Hurry... mommy is in the shower... we don't have time to waste.

On a typical mornings the kids wake up while I'm in the shower, talk and play until I get them out. The past two mornings I have heard giggling while I was in the shower. Hmm, mommy radar kicks in and I start wondering what they are doing. Giggling is something I hear when they are laying down before bed or before a nap, or when they are wrestling. NEVER when they wake up. Mommy radar kicks into overdrive and I start thinking of all of the possibilities while rushing to finish my shower. Did Billy reach the basket that holds all of the baby wipes, lotion, diaper rash cream? I really start to worry.

I shut off the water, wrap the towel around me, water is dripping everywhere, I dash into their room.... to discover Billy and Bekah both in Bekah's crib. I sigh a great sigh, grab Billy explain to him that he can NOT climb into Bekah's crib. I go on to tell him that he could have gotten hurt or Bekah could have gotten hurt, but he is concerned because I guess I look funny with my hair dripping water all over and a towel wrapped around me. He looks at me so sweetly and says "sorry mommy". I give him a quick kiss and put him back into his bed until I can quickly get dressed and ready for the day(too many things to get into while mom is getting ready). As I walk out the door, Bekah shrieks, "MOMMY, NAKED!" I'm thinking to myself, why did we ever say the word naked when getting them ready for a bath. I reply, "no sweetie, mommy is wearing a towel" and continue getting ready.

Life with toddlers.

Fourth Of July

A little late is better than never, right? We celebrated the 4th of July in Dallas, NC.

Uncle Bob was working, so we had to say hi.
Kids weren't too sure what to think with all of the people.
They were setting off smaller fireworks while we were waiting for the real show to start. Billy thought they were amazing and had a blast.
Bekah on the other hand was terrified.
Every time a firework would go off she would cry and say "no, no, no". Once the real show started and they were continuos, she started enjoying them. She was actually watching them instead of burring her face in my chest.

We had a great time and loved the show.

Michigan

We are back from our wonderful trip to Michigan. We had a wonderful time visiting family and friends. We couldn't have asked for a better trip (just longer, it went way too fast). We hope we can make it back again this year, but aren't sure.

On the drive up, it took us 13 hrs 15 min, that is really good considering we stopped twice for food and once for gas. Our trip up was uneventful until Bekah upchucked her breakfast all over her and her seat. Bill and I tag teamed the clean up efforts and we were on our way fairly quick. We had a good little laugh about our adventure and continued on. The kids started getting fussy and I gave them their new toy to play with. They call it an "i color" not to be confused with an ipod, imac, or ipad. lol It is basically a cheap ($2.50) magnent drawing board. They played with it for an hour an a half straight, at lunch and then played with it another hour and a half. Best purchase I've made in quite a while.

Our first destination was to PaPa's (my dads) house. We arrived at 5:45pm (left NC at 4:30am). After we got unpacked we headed over to Deb's work to see grandma (Bill's mom) she was so excited and got to show off the grandkids. They colored with pencil, even on her desk (oops) and had a blast saying Hi to everyone. It was a quick dinner and then to bed for the kids after a long day.

Friday we did some errands around Kalamazoo and playing in the yard. We met up with my mom at the mall and she got to see the kids for the first time.

Fazolis was a great lunch!!! We went back to Dads and enjoyed his yard and throwing and kicking a ball around. When Am ma (grandma, Bill's mom) arrived the kids dove into the kiddie pool. It was all we could do to get their clothes off of them before they climbed in. I won't post pics from that night because as Bekah would say they were "necked" (naked). All of us adults had a blast watching the kids splash away. My dad and I had a good laugh when Bill decided his mom needed to get into the pool (picked her up and put her in, clothes and all). The kids didn't know what to thing with Am ma in there with them.

Saturday we enjoyed some more time around the house and some more running around. They really enjoyed playing ball in the yard, flying a kite, using sidewalk chalk and best of all pool time (this time with bathing suits on). Grandma decided to join the kids in the pool on her own this time and they all had a blast.

Sunday was Fathers day. We celebrated with my dad and Bill's dad both. Everyone went to church together, enjoyed some time at the mall in GR and then ended up at BC Pizza. We were so thankful to be able to spend this holiday with our fathers. We couldn't be more blessed with the two wonderful children God has blessed us with.

Monday we went shopping for Western shirts for all four of us and found some really nice ones. Our time in Kalamazoo ended quickly. :(

Tuesday we drove to Sturgis, ate lunch with Jackie at work and headed back to Dottie's house. We were surprised with friends that visited for dinner and then some other family members that arrived. Each day in Sturgis we saw even more friends and family. We wished we would have had more time with everyone, but did our best.

