Long time

I realize it's been a long time since our last post so I decided to write something on here. I would like to keep this page going. Although we do use Facebook, there's something about the blog page that is better than Facebook to me. I would love to go back, print all of these pages and add them to the kids baby books. I'm sure I've kept these areas up much better than those.

For a quick catch up...Alexandria JoAnne was born on May 18th and was beautiful and healthy. She graced us around 8 p.m. about two days early. She is a true blessing and joy. She was much more difficult than Brady in the beginning, but is much more mellowed out now. She is way calmer than her brother ever was.

Nick has taken a new position within Marriott, I'm now working at College of the Desert as a grant Director and Brady is as wild and crazy and smart as ever. In short, life is great and we are very blessed. I promise to post more photos as soon as they are uploaded.

Much love to everyone.

Jess.

C-Section Scheduled

We found out our tentative delivery date. The doctor scheduled our c-section for Friday, May 20th. We are very excited to have a date and we can't wait to meet little Lexi Jo! Of course we know she can always come early, but we're hoping she sticks to her date. It will be five days before our original due date. Brady is very excited to meet his little sister and the larger I get the more antsy he gets about it. I think he's going to be a great big brother!

30 Weeks

Here are some photos of me at 30 weeks and some photos of our little peanut around 29 weeks. We had an ultrasound last Monday and she is doing really well. She's just over 3.5lbs and if she stays on this growth pattern should end up somewhere in the 7.5-8lbs range, much larger than her brother. They told us the same thing though with Brady so I'm thinking she's going to be small as well. The doctor also said she has really big feet, below is her first footprint.

Brady is getting more and more excited with each passing day and is starting to get impatient for when his new friend will be able to come out and play. He's such a great big brother already and I know he'll take great care of her.

Nick and I are both doing well too, just trying to get things together for our big arrival. I'm still working as a consultant and we are on steps four of five in the home sale process so we're hoping things keep moving forward. We have a busy couple of weeks ahead with mini trips to Phoenix and San Diego and family coming to visit. All in all things are going well.

We miss and love you all

25 Weeks Then and Now

Here are some photos from when I was 25 weeks pregnant with the Bman and now 25 weeks with our second little peanut. Yes I am wearing the same outfit :) and yes chubby it is my goodwill dance marathon shirt. I thought I was carrying different this time and I was right. I feel bigger this time too, but not sure if it shows in the photo. We go to our next appointment on the 15th. We're hoping they will give us a better estimated time frame for delivery.

As far as a pregnancy update, things are going really well. She moves ALL the time and is rarely still. B is really getting used to the idea of having a baby sister. He's so cute saying things like "I will save that for my sister" and "I'm a good big brother." He also says things like I want to hold the baby and I want to play with the baby now, why can't she come out, trying to explain that one is not so easy.

As far as other updates, I will hopefully be starting a temporary part-time job with College of the Desert working for a grant program through April, we got an offer on the house and are working to get through the short sale, Nick's loving his job and recently was named "Leader of the Year" (a very prestigious award that we are very proud of him for getting) and we're just preparing for all the upcoming family visits. We can't wait to see everyone.

Hope you all are well. Lots of love and misses!

Now...

Then...

Doctor Visit Update...

Today I am officially 17 weeks prego and had my monthly check-up at the doctor. I met our official doctor today too, which was wonderful. I really like him, he's so kind, very pleasant, asks questions and doesn't treat you like a number...a vast change from our last doctor. Also he got on my good side because he said I'm one of the lucky woman who doesn't look like she's four months pregnant. He kept complimenting me, it felt good! But enough about me, back to the good stuff and learning about the baby...

The doctor said the heartbeat looked great on the ultrasound and it looked really strong and healthy so thank goodness. He also said that the baby looked like it was going to be a big baby and larger than Brady. It was so cute to see him/her cuddled up in the fetal position, but since the baby was cuddled up the doc couldn't see the sex so it looks like i have to wait and find out next week with Nick at our actual ultrasound appointment. I was hoping to find out without him and try and keep it a secret, but no such luck. It was also cool to see how long the babies legs were. The doc said this is the cause of some of my pains lately and that this baby is for sure going to be a tall one. I'm going to laugh if it's a girl and she comes out a lot taller and bigger than B...poor B, he's too much like his mama.

All in all I'm feeling great now, no more morning sickness and I'm starting to get my energy back. I'm still worn out each day after running after Brady, but that's a good worn out. I'll update more next week when we find out if it's a boy or a girl.

Swimming in December

It's been unseasonably warm this December so the Bman has been swimming the past few days. Here are some photos. You can really see the missing tooth in these shots.

Too funny not to share

I know looking back one day my son will hate me for posting this, but it's too cute not to share...

The setting, Brady naked in the tub...

I see Brady sitting in the tub and it looks like he is clutching his, well in the crudest words, his balls and I ask Bubbas what are you doing. His response "I'm picking my butt." I say you're picking your butt, why and he responds with, "There's a hole in there." I say, "Yes Bubbas, that's where the poop comes out, let's not put our finger in there." He responds with a grin and stands up and says "Oh that's where the poops come out." Then he starts to giggle and proceeds to tell me over and over again how their is a hole in his butt where the poop comes out.

Kids are too much, I know it's normal but it was hard to keep a straight face with the expressions he had on his.

Love and miss you all.

