Teeth.Waving.Nuk

On Christmas Day we noticed that Keegan has gotten his two bottom teeth!! And he is officially waving bye-bye now!! So cute! He is probably so confused by the whole deal because I make him do it all the time, constantly saying bye-bye to him...and he is no longer using his nuk. I am not sure why, but it kinda makes me a sad a little bit, I think they are so cute with that in their mouths and he seems to be taking more bottles without it, but I suppose it is easier now then it would be down the road!!

Merry Christmas!!

I know, you didn't get a Christmas Card or letter from us this year....so, consider this your Card and letter!! Next year I will be better, I promise!!

This year has been amazing!! I feel truly blessed for all that has happened in my life in 2008. Riley, as most of you know is in the first grade and doing amazing!! He is a math wizard, and from what I am told he takes after his Dad!! I still use my fingers to count! ;)

This last Summer Riley was a member of MAYBA, it is youth baseball through Mankato, that kept us very busy with two nights a week driving back and forth. I guess that is just preparing us for what is to come with him!

Riley continues to amaze us with how he interacts with his little brother. I was afraid with the age difference that he wouldn't want anything to do with Keegan, but Chris and I are always reminding him to not constantly have his hands on him!

Riley Howard makes us all so proud and I thank God everyday for that little man, he truly is something special and I do not know where I would be today without him!!

On April 9th, Chris and I headed into ISJ hospital in Mankato to be induced with our youngest child, Keegan Rick. He arrived at 7:20pm and was 8 lbs and 2 ounces, 21 inches long. It was a long day but it was all worth it! Keegan continues to make us smile and laugh all day! He is 8 1/2 months today and I still wonder where my baby went?!

Keegan was born a very content baby and still seems to be....he has been doing a good job with sleeping through the nights....he has given us a couple scares though. The first was when he got stepped on at two weeks and ended up with cracked ribs...WOW, the joys of parenthood, not a fun time!! He has recently been into the Dr. to be diagnosed with Impetigo, he pretty much looks like he has chicken pox all over his body....with all the sore, he still manages to be one of the cutest babies around!! I am glad we got that taken care of before the holidays!!

Chris is an Insurance Agent at AAA in Mankato, I think for the most part he does enjoy his job! He is great at what at what he does, and from what I hear....they have GREAT rates right now ;) Give him a call to get a free quote....(how was that honey?)

He is an amazing father and I love watching him with the boys....he will have such a huge impact on their lives, more then what he will know. Riley looks up to his dad so much and will stand by the door to wait for him to come home. After Chris leaves for work, Keegan will stare at the door and say "dada...dada" for about 20 minutes with the backwards bye-bye wave! It is cute!

As for me, I am happy. I have everything that I could want. I have two healthy boys, a healthy husband and great family surrounding me. I have recently changed my job and am currently working at ISJ hospital as a CNA, I work the overnight shift....11:00pm to 7:30am! I then stay home with the Keegan during the day and we wait for Riley at 3:15 to come home from school! I am so happy with what I do, I love helping people and just being there for them to talk to, to listen to them when they are scared and give them my hand and tell them everything will work out, it truly is an amazing job. After some talk with Chris, I think we have both decided it is time for me to go BACK to school....agh, after 10 years I will have to say that I am a little nervous, but it will be worth it! If all works as planned I will start the fall of 09 and and by 2012 will become an RN!

As you can see, 2008 has been good for us! And I hope for a great 2009 as well. I hope everyone a safe and happy holidays!!

Love,

Chris, Heather, Riley and Keegan

The boys meet Santa!

A couple weeks ago I took the boys out to see Santa! They both did really well, no tears were shed! I was worried the most about Riley not wanted to sit on his lap, but he got right on there telling him all of the WWE stuff that he wanted for Christmas! I love the picture when they are both looking at Santa...I thought for sure Keegan would pull that beard right off!!

First Snow!

Here was some pitures of Keegan when we had the first snowfall!! He LOVES being outdoors.....I can't wait to take him sledding! This morning when I went to drop Riley of at school I came back and walked in the door and he was in the entry way, he got really excited and said "MAMA, MAMA!!" and came crawling to me!! It broke my heart, my baby is getting to big to quick! Chris walked out the door and Keegan looked at the door and said "DADA" I think Keegan realizes now who is who!! We are teaching him Bye-Bye and he is getting really close to getting that one down too!! The only thing missing is teeth!!

