If you would like to order anything, hold an open house at your home, or just have any questions, please email me at britt_03@hotmail.com. Thanks again!

If You're Happy And You Know It..

2008-05-05T08:09:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to post a few pictures that I got of Jarrett this weekend while we were in Ohio celebrating Justin's 26th birthday. We went out to eat and bowling with Grandma and Grandpa Helman and Great Grandma and Grandpa Cox. Jarrett was so good!!!!

He is such a cheeser!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame...

2008-04-28T14:25:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures at JJ's game...

Will and Jarrett....how cute is that! Go JJ!

They love each other!

Will is checking Jarrett for lice..haha

Okay, that's enough. Will didn't want Jarrett to stand beside him anymore.

Jarrett's first sucker (he only took a couple licks, then was done with it)

See ya later alligator...

2008-04-28T08:23:00.002-04:00

Jarrett and I had an eventful weekend while Justin was up in Michigan hunting (darn those turkeys!) Friday just consisted of grocery shopping and then Jarrett's cousins: JJ, Kassidy, Krystin, and Will came over to spend the night! Saturday, Jarrett and I went to JJ's ballgame. JJ got to pitch for the first time and got 7 strikeouts!!!!!! Great job JJ!!! Then finally on Sunday, we went to church then I had an Uppercase Living Party. It was a great time! Thank you to all who came! Justin's mom stopped by last night on her way home from Crystal and Cameron's and brought Jarrett a bunch of clothes from her and Aunt Crystal. Yah!
Jarrett has also started waving bye-bye. He just picked it up last night, it is sooooo cute. I'm going to try to get a picture of it.
Hope you all have a great week!

Rub a Dub Dub, Two babies in the tub!

2008-04-21T08:26:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted any blogs in a while just about Jarrett, so it is time.

Jarrett has finally decided that he needs to be mobile! No, he's not crawling yet, he would rather roll everywhere! He's pretty quick too! Justin and I were wallpapering our dining room last night and Jarrett was in the living room playing (yes, where we could see him). The next thing we knew, he had rolled all the way across the room playing with some paint cans that we had out to paint the ceiling in the living room, then he made his way all the way back over to the loveseat and occupied himself for while by kicking the ottoman. The littlest things amuse this kid.

Jarrett also took his first bath with his cousin, Will, on Friday. Jarrett wasn't too sure what to think about it, but Will LOVED to dump water on Jarrett's head! He thought it was so funny! He would dump the water on him, then let out the most evil laugh! These two are going to be great friends/cousins, but right now, they definitely fight in their own little way. Jarrett wants what Will has and vice versa. They definitely don't like to share their Papaw at all!

Jarrett and Will

"Here Jarrett, let me wet your hair"

"Hold on, I got to get the back of your head"

"Now we have to rub in the shampoo"

"Now Rinse!" Haha, love the face!

This is kind of random, but I do have to mention that Jarrett absolutely LOVES his babysitters, Linda and Bonnie! He is so glad they are watching him, and yes, he does tell me in his own little Jarrett language everyday when I get home! He is also very excited to have another little friend to play with very soon. Bonnie will be having little Cayson before we know it! Jarrett is really excited to meet him!

Well, that's all for now. We have a busy week trying to work on the house because I'm having an Uppercase Living Party this weekend and want the house to be almost finished :) I can't get too ambitious though! Daddy is heading up to Michigan to go turkey hunting this weekend, so hopefully he gets a turkey!!!

Now introducing......the future Mr. and Mrs. Cameron Reeves!!

2008-04-17T09:43:00.002-04:00

YAH! Aunt Crystal and Uncle Cameron are officially engaged!!!!! Cameron surprised Crystal yesterday in Chicago at Crystal Gardens by the Navy Pier with a beautiful engagement ring!!! We are so happy for them! Congratulations Aunt Crystal and Uncle Cameron!

A New Friend!!!

2008-04-07T11:41:00.002-04:00

We just found out today that John and Morgan are having a baby girl! We are so excited to meet little Layla Grace Pryor in September! Congratulations John and Morgan!!

Day at the Park!

2008-04-07T08:23:00.003-04:00

What a beautiful weekend we had! It was so nice, we decided to take Jarrett to the park for the first time. It's nice because we have a little one just a couple blocks from our house. He tried out the baby swing and didn't give us much response, he was just chilled out while Justin was swinging him!