Saturday we headed home to NC. This time we left at 4:45 and didn't make it home until 7pm (15hrs 15 min). We had to stop more because Bill and I were very tired and having a hard time staying awake. There were a lot of areas with construction zone speed limits that slowed us down. We also ran into a traffic jam, well... more like a parking lot. We came to a complete stop for 30 min, put the windows down and turned off the car. It was an even longer day but we made it home safely. We probably should have taken the same way back that we did going there, but you never know what is going to be faster.

Thanks to all of the family and friends that hosted us for the 8 days. So thankful that we were able to spend time with everyone that we did, and sorry that we missed some too.

Getting Big

Kids are getting big! We have included some of the beautiful Carolina blue sky, Billy's first hair cut, a family picture and some other around the house pics. Enjoy!!!

Bek enjoys naming everyone she knows (in the car, sitting around the house, even at 3am). She even demands to talk on the phone.

Billy has discovered "no", "ssssTOP" and a few others. Getting pretty feisty.

Can't wait to see everyone soon.

19 months & Easter

Some funny things that happened this month. Bekah tried on all 3 of her new outfits at the same time. She had on 4 shirts, 2 pairs of shorts and a skirt. Billy tried on Daddy's sweatshirt and it swallowed him up. They tried Spaghetti for the first time. I think they played with it more than they ate it.

We were able to celebrate Easter with Brent, Deb and Grandma Heldt. Dad and I took the kids to Monkey Joe's (a play place for kids) and had a great time. All of us took the kids to the park to play with their new easter gifts (balls and bubbles). We all had a blast and learned new things. Rolling a big ball, kicking the ball and making bubbles were some of their favorite things to do.

We have been working on potty training the kids and Bekah is catching on very quickly. Billy thinks its fun, but not sure what the potty is for.

Both kids are cutting many teeth at the same time. I feel bad for them. We also discovered that they have seasonal allergies. We found out the hard way when the pollen "snowed" on NC. We have been able to treat it with over the counter medicine and they are doing very well.

18 months old

At the end of February the kids turned 18 months old and Bill had his shoulder surgery.

Bill's surgery went as well as could be expected. They didn't have any surprises once they started and it went like clockwork.

His surgery was on Thursday and on Saturday Dottie arrived. We were so thankful to share that time with her. She didn't have to share her great-grandchildren with anyone like she normally has to do when she visits (share the kids with Grandma and Grandpa Brand).... Well that was until we had a wonderful surprise visit from Bill and Jackie. They drove through the night just to be able to surprise us. We had a great long weekend and were able to celebrate Bill's birthday (March 9th) with everyone.

I learned not to leave Jackie, the kids and candy alone (just kidding). Jackie showed the kids how you can use egg candy and turn it into lipstick. It was really cute and the kids were all for it. Thank you Jackie for putting "lipstick" on my son. ;)

Long overdue 17 month pictures, I thought I should get them up before they are 18 months :)

Mommy went to a breakfast with the ladies at church and kids stayed home with daddy. They had a bunch of fun and also cleaned up the house. It was a nice surprise for mommy.

Just playing around!

Friday the 12 of February snow fell all over North Carolina. This was the first time the kids have really been able to play in the snow. We were able to have some time in it on Friday and Saturday. They had a blast.

Holidays

We have had quite the adventurous holiday season around our house. As soon as Bill's dad arrived, our kids decided that they didn't want to sleep at night and thought it would be more fun to keep the grandparents up at night. We weren't sure what was causing it.

Wednesday, December 16th we celebrated Christmas with Bill's Dad's side of the family. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed our time together. The kids were a lot of fun to watch them discover what they could do with wrapping paper.

Thursday, December 17th Bob graduated from his Basic Law Enforcement Training. We were able to celebrate with him and continue our celebrations at Olive Garden after the graduation. We are very proud of him and everything he accomplished. Can't wait to see him in his first department uniform. Praying that God sends him the job opportunity that he has planned for him.

Saturday evening, we planned on going to church with everyone (Brent, Deb, Bob, Erica, Bill, Jackie and Dottie). Unfortunately the migraine and upset stomach that Jackie was dealing with on Friday continued over to Sat. She ended up in ER that night and surgery the next morning. When they were able to leave on Monday (day later than they planned) she left our beautiful state w/o an appendix. We are just thankful that they were here in town with us and not stuck between NC and MI on their journey home.

