Happy Birthday, my "big" little munchkin Boo

Doesn't seem possible that Bailey turns two today! Where did these two years ago?  I am a proud mama of this amazing child, who is super sweet, smart, funny, loving, and just awesome. Here are a few of our latest stats:
Weight: 34lb
Height:
Sleep: 8:00pm-7:00am & 1:00-3:00pm nap
Favorite Food: beans, cheese, cottage cheese, bread, bagels
Favorite Cartoon: Max & Ruby (Daddy and I liked it better when it was Dora and Boots)
Favorite Activities: drawing, dancing, listening to music, singing, playing piano, building blocks & reading books. She loves to play outside and get dirty. Now with colder and shorter days (and having a little brother) it's a bit more difficult to get out. Bailey also enjoys playing with Bo - unfortunately he doesn't like it nearly as much as she does. For some reason he doesn't find it enjoyable when she pulls his tail or ears, or when she squeals next to him, or when she tries to decorate him with her toys like a Christmas tree...silly Bo!
Absolute favorite activity - boss around her subordinates (Ivan and Bo).  
Favorite Music: we like to listen and sing pretty much everything. ABCs, Row Your Boat, Wheels on the Bus, Bailey Had a Little Lamb, If You Happy and You Know It, Down By The Bay, Old McDonald, Hot Dog, Itsy Bitsy Spider - these are on top of our list. We also like the following Russian songs: Жили у Бабуси, Дед Андрей, Коза Рогатая. On Fridays we have a music class, which Bailey enjoys very much. She gets to sing, play musical instruments and dance with a few of her little friends - very cute to watch :)
What Bailey Knows:

• English Alphabet 
• Counting from 1 to 10 in English and Russian
• Colors in English and Russian

Favorite Phrases:

• Here you go, dad (mom)!
• What's that noise?
• Where did dad (mom) go?
• Ready, Set, Go!
• Good to go!
• Бобик, ты где? - which means "Bo, where are you?"

Bailey Boo, we look forward to many more things you will learn and discover, and to many more ways you will make your daddy and me proud. We love you very much!

Birthday Girl

Jeremy's first half marathon!

We are very proud of Jeremy, who ran his first half marathon! He started running again earlier this year, and the last couple of months was training for this run. Jeremy did great!

 

Boy, oh boy!

Yes, oh yes! Bailey is going to have a little brother! I have warned her from the beginning that is she tickles my belly (instead of gently patting it) the baby will be a boy - and sure enough - after all the tickles she's getting a little brother! Of course we are thrilled. This will be all new for us, but we are excited about this learning experience ahead. 

22 weeks along!

Jeremy and I were talking the other night about someone else being pregnant who is half way through the pregnancy, and Jeremy says: “well, we’re not quite there yet, so we don’t need to worry about it” (whatever it was that we were talking about). I laughed out loud!!! My husband did not realize that we are past the half way point! I am at 22 weeks already. We only have four months left before our family gets bigger :)

This week I have another ultrasound, and we should know if we’re having a boy or a girl. At first I had the best intentions of not finding out, but then I realized that by the time the baby comes we would be past the prime garage season - and if we are having a boy we don’t have any newborn/baby boy stuff (we have plenty for when he gets a bit bigger). So we will find out...and I shall update you all on our findings!

I am starting to feel a bit better - finally! I have some more energy left by the time the afternoon comes around. Bailey and I get to do a lot more fun things again - we went back to the reading classes at the library, music lessons, and play dates with some of her new & “old” friends. My real estate is picking up some more also, which is great because once baby #2 is here I am not certain how quickly I will be out showing houses. Jeremy is busy as always at his job, but he and Bailey have a great routine both in the mornings and at night. Almost every morning Bay gets woken up by daddy and they have some milk and watch a half-episode of Dora. Afterwards we blow kisses and hugs to daddy, and he goes to work. In the evenings Jeremy usually feeds Bay dinner, then they play & read books, bath time, again milk time with Dora, and nighty-night time around 8:00pm. Mommy usually crashes soon after Bailey :)

I keep trying to explain to Boo there’s a baby in mommy’s belly, and that soon we will have a baby in the house, and that I will need her help with it. I don’t think she understands any of this crazy concept! And every time we talk about my belly she tries to tickle it...Is there a good way to prepare your toddler for a baby? I’ve heard many times that girls will just automatically will get in their “mommy-modes” and will try to help - but does that really happen or is that just a rumor? I guess we will find out soon enough...