We also got a lot done around the house this weekend. It's starting to come together. We will soon have a finished downstairs bathroom! Yah! We finally got Jarrett's name up on his wall and his sea turtles! He loves them! We did some other odds and ends around the house, so soon it will be complete. I can't wait! Jarrett will be 7 months this Friday! I can't believe it! He has realized that he can roll over to get places now, so he is all over the floor! He actually starting scooting himself last night too. It won't be long before he is everywhere! Good thing we've started babyproofing!

Well, until next time...

Just Living Life...

2008-04-01T08:33:00.004-04:00

We really don't have much going on right now, but I just wanted to post a little update. Jarrett's bottom two teeth have popped through. (Which I've probably already posted a little about, now we think he is working on the top two because he has been very fussy)

Jarrett had his first bowling outing this weekend with our family. It was so much fun, although he is going to have to wait a couple years before showing off his bowling skills. (Hopefully, he has his daddy's skill at bowling) Although, I'm pretty sure momma kicked daddy's butt the second game! Yes, that's right, I finally beat Justin at bowling! WooHoo!

Jarrett got to spend all day yesterday with Aunt Kristy and the kids because they are on spring break, so Kristy took the week off to spend with them. He had so much fun chasing Will around the house in his walker. Let me tell you, this little guy is a mad man in his walker, plus Aunt Kristy has hardwood floors, so Jarrett was LOVING it! Though, Will wasn't too happy that Jarrett could chase him. He kept yelling, "No Yarrett, No!" (His 'j' sounds like a 'y').

Jarrett continues to LOVE Taylor as you can see from the pictures below...they are best friends! Well, that's all for now. Jarrett may have the chance to play with Joshua Newton tonight, if so, I will have plenty of new pictures to post!

Will watching all of us bowl...he wanted to bowl sooo bad!
Not now, Taylor.

Okay, I'm ready! He loves to stick his tongue out now!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-24T08:52:00.003-04:00

He loved the Easter Bunny!

Jarrett, Todd and Angie

How handsome is he???

Look Dad, there's my Easter basket!

So Happy...

Jarrett had a great first Easter. Saturday morning he got to meet the Easter Bunny at church, then we headed over to Ohio to celebrate Easter. He did finally get to meet Todd and Angie! Yah! He was excited, but didn't show it too much because he wasn't feeling to well and was a little fussy. Justin and I were so glad to get to spend some time with them! Little background...Friday night as we were walking in the house from being at the mall, Jarrett decided he need to puke everywhere, no not just once, but several times! He got the laundry room, then the kitchen. We thought we had him settled down enough for a bath and bedtime. Well, after his night night bottle, he was asleep on my chest, then BAM! Puke all down mama. It was strange to us because he wasn't running a fever or acting sick, he would puke then be done with it.

Anyways on with Easter, he got a great Easter basket from Grandma and Grandpa Helman and one from Great Grandma and Grandpa Cox, which he had to go outside and find. He loved it!

Just a quick funny story. Jarrett loves to play with his rubber duckies that light up in the bathtub. Well, Saturday night during his bath, I put him on his stomach so he could play around in the water. He was trying so hard to reach for his duck, once he got it within reaching distance, you would think he would just grab it, right? Oh no, Jarrett decided to go "bobbing for duckies". Yes, instead of just grabbing it with his hands, he stuck his face in the water to chew on it with his mouth!

Well, here are a few pictures of our weekend...

Current Stats!

2008-03-19T08:06:00.004-04:00

Jarrett had his 6 month well baby check up yesterday, yes, more shots. He did so good though. We have such a tough guy on our hands. Drum roll please...
Weighing in at 18 lbs even and 28 inches long is our little man Jarrett Emory who by the way has two little bottom teeth that have popped through the skin! Yep, that's right. His bottom two teeth have finally popped through, hopefully in the next couple days they will be completely through!

Put the camera away, mom!

2008-03-18T08:03:00.004-04:00

I just wanted to post some pictures that we took of Jarrett last night. The little man has been really cranky the past couple days, (he is trying to get those bottom two teeth to pop through), so we wanted to catch some of his happy moments with the camera last night.

He is such a big boy, and yes, dad is letting him watch Family Guy!

"Anything you can do, I can do better"

Jarrett decided that he needed to give himself Tylenol instead of me giving it to him

We decided last night to give him a bath in the kitchen sink like we used to get when we were babies.

We will be heading to Ohio this weekend for Easter and Jarrett is finally going to be able to meet Todd and Angie!!! Yah!!!

Happy 6 month Birthday!!!

