The Martin Memoirs

Our Big Girl

2012-02-09T10:22:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Ellie made one of the last transitions from baby into child: she started sleeping in a Big Girl bed.

My camera was broken the first day of the big switch, so all of these were taking with my iPhone.

First of all, it took me something like an hour to get the stupid anchor strap tight. Apparently these safety rails are meant for full sized mattresses and not crib mattresses. It is still not tight and while it doesn't move when her weight is on the mattress, when she is out of bed it is easily pulled free, which happens quite often.

Anyway, Ellie Kate was so super excited about her new bed. She just thought it was the greatest thing ever!

I asked her to stand by her new bed for a picture and she did pretty good!

Sweet little Ellie's legs are too short to be able to push her into bed. So the first few times I had to put her in bed. Obviously, as all toddlers do, she was going to be getting in and out of bed herself a lot and I new we would need some way of getting herself into bed without Mom or Dad's help. Eventually I moved the step stool to her bed, and she loved that.

That first day Ellie Kate didn't nap at all. She spent the entire time getting in and out of bed. Hundreds of times.

I was getting the biggest kick out of watching her; she was so funny! She would scoot to the opening and then very cautiously edge herself out of bed. Then she would go look at herself in the mirror, say "hi" to herself then run back to bed and climb in. Over and over and over.

A few times she would come to the door and knock. And some other times she would try to open the door. Thankfully she is still too petite to reach the knob and turn it.

I stood outside her door and videoed part of her "nap time" to send to Rob. It still makes me laugh watching it!

That night was easier; she was worn out with no nap. I think there were a few minutes of up and down but eventually she fell asleep. In bed. The next morning, this is what I found when I went to get her:

So far the novelty of nap time freedom has not work off. It been three weeks or so and we are luck to get 2 or 3 naps in a week. A week!

I have tried a plethora of tactics to get her to actually nap and none seem to have a lasting effect. I've pretty much just gotten to the point of leave her in her room for 2 hours and if she naps, fabulous, if not then she got some good quiet time in.

Typically after "napping" we have to have a clean up time because everything, literally everything, that was in her dresser drawers is on the floor. I don't pick anything up myself, I sit and direct Ellie as to what to pick up and where it goes. She is learning to pick up after herself and we have gotten to where I can tell her, "pick up your diapers and put them in their drawer" and she will do it without me having to point to each diaper and then point to the appropriate drawer. That's been nice!

So, any tips or tricks on how to get Ellie to stay in bed and actually sleep would be helpful. I''m open to all suggestions!

What's Been Going On

2012-02-02T07:01:00.000-06:00

Why is it when you skip a day or so of laundry it takes you twice as long to get caught up? I have been surrounded by basket and baskets of laundry for a week. Currently there is a load in the washer and one in the dryer. My goal is to get those finished today so that I can get back to my "one load a day" system.

Ellie is absolutely positively refusing to eat with utensils. And I cannot describe with enough emotion how much I have gotten to loath cleaning up after her meals. It has become the bane of my existence. Just the thought of having to wipe her down, scrub the table of sticky goo, wipe up the spilled drink, and vacuum the dropped bites makes me want to not feed her.

Rest assured, contrary to her petite size, Ellie Kate does eat. Quite a lot and quite often. *sigh*

Luke just woke up due to congestion. When I picked him up I could immediately smell his breath. I actually thought it was his diaper. So gross! Now, he is sitting beside me chowing down on some Cheerios.

Congestion. It's something each member of this Martin family has. We are all on an antibiotic to combat the infections that have set up inside us. We're pretty gross; just one big, snotty, coughing, hacking family.

As of last week I have started back to Tech to finish my Masters. It's amazing how quickly you lose your touch at writing bull-shit papers. It took me nearly an hour to write a page an a half summary the other night.

Did you know that I once received an A on a final exam in a Pre-Civil War history class? The exam was to write an essay answering questions on the book the professor had written about Puritans and their way of life. I hadn't read one page of that book. A!

By the way, my current professor changed her mind and is wanting me to attend class each week. In Lubbock. Three hours each way and $60 in gas from Dumas. That's 24 hours of driving and $240 in gas a month. A month! By semester's end: 72 hours in the car and nearly $1,000 in gas.

That being said, I'm seriously considering getting my doctorate. Maybe in Childhood development; theories always interested me. Dr. Christine has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

Ellie is in desperate need, need!! of a pet of some kind. One she can pet and hold and kiss and hug. I honestly don't know if I have ever seen a child more adoring of animals than she. Most of the time it's endearing and I love watching her get giddy over even the slightest glimpse of an animal. Other times, like today at story time when she threw a screaming fit because she couldn't pet the hedgehog, it's embarrassing.

We are currently using 3 Internet browsers. Texas Tech requires Firefox, Internet Explorer has pretty much all but stopped working, yet we continue to use it because we're too lazy to transfer our "favorites" and Google Chrome is used for anything requiring sound or video. It's ridonkulous! Today's other goal, besides laundry, is to consolidate to Chrome.

Rob has discovered Angry Birds. I have tried my hardest to have patients with this, but I'm getting exasperated. I'm ready for a conversation that doesn't have the sound of birds being flung in the background. I'm also ready to take the passenger's seat again. Literally. He has been having me drive everywhere so he can play that absurd game. Also ridonkulous.

There was a small window of time tonight where I had the terrible fear that Rob was going to move us to Texline, (waaaaay smaller than Dumas). The thought made me want to sob. Was this because the move would be to Texline (bleh!) or was this because the Dirty D has grown on me? hmmm..... could it be?!

