Hello everyone. Since our last post, we have a new addition to our family! Caroline Elizabeth Mullen was born Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 3:59 am. She weighed 6 lbs and 3 oz and was 20.5 inches long. After some antibiotics and some phototherapy (for my billirubin level), we were able to come home Saturday, December 12. We have taken several pictures, so to share with everyone, we have posted a slideshow!

We are very excited to see everyone during the Christmas season!

Craig's Assistant Adjuster

Today, I had the pleasure of spending the day with my wife while I was on the road adjusting claims. We started early, 6:00 a.m., and ended up getting home around 4:00 p.m., driving just over 400 miles. It certainly made my day a whole lot easier and we got to do some sight seeing along the way. Jenny is now 39 weeks along, and we go to the doctor tomorrow (Wednesday.) Everything is just fine, just experiencing some pedal edema, which we understand is fairly common. Well, that is about all for now. Enjoy our photos and we'll keep you updated on our baby status!



Picture of New River from Hawk's Nest overlook.



Looking up river, towards Ansted/Hico/Lookout.



Here is Jenny sitting on the bench at the overlook. It was a very nice day in southern West Virginia, especially for December 1!



Here we are at the overlook, probably one of our last trips before baby Caroline arrives.

Caroline's Nursery

This is Caroline's nursery, as seen from the hallway. You can see the new paint, glider rocker and ottoman, changing table and crib.







Here is a closer view of the glider rocker and ottoman. We tested it out this afternoon, and it is very, very comfortable!







Here is the crib. It is outfitted with classic Winnie the Pooh sheets and a really cool mobile.







Caroline's dresser. She already has more clothes than we know what to do with!







Stay tuned for more from Caroline's nursery!!

Halloween 2009

Halloween has become a tradition at the Mullen household. We really like to go all out, dress up and hand out candy to the trick or treaters. We usually have around 100 ghosts, ghouls and goblins come to our house, which has the super scary halloween sounds of Sirius playing. An added bonus is the joy of seeing our cats through the door, one of which may be sporting a halloween costume of their own! Enjoy our photos!

This is the pumpkin we carved Halloween afternoon!



Jenny dressed up as a witch!



Craig as Michael Myers.



Callie making her debut as the halloween pumpkin!

Fun Weekend!

Jenny and Liz making apple sauce. Audrey and Madeline visit the fire station!


The highlight of Craig's weekend was this:



We were so glad to have Brandon, Elizabeth, Audrey and Madeline at our house for the weekend. Unfortunately, Mimi and Papi were not feeling well, so they were not able to come. Tom and Martha stopped by on Saturday afternoon, and Craig's mom and dad had chili buffet with us Saturday evening. Fun day of football on Saturday, a visit to the fire station and home made applesauce were some of the highlights.

Fall decorations

Jenny has began to decorate our house for fall. This is the centerpiece of the living room!



Stay tuned! More pictures and details at 11!

26 1/2 Weeks and counting

Our bellies are at 26 1/2 weeks and doing well! We thought we'd take a little comparison picture for your entertainment.

Sorry it has been awhile since we've posted! It has been busy busy busy around here. Our last doctors appointment was about 2 weeks ago, baby Caroline continues to grow like a weed. Her kicks are starting to get a little more fierce...especially after a big meal. We like to play music for her, read to her, and just talk to her all the time. She really responds to the music...our personal favorite is Elvis's rendition of "Sweet Caroline". The dance moves are priceless!

Jenny's Baptism

Jenny was baptized this evening in the waters of Bunnells Run, which is a tributary of the North Fork of the Hughes River, just outside of Harrisville.

She was one of six candidates who joined our church through the waters of baptism.

The family will see Madeline get baptized next weekend in Nashville, Tennessee.

Thanks to my sister Jill for the video!

85 percent sure it is a GIRL!

Here are the pictures of our first ultrasound! The technician was 85% sure we have a little girl. We got to see all four chambers of her heart, two arms, two legs, elbows, knees and little pigs. According to the measurements, she put our due date at December 9, give or take ten days. Dr. King had said December 6, so they are close. Heart rate was around 138 and the little girl was very active. Apparently she did not care for being roused from a nap! She must take that from her mom.

Abby and Callie

Say hello to the loudest and nosiest cats on the planet. They talk and fight with each other at 3am at the foot of the bed and under the bed; they splash all the water in their water bowls onto the floor; they open closet and pantry doors; they bang on closet doors at 5am until we wake up to feed them; and they barge in on us while we are in the bathroom. Jealous?

Well, we've been making improvements to our home since the day we moved into it. Last year, the big project was tearing up our unforgettable pink carpet and replacing it with lovely hardwood floors. Our most recent project has been painting our living room, dining room, and hallway. We also bought some new curtains. It has definitely changed the room, to say the least. We love it!

Exciting Friday Night...

We are spending the evening at home. Friday nights in Harrisville are uneventful to say the least. Jenny is making brownies and cookies for our church's "Helping Hands" free dinner and I am preparing for a long day tomorrow helping with the Harrisville High School Alumni Parade and activities.

Doctor Appointment - We will update when we get home!

Tuesday, July 21, was our third doctor's appointment. The baby's little heart is beating rapidly at 141 beats per minute. Weight, measurements, and all the above seem to be going well. The baby and I are both growing more everyday! Our first ultrasound is on Tuesday, July 28 at 6:00 p.m. If everything goes as planned, we should be finding out if we are having a little boy or a little girl. Either way, we are blessed!

Two Crazy Weeks

Well...one week down and two more days to go. We have been busy busy busy with 4-H Camp last week and Vacation Bible School this week! We have a great time with both events, but we are definitely glad to rest when all is said and done. This 4th of July weekend we will be resting with the Priddy Family in Nashville and we couldn't be more excited! We'll hopefully load our next update with lots of pics from this weekend.

First post

Hello all. This is the first of hopefully many posts to our blog.

Please be patient at first, since we are sooo busy, we may not update very regularly.

Next doctor's appointment is July 21, which will put us at 20 weeks!

Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!

Craig & Jenny