2008-03-11T10:37:00.000-04:00

YAH! IT'S OFFICIAL. JARRETT IS 6 MONTHS OLD TODAY!!! Actually, it almost makes me cry, our baby it growing so quickly and time is flying by! Sometimes I wish I could make time sit still. It seems like just yesterday we were new anxious parents just home from the hospital with our little guy. Having my mom stay the first night with us, waking up in the middle of the night just to make sure he was breathing (oh wait, I still do that!), responding at his first little fuss, newborn clothes still being a tad too big for him (now he's growing nicely into 6-9 months clothes), etc. We have made so many great memories with Jarrett in just his first six months... remembering the excitement Justin and I felt when Jarrett belly laughed at us the first time, rolling from belly to back at only 4 weeks old, hating cereal when he tried it for the first time, smiling every morning when I go in to wake him up, learning to arch his back so we couldn't put him in his carseat (yes, he is stubborn like his parents), realizing if he tried hard enough, his toes would go in his mouth, I could go on and on!

Anyway, we don't have much going on this week, except....Jarrett is so excited that his AUNT CRYSTAL IS COMING TO VISIT!!!!! He can't wait to play with her and show her all the new things he can do!

Here are a couple pictures from this week...

Jarrett LOVES to play with Lewis and Taylor...yes, Taylor just woke up!

Taylor is his best friend!

Isn't he sweet...

Watch out turkey! Here I come...

2008-03-03T08:22:00.000-05:00

All decked out in his camo before the Turkey Banquet
"It's my hat now, dad."

We had a great weekend! Jarrett made his first trip up to Michigan to see friends of ours, Doug, Sarah, and Alex O'Dell, along with the rest of Doug's family. We went to Michigan for the annual NWTF Turkey Banquet and to see Doug and Sarah's new house!

Unfortunately, Jarrett started running is very first fever on Friday afternoon. I decided to take him to the doctor because just the day before, our Pulmonologist stressed how important it was not to let Jarrett get the flu because of his breathing. The doctor couldn't find anything else wrong with him, so he said we should be okay to head up to Michigan. He continued to run his fever through the night and most of the day Saturday, so needless to say, he wasn't the most happy guy in the world. Luckily, by Saturday night, his fever broke and his mood started to chipper up. We concluded that his fever was caused by teething because the boy can't keep things out of his mouth. We can actually see his little teeth starting to pop up, at least we think!

Jarrett did get to meet Alex, Doug and Sarah's little boy, who is 18 months. We have a feeling these boys are going to cause all sorts of trouble when Jarrett gets a little older. They are going to be such great friends!!! After a fun weekend, Jarrett was ready to be home and was so excited to see Lewis and Taylor.

We hope you all have a great week!

Alex and Jarrett

It's Been a While

2008-02-29T08:31:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been slacking a little on the blog. We've been busy busy! Where to start? Well, an update on Jarrett's breathing condition. We had a sleep study and a swallow test last week. The sleep study was a rough one. Jarrett (nor mommy) didn't like all the electrodes that he had to be hooked up to all night, so needless to say, he only slept 4 hours the entire night. However, he did great with his swallow test! He was such a happy boy for having gone through the sleep study the night before. The sleep study did show that at one point during the night, his oxygen level dropped to 77%, but only for 1 1/2 min. He also had 4 apnea spells, but he didn't stop breathing. Due to his Laryngomalacia, it was difficult for him to get air in during those 4 spells; however, the doctor reassured us that it was normal. His swallow test showed that with breast milk and formual, he was aspirating a bit, so now Jarrett has to have his milk at the consistency of honey. The good thing about the honey thick milk, he has decided to sleep all night!!!!!!!!! Yah! Finally!

Jarrett has also been learning new things everyday. He is sitting up all by himself now, and is thinking about crawling (or at least moving around). He doesn't like being on his stomach. We think he may just skip crawling and head straight for walking. He has a little jumpy thing that he loves to sit it (or should I say jump in). He is a crazy man in it, I will have to try to get a video of it. He has no started shaking his head "yes" and "no". Of course, he doesn't really know what it means, but it is hysterical.

Yesterday at the doctor, Jarrett weighed in at an impressive 17 lbs. 5oz. and he is 27 1/4 in. long. We might have a future linebacker on our hands!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2008-02-14T08:56:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to post this picture of Jarrett in his Valentine's Day outfit. Thank you to Krissy and Prater for his "Lovasaurus" shirt!!

First Trip to the Children's Museum

2008-02-11T08:51:00.001-05:00

Jarrett got to take his first visit to the Children's Museum down in Indy this past Saturday. My mom had a work party there, so Courtney, Sophie, Jarrett and I went with her. Jarrett was pretty mesmorized with the whole deal.

