Sunday Bike Ride

When we woke up this morning it was snowing steadily and there was a brushing of snow on the ground. Haley immediately groaned and began to whine about hating the snow and cold days. She's not alone, we all seem to hate the nasty white snow and freezing cold days that never end. It's not been more than 40 degrees for awhile now and it's beginning to suck (now you can tell Laura's not writing this one, she wouldn't use "suck").

Haley and Allie love to play outside and unfortunately Haley does not like the cold and she despises the snow. She is a sissy. Allie, on the other hand, loves the snow and would play in it all day. So, when she grows up she can marry an Eskimo or study polar bears.

Haley really misses Alabama - not only family, but the weather. Finally, after weeks - no, months - it reached 44 degrees. We have church from 1:00 - 4:00PM. It was so sunny and nice on the way to church. However, once church was over, it was overcast and cold. We didn't let it get us down and Haley was determined to be outside. I figured at 38 degrees it was probably the warmest it had been in awhile. So, we bundled up as if it were -38 degrees and we headed out to ride our bicyles, a Sunday tradition that the Helms family enjoyed when I was young. Allie talked incesently during the entire bike ride. About half way through the bike ride a police officer stopped me. "What have I done?" I asked the police officer. "Perhaps you didn't notice sir, but your daughter is about a half-mile behind you" said the officer. "Oh, thank goodness" I said to the officer as he stared at me with a perplexed look, "I thought I'd gone deaf."

The girls loved it and I loved it. Allie said that since it was Sunday we should ride to the Salt Lake Temple to "see" it. She's cute. She could barely make it around the block without stopping because she was tired. She rides a small bike and she probably pedals two times more than Haley and at least ten times more than me. So, she's entitled to a rest every few houses.

Ala-Freakin'-Bama

Dad, enjoy!

Haley's Kindergarten Class

(Haley is standing on the third row. She's the blonde in the white coat making a funny face.)

This is a picture of Haley's kindergarten class. This was taken during their Halloween Party. I asked Miss Harms at our last parent-teacher conference how Haley gets along with the other children. She said that Haley is definitely a leader, but plays well with the other children. She seems to be friends with everybody. She's always talking about someone new that she played with on the playground. I'm glad to hear that she's accepting of new friends and keeps the old.

For Brent

In case you can't tell, Brent has taken over our blog. You should have noticed because the posts are so much more funny than when I wrote them. Brent does the blogging now, mostly because it's uncomfortable for me to sit in the desk chair for very long. I really appreciate him keeping it updated and I have a hunch that all of you appreciate it too. I was looking at the recent posts this evening and it struck me that my girls have grown up in the blink of an eye. I felt kind of sad as I remembered how Allie looked all bundled in the little hospital blanket when the nurse first handed her to me...big dark eyes, a button nose and rosy cheeks. I marvelled that the girls have grown so quickly and they're so beautiful. I started thinking, "Where did the time go?" But I immediately felt so grateful for Brent. He lets me stay home with our girls and when I look at these pictures I don't have to wonder where the time went...I know where it's gone. I've been there all along and I haven't missed a thing. I can't think of a better gift. Thanks Brent.

Stop, Drop, and Roll

Allie's preschool class went on a fieldtrip (is that supposed to be one word?) to the local fire station today. They really had a lot of fun.

Allie is learning to stop, drop, and roll. She rolled right into the fireman to the left and then she would not get back down on the floor with him. Silly goose.

Allie likes to read books and we have one about a dalmation that becomes a firedog. Allie asked what a firedog does and the fireman replied, "He finds the hydrants for us."

"If H2O is inside the fire hydrant, what's on the outside?" Asked the fireman. He then gave the answer, "K9P."

The Chief asked Allie how the 4:00 am response went. She responded, "Well Cheif, we saved the lot."

The hat weighed almost more than Allie.

This is Allie's preschool class. She's the youngest of the group and only one of two girls.

A fireman had two sons. What did he name them?

Hosea and Hoseb.

Exercise

Allie loves to exercise. She's been exercising since January 1 and she hasn't given up yet. That means that she has stuck with her goal 85% longer than the average American with the same goal. I'm proud of her. She actually does some pretty intense exercises. Laura has taught her a few ab exercises (yes, even though she's seven months pregnant) and Allie loves them. Allie already has a six-pack, but she says she's setting a good example for her dad - that's me. She has some pretty amazing hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. We attribute much of her coordination to ORFF Music for Children. How many two-year-olds do you know that can correctly alternate striking a 1" key with a mallet in rhythm?

