A start to the holidays

The holidays began with a terrific trip to Delaware to spend time with family, and for Anton to meet many family members for the first time.  He got acquainted with Pop-Pop (Steve's Dad), his uncle Curt, and his cousin Lauren.  We enjoyed good food, a great trip to the Delaware Museum of Natural History, and some hilarious games of Apples to Apples.

Karl had his first YMCA swim meet of the year on December 6th.  He swam hard, improving his 5 meeter freestyle time by 2 seconds since the summer, and his backstroke by 6 seconds!  Several meets are yet to come for the winter season.  That's Karl swimming hard in lane 2.

Our babe is growing fast and is such a happy and social little guy.  Anton rolled over from tummy to back for the first time on Saturday, December 6th.  He couldn't reproduce his new trick that day, and it seemed as though he wasn't quite sure what happened, or how it happened.  He managed to do it again once the following day.  He squeals in delight while playing...here are some of his latest sounds.

New Beginnings

Our newborn won't be so called for much longer, this kiddo will be three months old on November 18th!  And, he's really showing showing some maturity with his new infant status, taking some more regular naps (usually), getting to sleep on his own at times, and stretching 8 hours, sometimes a little more, in between feedings at night!  His hands are opening up more and more every day, and his batting of toys leads to some grabs here and there, which seem to absolutely blow his mind.  His back and head control is getting pretty solid, so today we broke out the Bumbo seat!  He quite likes this new upright perspective.

Karl had a blast for Halloween as Captain Rex of The Star Wars Clone Wars.  He was a great big brother to his baby elephant brother, who accompanied him the whole way by stroller.  This year marks Karl's first majorly serious trick or treating effort.  Next year, he plans to use a pillow case.  

Karl is really enjoying piano at this stage of his music studies.  He has gotten to a level where he can improvise and transpose quite a bit, and he loves nothing more than working out the soundtrack to Lord of the Rings by ear.  Here is one of his latest pieces.  

Fall fun with our 8 year old and 2 month old

Karl has had a great fall so far, and a big highlight has been grass roots soccer through Penn United Soccer Academy.  PUSA does a great job at teaching skills, but also keeping the game fun and welcoming of all ability levels.  Karl seems to have found his niche as goalie, and has been dubbed by his coach "Hoover" for his outstanding ability to suck up those balls at the goal.  He certainly was sad to see the end of the season come this past Friday evening.  Below are a few pictures Karl's Nana took of him at his scrimmage on October 12th.

Anton is 2 months old as of yesterday!  His personality is really budding right now, and we get tons of terrific smiles and adorable coos these days.  No one gets smiles and squeals of delight, though, like his two best friends, Winston and Elvis, as Karl has named them.  The pair of birds dangling from his bouncy seat are a continual fascination for little Anton! Check out the video at the bottom.

 We had a great day at Harner Farm picking out pumpkins and tackling the spooky corn maze.  Karl was very brave!

                                          Winston and Elvis give this guy the giggles big time!

Here is some of Anton's latest chatter.

Anton is 5 weeks today!

Karl lost his 8th tooth yesterday!  He is having a busy fall already between soccer, swim team, and piano lessons.  He has begun Suzuki book 2...big time!  Oh yeah, and school....lots more responsibility in 3rd grade.  A highlight for him is getting to be a big book buddy to a kindergartner.  Very cool that he gets to be in the mentoring role now.  Karl is very excited to be Captain Rex for Halloween.....his mask to complete the ensemble arrived today.  

The past several weeks have been filled with milestones for the littlest Helmerich.  He can hold up his head with quite a bit of strength and turn from side to side, and doesn't protest too much to a few minutes of tummy time each day.  While he has a really good set of lungs on him, especially during the evening hours, the morning is his most alert time for exploring his world!  Lots of new noises, coos, and on his one month birthday, we noticed what seem to be real smiles, especially when he looks at the bold stripes on the drop ceiling in the family room.  Bath time is a big favorite.  Anton is working his arms every day, and we swear that he intentionally grabbed a toy on his swing a few times.  He met lots of new people over the past weeks, including his Aunt Zuzu, Uncle Sam, and very importantly, Jackson the dog!  

Anton is 2 weeks old today!

Anton is 2 weeks old today!  Life is rapidly changing for our little guy.  He stays awake for 30 minutes to an hour after feedings, and even sometimes sleeps at 4 hour stretches at night!  He can pick up his head and move it side to side, and track objects.  He responds to the sounds of familiar voices, especially his big brother.  He loves his bouncy seat from Mims and Opa! Karl is off to a great start in 3rd grade.  He has been so responsible with his assignments and keeping things organized.  Soon he starts up his activities....piano lessons, soccer and swimming are on the way this week!