We miss you Daddy!

I'm in Utah with the kids until Sunday. We are having a really great time visiting family, but we miss daddy!

We love you and miss you Jeff. Here are a few photos of our trip so far...

Best day ever!

Memorial Day was one of those days when I kept thinking to myself "life can't get any better than this". These past few weeks have been a little stressful in the Hullinger home (Mick has had a difficult time adjusting to baby sister) so it was so great to have a relaxed fun-filled day.

We began our day with a beautiful drive to the east side, past Issaquah (east of Seattle), to a beautiful lake. We had a fantastic time hiking around and throwing rocks in the water, however it was cut short when rain started pouring down on us. It is always fun to play in the rain!

The rain cleared up and it was gorgeous outside so next we headed to the Northwest Folklife Festival at the Seattle Center (downtown). We had an fun time looking at all the booths of handmade crafts, listening to bands play and eating goodies, but the highlight was watching Mick's excitement as he rode little carnival rides. He was in heaven!! He rode fire trucks, airplanes, cars and a pirate ship. His cute little personality (the Mick we know and love, but haven't seen much of the past few days) shined again... hooray! I couldn't stop smiling and laughing cause he was so stinking cute.

Buddha Baby

Haha, see a resemblance? Lucy has definitely got some meat on her, especially in the cheeks! She is our little chub-a-lub and we love having her in the family.

Street Fair Music Video

Some say the best video to date...

Seattle Street Fair Fun

A few photos

Baby Lulu

Our little girl has arrived! Lucy Elizabeth Hullinger was born on April 16th at 8:20 am weighing 7 lbs 2 oz and 18 1/2 inches.

Contractions started around 4 pm on the 15th. We went to the hospital around 11:30 pm, epidural around 2:30 am, and then I slept comfortably until it was time to push. I only had to push for like 2 minutes and out she came! I couldn't have asked for a better labor experience.

Spring Break 2010

A few more pics

Mick and Jeff at Gasworks Park

When did my baby become a little boy?!!

It seems like yesterday that Mick was born and now he is a little boy running around and talking! How did that happen? Time has just flown by.

We have entered a new phase with Mick--the terrible two's:). My mom will be thrilled to know that he is like I was when I was little. (haha... I'm just waiting for him to bang his head on the ground). He is doing his fair share of screaming and when I tell him to talk nicely he sometimes screams back "I won't talk nicely!" We still love him though and think he is the most amazing boy ever born.

His little personality continues to develop and he is SO FUNNY. He is just packed with personality. He loves to dance and make up little songs. His laugh is contagious. It is no surprise that he LOVES to be the center of attention (just like mommy and daddy). He is still obsessed with cars, trains, trucks and now airplanes. He is our little cook. He insists on "helping" me with every meal. Funny story about cooking: The other day I came into the kitchen and he had opened the cupboard, pulled a bagel out of the bag, got a butter knife out of the drawer, found the honey and spread it on the bagel. I was shocked... he made his own sandwich at 2!

Thank you Jeff

In the past few weeks I have realized...

that I married the perfect man for me.

Jeff has been beyond supportive lately. He has given up his wife (for the time being) to the cause and allowed me to work on helping to organize relief efforts in Haiti. He hasn't complained that the house is a disaster and meals aren't on the table. He has been so incredibly helpful with Mick. He has put his arms around me and comforted me when I had emotional breakdowns. He worked with his MBA classmates and raised $4500 in one week to send to Haiti. I'm so grateful that I married a man that cares about others. I couldn't ask for a better role model for my children. He is amazing! Thank you Jeff.

Photos taken a little over a week before earthquake

A Portrait of Haiti from jesse erasmus on Vimeo.

www.ffcin.org

Woodland Park Zoo with Mick

Christmas Eve Day

Mick's music video

Jeff just got a flip camera from his school because they want him to film some stuff while in Haiti, so he decided to put it to good use in the meantime and he made this.

We're having a girl!!!

Yep that's right... we are having a girl. We are both super excited! I can't wait to start buying girly clothes.

Stats help from Mick

Jeff has been taking notes for his upcoming stats test. He is allowed to have 2 pages of notes. This morning he couldn't find them anywhere. He looked all over the desk, in his backpack, and other obvious places. In passing I said to Jeff "Oh in the future don't leave any important papers out because Mick will take them and color on them." Jeff kept looking and finally found his notes on Mick's coloring table. Mommy knows her little boy! Apparently Mick thought daddy was missing some very important information and so he decided to help out a bit by adding his own notes.

The best 3 years ever!!

Jeff and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary on November 17th. The past three years have been the best! I Love you Jeff. You are the best husband and daddy in the whole world! I look forward to many many many more years (to infinity and beyond...inside joke) together.

Our first date

I fell in love with Jeff on this camping trip


Engaged
Mick!!

Jeff's Great Jean Exchange

So Jeff's brother Ricky bought Jeff a nice pair of jeans from Nordstrom more than two years ago. As you can imagine they were quite worn from years of wear. They looked something like the picture above (not really, but you get the idea). They were worn thin on the knees and there was a hole in the crotch.

We've heard about Nordstrom's incredible return policy and today Jeff decided to test it out. This is not something I would EVER do... returning two-year-old jeans... way too embarrassing!

So we jumped in the car and headed to Nordstrom on a mission. We walked up to the counter and Jeff showed them the jeans and told them he would like to exchange them for a new pair. I couldn't stand even one more awkward second so I pushed Mick off in the stroller in a hurry. It doesn't take much to make me feel embarrassed. This about did me in!

Jeff was completely honest about how old they were, etc. Long story short... they exchanged them for a new pair!! Their return policy really is amazing! I still wouldn't do it, but Jeff loves his new jeans.

Golden Gardens Park

One of the best things about Seattle is all of the amazing parks. We went to Golden Gardens Park on Saturday. It was so nice to some good quality time together. It doesn't happen often these days because Jeff is so busy with B school. Mick had a great time playing in the sand, Jeff had fun doing tricks on a log and I laughed at Jeff doing tricks on a log.

Some Random Pics of Mick

For the Grandparents

Mick is saying...

-"bye bye" (bah bye)
He learned to say bye a long time ago, but he is using it in a new way. He says this whenever he wants to do something that is not parent approved. He'll turn to you and say bah bye and push you away so he can do something naughty. It hasn't worked for him a single time, but he keeps doing it.

-"Stop Mommy"
I bought some m&ms for Mick at the store the other day and he dropped a few in his car seat. When I ate them he looked at me very seriously and told me "stop mommy".

- "Dada tent"
He loves playing tent with daddy. The game tent consists of Mick saying Bah bye and Jeff puts the covers over his head and creates a tent. Mick jumps on the tent and collapses it. Great fun! He could play this for hours.

Mick's favorite things right now are... (in order)

1. Cars, trucks, tractors, trains, boats, buses
Mick is obsessed. He rarely goes anywhere without a car or truck in his hands. The other day we went to the D.I. to look for toys. I tried to hand him some cool dinosaurs. Not interested. He pulled out every single car and lined them up neatly. Jeff wishes he was as enthusiastic about balls as he is about vehicles:)

2. Blocks
Second to his beloved cars, Mick loves to play blocks and he is really good at building towers.

3. Still LOVES his blanky
4. Tacos
5. Chocolate ( when he says it sounds like chalkie)

There are so many cute and funny things he is saying and doing right now!

Westport, WA trip with Mom and Alies