Just Keep Swimming

Jack has been taking swim lessons and while I am not overly thrilled with the quality of the lessons themselves, I am thrilled with all that Jack can do.  He is very comfortable in the water (almost too comfortable) and I am eager for him to be able to swim independently (more for safety reasons than bragging rights).  Dave came with us to the lesson today to see his wild boy in action.  He not only got to witness the first time Jack blew bubbles but was kind enough to take some photos and video of Jack in the water.

Enjoy...




psst:  Don't forget to vote on whether you think we are having a girl or a boy come November.  The poll is over there on the right side of the blog.

Check-up on Baby #2

There hasn't been much talk about Mini Mulley #2 and that is mostly because there hasn't been much to talk about.  We had our monthly check-up a couple of days ago which consisted of a check of my blood-pressure, weight, iron, urine and baby's heartbeat.  According to the doctor, everything looked great and the baby had a healthy heartbeat of 157 bpm.  I also had blood drawn for my Quad Screening which tests for chromosomal abnormalities in the baby.  We have already received the results and everything is looking normal.

I haven't really had any cravings with this pregnancy (much like my pregnancy with Jack), but this past week, I have become quite obsessed with banana peppers.  Jack has even taken an interest in them.

Next month, we go in for our big ultrasound where we will spend some time looking at baby while the ultrasound technician measures all of the baby's parts and if we are lucky, we will get to find out if Jack is having a little brother or a little sister.

Dave and I both think we are in store for another boy.  At the beginning of my pregnancy, I thought I was having a girl, but I now feel like it's a boy.  Either way, I am going to be thrilled.  If I can have another baby just like Jack, I will be one lucky girl!

We've added a poll to the right hand side of the blog so you can make your prediction. We'll make the big announcement after our ultrasound on June 12.

Birthmas Day

We've been trying to get out to Charlotte to see MeMe Anne and PaPa Jim since before Christmas.  Jack and I made a couple plans to drive out and spend the night (like we did back in October), but something always came up and plans would be cancelled.  Back in April (yes, I know this is a little delayed), Anne was going to be heading back home to Charlotte from a visit in Virginia and asked if she could stop by and give Jack his birthday and Christmas presents and we jumped at the chance to see her!  She stopped by for about an hour and we caught up on old times she got some snuggles from Jack (and me) and then she was back on the road to see Papa Jim.

Papa Jim made Jack a stool so that he can climb up on it and wash his hands (or get into stuff).  It is such a special and heart-felt gift.  Jack loves it.  He especially loves to torment me while I'm trying to use the bathroom.

Jack testing out his new stool

Meme andn Jack getting some loves before she heads home

It was so wonderful see you, Meme Anne and we promise to get out there and see you again soon.

Tumbling Tiny

I signed Jack up for a tumbling class and he has really been enjoying it.  Equally impressive, I have seen marked improvement from week to week.  He seems to really enjoy being active and being around other kids his own age. 

Jumping Jack...on the trampoline

Following one of the cute girls through the tunnel

emerging from the tunnel

climbing up the mat tower

his instructor helping him with a somersault

The first week, Jack was very wary of the tunnel.  He would go through it if I started to go through with him.  The next week, he was able go through all on his own (if I told him to do it) and then the following week, he initiated going through the tunnel and went through by himself.  He's not a fan of any down time, but I completely understand that.  I always recognized downtime as the devil when I was a teacher.  We are trying to work on his patience.  When kids take too long on the slide, he looks at them and says "GO!".

Jack enjoys singing songs and most of all when the parachute comes out for a couple songs.  I also remember loving the parachute in gym class when I was younger.  I'm pretty sure if someone were to pull out a parachute today and ask if I wanted to play with it, I would jump at the chance!

Miles and Jack Smile Big

I scheduled a little photo session with Annie for when the Morales clan would be in town.  Marisa had told me that it had been a while since they had a family picture and I thought it would be cute to get some pictures of the boys together.  Once again, Annie worked her magic!

Here are just a handful of my favorites:

As always, Annie did a great job of not only capturing pictures of each person but really capturing their personalities, too.  I was absolutely exhausted after the photo shoot.  I tend to do a lot of jumping around and making silly noises (I know...very different from my normal behavior) in order to get the little ones (and sometimes the big ones) to look at the camera and smile.