Its gone!!

Here are some new pictures of the Ri-man!! He finally lost his first tooth on Thursday!! He would not let anyone touch his tooth while it was loose....it really bothered me because the other tooth is was already 3/4 of the way in and it wasn't pushing the baby tooth out!! I better start saving now for braces.....UGH!

8 months!!

8 months old ALREADY!! I really don't know where the time has gone....it just seems like yesterday that Chris and I were packing the bags to head to the hospital!! Keegan is still toothless but I swear they are coming!! He has been sick for a week, so I am praying that that is the reason!

Most Elegant!!!

Yes, I realize that this isn't a picture of Riley or Keegan. But it is a picture the cookies that Chris and I made at Bake day at his Mom's house in the cities on Saturday. Every year some of Chris' uncle and aunts come to his Moms and we make cookies all day....everyone has to bring two recipes and have to double the batch so everyone has some to bring home!! We started at 10am and I think the last of the cookies were done at 6pm, when everyone is done they are all displayed in the dining room and everyone goes around to sample all of the cookies...awards were giving out for, most original, best tasting, and most elegant, there was a surprise award given out for "BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME"
Jeff and Shelia Grunst won best tasting on two of there cookies, really I think we just gave it to them because they had so far to drive....
Dood Grunst recieved the award for most original on his Popcorn ball....YES, his popcorn ball, I was a little surprised too, again, I think he just got that one because he is old and they didn't want to hurt his feelings.
Better Luck Next Time went to Kathy Krohn....her cookies were simply just horrible, but dont tell her that...I think we all choked them down and then drank some Vodka straight from the bottle right afterwards to get rid of that awful taste!!! ;)
And of course there was no surprise when Chris and I won the award for "MOST ELEGANT"
we just simply know what we are doing when it comes to baking cookies!!
It was a fun day, I think I ate too much but it was all worth it!! Keegan was an amazing baby, I dont think we heard a peep out of him all night, he did fall in love with his Grandpa Stan...Stan has the magic touch when it comes to babies I guess...he held him and he feel asleep...it was so precious to see those two together...so a BIG thank you to Stan, for being my babysitter all day!! It really means a lot to all of us Hulkes.....
And of course Riley had a ball too, I think Chris and I saw him 5 minutes the whole day. He had his Uncles Seth and Sam to play with and his cousin Gage.....they have a Wii so of course they were glued to that like we were glued to the Vodka bottle after eating Kathys cookies!!

Thanksgiving Babies....

Here are a picture of the 3 boys on the Hulke side!! It is Keegan (7 months) Ben (5 months) and Brecken (3 months) Ben belongs to Tracy (Hulke) Stuewe and Brecken belongs to Ryan Hulke. I think we tried taking these pictures BEFORE nap time!! And Tracy explained it best in her blog, we should have taken the picture of the 5 adults behind the cameras trying to get all three boys to look up at the same time!!

More pictures!!

Just some random pictures!!

Hockey Season!

It is now hockey season so of course the sticks come out of hiding!! And they all have their own sticks too!!!

Too long....

Aghh...I know it has been awhile since I have last posted and I am sorry for that. I went out on Saturday night and got yelled at by Nikki Thompson for not updating everyday, so Nikki this one is for you!! It is so nice to hear people tell me that they read my blog, I sometimes worry that I am blogging and no one reads it besides Chris and myself! So thank you Nikki!!! :):)
The boys are doing great. Riley has had some attitude lately, I am thinking it comes with his age...but all of a sudden Mom is not the coolest person on earth, in fact, I may be the last on the list! Dad is still high up there, but Chris loves to get down and wrestle with him....Riley and I try, but it hurts...Riley is a tough little guy and I am just a wimp I guess!!
Keegan is learning and experiences all sorts of new things. He isn't a big fan of his high chair anymore, and he doesn't seem to like baby food either. But what he does love to do is sit on the floor and to eat Corn puffs, string cheese, gerber puffs, potatoes, scrambled eggs, stove top stuffing, potatoe salad, macaroni salad....and the list goes on!! I told Chris today maybe we don't have to buy baby food anymore, Keegan wants the REAL stuff!!!
He is getting better and closer at crawling, he can't get up on all fours yet but he does the army crawl really well!! He laughs at about anything you do and can't keep his eyes off of his Dad or brother. I think about how quick these last 7 months went and am hoping the next 5 slow down, I don't think I am ready for my baby to grow up! And I am not ready to have a 7 and 1 year old......that makes me sound really old, doesn't it!?!?
I will post some pictures tomorrow!!!

