Last Day of School

Kale's last day of school was Friday. I wanted to take some pictures, and Liam (even though he doesn't go to school), had to get in on the action.

Kale has a really hard time smiling for the camera and keeping his eyes open for some reason.

Hard to believe we only have one more year before kindergarten. This momma is really nervous about that!

He really enjoyed his year this year. Since he is speaking so much more, it was neat to hear him talk about his friends and the activities he enjoyed at school. The main pieces of information we got were about recess, snack, and whether or not he was the helper for the day.

Kale had 2 teachers this year. Mrs. DeWeese was one of them.

Swimming Lessons

These 2 just finished 2 weeks of swimming lessons. They both did great! Liam had to be enrolled in the Mommy and Me lessons b/c of his age. We lucked out and ended up being the only people enrolled in that class , so Liam had 1 on 1 time with his teacher. He did so wonderful at swimming that the teacher ended up telling me I didn't have to keep coming to lessons with him, and that he would be transferred to the next level. By the end of the class, he could float on his back, go to the bottom of a 4 foot pool to retrieve a ring, and swim maybe 5 paces to the wall to get himself out of the pool if necessary. Kale did just as well. On the last class, they put him in a foam boat and dumped him into the pool and he had to swim to the wall. He is also floating, which is a huge feat for him. I am sure we going to enjoy our time in the pool this summer!

Nursery Rhymes

Kale is learning nursery rhymes at preschool, so therefore, Liam is also learning nursery rhymes. It is amazing how much little brother learns from big brother.

Yard Work

This kid really loves playing with Kris' tools and "fixing" Kale's bike. (Notice how the bike is upside down.) We are not sure where he learned to use all these tools, but he can spend hours playing in the garage.

We have been doing lots of yard work and house updates. We (or should I say Kris) planted 4 azalea bushes in the front yard, along with 8 flowering plants. Kris has also been working on fertilizing the yard and making sure it's nice and thick and green. I have managed to keep all my potted plants alive!!

 

We have finished our 3rd floor and gotten much of the stuff moved upstairs. We still have to buy a few items. I "redid" Kale's room. I moved the animal theme (from his nursery) out....he is terrified of the animals now for some reason. We are giving that stuff to Baby Karson. Kale now has an airplane theme in his room. We just ordered the crib for Karson's room, so I will post inside pictures soon.

Potty Training

Potty training little boys is definitely not for the faint of heart! The first day of potty training went terribly. Liam peed his pants like 7 times and refused to go in the toilet once. On the 2nd day, I moved the little potty into the living room and let him sit on the potty and read and watch TV. He accidentally managed to pee in the potty and was SO proud of himself. After that, things have been great. He has had next to no accidents and has even managed to go out in public in undies!

 

I will say we definitely need to work on aim. I have spent more time cleaning bathrooms and washing rugs in the last week...

Introducing...

Introducing...Karson Kristopher Helling!

 

We are pretty sure that will be his name. Kris really liked it, but I wasn't so sure. The boys fell in love the name Karson and began calling him that...so I guess that's his name! Once the boys started calling him, "Karson," it really started to seem like HIS name. This morning at pre-school drop off, one of the teachers asked Kale what his little brother's name was (obviously talking about Liam). Kale replied with, "Karson." We better not change it now!

We had another ultrasound to check all of the anatomy on Tuesday. Everything is exactly how it is supposed to be, which is a huge relief! He is still a boy, as you can tell from the picture above (or maybe not...my doctor's ultrasound machine is terrible).

Here is his little hand with a thumbs up!!
And his precious foot! We are at 21 or 22 weeks now. I can't quite remember...:)

Third Time's a Charm!

We had a doctor's appointment to check on the baby on Friday. My doctor does not use the Doppler at all, so everytime we go, we get an ultrasound (which is awesome!). This time we were able to find out the gender. Can you guess based on the picture? I knew immediately...it's another boy!

I had the boys guess the night before, whether they thought we would have a girl or boy. Kale said girl and Liam said boy. Liam was right! Kris and I were both leaning toward girl this time, but we were proven wrong.

We are excited to welcome another boy into our household! I think some people were worried that I might be disappointed, and I really am not. As one of the pastors of our church told me Friday night, with boys you pay early (meaning the rambunctiousness) and with girls, you pay later. I do not know do sassy well, so I know God knew what he was doing when he gave me 3 boys.

We are still working on a name. We have a short list of possibilities. Kale has suggested Eden and Oliver...both of which we will probably forgo.