Playing Catch Up

Remember when initially I told you how "I'm not a blogger...".... well, has my 2 month hiatus proven my point? I could tell you that I'm exhausted and have no time, but there are other mothers out there who find time.  I really need to designate a day every week to just sit down and catch everyone up on the life and times of the Helms family... Actually, who am I kidding, Zach and I are chopped liver... let me change that... catch everyone up on the life and times of Reesie :-)

For catching up sake, I'm going to do a brief summary with some pictures scattered in between... and I promise, I'll never go this long again ;-) Ha!

Oct. 22, 2011- Reese went to her first birthday party! It was a Pirate Party for her cousin Reagan's 3rd birthday. We had SO much fun. It was also the first time Zach and I hung out somewhere with her...so we were kind of learning our boundaries as well. (You can tell I was still a bit psycho--note the mosquito net)

Oct. 24, 2011- I started a new job! Most of you know my old job was 40 miles/ 1.5 hrs away from our house so it was killer. Going back to work was hard enough on me, but being that far and knowing that if I had to rush to pick Reese up would take me over an hour... I just couldn't do it. My new job is literally 15 minutes from our house... I feel so blessed to find something close to home!!!

Oct. 26, 2011- We had a check up at the cardiologist. They did a chest x-ray that showed her lungs as more clear and the size of her heart was decreasing... which is a GREAT thing! The heart is a muscle, so the harder it works, the larger it grows, so any decrease in size means it's not having to work as hard. Dr. Wolfe is still very optimistic that we won't have to do surgery... so please keep your prayers coming!

Oct. 29, 2011- Zach and I went to our friends Shawn & Vanessa's wedding so we dropped Reesie off at her Uncle Mikey and Aunt Tracy's house for the evening. They had fun getting to spend some time with their Reesie. They don't get to see her that often so it was a treat for Brody and Reagan to have her over... I think Reagan just likes a break away from all the boys ;-)

Nov. 7, 2011- Reese started day care... boo hoo!!! I cried and cried... which is normal I guess... It was so hard leaving her. Thank goodness for the people at Kids R Kids... I don't know what I'd do if I had to leave her with people I didn't know. I obsessively watch her on the camera's while I'm at work. When I use to work there, I'd think all the parents were so crazy who would call the center and say, "umm, why is my kids sock on the other side of the room?"... but now I get it...it's so funny to watch all the little babies hanging out on the mats together. Sometimes her Grammy will call me and ask if she can go kidnap her because she misses having her ;-)

Nov. 8, 2011- Reese started her RSV vaccine. Since she was born, RSV has been one of my biggest fears. There is a vaccine to prevent it, but your child has to qualify for it because it is $1,500 PER shot...and it's a monthly injection for 6 months... Normally, only preemie babies qualify for it because of their underdeveloped lungs, but due to our AWESOME cardiologist's letter of recommendation he wrote, the drug company and our insurance company approved Reese....for the cost of ZERO dollars!!! I almost cried!!!

Nov 13, 2011- Every November, we have a family reunion in Huntsville for my dad's side of the family. I absolutely love it. It's always the prettiest time of the year and I love being able to see my whole family! Last year, I was super excited because I walked in and all my aunts, great aunts, and all my girl cousins bombarded me to see my new engagement ring... but this year, they all bombarded me to steal Reese away...lol. It was hysterical to see them fight over her! "I'm feeding her", "NO, I'M feeding her", "NO, I get her first because I'm the grandma!" This kid will never lack confidence with everyone fighting over her! 

Gettin some lovin from my great papa!

Nov. 18-20, 2011- Reesie's first visit to the lake to visit Papo Lewter. The boys stayed at the lake while us girls stayed in a hotel in town. We had a blast! Watching Anna with Reese melts my heart and I love any opportunity I get to spend time with my amazing sister in law. Grammy and us stayed in Nachitoches, LA Friday night, then drove out to the lake on Saturday morning. Papo fried up his famous fish...which is DELICIOUS by the way! When it started to get dark, us girls left the stinky boys (seriously, they didn't shower all wknd) to go back into town. I don't know if you've ever been to Nachitoches during Christmas, but it is BEAUTIFUL! We put a blanket down and watched the fireworks. The kids absolutely loved it! It was so funny watching Reese because she was mesmerized. After that we went back to the hotel room where I didn't get much sleep because Kass was jumping up and down screaming at the tv as the Baylor Bears took down OU... Sic 'em! ;-)

Nov. 24, 2011- This was Reese's first Thanksgiving and it brought such a new meaning to the day. Zach and I are so thankful for the blessing of Reese and everything that she comes with; her whole little package. I would not trade that little girl for anything in this world. We're so thankful for our family who has been here for us through everything. We're so thankful for all of our friends who continue to keep us in their prayers and lift us up. We're so very thankful for the doctors who care for our sweet girl... I couldn't imagine not having TX Children's right here in our backyard. ...and hopefully I can speak for Zach also when I say how thankful I am for him and he is me. I wouldn't have my sweet pea if it weren't for him. We were the perfect combination to make an angel like Reese so there is no doubt in my mind we were meant to be together. 

Here are some extra pics from the past two months.

Watching the Texans with Daddy!

My sweet angel :-)

Now that I've caught you up...my fingers feel like they're going to fall off from all my typing! :-)