Look at me!!!

Look at me, I can stand!!! Ok, not really :) If we stand him next to things he will hold on for a minute or two but is pretty shakey!! Keegan is not close to crawling yet, which is fine with us!! The sooner he is crawling, the sooner we are baby proofing!! BUT, he is rolling everywhere gets into any cord he can find!! Riley never really crawled either, he rolled everywhere, so that is what I am expecting from Keegan as well!!!!

The Cow and the Alien

Here are the boys on Halloween!! They both had a great time and got lots of candy....this picture was taken after Trick or Treating so we had one tired cow and one hyper Alien!!

Pumpkin fun!!

This was fun but messy!! I think the end results turned out pretty good!! I was so excited to make my pumkin seeds too!! But wouldn't you know, I forgot to take them out of the oven....all I had in the end was a stinky house!!

Girls (and kids) day!!

This last Sat. I got together with 5 of my girlfriends from High School....and our kids! It was a lot of fun...not sure how much time we actually had time to talk with chasing after 8 kids, and one more on the way!! We decided next time that we are going to leave the kids with their dads and the girls are going to have a few drinks instead! The kids in order are....Jacob, Robbie, Keegan, Carlie, Kylinn, Finley, Riley and Easton! What a great bunch of kids, thank God none of them are like their Mothers....

Riley and Keegan

Here are two pictures of the boys!!! Keegan-the big 6 month old and Riley-the big 6 1/2 year old!! Aren't they cute?!!

6 month check-up...

Yesterday Keegan had his checkup!! He isn't as big as I thought he was...and actually, Riley was bigger at 6 months then Keegan is, but, Keegan is taller! Right now Keegan is 18.6 pounds whichs puts him in the 70% and Riley was 19 lbs even....Keegan is 27.5 inches which puts him in the 80 % and Riley was 27 1/4.....it is interesting to see how they compare with each other!! Over all Keegan is looking pretty good, he said that he is perfect (which we already knew!) He said Keegan has one little concern that he needs to keep and on but other then that he is a strong little boy and a very little laid back baby! I will post pictures soon, I am having some problems downloading, so be patient!!

My Biggest Boy!!

Since I made a big deal about Keegan being 6 months, today I am going to make a big deal about Riley. Today Riley is 6 1/2....WOW, 6 1/2 seems so old! Riley is an amazing little boy, he is doing awesome in school, we got his progress report sent home last Friday and I am proud to say that he is doing Excellent in everything! He has spelling tests every Thursday and brings home the results on Friday, it is very rare that he will have one wrong. He is amazing with his little brother and watches over him very carefully. Riley makes us so proud and I can't wait to watch and see what this year brings with him!

Go Nicollet Raiders!!

This last week was Nicollets homecoming! Riley was very excited to dress up all week....and Friday have BLUE hair! I took the boys to the football game Friday night (which they won!!!) And we ran into his little friend, Tayler! Taking this picture of these two was like pulling teeth with Riley, he is sooo shy and especially in front of Tayler! Pretty sure someone has their first crush......

6 months!!

So I don't have any pictures to post right at the moment, but I will make sure I put some 6 month pictures on tomorrow! It is so hard to believe that Keegan is 6 months, time flies by so quickly! He is getting to be such a big boy, he says da-da now....pretty sure he doesn't know that he is actually saying it, but I do know that it sure makes his Daddy proud. He was trying so hard to crawl today, I put one of his toys in front of him....oh did he scream at me because I wouldn't just pick the toy up and give it to him, it took him awhile but he finally made it to the toy, such a mean mom I am!! Again, I will post pictures soon.....

Ugly hat?

The hat may be ugly, but that little face underneath makes it all so much better!!! Keegan is doing so well at sitting by himself. He is probably sitting alone for at least 5-10 minutes before tumbling over!

So sweet

Here is Riley teaching Keegan how to play psp. These two love this time together.