We didn't do much for the rest of the weekend. Basically, just hung around the house, which was nice because Justin and I were pretty wore out. We just watched a movie and played a game Friday night and on Sunday we skipped church because it was way too cold and windy. Later that day we went to Aunt Kristy's and Uncle Joe's so mommy could do our taxes. Yeah! Gotta love tax time!

Courtney, Jarrett and I (and cousin Mia..due June 3rd)

Look, he was like a zombie watching Sophie make a fruit smoothie

I'm having fun!

Aunt Courtney, Grandma and mom

Playing with dad

So innocent

This weekend

2008-02-04T08:54:00.000-05:00

Jarrett right before his scope.

He loves his Aunt Crystal

He also loves Taylor

How sweet is this...

Justin's parents and sister, Crystal, came to stay with us this weekend for Jarrett's scope. It was so nice to have them all there for the whole weekend. Luckily, Jarrett was only fussy and feeling down on Friday, so the rest of the weekend, he was very entertaining for his grandma, grandpa and Aunt Crystal.

Friday we all just laid around and rested because we were pretty exhausted from the morning. However, Saturday was a new day. I had a Mary Kay event Saturday morning, so Jarrett hung out with his daddy and grandma until Aunt Crystal and his grandpa got back from Ohio. We all went out to eat, then Jarrett, Aunt Crystal and I went home to relax while Justin, Julie and David went bowling. We played games and watched a movie on Saturday night. On Sunday, Jarrett, Julie, David and I went to church and we went out to eat with Justin and Aunt Crystal afterwards, then we spent a lot of time in Target. Yah! We love Target!! Jarrett got some cool new books from his grandma and grandpa. We spent Sunday afternoon playing games until they all had to leave. Then mommy, daddy, and Jarrett went to watch the Super Bowl with Aunt Kristy and Uncle Bubby.

We all had a very busy and exhausting weekend, but it was tons of fun!

Jarrett's Scope

2008-02-04T08:42:00.000-05:00

Well, Jarrett had his scope on Friday. He did so well, I'm so proud of him. He was such a happy little boy while being prepped for his scope. He was smiling and giggling for the nurses and doctors...such a little flirt. However, I will tell you, it was really difficult for Justin and I both when the nurse came to take him from us. I didn't like that one bit! The whole procedure took less than an hour and they said he did great! The doctors said he was still smiling even while he was asleep and they were doing the procedure. However, when he woke up...oh man was he SCREAMING! They told us he would be just to prepare us. Who could blame him, the poor thing hadn't eaten since 1:30am. Anyway, the doctors found exactly what they thought they would to confirm their diagnosis. He has some "floppy" skin in his upper airway, its called Laryngomalacia. However, when they went down into his lungs, they also found some floppy skin in the tube (whatever it is called) going to his left lung, which they didn't expect to find. It's called trachealmalacia. That makes his condition a little more severe, but they said that they didn't feel they needed to surgically laser any of the floppy skin out, so that was a relief to Justin and I. Both doctors feel that Jarrett will grow out of this within 18 months. Because they found the floppy skin in his lower airway, they gave us a more aggressive breathing treatment to use. We have to continue to do the breathing treatments to keep swelling down, especially if he gets a cold. Getting a cold, flu, etc. will make his condition more severe, so we have to take the necessary measures to prevent this, so no daycare, no being around snotty kids, or people kissing on him (except mommy and daddy of course), etc. Overall, though, we were pleased that it was nothing more serious than this. The doctors reassured us that he is going to be just fine and he really is a healthy little boy and a cute one as well!

Nothing much going on...

2008-01-29T16:18:00.000-05:00

We haven't had a lot going on lately, which is probably why I haven't posted in a while. Sorry :) Jarrett is getting so big and starting to learn new things everyday. He is now rolling over like a madman! He is going to be crawling before we know it, so it is probably time to babyproof the house. Speaking of the house, Justin has been working hard trying to get somethings finished. The guest bedroom is now finished minus the bed. We will get one of those later on..ha. We also decided to repaint our living room, and yes, this make is three times of repainting. Hopefully, we will like it this time. We are slowly but surely coming along.

Jarrett has his scope this Friday at 8am. We are finally going to know exactly what is wrong with his breathing and if there is anything we can do to fix it or if he will just grow out of it. Thank goodness!!! We will let you all know how it went. I'm sure our little guy is going to do amazing because he is such a trooper. It will probably be harder on Justin and I than him. He is such a little stud! Well, that's about all to report. Here are a couple pictures of the past couple weeks.
He is trying to steal my birthday cake!

Yummy Cereal!

2008-01-16T07:26:00.000-05:00

Cereal for the first time, not sure what he thinks about it
"I'm not too sure about this, mom"

As you can see, Taylor has to be right on top of him all the time!