Tuesday we(My dad and I) took Billy in to the dr because he had been up all night for a few nights in a row and that wasn't like him at all. Double ear infection was his diagnosis. He also had a red throat and they didn't want to test him for strep since they were going to give him meds for the ears that would take care of strep if he had it.

Wednesday, Bill returned to work and Dad and I took Bekah into the Dr. She tested positive for strep but ears were fine. She started her rounds of medicine and felt much better w/in 24 hours.

Santa visited our apartment complex and I'll let you see for yourselves how much the kids LOVED Santa. ;)

We had a family event of making cookies, it was a blast. I made them, dad baked them, Deb kids and I decorated them and Bill helped us eat them. :) At one point Billy tried to pick up his cookie and stuck it to his bib with frosting used as glue.

Christmas Eve we continued our family tradition of opening pjs. I think Billy was a little disappointed when he discovered that it was just clothes and it wasn't a fun toy. Bekah loved that they were soft and was excited about "pretty" clothes.

Christmas Day we celebrated the four of us with Grandma Wade (Deb) and Grandpa Holtz (Brent) (wow that sounds strange). After our family Christmas, Bob and Erica joined in on the fun. We had my dad's yummy french toast and I made Christmas dinner later that evening.

Playing at the Park was a lot of fun. This was the first time the kids were able to play at this park, because last time it was closed for improvements. They had a blast running around and exploring everything around them.

The worst part of everything, is saying "bye". It is hard being able to have Grandparents around for 2 weeks and then all of a sudden everyone is gone. Kaylee is even looking around like "Where did everyone go?" Over the course of the holidays Bekah is talking more and Billy is now saying "geckah" meaning Bekah. We try to get Bekah to say Billy but she says "buba" instead.

Thanks for the chicken parmesan and french toast dads :) For all of the hugs, kisses and great memories. Can't wait to see everyone again soon. Love and miss everyone.

15 Month Pictures

I know it has been way too long. I keep getting behind with the postings of the pictures. It is incredible what the kids are doing to make us laugh and cry all at the same time. They do some of the silliest things and then without notice they accidentally smack you in the face with a sippy cup (thanks for the busted lip bubby) :)

A few posts back the pictures had Bekah with a bruise on her head and Billy's busted lip. Well now it is more often that mommy has a busted lip because someone is always crashing into me with a toy or their thick heads.

As of today we took down our fortress as we call it. It is the "cage" that blocked off the tv and stairs for many months. We have hidden most of the electronics around the TV and are not letting them play around the stairs. They are able to climb the stairs and get down them fairly well, but we don't want them trying it with out us.

Both kids get very excited when they see each other first thing in the morning. You hear "buba" and "sissy" and it just melts your heart. Hearing their little voices say "mommy" and "daddy" is priceless. Their vocabulary is improving significantly.

On Saturday we decorated the tree, or I should say they decorated the tree. While they were napping, Bill and I put up the tree and put the lights on it. We had the kids decorate it and didn't lift them up much so as you will see most of the ornaments are on the bottom of the tree, but it is very cute. Billy wanted to put all of the ornaments on the same branch and Bekah just wanted to collect as many as she could in her arms.

We had so much fun. I can't wait to bake cookies and make fudge with them in the next few weeks. We are so blessed to have our little miracles. I thank God every day for them and all the blessings and life lessons they bring.

We are looking forward to Uncle Bob graduating from his BLET course and are so proud of him. Family will be here soon to celebrate his graduation and the holidays with us. Hope every one has safe travels this holiday season and remembers the meaning of Christmas.

14 month pictures

I added a few extra pictures to the 14 month shots since it has been a while. Billy didn't want to take pictures, so I have some other ones up from days after the first ones.

Billy's vocabulary is pretty crazy. He can say "daddy, mommy, kaylee, sissy, baby, ball, car, hi, hey" and a few other ones.

Bekah doesn't like to speak as much as she likes to use her signs. She does love to babble though.

Bekah has all of her molars in and Billy is working on his but none have popped through.

Both kids are very active. They enjoy sitting and looking at books, blowing their little toy horn, and pushing and pulling things. Anything that makes music or noise is a hit around the house. They enjoy the time that they spend with friends once a week at Mommy and Daddy's small group. They are the youngest kids there, but love to play with everyone.

Today we brought home our second art work project from church. They colored a pretty picture. I'm surprised that Billy didn't eat the crayon this time around. :)

We are looking forward to the holiday season and can't wait to see family.