The Helton Twins
The Helton Twins Website
March 15, 2008
Naughty Emma.
January 3, 2008
And they are on the move!
June 2, 2007
Well, here is the Helton twin update! It's been a busy couple of weeks for Emma and Madeline. They are grabbing at everything in sight (including other people's hair and glasses), eating carrots and greenbeans, learning to use their first sippy cup, drinking very watered down applejuice, and smiling at just about everything in sight. We think they'll be crawling in no time. They position themselves like little frogs and desperately try to move. They have also mastered the art of rotating themselves 180 degrees.
Meanwhile, Kevin returns to school tomorrow. He is enrolled in a credentialing program. It will take him slightly over and year and will leave him just five classes shy of his Masters in Education. He won't be returning to Vista Murrieta High School as the digital photography teacher next school year (it's a long story--call me if you want to hear it). He is going to continue working at the high school doing the IT job he had before. This summer we are going to work on launching "Kevin Helton Photography." As his wife, I may be biased, but I think that Kevin's photos are 'da bomb! Anyways, we're hoping that he can use his talent to actually make some money:) On an exciting note, we have our townhouse for sale. If we're able to sell it, we'll be purchasing a home in Wildomar (well, hopefully purchasing a home in Wildomar--I guess that nothing is for certain). The house is scheduled to be ready in October.
April 28, 2007
Emma and Maddie are getting bigger and bigger! At their last visit to the pediatrician (where they got more shots...very sad), Emma weighed 18 pounds 2 ounces and Maddie weighed 16 pounds 3 ounces! They are both in the top percentile for their weight and height! Considering that Maddie began her life in the 5th percentile, and Emma in the 25th percentile, our girlies have certainly filled out. They continue to roll over, get angry that they can't return to their original postion on their backs, throw a tantrum until I turn them onto their back so that they can immediately roll over again at which point I roll them onto their back and they roll over again, they throw a tantrum, I roll them, they roll, tantrum, roll, roll, tantrum....yup, the glamorous life of having two five month old babies. The girls experienced their first spoon fed bowl of cereal (see the pictures on our photo section). That proved to be entertaining and messy (although not as messy as we thought it would be). The girls caught on fairly quickly to the eating concept.
Life in the Helton house is never dull. Kevin is finally adjusting to his new job as a high school teacher. My life remains quite routine, although I have taken up walking to attempt to shed some of the baby weight. All in all, life has become somewhat predictable. Raising twins has lost some of its shock factor, which is nice.
March 27, 2007
Maddie finally rolled over for the first time today! She's always just behind her big sister!
March 18, 2007
Well, the girls are now four months old. How that happened is beyond me!!! The girls are growing so fast that we can't keep up with their wardrobe! However, this time in their lives has become super fun! The girls have begun to talk in their own special babble. There are many times when their chatter is uncontrollable and loud. It is such a cute language to listen to! The girls are developing into such happy babies. They smile constantly which just melts the heart! Emma is desperately trying to roll over and we expect her to reach her goal any day now. She manages to get completely on her side, but then she just sort of gives up. We've seem Madeline make a few attempts to roll, but she isn't quite as ambitious about it as her sister. Both girls are starting to reach out and grab at things, including each others hair, clothes, hands, arms and fingers! We started putting rice cereal in the girls bottles and the girls now sleep through the night...Yea! That is probably one of the most exciting changes we've seen!
We've seen a lot of changes in our family over the last month. Kevin started a new job teaching digital photography at Vista Murrieta High School. It wasn't quite the direction that we were planning on him going, but the job basically fell into his lap. The job is a great match for Kevin since he loves photography and has always wanted to teach. However, Kevin doesn't have his credential and is currently teaching on an emergency credential. He will be returning to school (blechhhh) to obtain his credential as soon as he is able to enroll in a program. Fortunately, there are credentialing programs that are entirely online. He will also have to pass the CSET in art which will require a lot of studying considering that his degree in is Business Administration. He knows about photography, but very little about the topic of art. The test is offered every other month which means that the sooner he can get studying, the better. Y'all can pray that he'd get through the necessary material and pass the test the first time around. Kevin also got a terrible case of bronchitis that resulted in him having to visit the emergency room last week and miss a week of work. So we could use prayer for health too! I'm so grateful that the girls were spared any sickness!
We had a problem with our guest book and most of our entries were erased. We'd love for everyone to sign it again if you have a minute to spare!
Love to all,
Kevin and Jen
P.S. Just a few minutes after I wrote this update, Emma rolled over....all the way. Things happen so fast with these girlies!
January 31, 2007
We wish everyone a belated Happy New Year!
Emma and Madeline are ten weeks old today. Where has time gone? We've seen some major changes in the girls over the last several weeks, both phsically and in their personalities.
Emma now weighs 12 pounds 13 ounces, and Madeline continues to trail behind at 11 pounds 10 ounces. They are both 24 inches long. They have outgrown their newborn sized clothing as well as their 1-3 month clothing. Both are fitting comfortably in 3-6 months clothing. It's hard to believe that Madeline ever even needed those preemie outfits (and a little sad that they've grown this quickly). The girls got their first set of shots last week. The actual process wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be. The girls were troopers and hardly cried at all. However, the fun really started about three days after receiving the shots. Every potential side effect that the doctor warned us could happen within the first one to three days actually happened. They screamed, fussed, demanded food but refused to eat it, and ran fevers. Kevin and I survived, but it wasn't fun...and we get to do it again when they return to the doctor for more shots in two months.
Meanwhile, we've seen some exciting changes in their sleep patterns! The last few evenings have required only one "middle of the night" feeding. Yea! The girls are drinking five ounces of formula, and we're looking forward to putting some cereal in their bottles in the very near future! We're hoping that this will finally put them to sleep for the entire night!
Both girls have gotten really good at lifitng their heads. They've also discovered the fine art of thumbsucking. This is a great alternative to the pacifier! Emma is proving to be our more passive baby. She eats a little better than Madeline and sleeps a little better as well. Madeline on the other hand can be a bit more demanding, and I think that she has even formed an attitude, especially when it comes to eating. She doesn't like to have the bottle removed for burpings, and lets us know with this shrill little squeal--not a pleasant sound at all. The girls have both become extremely smiley! Their grins are such a beautiful sight! It just tugs at the heart whenever they let loose with those ear to ear smiles!
Kevin returned to work after a long Christmas vacation. I was sad to see him go, but I knew it had to happen. His return to work marked the official start of my new life as a stay at home mommy. Our lives are different now, but in a mostly wonderful way. We've been blessed with these beautiful girls that we love more and more with each day! Everything is a milestone for them and we get excited about even the littlest changes! Yes, we've had to adjust...a lot. But it has been very much worth it!