Well, Jarrett has had a busy week so far. We had his 4 month check up on Monday. His stats are....

15 lbs. 8oz - 75th percentile

26 1/4" in. long - 90th percentile

The doctor said we have a very healthy boy who is growing very well! He did get 3 more shots that day and we got the go ahead to start cereal. Yah! However, with having his shots, he wasn't in the mood to try cereal. (As you can see from the pictures above).

Yesterday, Jarrett had an appointment with the Ears, Nose and Throat doctor to decide on the scope. He decided that we do need to do the scope to confirm that he has Laryngomalacia and not the narrow trachea. We don't have a date for it yet, we are supposed to find out sometime this week when it will take place. The ENT doctor said that if it is the narrow trachea, but it is more than 50% open, we won't do anything but monitor him because he should grow out of it. If in fact, it is Laryngomalacia, and he has a lot of "floppy" skin in his throat, he can laser that out so he can breathe better, but of course, there are some risks involved with that, so he wants to do the scope first, then talk with Justin and I before doing anything else. If his Laryngomalacia isn't severe, they will just continue to monitor him and let him grow out of it. He reassured Justin and I that Jarrett will do great because as new parents, we are very nervous about having Jarrett put under at such a young age. The entire procedure from putting him under to bringing him back to will only take about 30 minutes, so that's good. We'll keep you all updated.

More good news on the homefront for us. Justin was offered a job yesterday from First Horizon Home Loans in Anderson. I'm so excited and happy for him as is he!!! Yah, I will finally have my husband home in the evenings and on weekends!!!

Well, that's about it for now...

The Big Game!

2008-01-08T13:47:00.000-05:00

Well, Jarrett experienced his first National Championship Game last night...OSU vs. LSU. Even though we didn't get the outcome we were hoping for, Jarrett was dressed in his OSU gear to support the Buckeyes. Jarrett also got to witness (for the first time) how daddy throws things at the tv when the Bucks don't play very good. Lewis and Taylor had a chance to catch one of their balls when it bounced off the tv! Ha. Here are a few pictures of the big game...

Jarrett and Justin ready to watch the game

Catching a few ZZZZ's before kickoff

The game isn't going so good...

New Cousin on the Way!!!!

2007-12-31T14:36:00.000-05:00

Jarrett is sooooo excited to announce that he has a new cousin on the way!!!! We found out today that his Aunt Courtney is having a baby girl. Little MIA FAITH is due on June 3rd! Jarrett can't wait for her to get here, so they can cause all sorts of trouble together! Congratulations Aunt Courtney, Uncle Chris and Cousin Sophie.

Dr. Appt

2007-12-29T09:32:00.000-05:00

We had a follow up doctor's appointment for Jarrett's breathing yesterday. His breathing hasn't improved very much, so the doctor recommends we do a scope of his throat to rule out another condition, which is narrowing of his trachea. If they find that it is not the narrow trachea, and is just the "noisy breathing", then Jarrett will just grow out of it. But, if they do find that he has a narrow trachea, they will surgically stretch his trachea with a laser by simply removing some skin/tissue at that time. She said that he will have no long term effects and it should correct his breathing fairly quickly. Jarrett will have to be sedated for the scope procedure, so needless to say Justin and I are a little anxious about it. We don't know when the doctors are going to do the procedure yet, we have to call and make an appointment with the Ears, Nose and Throat doctor on Monday.

We just wanted to keep everyone updated. We will post again when we know when Jarrett's procedure will be done.

Jarrett's First Christmas!

2007-12-26T08:49:00.001-05:00

Okay, so I already wrote this once, but decided not to click Save, so here goes again!

We had a very busy, but wonderful Christmas with Jarrett and our family/friends.

First, Krissy and Andrew Prater came down on Thursday to visit with us. Jarrett, mom and dad were so excited to get to spend some time with them. We all missed them very much and loved getting to see them for a couple days!

Now onto Christmas... We left late, late Saturday night after daddy got off work for Ohio to have Christmas with Aunt Crystal, Uncle Cameron, and Grandma and Grandpa Helman because Crystal and Cameron had to go back home to Naperville, IL for work. We had Christmas with them Sunday morning. It was so much fun. They got Jarrett a "Santa's Little Helper" outfit with elf shoes. It won't be much longer before he won't let us dress him up in goofy outfits, so we must take advantage now! Ha. Jarrett wants to say thank you to Aunt Crystal and Uncle Cameron for his awesome presents! He loves the MP3 player that plugs into his toys. He also loves all the toys, books and clothes that Grandma and Grandpa Helman got him. We spent Sunday playing games and eating a yummy dinner before Aunt Crystal and Uncle Cameron had to leave.