Hello! My name is Sassy!

What can I say - it is a lot of fun to take pictures of Bailey, especially when Jeremy is around to help with distractions and making her laugh. Thanks for auntie Diana and uncle Javier for this awesome Spanish Flamenco dress and dancing shoes!

 

Bubbles, bubbles in the air...

Having fun with uncle Ilya

My brother, who lives in Ottawa, Canada, came to visit us last week for a few days. I'm not sure who had more fun - Bailey or him?! They played together, discovered bubbles, built forts, and Bailey taught her uncle how to change diapers :) Bay kept walking behind Ilya calling him "dya-dya", which means uncle in Russian, but it was also close to "Da-Da", so I wonder if she thought he was her uncle or a second dad? :)

I want to be cool like my uncle!

Check out my new dress

Now let me check out your glasses...

Got it!

 

Six years ago...

Six years ago today a good-looking guy walked into my office with an excuse that he needed help getting to know the area since he was new in town. I volunteered to show him Warsaw movie theater the same night. I've been swept off my feet since then. Love you babe!

April's Update

   I am almost half way through this pregnancy!!! The thought that there will be two little munchkins to take care of scares me A LOT! I feel that there's not enough time in a day to take care of one, so to add another helpless human being is going to mean many changes to my (our) lifestyle: less/no sleep, mess(ier) house, only occasional showers, and the list goes on...I keep telling myself it is all worth it, right?

   At 19 weeks along I am finally starting to feel better - this is much later than with Bailey. I say it is because of Boo, and that she drains all my energy - in a good way, of course. I tell you what, a parent cannot ask for a better child! Bay is just awesome! She's loving, funny, caring, outgoing, easygoing, easy to please, and the list goes on and on. We have been telling her there's a baby in mommy's belly, I don't know if she understands what it means for her, but I've noticed she plays with her big animals and dolls differently. She feeds them, brushes their teeth, and tries to put diapers on them.

   Since the last update walking became Bailey's primary way of getting around, and I should say not only walking but running also. Favorite toys are still books and Bo. The new thing Bay likes to do is to built forts. Our dining room chairs are bar-height, so she climbs under them with pillows and blankets and hides in her "house". She  likes to take her doggy or bear with her in there, and then she's telling them things in her own language - very entertaining to watch! Balls are another new amusement. Boo likes to throw and/or kick them. The kicks are good - we say it's because she watches Dora, but the throws usually go in an opposite direction of her intent.

Latest stats/updates:

Sleep: 11 hours and night, 2-3 hours split in 2 naps during the day
Favorite Food: cheese, beans, sweet peas
Favorite Cartoon: Dora the Explorer (Thanks grandma Judy for our new favorite Dora pillow)
Favorite Words: No, Dog/Doggy, Daddy, Uh-Oh, Oooohhh, Tigger, Tickle, and Shhhhh  
Bay knows how to show: eyes, nose, teeth, cheeks, ears, forehead, belly button, and feet - all that in Russian only. Daddy is behind on teaching the English version

Jeremy had Good Friday off, so Bailey got to do some fun things with him

Shopping for a bike

How's this one, daddy?

Oh, I found THE one!

Learning to eat with chopsticks

Like a big girl

With full belly we can be silly now

Happy Easter 2013!

