Leah's 3rd Birthday Party!

Leah's Birthday party was this past Friday night, and BOY was it fun!!! We had lots of family and friends over, and Leah had such a fun time being a "princess" for a day! She was such a cutie! She really loved seeing all her family & friends there for her birthday.. she gave them all hugs.. it was so special!

Our Birthday Princess

Her "banquet" table!

Leah & "Auntie" Alex!

Leah couldn't wait to open all her presents!

LOTS of fun!

Cute pic with Auntie Anna!


Dad and Bekah play with the paper wrapping!

LOTS of pink!!!!

Leah's Princess Cake.. YES I made this!

(Thanks to my friend Lindsey's post on how easy it is to make!!)

She LOVED her cake.. she said "There's a dolly in my cake!" :)

Leah's Birthday Video!

Water Park Day!

On March 7th, we had our annual Water-Park daytrip to Thief River Falls! We had almost the entire Helweg and Parthun families together! It was a blast! Here are some pics from our very fun day!

All of us!

Josh & Bekah get wet.. she LOVED it!

The March birthday girls! (The 6th, 11th, 26th, 28th)

Leah with her balloons!

Josh & I

James and Savannah!

Adam & Hannah!

Bekah LOVED the balloons

Leah loved the slide

Mary Grace & I enjoy sharing a double tube on the slides!! She is my buddy! :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Leah!

Happy Birthday to our precious firstborn, Leah!!! We are so thankful for the gift of your sweet, beautiful life! You are our rambunctious bundle of energy, yet always surprising us with your laughter and remarks. It's hard to imagine life without you! We love you and hope you have a very happy 3rd birthday!

Pics from Leah's 3 years of life!

Just born!


3 months old

Mommy & Leah!

1 year old.. so cute!


Your "scruncy" face

Cheesy grin!

Beautiful lady

Playing piano in Fargo

My cupcake queen!

Our beautiful 3 year old!!!!

News from our corner of the world

Life has been starting to get CRAZY! Jan/Feb was soooooo slow.. and seemed like spring would never come with all it's exciting things to do. And now that it's just around the corner I am saying "Ahhhhhhh!" Pretty wild time of year.

We have been VERY blessed this past month to get 2 things we had always wanted, but never thought we'd ever afford to! The first is a new 60" Flat Screen TV (Yes, you read that right!) from a friend up in Josh's home town for only $50! Talk about INSANE! They just wanted to get rid of it, and gave us a 99% markdown special! :) lol.
The 2nd item is a Nintendo Wii game set! When our tax return money came back we had much more than we thought we'd get (yay!) and Josh & I love playing these, and so we decided to splurge! It has been soooo fun, and we have really busted Cabin Fever with it.. it is sooo great! :)

We also FINALLY have updates on my parent's house progress next-door.. My dad finally finished the wiring (This took a lot longer than anyone ever thought) then the insulating and Josh & Ken's crew came back this week and sheetrocked the whole upper level! It looks amazing!!! Things are really moving along fast now, which we are so thankful for! But it will still be at least a month and a half (my guess) before it is finished enough for them to move. This week the mudders/tapers should be coming to finish up the sheetrocking. Then the flooring and appliance people I think. :)

The girls have been doing great! Leah all of a sudden started learning lots of songs and sings them over and over! It's like all the teaching I tried to do with her when she was 2 suddenly paid off and she knows lots of cute songs! I need to get some videos of her singing and post them. She is also very excited for her birthday party, coming up later this week!

Bekah has been WALKING! Yes, she took her first step this past week, and walks a few steps before falling down. She is sucha big girl, and is really babbling a lot as well. No specific words that I can tell, but its pretty cute. :) Her hair is finally starting to grow as well, making her look less like a boy! lol But she will keep her red hair and blue eyes as well!!! I was never so happy for blue eyes in my whole life! SOOO beautiful!

Next month, we will be going on a family vacation to Atlanta, GA to visit Josh's aunts & uncles and their families for 8 days! We are super-excited to have been given a great deal on plane tickets by Josh's brother James, and we are excited for the time to visit family! Plus I hear GA's weather right now is in the 80's! YES! We will be flying for the 1st time as a family, with both girls, so I am researching lots of "flying with kids" websites getting good ideas. :) Anyone have some tips?

Hope all of you are having a good spring, aside from the yucky muddiness and water in "lakes" around our house, lol, we are having a great and busy spring! Blessings!

New Family Pics!

Josh agreed to get professional family pictures taken at Sears, due to the fact that I could again get a photo package for only $5.34!!! (YAY!) I was soooooo excited that I booked an apt. right away! We LOVED how they turned out! We all wore our spring Easter clothes, and the girls were just precious!! Enjoy!

Our Family!

Rebekah - 1 year

Leah - 3 years


Sisters

Still Sleepless!

Ok, It is official... Rebekah HAS got to start sleeping through the night!!!!!!!!

In her LIFE she has only ever slept through the night 3x, and I remember exactly when it was. I KNOW she should be sleeping through the night now, I remember Leah was, waaay before now.

Last night alone, she was up 5-6x, every 1 1/2 hours it seemed! As a result, my sleep was very interrupted and I'm sure hers wasn't great either. She IS weaned, but still only nurses to "soothe" herself night, simply because I can't calm her down any other way! (Well, aside from getting up with her and playing) :/

I need advice!!!! Anyone have any ideas for getting her to sleep through the night? Her bedtime is usually around 8:30-9:00.. so it isn't too early. The room is dark, no nightlight, and with a louder fan running. I have tried everything and would LOVE some ideas.. or just some comfort!

