The Hellewell's

Summer Happenings

2011-08-31T22:42:00.000-07:00

So I can't believe that summer is almost over. A lots been going on with us the past month so here's a little update. Richie finally finished the book he was working on for his uncle. Well almost. He is in the middle of editing it now. I'm so proud of him. He has put countless hours into this project and I know it has helped him learn a lot. It will be a nice touch to his resume as well. I've been dying for him to finish. He's been pretty non-existent to me lately since all his does is work on the book. When you have a 9 month old who maybe takes 1 or 2 30 minute naps a day you start to go a little crazy when you have to watch her til 8pm every night with no husband to help. Despite the fact that Peyton can be difficult at times, it is so fun watching her grow. Her personality is coming out more that ever. She is a stubborn girl, and I find myself struggling to feed her, change her, get her out of the bath and put her down for naps. She likes to fight me every chance she gets. She's starting to shake her head "no" now. So that isn't helping. She can walk holding on to things as she pushes them, but grips on to your hand for dear life if you try to let her go. She's almost 10 months so we're in no rush for her to start walking. To give myself a break at the end of the day I've began reading and it has turned into a bit of an obsession. I finally read the Hunger Game series. I wanted to finish before the movie came out. I'm one who tends to read books after they been the big hit. That's how I was with Twilight too. My new obsession is the Mortal Instruments series. So good!!! I stay up til 1 am sometime reading cuz I can't put the book down and the night time is the only chance I get to read. My sister-in-law introduced them to me and some of my sisters have read them as well. They are a mix between Harry Potter and Twilight. I just can't even describe how good they are. I've also been doing weight watchers with my sister Shannon. There's about 20 pounds I really wanted to lose after having Peyton but I just couldn't manage to discipline myself to lose it. I lost 9.2 pounds in the first month and hope to lose another 10 pounds next month. It's hard at times but the nice thing is t hat you can eat whatever you want as long as you control the portions and stay within your points for the day.

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to travel to Utah to see friends and family. We hadn't been back to Provo since we left in April 2010 so we were excited to head back. We also were able to get together with Richie's family. They hadn't seen Peyton since she was 1 month old. It's a big difference since she was 9 months old then and could crawl. Richie's parents loved every minute of Peyton. It's hard to live so far from family members. The trip started off very well. We got to hang out with good friends and even had a cook out up in Provo canyon. We hiked up to Bridal Falls and let Peyton put her feet in the water. She curled them up instantly as the water was freezing. Unfortunately the rest of the trip wasn't as fun. The flu was past around to family members. Eventually mot of the 30 so people there were infected. Since Richie and I along with his parents were staying at another location, most of us didn't get too sick. Peyton and I were the only two who really got in bad. We were throwing up and absolutely miserable. I couldn't really eat for 3 days. So we weren't able to see some friends t hat we wanted to and te family plans were all cancelled since everyone was so sick. It was still nice to have Richie home from work and good to see everyone. Here are a few pictures from our trip:
We also took Peyton to her first Rangers baseball game. We had to leave at the 5th inning (Richie was pretty upset) but she was a hit with the fans around us.

Peyton also had her first boo boo! I was at my sister Teri's pool and I was getting her raft ready. I know I shouldn't have done this but I set her on the lounge chair right next to me and she tumbled off. Although I was told that this would be the first of many boo boos, I felt horrible. She was a trooper though.

Update

2011-06-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

Things seem to be so crazy lately. There is always somewhere to go or something to do. But to be perfectly honest I wouldn't have it any other way. I figured I should give a little update of what our lives have been like lately.

Richie:
-Is busy as ever at his job. He works for Consolidated Fire Protection. It's a company that deals with big corporations like Walmart and Kohls. They basically make sure that their fire and sprinkler systems are functioning properly. It keeps him very busy and he is always working overtime which is nice because we get the extra money but it also stinks because we don't get to have him home as much.
-He was asked by his uncle who is a financial planner to re-write a book for his company. Since they are having issues with the current author, his uncle thougtht it was a good way for Richie to get involved with his company. Hopefully he can get a better job. It also looks really nice on his resume.
-He's playing on a couple softball leagues. Since he sits around all day at a desk he tries to find time to be active. He loves playing and wants to practrice all the time.
-He's very excited that a Dallas team finally won a championship. It had been a while but the Mavericks gave him something to smile abaout. Now he's just hoping that the football lock out ends before the new season starts up.

Jenn:
-My life revolves around Peyton. Taking care of a child is a full time job! But I love all the time I get to spend with her and wouldn't have it any other way.
-I'm going on morning walks with my sister Shannon. Although I'm not as much of a trooper as her (she pushes two kids in a stroller and has a one month old in a Baby Bjorn) I find it nice to get out every morning and tone my legs. Plus I enjoy being able to talk with my sister.
-I've decided to eat no sweets and do the Jillian Michael's workouts every day for the month of July. I'm ready to shed the last of my pregnancy weight. We're gonna be seeing family in August so I figured I need to get down to business and get it done!