All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth

About a year-and-a-half ago Brady fell on some tile and knocked one of his front teeth loose. We were hopeful we could save the tooth, but on our last trip to the dentist she said the tooth was now fractured and he had to have it pulled. He was starting to get an infection and if they didn't pull it, it would get worse and could potentially damage the next tooth coming in. I'm not sure who the procedure was worse on, me or the Bman. It broke my heart to see him get his tooth pulled. We prepped him for about five days, but it still did no good. They strapped him into a straight jacket/sleeping bag device to immobilize him, but he's so strong he started to bust the straps. They then gave him some nitrous to help calm him, but that didn't work, he just kept screaming. They eventually moved the nitrous from his nose to his mouth because he wouldn't breathe it in and was screaming so bad. At one point he was begging them screaming pleases take it off, and then kept yelling no thank you when they gave him the lidocaine shot and gel to numb the area. He also kept screaming I want my mommy, which broke my heart even more. It was a horrible experience and let's just say I'm not looking forward to his next cleaning because I'm sure he's now traumatized forever to go to the dentist. On the up side he got through it and is as cute as ever, just a little extra personality as my dad says. He's trying to get used to it and keeps putting his tongue in it. It's pretty funny. The new challenge is he can't use his sippy cup and can only eat soft foods for a few days, needless to say I'm not looking forward to going to bed this evening. You would think after all the screaming, nitrous, Tylenol, Motrin and lidocaine it would slow him down, but nope he's still running wild and showing no signs of stopping. Hoping to get him down for a nap soon. Any who, here are some before and after shots. Hope you enjoy. Love and miss you all.

Before...

After...

Colorful Ornaments Christmas

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

A Video for Payton from Brady

Random photos of the bman...Sept. 2010

Getting really good at riding his scooter when he's not being lazy and having dad push him.

He's such a goof, but he loves daddy's buckeye hat and his chief Wahoo (spelling) blanket.

The camera couldn't quite keep up with his bouncing on this one. Brady rediscovered his jumping toy at Aunt Mindy's and is reluctant to let baby Ethan keep it.

Look at that hair!

Our sweet boy!

Brady hasn't totally figured out this gun thing yet...Jack needs to show him how it's done.

Classic ignoring mom faces.

The man of many faces, my Brady!

Facebook | Random Sept. 2010

Facebook | Random Sept. 2010

Click the link above to view photos of the B-man! Love you all.

PS. Please comment if you can't view these and i'll post some online.

Care Page

For more baby Payton updates, visit: http://www.carepages.com/carepages/BabyHelsel/updates/2796673. She's such a brave girl and her mom, dad, brother and grandma and grandpa are amazingly strong as well.

We love you guys so much.

Baby Payton Update

It seems our little Payton is a feisty little fighter like her mama! She is still breathing on her own, had another good night last night and is gaining some weight. We appreciate all the prayers you've been saying for her continued health and for her safe homecoming, please keep them coming.

Mom and Russ are doing good, at home with Grandma and Grandpa and Jack-a-roo! They will do trips back and forth to the hospital and have been given the option to stay at the Renuccii or Ronald McDonald House for free which is a blessing in itself.

Jack continues to be a great big brother and a character as well! I just love that little boy, he's honestly too much. He and Brady are for sure going to be trouble together. Payton will have to put her feistiness to use and keep the two in-line.

Again thank you all and as I know more I'll send updates. We love you all and appreciate your thoughtfulness and prayers.

Leadership From A Dancing Guy

The things kids say...

A story about my nephew Jack and his trip to the Target toy section with Grandpa.

Jack enters the toy section and immediately spots Buzz and Woody and begins to play with them and of course wants to take them home. Like most little boys right now Jack LOVES Buzz and Woody. Jack's happily playing with them and then spots some princesses and he promptly drops Buzz and Woody on the ground and says "sorry buzz and woody, I have to save the princesses."

He's a knight in shining armor already. That boy is going to break some serious hearts when he gets older!

Welcome Payton Elizabeth Helsel

To my friends and family, a message from my sister about my new niece:

Welcome our little girl--Payton Elizabeth Helsel!

She decided January 3rd was too far away and September 19 is a better birthday. She was born at 11:14 am Sunday morning, despite her mother's best efforts to keep her in. Birth-weight: 1.5 lbs. and about a foot long. I do not have all my email addresses, so please feel free to pass this on to other friends and loved ones and send my apologies! She has a very long road ahead of her. She will be in Grand Rapids in their NICU for a while. We are all optimistic. She seems to be a little fighter and a tough cookie. Please keep her in your prayers! Thanks for your support!

Love,

Nicki, Russ, & Jack

Brady line of the weekend

This weekend at Ethan's birthday party someone asked Brady if he was a genius and this was his response: "I'm not a genius, I'm a boy." Well he does have a point :-). Photos soon I promise.

love you all.

So Proud of the Bman

Last night Brady got up a few times to use the potty, but I'm so proud of him, because he kept his pull-up dry all night. He's really getting the hang of potty training and doing an amazing job. Even in the store yesterday and at dad's work, he blurts out "I gottah go pee," drops what he's doing and runs with me to the potty. I couldn't be more proud of him. I thought it was going to be a lot harder than this and I am pleasantly surprised. He still is having problems with the BM in the potty, but that's okay, we'll get there eventually. He also loves his "big boy pants." I'll ask him if he wants to wear a pull-up and he'll say no, I want my underpants. He's getting so big.

Speaking of getting big, last night Nick and I were watching TV with him and a baby came on and Nick said something about being a baby (his nickname is Baby Brady) and Brady looked at him and said no daddy I'm not a baby I'm a boy. Made me sad to think how he's growing so fast. He doesn't even look like a baby anymore, but a little boy. Maybe it's time for another baby...don't get any ideas, I'm not pregnant :).

I'll post more photos soon so you can see what a big boy he's becoming. Love and miss you all.

Brady comment of the night

Although there were many comments of the evening, this one is most memorable. The setting, Brady in the bath tub and Nick talking to him in the bathroom.

Brady to Dad: I'm peeing in the tub so I can have some more water.

Can't really fault the kid for his logic and problem solving. I need more water so why not pee in it. Silly goose!