Silly Thomas

Benny quickly found out that his motorized Thomas the Tank Engine does not just run on the tracks. Thomas now makes tracks all over the living room. By accident, Benny found that Thomas can push this squirrel. Now he asks to have Thomas do it almost every day. It is a cute video. Enjoy!

Benny's 2nd Birthday

For Benny's 2nd Birthday we had a Thomas the Tank Engine theme because of his love of trains. Here he is playing with his Thomas train set. It is motorized and has quickly become his favorite toy. We did a cupcake "cake" this year and it worked out great. As you can see, Benny ate more of the icing than cupcake. No surprise there!

We also let the kids have icecream cones. This is Benny's first time with a cone. He has had ice crean but only in a bowl. He ate as much of the ice cream he could reach. He was not that interested in eating the cone.

He had a lot of fun openning up his presents. He did very well at ripping off the paper. Here he is with his friend from church. He is looking at the big book of trucks that she gave him.

Last but not least is the cupcake "cake". As you can see, it was very cute. The Thomas toy can actually be played with. In fact, I think it is in his bed.

Overall, I think he had fun at his party. Not too many people were there and that was okay by me. Benny had friends from church come as well as some of mommy and daddy's friends. Benny really liked all of his gifts.

Grandma and Grandpa's Visit part 2

Here is a great picture of my parents and Benny. They just couldn't get enough of him and would have taken him with them if they could. We are lucky to have a fire station just up the hill from our house. Pop-pa took Benny up there because Benny loves fire trucks. He was actually able to sit in one.

Pop-pa liked to sit next to Benny whenever he could as we were driving around. I don't know who was sillier, Benny or Pop-pa. They sure had a lot of fun though.

Benny loves to have books read to him. He even managed to persuade Pop-pa into reading a book to him as Grandma watches.

Grandma and Grandpa Anderson's Visit

Some of the beautiful wild flowers up on Mt. Rainier. There was still mounds of snow at the picnic area at Paradise. Here is Benny and Pop-pa standing on one. Here is one of the sculptures from the Sculpture Park. This was Benny's favorite because it is a train.

Benny and Pop-pa at the Sculpture Park.

Benny had a great time with his Grandma and Grandpa (who he calls pop-pa). Of course my parents would visit during the really hot days we had in July. On the hottest days we went up and around Mt. Rainier. We had a picnic at Paradise and they had the chance to finally see Sunrise. We drove through a thunderstorm, but that was okay because it dropped the temperature from the 90's to the 70's. We stopped at a sculpture park on the way to Mt. Rainier. Benny had fun running around.

Baby Update!

Little "H" is doing fine. On the 14th of August, I had an Ob/Gyn appointment which I thought was at 1pm. It turned out it was scheduled for 11am. (Can anyone say "placenta brain"?) Anyway, I was not able to see the doctor, but his nurse took me back for a quick ultrasound. We were thankful for that because we had been going every week to the Gyft Clinic for an ultrasound and this time we had to wait 2 1/2 weeks. When you have a high risk pregnancy, that amount of time seems extra long.

Anyway, here is one of the pictures. Even though we were not able to hear the heartbeat (due to the equipment used) the baby measured in at where it should be and was moving around. Our next appointment is this Friday, October 4th. Don't worry, Brad wrote down the time in his dayplanner so we wouldn't forget.

Philly here we come!

Most of you might already know this, but Brad received a phone call on Monday from the Philadelphia center. He was accepted in this latest round of bidding. His release date as of now is January 2011. Philly here we come! We have been living in Washington since 2003 and are anxious to get back East to be with family and friends. We have just over a year to get ready for the move. It will be one busy year. We are having a baby and need to sell our house (hopefully not at the same time). Thanks to all who were praying for us. Keep praying that the move goes smoothly.

Another Update!

Just wanted to let you all know what is happening in the Heilenman household. Brad and I have decided to get out of debt and are using Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover to do it. It is based on biblical teachings and many of our friends are doing it or have done it.

Because of this, we are trying to sell our van as well as some other stuff we aren't using. We have made a budget based solely on Brad's paycheck. Anything I bring in goes straight to the debt. If everything works the way we want it to, we should be debt free (except the 1st mortgage) within two years. That is wiping out around $74,000 in 24 months. It will not be easy. We are making a lot of sacrifices (like no cable, no vacations, and such) but it is for the greater good.

Also, no word from Philly, but the arbitration went through and it turns out that for the next 3 years, Brad will receive a 3% raise on his base salary and a one time 8% raise next June. We hope this will just get us out of debt sooner.

Benny's Checkup

Benny had his 2 year check up last Friday. He didn't have to get any shots, but he didn't really want the doctor to examine him. He is just a little over 34 inches tall (which is average for his age), but only weighs 24 lbs. We have a tall and skinny kid. The doctor recommended that we cut Benny's juice intake to only 6 oz a day and make sure he gets three "sit down" meals a day. The hardest part has been limiting his juice. He now drinks more milk ( twice a day instead of just for dinner), but only at mealtimes. His appetite hasn't really changed yet, but I am hoping that he will get the idea of being hungry and want to eat more. His next check up is not until he is three, but we will hopefully be seeing the doctor some time in February with the new baby.

Little "H"

When my parents were in town last week, they were able to go with us to the doctor's office. Benny and Pop-pa stayed out in the lobby, but Brad and my mom were in the room with me when the ultra sound was done. My mother was just amazed at being able to see her newest grandchild. This little one was very active. It kept trying to move away or turn it's back to us and moon us. The heart rate was good (173 bpm). It measured 33mm long. We have had another ultrasound since this one and the baby had the hiccups, measured 54mm long and the heart rate was (160bpm). All is looking good. Now we have to wait until August 21st when I go and see my ob/gyn. As of Saturday, I will have made it through my first trimester. What a relief.