At the end she says, "I will destroy you with my muscles!"

Just look at the ball.

What has football done to my princesses?

That is a smile on Emily's face. She's laughing for joy. Just two seconds ago she was standing up getting ready to walk. However, she was on the one yard line and the defense was quick to tackle her. She lost a yard, but she's still happy. Allie loves to tackle dogpile style.

Some might cringe at the thought that Allie and Haley roll all over Emily, but Emily doesn't cringe. After they let her up she lays back down on the ground and screams for more. She laughs before they ever reach her. Alan had better watch out. This group of girls doesn't take any gruff from anyone. Believe me, I know, I live with them every day and Allie has been known to point the finger at me and threaten to give me a powpow if I don't act appropriately.

See, there's nothing to worry about, Superwoman is in charge. She makes sure that no one gets hurt.

This is Haley tackling Emily. Her form is great, though her head needs to be in Emily's chest.

This is their audition for Hwy. 75 wrestling PopPop. Can you forward this to the right people?

I feel sorry for the bully that chooses to pick on Alan. When he gets beatup by a group of Helms girls he may rethink his target.

Emily's First Steps

We were unable to catch such a momentous occasion on camera with the other two chicas, but this time we got it. Emily was about eight days shy of 17 months when she decided to walk. However, after sleeping on it she decided that walking was not for her. Oh well, at least you get to see her first steps.

After walking three steps she got the hang of it.

Below is all she walked afterwards. She has spent time in the jumparoo strengthening her legs. Actually, she's just deceiving us all and she really can walk, she just gets more attention if she crawls. She looks like a monkey when she scrambles across the floor. They say an Alligator can run faster than 20 mph, well so can Emily. So, we can move to Florida if we're accepted to school there.

Indecent Exposure

I don't think Allie is very much like me. She certainly looks like Brent and she's a morning person like Brent. She also likes to rough house like Brent. She's very comfortable being herself and feels right at home wherever she goes. Like last week in the fast food restaurant...I look through the windows to watch the girls on the indoor playground and there's Allie in her green shirt and green panties. I'm sure she was worried about ruining her tights on the plastic slide, but it would've been better had she left her skirt and tights with her shoes rather than on the play mats.

By the way, I did make her get dressed, but ten minutes later she had undressed again! Allie's definitely not the prude I am.

Baseball in the Snow

Laura and I were in Deseret Industries (a Mormon thrift store) when I found some baseball gloves for $2.00 each. Allie's glove was new and Haley's had already been broken in. I also bought one for Laura as she likes baseball too. The helmets were $.50 each. What a steal. It was a cold day on Saturday, but the girls wanted to go play baseball at the park. We couldn't find a bat at DI, but we will soon. I took the girls and we learned how to catch grounders. They both throw very well. I am impressed. Allie is already begging to go play again. It's 28 degrees outside today and she can usually handle about 15 minutes before she needs to come it. Haley is a sissy when it comes to cold, 3 minutes and she's crying and screaming for help. I vote her most likely to live somewhere near the equator.

Happy B-day PopPop

Happy B-day PopPop. Wish we were there!

Emily Speaks

What did Emily say? You heard it right. She says it all the time. Her repertoire is not very extensive, however, it consists of essential words and phrases - "Roll Tide" being one of those.

Laura Teaches Table Manners

Laura's teaching the girls table manners.

Emily's First Supper at the Table

One day when we build our own house we're going to have cement walls, floors, cabinets, and countertops so that after supper we can just hose the kitchen down for a quick cleanup. Emily now thinks that she's old enough to sit at the table rather than in her high chair. She is so funny. She climbs on top of the table and just grabs food from the serving trays or from other people's plates. We're trying to teach her manners, but she still doesn't understand "no thank you." Allie reverted to our baby and wanted to sit in the high chair and drink out of a sippy cup. Crazy kids. Haley likes being the boss and I don't see that changing any time soon.

Allie is so funny.

Emily was trying to use her greasy hands to touch the camera lense.

This was right before she started a food fight.

