lots to update...

where have we been??????

Lots to post and catch up on with The Helwig Three, so please bear with me! I can not believe the last post was on Griffin's first birthday! He is 13 months old now!!! Have I fallen that far behind?? Well, first of all, updates on our sweet pea ,why you are reading this to begin with... Griffin had his one year check up and is growing like a weed!! At one year, he weighed 20 pounds and 13 ounces and was 31 inches long. He is long and lean! I looked back at my baby book and I was the exact same length and just 3 ounces less at a year old! Isn't that crazy???

sweet pea little 'g'

Griffin is doing all kinds of fun things these days! His personality just shines through! He is quite the character, always laughing, giggling and babbling with his "guuul, laaaa, laaaa's" Anything new he sees, he has to test out, typically by slapping his hand on it, over and over again! He LOVES anything that has wheels, plays music or lights up as well as his books over any other toy. One of my most favorite things is watching and listening to Griffin 'read' as he turns the pages in his books. He continues to take one solid nap a day, usually in the late morning into the early afternoon, so the child does not eat lunch until after 2:00- strange, I know, but if I fed him before he went down for his nap around 11:00, it would be just 2 1/2 hours after his breakfast, so... He goes down to bed anywhere between 8:00 and 9:00, and has full energy up until that time. This works out well, especially with how busy his daddy is this time of year. Griffin now has 4 teeth (two on bottom and two up top) and is cutting his next two top teeth as I type. He has definitely discovered his teeth and 'tests' them at times, we have to be careful not to react too much so he doesn't think it is a game... If only he would use those chompers for 'real' table food. I still struggle with this, as I want him to eat, but he does not like the texture of most foods. He does like chicken, ground beef, peas (sometimes), cheese (sometimes) rice (sometimes), bread and goldfish of course- but turns his nose up and throws the rest of everything I try to give him on the floor- Nolan has become quite the vacuum cleaner in the kitchen. We are working on this too... He still prefers to be spoon-fed his fruits and veggies, at least they are nutritious, but just have to be mashed up. Griffin has started to dance when he hears music even more and it is hilarious!! I keep saying I need to video it, and I do before he stops! He was saying "Awwwww" every time he saw a picture of himself and I wanted to capture that, but missed it, he doesn't do it anymore, so I have got to get the dancing moment on film!! Griffin still walks holding on to everything, but has let go to stand a lot this past week, he is very cautious about taking a step without holding on though and would much rather crawl to get from here to there. Griffin had his first overnight trip in a hotel to San Antonio last week and did GREAT! He slept great through the night and was so 'go with the flow' the entire trip. He practically lived in his umbrella stroller Saturday and Sunday and seemed just fine by it.

As for me, Well- I did it!! A week ago, I officially ran 13.1 miles! What an amazing experience! I think I am still on cloud 9 from my experience! San Antonio was beautiful! Once the sun finally came up, the temperatures did too-- my corral got started about an hour from the first corral and it was ideal running weather! From the crowds cheering along the way- even one of my honored heroes was there to cheer me on, to the bands playing at each mile (or so), to the wave of purple jereseys running among over 30,000 runners... the entire event was a "Rock n' Roll" experience! I have so many great memories- and sore shins to always remember my first running event! I finished in 2 hours and 52 minutes- a little more than what I had hoped, but that just makes my next goal time easier to beat! :-) The most amazing part of this whole experience is how much money was raised toward LLS! Thanks to so many generous donors supporting this cause!! I have already been thumbing through the many upcoming race brochures I received at the Expo, anticipating my next event- a full marathon, maybe- maybe I can even get Carter out there with me, maybe??? A special thank you to Carter & Griffin and my Mom & Dad for being out there first thing in the morning and staying until the end to cheer me on as I ran! Feel free to follow the link below to see my true "action shots"- ha!! http://www.asiorders.com/go.asp?45100576 Other than the race, I have just been trying to catch up around the house in general- the blog, for starters!!! As soon as I finish here, it will be about time to start on the Christmas list...

As for Carter, football season and the opening of the new stadium in the spring has kept him more than busy this time of year. He continues to work very hard and keep his head above water. We cherish each moment that he is at home to spend time with us as a family- and sometimes we can catch him on the weekends too! We are hoping after the Thanksgiving day game, and wrapping up his busy week with the game last Sunday, we can enjoy a nice long weekend together and get all of our Christmas decorations up as a family.

As we draw closer to the holidays, we would like to give thanks to each of you, our dearest family and friends, for all of the countless blessings you have given us in our life... May each of you have a blessed Thanksgiving Holiday filled with safe travels, wonderful health and may your hearts be filled with love.

Now for catching up on our pictures....

kristy's visit to tx

my best friend from childhood, kristy, came to visit her college girlfriends (myself, dena, aurora and holly) the weekend of november 7th. she is pregnant with twins due in early march. we had a little girls' weekend. it was so much fun being together and catching up on old times. we wish she lived closer, especially now with the twins coming along.

preggers kristy (we can't wait to meet alyson and joseph)

sunday afternoon with the girls and kids too (avery, griffin and hudson)


'auntie' kristy getting some 'practice'

pulling the wagon full of kiddies

'auntie' kristy talking about life with griff

Momma and Griff

TNT

GO TEAM!

Wednesday, November 12th, was our 'Send off Party for San Antonio' at Cantina Laredo. Some of the sweet girls who I trained with all season came out to support me and 'send me off' in style with some fab warm and fuzzy socks and bath salts for after the race.

Megan, Anitha (training for White Rock), Griffin and I, Coach Neil, Raina (training for Walt Disney World) and Kim (training for Walt Disney World). They have been so supportive and so much fun to run with! I miss our Wednesday and Saturday runs together already!

Rock n' Roll San Antonio

The Alamo




Two of my personal Honored Heroes were spotlighted in the slide show at the Pasta Party the night before the race.

Two of My Biggest Cheerleaders- Griff and C- Thanks Dad, for the BRIGHT sign! I could not miss my cheer squad! Look at how sweet they are out here at the crack of dawn in the freezing temperatures- Griffin is still half asleep I think!

Yea!!! I did it! And Griffin says "Yea, I am out of my stroller!"

Hugs for Mommy! Very Proud Hubby and Son
13.1 miles!!!!

Yea!!!

Thanks to Mom and Dad for coming to San Antonio to cheer me on!

Chelsea, my mentor, and I after the Victory Party


Hanging with Papa - I forgot to mention above that Griffin is finally starting to give up the paci- this picture may be the last time he has used it... we usually just use it for bed and he had just woken up here- Is it time for a Send Off Party for the paci's????? :-)

Bath Time!

Griffin learned how to put the balls into the ball popper, he loves to try and get them precisely in the hole that blows them back out! Gotta' love the ball popper!

Chicken, rice and peas- this night he woofed all of his food down-- this night...

Sweet Little G

Just being silly

Griffin missed his Daddy and each day when we talked to him, Griffin would say "Dada" right into the phone. Of course, when I tried to record him saying "Dada" for a card he wouldn't do it- just like that Hallmark commercial with the recordable card and the child taking forever to say "Merry Christmas". I was chasing him around with a recordable card for two solid days trying to get him to say "Dada"... no such luck!

Waking up in the morning 'dancing' to his rainforest jungle

I can not resist this sweet little face!

Or this one....

Here is our Handsome 13 month old!

Thank you Nana and Papa for all of your help this last week! It was so nice having help after running 13 miles! We love and miss you already!!

High Fives!

And Happy Hugs!

He is learning to push his scooter and walk on his own now!

We tried to catch him in action... he is still rather cautious though...