17 Months

No doctors appointment this month, but I can tell by the fact that Jack can get things off of the counters that he has gotten taller!

This month, Jack:

• is wearing mostly 18 month clothes
• is wearing size 4.5W shoes
• is wearing size 4 diapers during the day and size 5 at night
• tinkles in the potty every day (at least once a day)
• says "yes", "uh-oh", "Mom-Mom", "Dada", "thank you", "all done", "hi", "good girl"
• favorite foods include: watermelon, strawberries, peanut butter, gummies, broccoli, and smoothies
• loves to play with his iPad
• will play independently for up to an hour now
• likes to play with his cars and trucks
• has transitioned to one nap a day (2.5-3.5 hours long)
• can follow 2-step directions
• throws a ball overhand
• runs
• likes to take care of his "babies"
• dislikes baths and prefers showers 
• can walk up the stairs (with a lot of help)
• sleeps 11.5 to 12.5 hours at night
• uses his straw cup instead of his sippy cup

Hard to believe that next month Jack will be a year and half!  Time is certainly flying by with our sweet boy!

Welcome to Camp Mulley

Team Morales came to Raleigh for a few days before heading to Virginia to see family.  We were so excited to have them visit and for Miles and Jack to do lots of playing together.  Everyday, we had morning activities and then required afternoon naps (not just for the kiddos--but for the parents, too).  After nap time, we would do some relaxed playing before dinner and then maybe an after dinner walk.  It was so nice to have a nice relaxing visit with some of our favorite people.  Now, I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story:

Miles taunting the dogs with snack

Marisa, Mark and Miles were a bit obsessed with the Incrediblock

Boys swinging at Pullen Park

Little Boys and Big Boys

Marisa and Miles

Jack and his dad headed to the Merry-Go-Round

Mommy and Jack waiting for the ride to start

Jack was just happy to be on a horse

Capt. Miles and Capt. Jack

The boys approach a cheering crowd

Very serious about driving the boat

Team M on the train

The goose family...before Mama Goose got angry

Team M met Andy Griffith and Opie

Daddy and Jack riding the Merry-Go-Round...again

Mark and Miles ride the horse together

Jack got frustrated with the long wait time so Dave joined him on the wild hare

Capt. Jack drives the boat while Miles checks on the ladies behind him

Marisa taking the boys on a wagon ride

Miles tolerates Jack's singing while Mark maneuvers the wagon

Miles and Jack get some professional pictures

Miss Annie tries to herd the boys

More swinging time after morning photo session

Miles is king of the hill

Jack heads back to the swings

The boys participate in the ancient Korean doljabi, where a number of items are set before the baby and the one they grab indicates their potential future profession or path.  Jack is going to be a clown and Miles will be a tug boat captain.  Yes, I know neither boy is Korean...but I was very entertained by this activity.

A little bit of last minute playing before Team M gets on the road to Virginia

Miles didn't want a hug so Jack gave it to Scout

Marisa, Mark and Miles: Thank you so much for coming to see us!  We truly enjoyed spending so much time with you and look forward to seeing you again at the end of the year!

Huff...Puff...Splash!

We decided to add to the fun-ness of our backyard amusement park and get Jack a little pool to splash around in during the hot North Carolina summer.  We went out with the intention of getting one of those blue plastic round pools (like we all had when were little), but we ended up coming home with a blue and white rectangular blow-up pool.  And because nothing is simple when the Mulleys do it, our air pump didn't fit the valve on the pool.  So Dave huffed and he puffed and huffed and puffed and then he asked his old air bag wife to give it a go.  And so I followed suit and huffed and puffed and huffed and puffed and Jack pushed on the pool (which was quite counter-productive) and then we finally got the pool filled with air.

Next up, we needed to fill the pool with water-'cause, what fun in a pool with no water?  Jack was more than willing to help fill the pool.

Here's a quick video to show his awesome assistance.  Do we see a future "pool boy" in Jack???

He was a little wet after all of his helping

After his nap, Jack headed out to the pool to do a little splashing around.

getting his "sea legs"

checking the "splashability" of the water

Oh yeah, this water splashes good

How 'bout I throw you this ball?

checking out his reflection in the water

It took Jack a while to get comfortable enough to leave the edge of the pool, but once he did he was running all over the place and squatting down to put his face in the water.  I have a feeling this pool will be enjoyed by all of the Mulleys.