Skating

We put Noah in skating lessons at the World Arena. It was a DISASTER! He spent most of his time lying on the ice while the teenage instructors skated up to him and told him to stand up, which he could not do hence why he was on the ice. 45 minutes later the session was done and we pulled him from the rest. Brian and I have been trying to teach him to skate but lately he has been uninterested, we have managed to make it to the rink one time with him excited and it went ok. we will continue trying, he keeps telling us he wants to play hockey "like Ben" but we are telling him he must skate first.

October 2010

Here comes Woody!



Bloomin






First Hair Cut

Easter 2010

MMMMM......nothing like trying to shove the entire Peep in your mouth
Noah made sure they both wore their ears
Lydia clearly annoyed with the ears on her head
looking for his basket which was right in the corner behind him

Lydia is 7 months

Where has the time gone!? Its hard to believe that Lydia is almost on the go. She and Noah have an amazing relationship and bond developing that is very awesome and sweet to watch. She giggles like crazy when he plays with her and he is always trying to help her out.

What is Lydia doing?

• Push ups and rocking on her hands and knees
• Scooting Backwards
• Eating her feet
• Digging the Solids
• Hating Bananas
• Fussy to get to Sleep
• Rarely napping (queen of cat naps)
  
• Dancing

STATS
to be added later

Lydia's 1st Food Experience

We started Lydia on some solids three weeks ago. She is doing much better than this video but her first response to solids was hilarious and she was not impressed.

1st Homemade Haircut

I've always been too nervous to cut Noah's hair because we keep it long. That means he rarely gets it cut, until its totally out of control. He hasn't had it cut in months and I am tired of spending over ten bucks for them to cut his hair for less than 5 minutes and call it good. So I went to Walgrens and bought some scissors. I thought I would download a Utube video for some lessons but thought what the heck lets just see what we get. It's not too bad but I definately need some practice.

Sitting Up

Lydia is sitting up for 30 seconds by her self. She continues to get stronger and can almost pull herself from laying to sitting on her own. She is growing way too fast.

5 Months

Its hard to believe that Lydia is 5 months already. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it has gone by so fast. Maybe its because Im working or because Im chasing two around now. It just seems that it took Noah forever to get here

Lydia's Stats

• 14 pounds even
• 27.5 inches long
• strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes

What Lyd's is doing

• LAZY! Does not like to roll over (she can but does not like to)
• Sit by herself for short periods
• Put her toes in her mouth
• Kicking her feet like crazy
• Putting her butt in the air
• Plays in her exersaucer
• Scratches her nails on different textures to soothe herself
• Paci baby
• Fights sleep
• Laughs at everything
• Talks to Noah
• Smiles all the time
• Most patient and non-fussy baby eve

Im a Big Boy Now

Noah has woken up five mornings in a row without peeing in his diaper. He also has not had any accidents in his "big boy" pants for a week. We have gone grocery shopping, out with friends, taken a nap and he has even been to a babysitters house all with big boy pants on. We are officially calling this one POTTY TRAINED! Believe it or not the best part of this whole thing is not that I no longer have to wash diapers for two, but the awesome look he gets on his face when he has done the job on the pot and we tell him how proud we are of him, and then watch him sprint off to get his "potty candy". To celebrate we went out for Ice Cream. Noah's pick....Bright Blue Cotton Candy Ice Cream from Maggie Moos.

Lydia turns 4 months

Lydia turned 4 months last weekend. We celebrated by going to WinterWildland at the zoo and cleaning house. She had her 4 month baby well and her stats are

Weight - 13 pounds (30-33%)
Length - 26.75 (99%)
Blue eyes, strawberry blonde hair, long and skinny

The things that Lydia is doing and liking:

• Laughing at Noah
• Playing with her feet
• Holding her paci and taking it out of her mouth only to put it back in
• Playing with rattles and other toys
• Rolling over
• Smiling, Laughing and Cooing
• Loving to be held and hearing Mom's voice
• Being naked
• Tummy time
  
  Another blue eyed babe......
  
  
• 

Xmas In MN

Once again we got to travel to MN for Christmas. We got stuck an extra day because the roads were bad and we could not head out on Saturday for home. So we took advantage of it and played in the snow. Noah got his first snowmobile ride and ate a ton of cookies. Lydia enjoyed spending time with people and showing off her smiles and giggles. We had the chance to spend some time with the Shaks and Louies, and managed to sneak a lunch in at Za with Cindy and one of Nathan's hockey games. Noah and Eli had many sword and gun fights, Noah and Orion had many disagreements and shoving matches, Ty was wowed by Lydia, and Anika and Aubrey got to be big sisters and cousins to everyone and help out with Lydia and Noah a lot. Harley and Kayla spent a lot of time playing with Noah and running from him because he would try to ride them like horses and cuddle with them, however, by the end Kayla knew she could always con Noah into giving her treats, so they were much better friends. All in all it was an exhausting but very fun time. It is always great to see the cousins together. The adults had fun as well. We had Raab Cousins bowling which may become a tradition. The Rangitsch's had a gift exchange which headed in the usual Rangitsch direction of deer heads and perversion. I think we permanently damaged our Grandparents opinion of us all.