Haley ate all her supper and is content just sitting at the table until everyone else finishes.

Allie kept begging me to take another picture of her.

Wii Love to Ski Jump

We have family nights on Thursdays and Sundays. This past Thursday (yesterday) was the college football national championship game between Alabama and Texas. We tried to have the girls nap on Thursday during the day so that they would be ready to watch the game, but they grew disinterested in the football game quickly - Alabama is just that good. Knowing that Thursday was out for family night we had it on Wednesday night. The girls enjoyed playing the Wii with us. Although Laura is prenant, she still holds the record for the longest ski jump.

The white screen is for the projector. The flash eliminated the picture on the screen.

Now she's trying to stay within the flags as she races down the hill.

Haley is very competitive. She loves to play boxing on the Wii because she can beat most anyone she plays. She's also good at the ski jump.

That big smile is because she just jumped 135 ft.

She's a natural. Next week we're foregoing sledding and heading straight to the mountains for some real ski jumping. Wish us luck.

Don't Mess with Tess

Tess is David and Kathy's Australian Shepherd. It doesn't like Emily and she's alergic to it so it stays outside. It loves the snow and it also loves me. It always wants to play fetch. It has a stick that it likes to use. Throwing the stick is a science. Being that the stick is so big you cannot throw it high or the dog will try to catch it in its mouth. I've learned from experience to throw it long and not high. Anyways, I just thought this was crazy and that you might get a kick out of it.

La Mona

Ever since she was old enough to count to three, Haley has sought thrills and adventure. She loves to climb. When she climbs she has one goal in mind, making it to top. She has succeeded on every occasion that she has climbed. She has climbed the tallest tree in the backyard so many times that now she tries to get to the top as many different ways as possible. She definitely has no fear of heights. I can remember loving to climb pine trees as a youngster in Wetumpka, AL. I can remember climbing so high that we could see into backyards almost all the way down the block. The higher we went the more fun we had. Haley has inherited that gene I suppose. Don't worry about her falling, she is very hard headed.

She was on her way down by the time I grabbed the camera.

As long as she doesn't think she can fly we'll be okay. For anyone afraid, this was as high as she climbed.

Sorry about the gray, I think our camera is dying. I've never seen her climb with a big jacket and gloves. It was a little scary at first, but she was confident that she could do it without any problems. Maybe she'll be a roofer.

Allie's Daydreaming

Jennifer (Laura's sister) and Brian were married on December 29, 2009 at the Mt. Timpanogos temple. It was a beautiful Utah day, filled with single-digit temperatures and snow. The girls loved it! Jennifer loved taking pictures for an hour-and-a-half outside. I am reminded that Laura and I were married in December as well. However, we were married in Alabama and the temperature was probably 60 or so. Hopefully our chicas will choose to be married in the Birmingham Alabama temple, regardless of the weather or season. Allie and Haley were excited to play in the snow and Laura froze. I liked the snow and cold weather.

This is typical Allie behavior - she does her own thing while everyone else is engaged in something important. She is in her own little "happy place" most of the time. Humming, dancing, singing, talking, and playing is her form of daydreaming. She is always so happy and cheerful. Allie is also our little snow bunny. She loves the snow and the cold weather. In that aspect she is definitely a daddy's girl.

Haley soon followed and then she and Allie were running all over the place. There were 13 weddings that day and Haley and Allie were unintentionally in pictures for 8 of those 13 weddings. The girls were sliding in the snow with their silk dresses. They were pretty funny.

Emily was so cute. I had to stop the recording abruptly to help Laura cover up Emily. No worries, Emily was okay and she warmed up pretty quickly.

We went to Chuck-O-Rama (an all-you-can-eat restaurant) after the pictures were taken. We found some beautiful landscapes on the way. My "iron boogers" failed me and we got lost for about 15 minutes on the way to the restaurant. I tried to convince Laura that we really didn't get lost, we just went sightseeing. She didn't believe me.

Found 'em

After thorough investigation, we finally found Emily's M&Ms stash. The chocolate on her teeth was enough to convict her this morning.

As you can see, she left us a little present in the crib. She was bathed immediately.

She hid the M&Ms on the changing table behind two baskets of clothes, under a pair of pants.

We confiscated her stash and disposed of all the M&Ms.