We decided to take Bailey Boo to hunt for Easter eggs at our Community Fairgrounds. Little did we know that everyone else in town decided to do the same thing! Boo found one egg, and by that time all the others were gone. She had fun - and mommy liked the chocolate that was inside :) 

 

I found ONE!

Baby Mullins #2 is on the way!

Big Sis To Be August 29th!

   By now most of friends and family know of our big news - we are expecting our second munchkin on August 29th! We all are thrilled about this and can't wait for Bailey Boo to have a sibling who she can boss around. You see, she tries really hard to boss our dog Bo, but unfortunately he just doesn't listen to her Russian-English giberish and runs away from her. So, a human who will speak the same combination of languages will be more likely to obey and follow his or her older sister. Bailey reminds me a lot of myself when I was little. She is probably the most easy going, layed back child you'll ever meet, but she really does like to tell you what to do and how to do it! My little (I mean younger) brother can tell you a story or two of how he had to endure all my marching orders - until of course he got bigger and stronger than me. I will deny any such crazy accusations, but there are other witnesses - mom, dad and my sis.

   Anyways, back to our world. The pregnant momma has not been doing too hot. I'm constantly on the verge of being sick; I wake up tired in the morning after I sleep for 10-12 hours, by the time Bay takes her second nap I'm so tired that I have to take one myself! I crave all kinds of things that we normally don't eat - bread, pasta, potatoes, junk food, greasy foods, sweets (but not everything sweet sound good - I'm into ice cream, candy bars, and occasional brownie if we eat out). Just as when I was prego with Bailey smells and leftovers are very difficult for me. Some days I cannot cook anything because of smell anticipation. Raw meats, different spices, and even some veggies are triggers for extra strong nausea. I am looking forward to getting into my second trimester, so all these symptoms are gone!!!

Baby #2

   Bailey Boo is doing great! She just turned 15 months. Most of our 18-months old clothing is getting too small; lots of our pants are getting knee holes as crawling is still our main way of getting around; walking is Bailey's hobby that she likes to practice with daddy. Her favorite toys are books! Reading and looking through her books is a daily activity. We have two big baskets full of books in the living room and Bailey goes through each and one of them. When she gets tired of those, she moves to the office where she has two full bookshelves. Other than books her second favorite toy is Bo, but as mentioned above, he doesn't like to play with Bay as much as she (would) like to play with him.

   Our daily schedule has not changed much. Bailey is up around 7am, 8:30-10ish is our first nap, then we play or run errands with mommy until lunch time, after eating we play for a little more and both of us go down for a nap. Boo is usually out for a good 1.5-2hours. Of course her favorite time of the day is when daddy gets home. She starts screaming "Daddy" when she hears the garage door, and Jeremy usually gets a big sloppy kiss! Daddy is the one to feed her dinner, give baths, and put down at night. Daddy is first and last person Bay gets to see in a day. And screaming for "Daddy" is how she lets me know she's awake from her naps :) Daddy is a big deal here!

   Bailey's new favorite cartoon (and character) is Dora the Explorer. For a while she enjoyed Curious George, and Blues Clues, but nowadays Dora is all we want to watch. Dora comes on only occasionally on Netflix when we need a little encouragement/distraction at meal times. It's fun to watch Bailey how she reacts and responds to Dora's questions, songs, and gestures. It's NO fun to watch Bailey when we turn Dora off - major crying fest (for about a minute)! Oh, and it's even more fun to watch Jeremy's reaction to Dora: singing, dancing, & talking back. Bailey and I get quite the show when daddy sings "I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the MAP!!!" Dora's pictures are getting to be on more and more of our household items. The latest ones are our Dora toilet seat and new sippy cups. Yes, we have a toilet seat that we use regularly. Bay still doesn't let us know when she needs to go, but mommy and daddy are getting better at catching her at the "right"times...

Going potty is a serious business

Well, this is probably enough of my rambling for one post. I promise not to wait so long in between them, and update on here a little more frequent. Here are a few more shots