John, Laura, Kyle, Christopher (CJ) and Alyssa Mullen

CJ holds Alyssa

CJ wanted to hold "my baby sister" so I showed him how.He held her for quite some time and gave her kisses.

Comparing Baby Pics

Mom and her babies....pictures from the hospital.

Alyssa's first dress and Bubbles for CJ

The first of many....Daddy picked out a dress for his little princess and she wore it at the Memorial Day BBQ.

CJ had fun after the food with his new non-spill bucket of Diego bubbles. Go Diego Go! (Mom likes that he can't spill bubble soap all over her floor and CJ likes the Diego bubble wands...perfect!).

First Bath for Alyssa

Apparently in Mullen tradition....Alyssa screamed through her first bath with Daddy, but at least she has finally found her voice. Mom was worried there for awhile when Alyssa didn't cry but now she knows that Alyssa can with the proper motivation.

Alyssa's first photo shoot

Two Weeks Old and looking gorgeous!

Kyle survives surgery

We headed out at 5:30 this morning to get to Plano to the Pediatric Surgery Center for Kyle. They had a kitchen set and building blocks in the waiting room so Kyle was quite content to be there.

They called us back to Pre-Op around 7:00 and gave Kyle a DVD player and the movie Thomas the Tank Engine. Kyle watched the movie while they took vital signs and prepped him for surgery. They gave him "goofy juice" which should insure that he remembers nothing of the surgery or post op recovery. I hope so because Kyle was one unhappy little boy afterwards. The "goofy juice" made him quite disoriented...I've never seen him so relaxed. The surgeon came in and drew on his knee, and Kyle just stared at it lazily and made no comment. That is not Kyle's M.O. --- normal Kyle would have cried. He found that his DVD player had a screen that twisted around. He twisted it WHILE THE MOVIE WAS PLAYING and said, "Look mom it moves". I moved it back to the right position and said, "It sure does." He did it three more times....it was kind of cute.

They took Kyle off to surgery and we went to the waiting room to wait. After thirty minutes or so, they came and got us. The surgeon said that she took a dime size core out of his knee --- from the top of the epidermis down to the fat and muscle layer. They are going to thin section the layers to check to be sure that they got all of the atypical cells. They had to take healthy ones as well to be sure that they got all of them.

We went to Kyle in the recovery room after the consultation. He was very upset -- I hated to see my boy so upset. He was more upset that there was a huge bandage on his knee than the IV in his arm which surprised me. The nurse kept telling him to lay his leg straight and he kept crying for it to be taken off. Poor Kyle. :-(

He has to wear the bandage (basically a soft cast) for one week and cannot bend his knee for that week. Good luck on that one...sigh... He cannot get it wet either so that means sponge baths. After a week, they are removing the soft cast and he will just have the stiches which dissolve so no messy removal --- thank heaven! He can't swim for two weeks but then it will be summer as usual except for Mom is investing in sunscreen stock because we are not stepping foot out of our house any more without a liberal dose on every inch of our skin!

Our little warrior on the couch.

A worn out daddy makes a good sleeping mat

Alyssa's feet

Every part of Alyssa is delicate and beautiful...of course!

We went to her weight gain check up --- she was supposed to have gained two ounces in two days...well...she didn't. She didn't lose any more though so that at least is an improvement. Alyssa is now 5 pounds 3 ounces (meaning she's lost seven ounces since birth --- and the doctors say she can't lose any more). I have to try to get her to eat every two hours for twenty minutes. If she doesn't, I have to give her a bottle supplement. Meanwhile....that of course means...sleeping isn't going to happen any time soon.

Kyle's a Graduate

Kyle walked for the first of many graduations to come. He is now an official preschool graduate. At the ceremony, the teachers wrote special messages about each child which was read as they walked the stage. Kyle's teachers wrote that he is "Mr. Play by the Rules", that if you didn't know the rules, not to worry, Kyle will kindly and politely remind you what they are. That's my boy!

Alyssa on the Growing Families Webpage

For the next 120 days from today....Alyssa and her "hospital pictures" will be on the growing families webpage.

Official site here --- might require password (our last name)

Alyssa at Home

Alyssa asleep in mommy's arms.

CJ is very in love with his little sister...he never lets a moment go by without giving her a kiss. "I kiss baby sister". He shows her all his cars and toys. Our little love bug.

Pictures from the first day are on the gallery.
Pictures Here!!! Click, click I tell you!!

We'll continue posting!

Kyle finished his second book in Cubbies

Kyle walked across the stage at the Cubbie Award ceremony tonight. He finished his second book and got his second book ribbon. We are proud of our Kyle.

Muffins with Mom

At preschool today was Muffins with Mom --- I wheeled up in the wheelchair and had muffins with Kyle and CJ. They made all sorts of crafts for me. CJ made a geranium pot with pink geraniums in it and his handprint and the teachers recorded his answers to several important questions. CJ knows that mommy's name is "mama", she is 4 years old, likes the color red and CJ likes it best when mommy plays with him.

Kyle drew my portrait...I'll have to scan and put it up as it is a definite work of art --- I have large blue and green eyelashes and never realized how big my lips actually are --- they take up half my face :-). He also made me a love bug, a rainbow, a bird, and a flower in a pot with his picture on it. He also knew all about mommy. Apparently I am 50 years old, am beautiful (of course), make the best chips and cheese, love steak and the grocery store. :-)

Here are some pictures from the event.

Kyle's learned to spell everyone's name

For the past few weeks, Kyle's been asking how to spell Alyssa. He already knew his name, mom, dad and CJ but now he can spell all of our names. Albeit his organization of letters is unique but my baby can spell...what more can an English teacher mom want?

CJ's First Friend Party

John took CJ to his first friend birthday party -- he says that it was like 12 separate parties. None of the kids really played with each other and those that did cried because they didn't want to share. :-) CJ had fun playing with the little boys cars and running through the "racecourse" that the mom had set up. He liked picking up the little toys that fell out of the pinata and eating cake.

Clearing away the frame

All the drywall is gone, and so is the frame of the wall and the carpet on the floor.

Next step is to move the electricity to the new boxes! Isn't John amazing?

Never ask a pregnant woman who's nesting...what should we do this weekend?

Laura thought it would be a good idea to "redecorate" the upstairs bathroom....note I was lured in by the "redecorate". What she meant to say was "why don't you demolish the wall between the vanity and the bathtub, rip up the carpet, move the electrical outlet and lightswitch, take out the studs, drywall, paint, and put down new flooring". sigh....

Step One: Demolition

End of Month 8, Beginning the home stretch....Month 9

John asked if I had swallowed a watermelon when he wasn't looking. She's a big baby! We are still trying to keep her in there at least another three weeks....keep your fingers crossed!

CJ and Mommy

CJ shows off for Mommy --- he pretended to be a monster and was going to eat Mommy's arm. :-)