Back to Mac

Hey there everyone! Now that we are all back home I am going to switch back to blogging on my .Mac site. That way I can have everything in one location. The address is: http://web.mac.com/ibhelton. I will keep this site active in case we leave home for an extended period again. Thanks for stopping by!!

Daddy's Home!

The day we have been looking forward to for quite awhile finally came.....Daddy's home! Brian returned from his deployment yesterday and we couldn't be more excited to see him. He has deployed several times in the past but this was the first time we were able to participate in a big welcome home ceremony. It was a little hot and sticky waiting in the hangar for him to arrive, but we were so happy we really didn't notice too much.
Here are a couple pictures of us waiting for Brian to arrive. Jack is wearing his special shirt we had made.


Right on time they drew back the hangar doors and we were able to see Brian's plane pulling up.



Luckily we didn't have to wait too long, Brian and his crew were one of the first people off the airplane. Brian and I were both so worried that Jack would not remember him. We looked at pictures everyday, and he talked about "Daddy" all the time. So just in case Brian bought a toy for Jack to break the ice. Jack looked a little confused at first but as you can see warmed right up to him.



Since Brian has been gone Jack has changed so much. He is now WALKING, saying at least 5 new words, including Brian being Daddy instead of Da-da, has a few more teeth, is doing his sign language that Brian wokred on with him, drinking milk from a sippy cup and so much more. Here is Brian getting a little taste of what it is like to have a toddler on the move.


We had a couple of surprises for Daddy when he got home....


Here is a quick picture of our little Irish boy sporting a present Daddy brought back from his short stop in Ireland.

We are so happy that Brian is home safe and sound. We really missed him over the past few months but we know how much he loves what he does and how important it is. We are so PROUD of him. He is off work for the next two weeks so we are going to relax and hang out as a family.

We Made It!

Well as much as we didn't want to, my mom, Jack and I packed up the car and headed back to Florida. This ride home was thankfully much less eventful than the ride to North Carolina. We decided to make Savannah the half way point again, since our first attempt was cut short. We got there early in the afternoon so we were able to take a horse and carriage ride around the city. Jack was in awe of the horses as you can see by the empty stare in the pictures.



After the tour we finally made it to Huey's and what we centered the whole trip around...BEIGNETS!! It was well worth the trip. Jack couldn't get enough of them either! I also included a picture of Jack and his table art...he is quite the artist.


As much as we LOVED our stay at my mom's, it was definitely nice to be home too. We have a few days to unpack and get settled back in before DADDY'S HOME!! That is definitely the most exciting news of all. We can't wait!!
You can tell even Sanford is relaxed and happy to be home.

Slip and Slide

My mom bought Evan a slip and slide to play with out in the yard. We were trying to explain to him how to run and slide. He still wasn't quite getting it.

There was only one sure way to get him to understand.........

Well then Heather had to get in on the action. Evan just thought that was the coolest thing so we had to do it over and over again.



Here is Jack taking a break to eat some of Poppy's sandwich (liverwurst--YUCK!). He has become quite the moocher. He eats half my cereal in the morning. If you have food you have a best friend.

The boys have become the best of friends. They are going to miss each other so much when we leave.

Poppy getting in some last minute play time with both his boys. He is the best grandpa!!