On Christmas Eve, Jarrett had a super long nap to prepare himself for a busy couple days, while mommy, daddy and Grandma Helman played games. That evening, we headed over to Great Grandma and Grandpa Helman's house to celebrate Christmas with the Helman side of the family. Jarrett got to meet more aunts, uncles and cousins. Great Grandma and Grandpa Helman got Jarrett a Real Massey Pedal Tractor. It is so neat! He will love to ride it when he gets older. After eating, another yummy Christmas Dinner, we headed to Christmas Eve service. Jarrett got a little fussy because it was about his bedtime, so him and mommy listened to the service while rocking in the nursery.

Mommy and Jarrett woke up very early on Christmas morning (daddy got up just a little later ;) ) to get ready to go to Great Grandma and Grandpa Cox's house to celebrate Christmas. Jarrett got to meet his older cousin (by about a month) Gracie, again. They had a good time staring and talking to each other, and Gracie was trying to teach Jarrett how to move around the room by rolling all over the floor. I'm sure these two are going to cause all sorts of trouble in the next couple years. After brunch, we headed over to Indiana to celebrate Christmas with mommy's side of the family. Luckily, Jarrett slept the whole way.

Once we arrived, Jarrett was ready for presents!! He decided he liked the paper a whole bunch! And yes, after another yummy Christmas Dinner, Jarrett had a blast watching his mommy, daddy, Aunt Kristy, Uncle Joe, Aunt Courtney, Uncle Chris, and Grandma play $100,000 Pyramid (such a fun game).

After a busy, exhausting, but wonderful Christmas weekend, Jarrett was ready to go home. However, he was still so excited about getting to spend so much time with family/friends and getting so many cool presents that he wanted to stay up and play with them; he was not ready to go to bed. So, mommy is paying for it a little bit today at work :)

We just want to say thank you to all our family and friends for helping us celebrate a great first Christmas with Jarrett. We love you all.

Sorry this is so long.... Below are some pictures of Jarrett's first Christmas.

Pictures of Christmas

2007-12-26T08:31:00.000-05:00

I love paper!
Let me at it!!
Hanging out with Grandma, Aunt Courtney and my future little cousin (inside my Aunt Court's tummy!!!)

Pictures of Christmas

2007-12-26T08:22:00.000-05:00

Mommy, Daddy and Jarrett on Christmas Eve
Jarrett and Great Grandpa Helman
Jarrett and Gracie
Great Grandpa Cox with Jarrett and Gracie
Look at my new hat that Aunt Deb and Great Grandma Garner got for me.

Jarrett and his cousin Kassidy
Check out the outfit Aunt Crystal and Uncle Cameron bought me! Yes, those are elf shoes!
Jarrett's first Christmas present!
Jarrett with Grandma and Grandpa Helman
All tuckered out from opening presents.

A Day With Aunt Kristy!

2007-12-21T13:36:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Jarrett got to spend all day with his Aunt Kristy! She took off work to watch him because our babysitter could not. Aunt Kristy also watched Sophie and of course Will. They all had a fun day together. They went and saw Great Grandma for a couple hours and Aunt Kristy took bunches of picture of Jarrett in a Santa hat! Jarrett wants to tell Aunt Kristy thank you for watching him and helping him have a great day!

Jarrett's first big snow!

2007-12-17T08:19:00.000-05:00

Colts vs. Raiders
All bundled up
Take me inside!!
Play time with Aunt Kristy

So, we had a pretty uneventful weekend, which is nice because we are getting geared up for a busy Xmas weekend. Justin had to work all weekend, so Jarrett and I just chilled out Friday night and fell asleep watching "It's a Wonderful Life." On Saturday, we bundled Jarrett up and went over to my parents. As you can see from the pictures, he wasn't a huge fan of his snowsuit! Saturday night, we got to spend time with Jarrett's cousins: JJ, Krystin and Will. They stayed all night with us so Kristy and Joe could go to her work's Xmas party. Jarrett had such a good time with all three of them. Sunday of course, was football day. It was a big day in the Helman household because the Colts (mommy's team) were playing the Raiders (daddy's team). Jarrett was sporting Colts gear (mommy's favorite) and daddy had on his Raider gear. Let's just say, even though the Raiders put up a good fight, mommy and Jarrett prevailed!!

Well, we hope you all have a great Christmas.

He Laughed!