Peyton:
-She's officially crawling. She has been for a few weeks now. She started at about 7 months which I think is early. It's nice in a sense that she can entertain herself with toys but I'm also chasing her a lot. Why is it that babies always want what they can't have? She can also pull herself up, which means if I'm on the couch then that's where she's headed. I have to admit that I love that she always wants to be around me.
-She loves the water and the beach. When we're not at the beach we're in the pool or playing on the slip n slid. She couldn't get enough. She's definitely a California baby!
-She loves her cousins. She gets to see her cousins Luke, Matt, Wes, Jake and Caden pretty much everyday and they love to make her smile. She enjoys seeing all of them and I can tell she's anxious to be able to join in all the fun with them.
-She's getting so big! I can't believe she'll be 8 months next week. Time flies. She's growing so much and already wears 9 month clothes and even some 12 month stuff.
-She also knows how to clap now. It just happened all of the sudden. I guess singing "If You're Happy and You Know It" has paid off.

Vegas and More

2011-06-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

The first weekend of June Richie and I were able to meet up with our good friends the Salmons in Las Vegas. Richie and Dallin were in business school together at BYU and his wife Shellee and I have so much in common that we loved hanging out with them. It had been over a year since we'd seen them and since we added a new addition to our family, we wanted to meet up so they could see Peyton. Their family was vacationing in Vegas so we met up with them to spend the day together. We went swimming in the pool and walked around the strip. The Bellagio Hotel has gardens inside so we stopped to take some pictures. Peyton was really good while we walked around, although I felt like a bad parent when we walked through the casino and down certain parts of the strip. All together it was a fun day and we were glad to meet up with our friends. Hopefully next time it won't be such a quick trip.

Peyton doesn't do very well with strangers, but guys are a lot worst than girls. It took her a while to warm up to Dallin but by the end of the day she wasn't AS scared! Haha!

And some more exciting news is that Peyton is almost crawling now! Every time we sit her up she gets on her hands and pulls herself in crawling position. She's 7 months now and I'm sure she'll be crawling in no time. She's a happy girl and has the cutest smile where she curls her nose up and squishes her face. She's already in 9 month clothes and just got some new pj's since she was out-growing all of hers. I was sort of hoping that she wouldn't be crawling til the end of beach season since all she'll want to do is crawl to the sand and put it in her mouth but we're excited that she is progressing so well and we can't wait to see what she does next!

Easter

2011-04-24T22:33:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I was sooo excited for Easter this year. But not for the candy but to dress Peyton up in her Easter dress. One of the many joys of having a girl is that you get to doll them up and I love every minute of it. I got her outfit about a month ago so I have been waiting for her to wear it. The day consisted of church, a nap and then Easter dinner and egg hunt at Grandma Bryants. She got a new bathing suit from grandma and had a blast finding her first egg. Since I couldn't get her a basket full of candy I got her some clothes, a bathing suit, the movie Tangled and a new toy. It was such a fun day! She is almost 6 months and she's getting so big, but she's not old enough to really get into the holiday. It'll be fun to see what next year is like though. But here are some pictures of our day!

Baby Weight

2011-04-05T13:26:00.000-07:00

So Thursday Peyton will be 5 months old. It seems like it's been longer than 5 months since I had her. When I first got pregnant I weighed 135 pounds. I was so active and fit when I got pregnant. I was going to the gym, lifting weights, running and playing soccer. I try to take care of my body so getting pregnant was a new experience for me. At first it wasn't that bad because I was walking a lot and determined to stay pretty fit during the pregnancy. But that changed towards the end. My belly was so big I would get tired really fast and it was hard to really exercise. Right before I had Peyton my weight was 195 (60 pounds I know, not something I'm proud of but at least I didn't cross the 200 pound mark). When I finally weighed myself once I got home from the hospital I weighed 158. So I still had a ways to go to get back to 135. I had to have a C section with Peyton which meant that I had to wait longer to go back to exercising. It really was a process recovering as anyone who's had a C section would understand. Once I was finally cleared to exercise I found it difficult to find the time. Peyton doesn't sleep very long in the day and I wasn't motivated. I also had developed some really bad eating habits while pregnant. Recently though I challenged my self to not eat sweets for a whole month and I did it!! I knew I needed to eat better and it was crazy to see how many sweets and calories I was resisting. I've also been jogging with Peyton and by myself. I really love running. I find it to be very relaxing. I now weigh 152.5 which I think is pretty good. I'm still a ways away from my starting weight but I know I can get there. Having a baby is definitely a huge sacrifice a girl can make on her body. I have more and more respect for my mom everyday now. It's a lot of work but worth every bit of it. Slowly I will get back to where I want to be, but one thing is for, I will definitely take better care of my body with the next one!

