The Blessing of Rex Gotchy Mullen

Last Sunday Ryan blessed Rex. It was a tender moment for me, his mother, to watch. The blessing was beautiful and filled with wonderful promises. Dressed in his all white shorts-tuxedo, he couldn't have been more handsome. It's exciting to think about what's ahead for him. I'm gearing up for a whole new world of garbage trucks and back hoes, tools and dinosaurs. And that's just the start, I get to teach him how to ask a girl out on a date and how to open her car door smoothly. I'll be the proud mom at the Eagle court of Honor who smiles the biggest because I'll know how many times I had to remind him to call his merit badge counselor or start working on his project. Will he go out for the swim team like dad? Will he like music like mom? Will he keep us all laughing or tease his sisters until they cry? Will he be the kind of kid who gets himself up for seminary or will I have to bribe him with breakfast? Will he hug me even when he's a teenager? What's down the road for my little man?



Right now he is so tiny and innocent it's hard for me to imagine him ever being anything but perfect. I know there will be days he'll make me want to pull my hair out, but just looking at these pictures, he is so pure. I'll do my best Rex, to raise you right. To teach you how to be the best man you can be. If I can teach you to know and love your Savior, I think you'll be able to take it from there. For now, I'm going to kiss your smushy little cheeks as often as I can because although you are sealed to me forever, you won't always want me to kiss you. Especially in public.

Happy President's Day!

Whoever said Abraham Lincoln was ugly? These girls make him look good.

Bringing Back Nerdy

Do you own up to watching TGIF every Friday night? Remember this guy?

I don't watch a lot of TV, but I'm pretty sure Urkel's television career is over. I have my suspicions that he is now in the fashion industry. More specifically, the baby fashion industry. Check out these pants.
Pretty sweet huh? As a co-worker once said to me, "I have a nerd son." (He was actually pretty worried about his four year old at the time, but that's another story.) These pants are available at Baby Gap for all of you running to catch this fashion trend.

Sisters

Jenna is approaching her two year old milestone and pleasantly beginning to play with and emulate her big sister Marielle. It's fun to watch her follow on the heels of Marielle and try to keep up. Yesterday, Marielle wanted to play Guess Who? while MK made dinner. She decided to enlist the only available opponent, Jenna. Marielle got out both game boards, drew a character card and started asking questions.

"Jenna, does your guy have a yellow hair?"
Jenna flips random tiles.

"Jenna, does your guy have bald?"
Jenna says, "Ooh" and flips random tiles and attempts to pull cards out of slots.

After 10 minutes of this, Marielle says to MK, "Ummm...Jenna's not really playing." At this point MK, cleaned up the board game knowing card destruction was imminent.

Later at dinner Jenna was acting a bit temperamental. She has become a picky eater of late, and often even when we put food she likes on her plate, she'll react by screaming. If you push her to eat, she'll respond with her characteristic I've-been-chastised-pose: head bowed and eyes squinted down to slits. So last night, when Jenna wouldn't touch a thing on her plate, MK took several bites in attempt to show her that it was indeed food (and good food at that)! No luck. MK finally turned to Marielle, "Show her that you like it."

Marielle took a big bite of her couscous. So did Jenna.

We attacked the peas with the same strategy. Marielle takes a big bite and smiles. So does Jenna. In the end, she could have licked her plate clean it was so empty.

To finish out the day it was bath time for Rex. It took one bath tub and three women (Mom, Marielle and Jenna) to complete the job. Rex didn't appreciate his soapy scrub and screamed his head off as they toweled him down and dressed him in a warm sleeper. The continuing dialogue accompanied the screaming like so:

Mom: We're almost done...almost done...almost done.
Marielle: Ohhh Rex! Almost done! Rex, almost done!
Jenna: AHH dun, AHH dun, AHH dun.

When Dad came home to an empty house and his whole family closed into a shut bathroom, it must have seemed like one of those "How many _________ does it take to screw in a light bulb?" jokes.

Debate Settled: Jenna's Compassionate

Marielle received a blue sleeveless dress from one of our neighbors. She told me yesterday that she was very excited to wear it to church. I asked her, "Did you decide if you're going to wear a shirt under it or a sweater?"

Her response: "Umm, we're still debating that."


What 4 year-old uses words like "debate"? Just another sign that this girl is growing up too fast.

Also, Rex and I survived Mom's first extended absence today. MK went to church today to teach Gospel Doctrine. Rex did great, until T-25 minutes to Mom's return. Then he let me know, quite vocally, that I am his second-choice parent. When Rex started crying, Jenna's head popped up, like she just remembered we have this baby now, and she sprinted out of the room. She returns carrying a pacifier. Sadly, this wasn't quite the cure-all I'm sure Jenna thought it would be, especially because I was already holding one in Rex's mouth. A few minutes later, however, Rex did settle down. Jenna walked up to me saying "Baby!" So I bent down, to let her get close. She noticed Rex had a tear on his cheek, so she ran and brought me a cloth to wipe it away.


You're in good hands, Rex.