2007-12-15T10:55:00.001-05:00

So, we had an exciting night this week. First, we took our family picture by the Xmas tree. Jarrett did really well. We had more problems getting the dogs to cooperate. I will post that picture soon, but we have plans for it right now, so I can't ruin the surprise. Anyway, that same night, Justin was holding Jarrett and we both were talking to him, then he suddenly let out two LAUGHS!!!! Like real laughs, with a chuckle and everything. I thought Justin and I both were going to cry! It's amazing how many milestones he reaches on a daily basis. Our little man is growing up so fast :(

Well, that's all for now. We are trying to get prepared for the blizzard that's coming in.

It's been awhile...

2007-12-10T10:57:00.000-05:00

Mom trying to act like a photographer
I hate this hat!!
My mom is sooo funny
Look what I can do...
Aren't I soooo precious??

I know it has been awhile since I last posted. We've had a lot going on. First, Jarrett's tests went well. He Echo came back normal, so that is a huge relief. He does have severe acid reflux though, which is odd because he doesn't spit up much. The doctor said it is coming up very high, but not all the way, so he is on medicine for that. We are still having to do breathing treatments twice a day for his breathing, and we have to do them until we go back to the doctor after Xmas. Luckily for us, Jarrett doesn't mind them.

He is really start to grow up right in front of our eyes! We can't believe how quickly he is growing up. He is starting to show his personality A Lot!!! I love to get all his smiles and laughs...they are so precious. He is soooo close to rolling over from his back to belly too. He is also holding onto toys and looking at them, but more so, trying to get them in his mouth. We are just in awe!

He got his 3 month pictures taken last weekend and did sooooo good! We got a few poses with his precious little smile. He also got his picture taken with Santa this past weekend with all his cousins. That picture turned out really good as well. He wasn't scared of Santa at all either, although, I think he is still too young to get scared. We'll see how he acts next year!

Lewis and Taylor, our labs, have finally taken some interest in Jarrett. I wasn't able to catch any on camera, but they LOVE to give him all sorts of kisses! When Jarrett is lying on the floor, they are lying on both sides of him. The other day, Lewis actually put is leg around Jarrett like he was protecting or cuddling with him. It is sooo cute. I'll have to try to get some on camera.

Things have just been so busy the past couple weeks, especially with getting ready for Xmas. So, hopefully, I can get an update on here sooner than 3 weeks. Until then...

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-26T08:42:00.000-05:00

Family picture on Thanksgiving
Hanging out with daddy watching football
Tuckered out...

Well, we had a very busy Thanksgiving weekend. First on Wednesday, we had to take Jarrett to his doctor appt. down at St. Vincent. The doctor thinks that he has a condition called Laryngomalacia which means "noisy breathing" He should grow out of it, but it could take 18 months. She is 99% sure this is what he has, but to rule everything else out, we have to go get an upper GI test as well as an Echocardiogram on Thursday. He also has to sleep with a sleep apnea monitor just to take precaution. We've never seen him stop breathing nor does she think that he will, but she just wants to be sure. He also had a little bit of infection and some acid reflux, so he is on medicine for that and he still has to do his breathing treatments. I just have to brag on my little boy because with everything that he has been through, he has been such a happy little guy.

Now onto Thanksgiving. We spent all of Thursday in Ohio, so Jarrett got to meet all of daddy's side of the family. We had two Thanksgivings on Thursday and one on Saturday back here in Indiana for my side of the family. He spent all day on Friday with Grandma and Grandpa Garner so mommy and Aunt Kristy could go Xmas shopping. He also went shopping with mommy, Aunt Kristy, Aunt Courtney, Grandma, Will and Sophie on Saturday and was such a good boy.

I just have to say that I'm so thankful for family. Not only for my amazing little boy, but for Justin. He is such a great daddy to Jarrett and such an amazing husband to me. I have felt under the weather all weekend, and he has been there to help take care of me as well as taking over with Jarrett. I can't brag on him enough. I fall in love with him all over again everyday!

Update on Jarrett

2007-11-20T07:53:00.000-05:00

Well, Jarrett went back to the doctor yesterday. He has a cold and the doctor thinks that he has a narrow trachea, which would explain his difficulties breathing as well as his wheeziness and rattliness (if that's a word). You know, since I've been a mom, I've realized that I make up all sorts of words that relate to my baby. Anyway, he referred us to a Pulmonary Specialist down in Indy at St. Vincent. If it is just a narrow trachea, he will just have to grow out of it. He told us not to be too concerned, he just wants us to go to a specialist since Jarrett is so young and we just want to make sure. We will keep you updated

Just another weekend

2007-11-19T09:12:00.000-05:00

Playing with mommy while having some belly time
Just hanging out in my swing

Well, I just wanted to post an update on Jarrett. When he went for his 2 month check up last Monday, the doctor prescribed him some breathing treatments because he is still having some breathing issues and is still very congested. He doesn't really seem to mind the treatments too much, though at times he does scream a little. (They say that is good for him to do during the treatment, well, I would like for them to come hear my little guy scream...it breaks my heart) The treatments seem to be working a little, but he got very "snotty" this weekend and having even more difficulties breathing with all his snot. So, he is going back to the doctor today to see what we can do. Even though he is feeling crappy, he still seems to be in such a good mood. What a trooper! I really hope the doctor can figure something out today to make our little guy feel better.

