New Year's Resolutions

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

December was a busy month for the Hellwig Family. Due to losing the internet for a couple weeks and the holidays, I didn’t have a chance to blog! It’s now a new year and my goal is at least twice a month, but we’ll see!

December started out great having had a fun Thanksgiving and birthday (11/29). Last year we were all sick on my birthday, so this year it was much better and Troy made it a very special day for me.

Things went downhill from there, unfortunately. We had a little internet snaffoo and lost it for a couple weeks. Then Brian had a nasty double ear infection, and just as he was getting done with his antibiotics, Ellie got pneumonia the week before Christmas! Fortunately, we caught it in the very early stages and she recovered very quickly once she was on her medicine. We’ll be going back in January for another chest x-ray (gulp) to make sure it’s all cleared up.

The one bright spot in all this was Denae had her baby boy, Micah Sean. What a cutie! We had fun visiting him at the hospital and everyone thinks he looks just like his daddy (but a cuter version). We’re so happy he’s here, finally!

Micah Sean Echols 12/16/07

We topped off 2007 with a very exciting Christmas. It was so much fun watching Brian discover Santa’s cookies gone, his stocking, and presents. He had so much fun opening them. We’d ask him, “What is it?” and usually the answer was, “I don’t know.” But he loved discovering what they could do, especially his new motorcycle and race car you can take apart with tools and put back together. Speaking of presents, Troy and I have been having fun with his favorite gift, Guitar Hero. I’ve already beaten the easy level! Whoo-hoo!

Brian had lots of fun lining up his and Ellie's presents - we had to tell him to stop so he could open more!

Ellie enjoying her new vibrating teether

What was your favorite Christmas present?

My first doll

My favorite present - the wrapping paper!

Brian and Sariah with their new cameras - so much fun!

Ellie’s now 7 months and growing like a weed. She’s close to 17 pounds, eating anything you put in front of her especially yogurt, vegetables and fruit. We tried taking pictures every time we gave her something new, but she wouldn’t make any faces like Brian did. So boring! She just wants to eat it! She is very close to sitting all by herself but can’t catch herself when she falls over. She had a wonderful foot fetish right now and every chance she gets she’s grabbing them. Her favorite words are da da da, blah blah blah, and, my favorite, ma ma ma which she just started saying this past Sunday (1/6).

My attempt at a 6 month photo

Every chance she gets she grabs her feet!

Our little cabbage patch doll still loves to use her voice and sing and is always making happy sounds; the louder they are the happier she is. Blowing raspberries is also a fun pastime and they are also getting louder and louder. Ellie has the cutest little giggle, but so far, Brian’s about the only one who can make her laugh by playing peek-a-boo and making funny faces. Her favorite toys are plastic bags and window envelopes (as long as she doesn’t eat the paper). One funny thing she does is make cheerleading moves when she’s eating. She makes little fists and sticks her arms out to the side. Ra ra ra, give me a bite!

Pose for Mommy!

Ellie is such a mommy’s girl which makes it hard to leave her with a babysitter, but we’re trying. The best news is Ellie’s been breastfeeding with no supplemental bottles since Thanksgiving and has given up the pacifier. This does make bedtimes a little more dramatic, but I think it’ll be good in the end. She really is such a good baby and we love her so much!

Ellie is getting very good at scooting backwards, but can't steer. Help me, I'm stuck!

Brian is Brian with a two-year-old’s ups and downs. Life can be pretty dramatic sometimes, but as long as Mommy’s there to kiss him better he’s off playing again. He’s very imaginative and independent (which I’m grateful for) and makes up the funniest things with his toys. He’s always talking to them, telling them what to do, making up stories, you name it. He has these little monster trucks and the biggest one is the daddy, then there’s the mommy, and the baby. Brian’s also become a big negotiator. When it’s time for bed he’ll say, “I get to play one more minute.” Or if I’m giving him a cracker or cookie he’ll try to wheedle two out of me. He’s also in that counting stage where there’s ten of everything. “1, 2, and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 and 7 and 8 and 9 and 10!”

Bathtime's no fun unless Sister is there

On a cold, snowy day Brian lined up the chairs, put all the passengers on the bus, and strapped himself in. He said they were on their way to storytime!

Brian's first really bad bump (and then the next day he got rug burn all down his nose from falling down the stairs - we think he's getting clumsy from a growth spurt)

As for Troy and I, we’re having fun being parents, working on the house (who doesn’t work on their house?), and trying to find time for hobbies. Anybody who knows Troy will know he will always have a project car (right now it’s two). That’s fun for him and Brian gets to help him a lot as well. We’re excited for the New Year and everything it will bring. Have a happy one!