Happy 2nd B-Day Noah

Anything you can do I can do better

There has been some competition in the Helland household lately. The best way to explain it is the lyrics "anything you can do I can do better, anything I can do better than you...no you cant....yes I can yes I can yes I can."

Noah has taken to copying everything he sees people around him doing. Its a friendly reminder of one of our family commandments...thou shall not cuss in front of the very observant and vocal toddler. If Noah sees B or I lounging he puts his hands behind his head and lounges. He can no longer sleep in his car bed because he saw adults sleeping in the other bed in his room. He needs to feed his baby whenever Lydia nurses. However, its not just a grown up thing. He likes to copy Lydia as well. Once I take her out of her glider he jumps in with paci in his mouth. Last night it was the Bumble seat. I took Lydia out and he had to jump in. Im sure it will only be a matter of time that we hear "MOM Noah is copying me....." so for now we will just enjoy it and smile.

Lydia Turns 2 Months

Lydia turned two months a couple weeks ago. Where does the time go? She currently weighs 11 pounds on the nose (40 something percentile) and is a little more than 24.5 inches long (98%). So in the short she is long and skinny. Noah was heavier at this age but Lydia is definately smaller boned and a girl.

What is Lydia Up to These Days:
Smiling
Giggling
Exercising
Holding her Head up Strong
Loving Tummy Time

Mom Turns 30

On November 7 I turned 30! I didnt have a crisis like most. Instead at 10.30 that morning the doorbell rang and it was my mom with a bow on her head. She was able to stay for 5 days and we had a really good time. It was the best gift ever. Noah and Lydia loved her. Lydia's first laugh was for her, which is awesome she got the chance to share the moment. We went out for Sushi with some friends for dinner and then celebrated on Tuesday with a birthday day off from work and a homemade dinner or horseradish crusted filet, home fries, and wine. It was perfect.

Three Weeks

Its been three weeks since Lydia was born. The doctor still wants her on oxygen and she will be tested yet again tomorrow to see if she can get off of it. We believe the machine was not working properly, because it would get a bad reading every time she moved. We are hoping for the all clear after tomorrow so we can get all the equipment out of our house. We have been busy cleaning the house and getting into a normal routine and just being a family. Adjusting from one to two kids is harder than I ever imagined but we are coping with the help of Starbucks. Lydia's room is almost done. I never imagined I would have a pinkish/purple room for my girl (honestly I never thought I would have a girl) but her room is pinkish/purple with gray and white. We may add some minty green accents, and Brian has yet to cut out the famous Helland Kid Room circles and have me paint them, but it will all get done in time. Noah is adjusting to having a little sister as well as an almost 2 year old can. He brings us much laughter and frustration every day. Today he got apple cider vinegar in his mouth for his high pitched tempter tantrum screaming. He looked at us shocked and tried screaming again. After another bit of vinegar and a funny look at us, he asked for some water and even said please. Lydia is growing fast, I told Brian today I want to turn back time to three weeks ago so I can spend more time with her and enjoy her being tiny. We weighed her on a baby scale yesterday and my 6 pound 9 ounce 41 week baby weighed exactly 9 pounds. Not bad for only three weeks. Her face is changing and her hair has stopped getting lighter so she may be a brunette after all. We are taking our first road trip to MN at the end of this week to meet family and friends there. Brian and I went to Target and got so much junky snack food to keep Noah busy during the 14 hour car ride it was disgusting. We also invested in a portable DVD player that attaches to the back of the seat in the car so we can fill him full of animated junk on the way. I will be returning to work on the 19th. Too soon for me but its what I need to do. I have asked that Lydia be able to come with for another 6 weeks for half the day. They are looking into it and should let me know before then. We will post more pictures soon.

Lydia After the NICU

Lydia had a check up yesterday. The doctor is not worried about her at all. She has gained over half a pound and one inch since birth despite not feeling well. We are trying to get the people out here to check her to see if she still needs the oxygen but we have not received any information as to when they will show despite my numerous calls a day.

Lydia's Stats

Birth Weight: 6 lbs 9 oz One and Half Weeks: 7 lbs 3.5 oz
Birth Length: 20.5 inches One and Half Weeks: 21.5 inches

NICU

Lydia

The Last Month

The last month has been busy here. Getting ready for Helland Baby #2 and many trials for mom. Dad has been busy getting ready for baby and trying to get mom to slow down while finishing all the yard work. Noah has been growing and developing fast. He says many words, although at times they all sound the same. Here are some pictures of the last month.


Dressing up in mama's bling



















1st night in his big boy bed













1st big boo-boo, skinned knee



















Mom at 37 weeks



















No more high chair













Cool Dude



















Fishing with Daddy