Pancakes, a Lecture and Morning Breath

Haley and Allie had no school on Thursday and Friday. I decided to make pancakes for breakfast, thinking it would be fun for all of us to spend some time together, rather than rushing through breakfast as usual. As we were gathering to the table, Brent asked Allie to do something and she replied, "NO. DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Brent did not lose his composure. He sat Allie on the table in front of him and began to explain that part of his job as a daddy is to remind Allie of things she needs to do and ask her to do those things, but as is typical with a three year old, something else caught Allie's attention. In the middle of Brent's lecture she scrunched up her nose and blurted out , "I smell the smell of what you're saying!"

Thank you Grandma and Papa!

Thanks so much for the package! The box arrived a little over an hour ago and about half the candy is already gone. The rest of it was divided evenly between Haley and Allie's trick-or-treat buckets. They were very excited about the balloons and the hair glitter (they've already made me spray their hair). Emily especially liked trying the box of chocolates. She can't hardly bite them with the few teeth she has, so she just stuck the whole chocolate in her mouth and sucked on it. (When I have a little more time I'll post a video of Emily eating the chocolate covered coconut.)

The girls loved the note with the card, especially Allie. She's carrying it around with her and made sure it ended up in her bucket. It's nice for them to know you're thinking of them. We love you!

Emily's trying to untie the balloon.

Allie especially liked the fun masks.

It was fun watching her try to figure out how to eat the candy through the mask. Haley only wanted to wear the scary mask.

Allie loves the gummy life savers. She'd ask me to open a pack, shove all five life savers in her mouth and then ask for more. She ate four packs back to back like this.

Emily loves the chocolates!

Emily

Here are new pictures of Emily. It seems like she's changing a lot lately. Her hair is lighter and longer. She now has 6 teeth with another one about to pop up. She's still not walking, but atleast she's starting to make an effort. I think she's getting tired of being left behind when the girls are playing. She doesn't talk very much except "up", "mama" and " dada".

We've discovered that Emily likes things on her head, like headbands, hats and crowns. She also likes peek-a-boo. Yesterday she kept pulling the clean, folded laundry off the couch and covering her head with it. In the department store last week, Emily started pulling clothes off the racks to play peek-a-boo.

Emily's too big for her baby car seat, but she seems to like her new one very well. I just need to tighten the straps a little. She likes being able to see Haley and Allie.

Emily at the park. I've quit taking her because she won't sit in the stroller and if I let her crawl around in the grass she wants to sit right under the swings. Don't be fooled by the beautiful weather outside. We're currently covered in 6 inches of snow.

Still a very happy girl!

Drumroll Please...

Brent and I went to see the doctor today because I was scheduled for my ultrasound and we learned that we're having a BOY! We're very excited for this new addition to our family. Now that we have three girls I keep wondering if this boy will look at all like his sisters who all resemble each other in some ways (mostly their opinionated natures).

We've already settled on a name, Joseph Alan. Joseph is after Brent and his grandfather and Alan after my dad. We'll actually call him "Alan". Brent is very excited that there's finally a male Helms to carry on the family name. Alan will be the first one in all of Brent's family to carry on the name as far as this generation goes. For some reason everyone's had girls so far. We already have Crimson Tide (Alabama Football - Brent's favorite team) booties and pacifiers. I think Brent's mom and Mamaw had a hunch.

Dr. Varner, who did the ultrasound, says Alan looks very healthy and is even a little big considering his due date. Apparently this is typical for baby boys and so they are not changing my due date from March 5. Since Haley, Allie and Emily all weighed around 8 lbs., the doctor estimated that Alan will weigh about 8.5 lbs. I love big, healthy babies. We're so excited! This will be a new adventure.