2 month checkup

2007-11-13T08:08:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update on Jarrett's stats:

Weight: 12 lbs. 14 oz
Length: 24.25 inches long

Weekend in Ohio!

2007-11-12T09:14:00.000-05:00

Jarrett is telling Lady to get out of his face
Watching the OSU game
With Great Grandpa Cox (he really isn't strangling him)
Jarrett asleep with Molly

This past weekend we went to Ohio to visit Justin's family. Jarrett's Aunt Crystal came home, so he got to spend some quality time with her too! Also, our friends from Alabama, Matt and Molly, came home, so Jarrett got to meet them for the first time. He decided that he really liked both of them. He cuddled up with Molly and went to sleep and was all smiles when Matt would talk to him. He also got to all day Saturday with his Great Grandma and Grandpa Cox.

Today Jarrett has his 2 month check-up, so we will see what kind of stats he brings in! He also has to get some shots...OH NO!!

Well, until next time...

A Big Boy!

2007-11-05T09:25:00.000-05:00

Well, we had to take Jarrett to the doctor on Friday because he wasn't feeling any better and was still very congested and having some problems breathing. We had to go get some chest xrays done and basically they told us to continue to put saline drops in his nose and sleep with the humidifier on. Anyway, he is now weighing in at a healthy 12 lbs. 7 oz. We were so surprised!! He decided that he really likes the paper on the exam table. He spent his time kicking his feet so he could hear the paper. I just happened to have my camera while we were at the dr., so here are a few pics.

Hold my hand daddy, I don't know what they are going to do to me!

Random Pictures

2007-11-01T08:27:00.000-04:00

Lazy Saturday Morning
Resting before the big game. Go Bucks!!
"Mom, do you really have to take my picture again?"
Snuggled up after bath time
Ready for bed.

Here are a few random pictures of Jarrett...

Jarrett's First Halloween!

2007-11-01T08:08:00.001-04:00

Jarrett and his cousin, Sophie the Pirate
Ava and Jarrett
Ava giving Jarrett kisses

Last night was Jarrett's first Halloween. He is now 7 weeks old and growing sooo fast! I can't believe it. Unfortunately, Jarrett hasn't been feeling too good the past couple days. He is very congested and trying to cough/sneeze all of it out. Luckily, even though he was feeling a little under the weather, he was a good sport for Halloween.

Also, I am on my second week back to work, so we are all trying to get adjusted to that. Jarrett was pretty mad at me my first day back ;) So mad that he kept Justin up until about 4:30am that night! He seems to be adjusting now to me being gone and being at the babysitters all day. Although, I would still much rather be at home with the little guy.

Last night Jarrett also got to me Miss Ava. She is the daughter of Tracie Harter, one of my best friends from high school. Miss Ava enjoyed loving on little Jarrett. I'm sure these two will be causing all sorts of trouble when they both get a little older.

Well, until next time...

2007-10-30T14:41:00.000-04:00

Daddy loves him already!
Such a hard day...the day we came home from the hospital
Jarrett at 4 weeks

Well, I just decided to start a blog since we've had Jarrett. (I did start one while we were pregnant, just never updated it) For those of you who don't know, he was born on September 11 (our due date). I was induced at 6 am and had him at 1:15pm. He was 8 lbs. 1 oz and 21 1/2 in. long. Justin and I orginally decided to let him come naturally, but by the time our due date rolled around, we decided (or I decided) that I didn't want to go past my due date. My labor was relatively easy; however, my first epidural didn't work, so I had about 1 hour of hard contractions. Luckily, they redid the epidural and finally I was feeling no pain. I pushed only for about an hour before the little guy made his grand entrance.

Justin and I both are loving parenthood. Jarrett is so much fun! Now that he is 7 weeks old, Jarrett is starting to smile and coo at us, and luckily sleeping a little better. I've posted some picture of him from when he was born to now.

Hopefully, I can keep this blog up to date :)