Last Week

2011-03-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

So last week was very hectic for us. Both Richie and I were asked to participate in our ward roadshow. Not every body knows what that is but basically each ward in the stake comes up with a little performance (pretty much a mix of a skit and a musical) and travels to each building in the stake performing for the guests. The theme this time was stand for something. So our ward decided to go with being a good friend. Richie was in charge of a group of people that would sing the songs along with the performers to help make it louder and I was asks to write lyrics to a song and come up with a dance that the young moms in t he ward could perform. I was nervous but it all came together and worked out in the end. We had practice every Wednesday night for about 2 months and then the actual show was last Friday March 25th. The show went really great. I brought my camera but totally spaced and didn't take any pictures. It was such a pain because we had Peyton with us and had to keep getting in and out of the car to go to each building. Overall she did really well for us though. Our stake hadn't done a roadshow since I was a senior in high school (2003) so it was fun to be a part of it and help explain to the youth what exactly a roadshow was.

Earlier on Friday we finally got another car! Richie takes the car to work everyday so I have been so dependent on my family to come pick me up each day so I'm not stuck at home. They've been awesome about it too. It's been so nice living close to my family. But we were really fortunate to get a great tax return this year and decided to get a second car. The Anaheim Mission was selling their cars and so I looked on the list and they happened to have Toyota Corollas which is what we wanted. We ended up getting a 2007 white Corolla with only 56,500 miles on it. I was a little surprised with the condition of the car though. I just can't understand how missionaries could do some of the things that were done to the car. But after I gave it a good clean it looked awesome. We really got a great deal on it and we couldn't be happier with it:) We've been wanting to take a trip to Utah but we knew our other car (2003 Cavalier) wouldn't make it. So now we have a good car which means Utah here we come!

Then Saturday, March 26th was my birthday! We started the day off by meeting my sister and mom for breakfast at a local place. I love going to breakfast and don't get to do it that often so it was really nice. Then my mom took me shopping while Richie watched Peyton. It was so nice to get a break and go enjoy myself. I got a really cute outfit and everything was on sale so I still get to do more shopping later. Richie surprised me with a necklace from Brighton and the Panic at the Disco cd. They finally came out with a new cd after a few years. They are my favorite band and if you're wondering whether or not you should get it, you should because it is awesome!! Seriously, I love every song. I was also able to finally get a new cell phone. I've been eligible for an upgrade for over a year now but Richie wants a smart phone and we can't afford the monthly data plan charges, so I didn't know that I could still upgrade without him. But I found out that I could and I could care less about a smart phone. I just text and make calls so I finally ordered one. I got the LG Cosmo Touch. It's pretty cool and definitely better then the Razor!! Richie's parents got me a pretty ring. Ever since I had Peyton I barely wear my wedding ring because I scrap her with it all the time. I had mentioned that I wanted a ring to wear until she gets older that in flat with diamonds so they got me one. They aren't real diamonds of course but I love it and think it is very pretty. We finished off the day with a Cold Stone cake at my moms house. It was a good day. I can't believe I'm 26. It just feels weird. I feel like 30 in creeping up on me and before I know it it'll be here!!

No Sweets Update

2011-03-18T08:43:00.001-07:00

As of tomorrow it will have been 3 weeks since I've cut sweets out and I am proud to say I've stayed strong! It has not been easy. I've turned down countless types of cookies, ice cream cake, brownies, ice cream, donuts and much more. There have been times when I want to give in but I think of the goal I've set and just stay with it. I know that by doing this I will be able to control how many sweets I eat once I'm done. I have lost some weight but overall I just feel good knowing that I did it, I went a whole month without sweets! I know I technically have another week to go but the end is in sight and I am definitely looking forward to my birthday when I'll get a delicious slice of my grandma's chocolate cake:) Seriously I'm pretty sure it's the best cake I've ever had.

Bring on the Solids!!!

2011-03-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

So tonight we gave Peyton rice cereal. I know some moms dread starting their babies on solid foods but I couldn't wait. Probably because it was my first time doing it. But it went great. She ate so well and looked so cute doing it. I can't wait to start introducing new foods and seeing what she likes. The cereal was really running, so of course it got all over her but it was so much fun. Hopefully all her feedings go this well:)