Thanks a million all my mom friends!

Bekah's Birthday Party

We had a fun family party for Rebekah's birthday on Sunday! Her Uncle James, and soon to be Auntie Savannah, as well as all of us were there celebrating! It was soooo fun! She was a little ham!

Laughing at her cake and candle!

Clapping after us singing the "Happy Birthday Song"

She took her WHOLE piece of cake in her fist and shoved it in her mouth!!!

Notice the fist of cake? We laughed soooo hard!

Opening Presents...

Her present from us, a new Leap Frog Learning Drum.. this was her favorite toy we looked at in the stores.. she'd play it for hours!!

Yay!!!

]

Present from Grandpa & Grandma .. a walk-along puppy!

Freebies!

It's been a while since I have found any worthwhile freebies at local stores. This week I was finally back in the swing of it!

(Wal-Mart & Wal-Greens)

3 Huggies Wipes- $5 off coupon making them 68 cents each!

4 Glade Air Fresheners - $4 off MF coupon and $4 off WG coupon making them FREE!

2 Garnier Shampoos $1 off MF coupon and $1 off WG coupon making them FREE!

(had to throw in the candy bar to cover tax at Walgreens.. part of couponing I guess!)

Yay for great deals! I was especially excited for the Air Fresheners.. they are really high-tech! (Motion Activated!) WooHoo!

More 1 Year Photos

I went to Sears again for a great photo deal due to coupons, and wasn't disappointed in quality or price! I paid... $5.34 total for 36 pictures!! I was soooo excited! And they turned out sooooooo cute! I LOVE Sears!!! It gives me the ability to get professional shots of the girls every year for very cheap! Yay!!!

Our Bekah Grace.. 1 Year old!

Cute!

Our baby is standing!!! (Walking soon I have no doubt!)

The sweetest close-up!

Happy 1st Birthday, Rebekah!

Happy Birthday to our darling baby girl! It seems hard to believe you are turning one! What a special girl you are to us! We love you and can hardly wait for many more years! :)

I decided to share with you all the letter I wrote this week to the staff at the NICU in Fargo, where Rebekah was treated for the first 3 weeks of her life! I am ever so grateful to everyone there, and for the gift of our healthy baby girl as a result! What a special gift from God our Rebekah is!

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Dear Friends at the NICU,


It has been one year since our Rebekah’s birth at 32 ½ weeks old.

March 11, 2008 was such a miraculous day! Imagine my surprise coming in to my Doctor’s office at my home in Bemidji, for a checkup and being told I am 5 cm dialated, and then when I am wheeled up to Labor/Delivery am told I am at 8 cm!!! This baby is coming early!

We had so much information to process in such a short time! A special team from Fargo came to take Rebekah back to their NICU for the best care! What a relief that they arrived before she was born, enabling them to give her the best care immediately after delivery! We are so thankful for all you did! (Thank you Candi & team!)

After recovering for a few hours after the birth, Josh & I left for Fargo immediately to see our baby girl. I remember this being the longest car ride of my life. The thoughts of if she is OK and if she is able to breath on her own, if her little body will hold out long enough for me to see her one more time, all these thoughts were racing through my head. As we arrived, I raced in to see her. She was receiving the BEST care! Teams of staff had helped to stabilize her and make sure she was warm, comfortable and breathing perfectly. It was so reassuring to see. (Although somewhat scary as she was so small attached to so many machines!) J

As the Rebekah’s days in the NICU progressed into weeks, the staff at the NICU proved to be my best friends over Rebekah’s growth and wellness. They were so helpful, friendly, supportive and made sure I had any information I needed to know. They went above and beyond in everything! For that I personally, was so thankful for everyone helping in our 3 week NICU stay! Especially Rebekah’s nurses! These ladies became some of my best friends during this stay, and were amazing! Thank you for all you did!

Finally the fateful day arrived. The day we got to take our baby home. I was so worried that the Doctor(s) would change their minds and decide to keep her longer! J But they were so glad to see us all together and helped us prepare for the task of taking care of our small miracle girl. As we left I couldn’t help feeling like I was leaving a part of my family behind, such was the love for the staff at the NICU during our stay.

And at home, our family was together for the first time! Our oldest daughter, Leah was so excited to meet her baby sister. And the rejoicing began!

Time passed and Rebekah proved to be a strong baby! Immediately doubling her weight and becoming a healthy, happy baby rivaling other babies her age in weight and height! Our doctor couldn’t have been more pleased!

She continued to grow and develop right on schedule for her age. She is such a happy baby, always making us laugh! She also has kept her red hair & blue eyes she has had since birth, which made me so excited! We are so thankful for the blessing of our Rebekah Grace!

As she turns ONE this week, my thoughts are still you all, the team of people who helped us so much in her early days. The helicopter team, the doctors attending her, the nurses who helped with every detail, the variety of specialists and the discharge nurse. Without their help and love, our Rebekah’s story could have ended very differently.

My heart goes out to all of you who have helped us in any way during our stay at the NICU! We love you and are grateful every day for what you have done for us! Thank you for the blessing of our healthy little girl! We love you all!

With much grateful thanks,

The Helwegs
Josh, Laura, Leah & Rebekah

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Celebrating Rebekah's first year of life in Pictures! Enjoy!