In loving memory...

Bailey's memorial video

Many-many moons ago Bailey and Taylor Moore were my "summer job". I spent every day babysitting those girls, doing all kinds of fun things; we did hair, nails, played with make-up, crafts, cooking, drawings, playing tennis, watched movies and swam at the country club pool. It was probably the funnest job I've ever had in my life!

In July of last year Bailey was diagnosed with A.L.L. Leukemia. She fought cancer for 8 long months with many types of treatments, chemo, drugs, spinal tap, bone marrow transplant, and much more. However, after all that Bailey lost the battle and passed away on March 3, 2010 at the age of 13. 

It was that day that Jeremy and I found out I was pregnant. Independently from each other we thought that if we're going to have a girl we should name her after Bailey. 

So in a few more weeks we will welcome Bailey Lucille Mullins into this world. 

24-week update

It's a...baby! At this point that's the only thing we know for certain. Twice already we've tried to determine the sex, but both times little Mullins wasn't cooperating and had her/his knees bent hiding the gender parts. Both times doctors said they "think" it's a girl...but not 100% sure. If we have to re-paint our pink nursery I only hope we do it before the baby arrives...
I'm doing much better these days! I feel nearly like my normal-self, except for being hungry all the time and having a belly that does not allow most of my pants to buckle up. I switched  to wearing almost exclusively skirts and dresses as they don't put any pressure on my belly. I still don't have any cravings and my "leftover-phobia" is finally over, so I'm back to eating and cooking normal stuff.
As always, Jeremy and Bo are doing awesome! If I'm busy with showings in the evening they take care of supper; if I'm home at night we try to do some preparing/studying/talking/reading/etc. about babies. The more I read, however, the more I realize we have absolutely NO idea what to do with our little one - how to wash them, how to feed them, how to do their nails, how to...and...and...and...I love it when experienced parents tell me that what I actually need to know is not in any of the books, and we'll just have to figure it out as we go...I suppose it's a good thing that babies don't remember their first few years of life.
Below are the updates on my belly

6/8/11

6/25/11

7/7/11

 Here's what our little princess looks like these days

Garage Sales 'R Us

Garage sales were never of too much interest for either Jeremy or me until we decided to look for baby things. Every Spring in Warsaw certain neighborhoods host their neighborhood garage sales, and that's where we spent our last two Saturday mornings with unbelievable success!
Since we've never done this before, we first had to do some research on what baby items are ok or not ok to buy used. With our lists & research in minds off we went...Between both weekends we ended up with the following items: convertible crib, pack n'play, swing, bouncer, bath tub, toys, some clothes, and other smaller items. Total cash spent - less than $100. Jeremy did price comparison last night, and we realized that we've saved over $700!
We had our 18-week check up on Wednesday. The doctor said that everything looks and measures good, we heard the heartbeat and now Jeremy thinks it's going to be a girl - 155-160 beats/minute. Next month we will find out for sure!
I'm doing much better these days, I can stay up for a little longer and the afternoons don't seem to drag as they used to. The only thing I still struggle with are the leftovers and food in general. Every meal and snack are so much work! I never know what I want to eat, so it takes a lot of my energy trying to figure out what will be my next meal.
Well, I should start getting ready - I'm hosting an Open House at one of our lakefront properties this afternoon. Wishing for lots of traffic & potential clients!

14 week update

Last week we had our monthly check up for the baby & mommy. The doctor didn't do the ultrasound, so we don't have an updated picture of the little one this time. But we heard the heart beat for the first time, and it was quite amazing. The baby sounded like he/she was racing somewhere, with the heartbeat going 140 beats/minute!

Being in the second trimester has not done much change for me at this point - I still struggle with leftovers & smells, only certain foods sound good at a certain time during the day, and I can eat all day long! I have to spend my energy in the mornings thinking about what may sound good to me to eat during the day, so I can prepare the “right” snacks. My regular bedtime is still 8pm-7am, with a possible nap in the afternoon. Even though I sleep so much, I still don’t have much energy during the day. I find it very difficult to do any basic day-to-day activities without feeling exhausted, even sitting up at the piano for longer than 45 minutes at a time. But I keep hoping and waiting that the “2^nd trimester feeling” is going to kick in any day, and all of a sudden I’m going to start feeling great.

Jeremy and Bo have been very patient with this pregnant lady. Cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and all that good stuff are their projects these days. I have to admit, I’m really liking it :)

Thank you, my friends!

Last night my good friends from Zimmer had a good-bye party for me at Spikes. It was so great to catch up with everyone, hear about the latest rumors, and reminisce about the good ol’ times. It felt like we were still a team, and nothing had changed! 

Those who didn’t know found out yesterday that Jeremy and I (and Bo) are expecting a little one. It was fun to talk about another Russian awesomeness joining this world – Porter, don’t be scared of another spy, we’re harmless!

I enjoyed working with each and every one of you and already miss you at my new job. I appreciate the wonderful opportunity that I had to work with and learn from you. Thank you all (Michelle, a special thanks goes out for the tasty chocolates). My best wishes to the entire team!

My old desk...Jared, I hope you're taking a good care of it :)

And this is Easley when he gets overworked by Matt...oh, the good ol' times