Outside fun

2011-03-12T16:23:00.000-08:00

Peyton loves to go outside. It's sometimes the only way I can get her to calm down. We had her in a cute little Baby's 1st Easter outfit (thanks to my mom) and she was so happy. I did my best to capture some smiles. Here's a few of my favorites. Oh and on a more exciting note...Peyton rolled over today!!! It was all by herself and it made my day. I had gone to the doctors on Monday for her 4 month check up and he got me a little worried that she hadn't rolled over yet. So I've been working with her a lot trying to get her to roll over. She wasn't having it but then out of nowhere just rolled over. It was so exciting!!! I love watching her grow and experiencing all the new phases she goes through. We'll be starting her on cereal next week. It should be interesting. She loves to spit all over herself so I'm sure that's what she'll do with the cereal at first. We'll make sure we get pictures of that for sure. We got a new camera last week so we've been taking pictures like crazy. Our old camera was a pile of junk so we got a nice Nikon. I love it and it's so easy to use. It also takes videos which is nice. But here are those shots of Peyton. She is just so stinkin' cute!! I just love this picture

Ward Prom

2011-03-12T13:20:00.000-08:00

.In February our ward had an adult prom. I know it sounds a little cheesy but it was actually really fun. I got to wear one of my sister's old prom dresses and curl my hair all fancy. The young men and women served us and there was dancing and pictures and everything. Unfortunately we had to leave early because unlike our high school prom, we had a child with us and she wasn't really cooperating. But thanks to a couple in the ward we got some pictures to help us remember the night.

The Anniversary of my Scar

2011-03-07T22:27:00.000-08:00

Not very many people know this about me or have forgotten because it's been so long but when I was in 8th grade I put my arm through a glass window. Now the only reason why I know the date is because it happened on my cousin's birthday. So today it's been 12 years since it happened. Now to explain what happened, it was a Sunday and my family had just gotten home from church. My mom had pulled the car in the driveway and my sister Sam and I jumped out to race to the front door as my sister's and I usually did. Now I jumped out and ran around the back side of the car while Sam ran around the front of the car. Naturally she should have beaten me base upon the fact that she had a shorter distance to run. So when I arrived at the door first, I was confused as to how I could have beaten her. I looked back to see where she had gone while at the same time reaching for the door knob. The only problem was that I missed the door knob and instead pushed my hand straight through the glass window on the door. The initial reaction was to pull my hand out and that's where the damage happened. I took one look at it and started to panic. I just remember going to my mom crying and asking if I was going to die. My sister Sam who had stopped at the driver's door to get the keys (and that's why I had beaten her to the front door) was freaked out. But I think the best response came from my older sister Shannon. She flipped out! I mean screaming and running down the street. I wish I could have noticed it but I was a little distracted. All in all I ended up getting 11 stitches inside and 10 outside since I had torn it so deep (not to be gross or anything but my muscle was literally hanging out). I also scrapped off a layer of skin. I wanted to post the picture I have of it the day I got the stitches out but didn't have a chance to look for it at my moms. Plus I don't even know if she still has it. But I did take a picture of what the scar look like today. It's kinda hard to see in the picture because the scar has lightened up so much. But yeah, can't believe it's been 12 years already and thanks to my cousin I will never forget March 7, 1999.

Did we just hear her first laugh??

2011-03-02T22:44:00.000-08:00

So Peyton had been in a surprisingly good mood today considering the fact that lately she has been very difficult(due to teething). Richie got home from work and finally took her from me to give me a break. She started to cry and in stead of taking her I just started making silly faces and tickling her tummy. At first I thought she was unhappy and making crying noises, but we soon realized that they were actually giggles! It was so cute. We kept doing it cuz we loved it so much, but eventually my cheeks started hurting so we had to stop. Man I can't believe how big she is getting. She'll already be 4 months on Monday. It's crazy how fast they start to develop. I was looking at pictures of her when she was 2 months and already she looks so different. I know we have many more exciting times to come and I can't wait. It's times like these that make you forget about the difficult times:)

No Sweets for a Month!!!

2011-02-28T15:05:00.000-08:00

So ever since Christmas I have been eating so many sweets. Part of the blame is the fact that I had Peyton in November so I was still used to pregnancy eating habits and the other part is that I just love sweets! So since Peyton is 4 months now and I'm ready to shed the rest of this baby weight, I decided to challenge myself. My birthday is March 26th so as of February 26th I cut myself off of sweets. That's right, a whole month. So far so good but I know it will get harder. I weighed myself at the start and will do so each week. Wish me luck but I hoping to be thinner by my birthday!!

Pictures of Peyton

2011-02-17T14:33:00.003-08:00

So I finally got some pictures done of Peyton. My sister's friend took them for me and she sent me a few to get a little preview. So here they are. I'm really excited to see them all!!

Date Night!!!

2011-02-16T16:07:00.003-08:00

So Richie and I haven't been out since Peyton was born. I think she's old enough to leave her with my mom while we enjoy a late Valentine's date. We get to go to dinner and a movie and I have to admit I'm totally excited for it. I want to get all dressed up and everything. I think we're gonna see that Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston movie that came out now that long ago. My sister and her husband just saw it and said it was so funny. We can't decide where to eat yet but I'm just excited to not have to worry about Peyton being to fussy while I eat. It should be a fun night!!!