Week in Photos

2012-01-13T09:54:00.000-06:00

I'm a bit late, so today we have 2 weeks in iPhone photos, which actually turns out to be alot of pictures!

Here's our life the past couple of weeks:

The Elmo ballon was the best dollar I have ever spent

Searching for dropped and very old goodies in the creaveses of her seat

Playing at the park on an unseasonably warm day.

A girls luch of PB&J. Gotta start the lunch dates early!

Waiting to go down the slide

Luke really didn't enjoy the swing this time; he just wanted to be held. Of course, I was more than happy to oblige

Ellie, on the other hand, loves swinging "like a big girl!"

Ellie also adores joining her brother in his crib in the morning. When we go to get him up she bounces in front of the crib saying "up please."

Car seat acrobatics

Alfalfa

Luke is starting to use his walker! Sometimes it can get away from him, but he really really loves to stand and walk!

We visited our friend's Dairy and Ellie got to pet some calves.

While Mister enjoyed some fingers in the warm car

And while Rob got some target practice. Getting a gun is a daily discussion in this house, one that he has so far lost, although I don't think I'm gonna have much say soon...

By the end of grocery shopping Luke is dead tired and fighting his sleep. We're going to have to up his stanima if he's going to keep shopping with me!

First bite of pureed meatloaf (actually doesn't taste as bad it sounds)

Luke was much happier to stick with rice!

What happens when you forget to take apples out of the oven. I am still trying to scrub the caramelized sugars off my Pyrex. Needless to say, Luke isn't getting apples this week!

Mister managed to undress himself sometime in the night

Waiting for dinner- talk about pressure to get things out in a timely manner!

Enjoying Cheerios- great pincher grasp!!

Hope yall have a good weekend!

Christmas Decorations

2012-01-11T16:47:00.000-06:00

I was really excited to get our Christmas decorations up this year. I couldn't wait for Thanksgiving to begin decking out the house so I started pretty early.

And then something happened. Once all the storage bins made their way out of the attic into large piles in the garage I lost interest.

Just like that.

Maybe it was the numerous large Rubbermaid boxes filled to the brim with Christmas wonder that overwhelmed me, or maybe it was the lack of Spirit that underwhelmed me, but I was suddenly in no mood to decorate.

That being said, there was not much fuss in what I put together. Everything is pretty ho-hum, and I only gave myself a $20 budget to increase my Christmas goodies (although Rob will tell you I didn't stay in my self-imposed budget, I surly did! I just don't count what I spent after Christmas on all the 75% off clearance decor. That was more than $20...).

Still, I wanted to share what out home looked like during the Season if for no other reason than to see how my style and ideas change through the years. So here we go!

The window over the kitchen sink with lighted (although not lit up in the picture, obviously), garland and a framed line of my favorite Christmas song.

Our mantle decor and stockings that were more thrown-up than hung with care

The kitchen table with a pretty scarf used as a runner

And the "kids tree" which I had hoped would deter Ellie from stealing the ornaments off the main tree. Didn't work so much. She did have a fantastic time decorating it with her daddy though!

Our only Nativity Scene and the bowl where I lay all our Christmas cards. Ellie Kate (who is 2 months old in that picture!!!) adores the bowl of cards the most. She looks and looks and looks at all the families and gives her friends lots of kisses. She also carries our card around and talks to her daddy.

I think I enjoy decorating the bookcases the most. There are just so many possibilities, and to be completely honest, they were a huge selling factor when we were purchasing this house.

Are you ready for reality?

I didn't bother picking up the toys or straightening out the tree before snapping pictures. This is a pretty normal sight in the Martin Home until the kids are in bed and there is a certainty that what I put away will not be dragged back out 2.5 seconds later. And the only thing more fun to toddlers and a crawling baby than shinny orbs dangling from a tree are strands of ribbon that were perfectly placed and curled. In a hope to prevent said children from pulling the tree on top of themselves, the ribbons were placed out of reach. Looking at this now I see I should have just removed the ribbon all together.

A little spot in our guest bathroom. So you can look at Santa while you wash your hands.

And lastly our laundry room got a Christmas face-lift

There ya have it: our $20-DIY-non-inspired Christmas decorations. I truly hope that next year I am more in the mood!!

Oh, and our outside? Well there was no change there. Not even a single light. Ho Ho Ho!

Visiting Santa

2012-01-11T13:35:00.000-06:00

Before Christmas, ya know, nearly a month ago, I dressed the kids up in their Holiday Finest and drove down to the main Happy Branch in downtown Amarillo.

Because they have a free Santa. And no lines. And they let you take an unlimited amount of pictures. Or as many as you can manage to take while a terrified toddler hangs on your leg and squirmy baby tries his hardest to wiggle right off The Big Man's lap. All for free.

Did I mention it was free?

With no lines?

Last year Ellie's Santa experience went about like this:

So I was hoping that a year of maturity would produce a better result. Something along the lines of sitting calmly on Santa's lap and smiling sweetly for the camera.

My mistake.

Instead Sweet Pea was once again terrified of The Man in Red. She wouldn't look at him or stand by him, never mind actually sit on his lap.

She allowed Mrs. Clause to hold her while I tried my best to get her to smile. But, really, I guess this is pretty good considering the proximity of her to Santa.

Luke, true to form, was the total opposite of Ellie. He loved Santa Clause and was beyond happy and content to sit with him. Pretty sure he could have stayed there all day!

Although he did have a "Are you the REAL Santa?!" moment where he gave the beard a good hard tug...

Thankfully Happy State Bank spared no expense and had the REAL Santa come to visit. And a good thing too, because that REAL Santa was quick to catch a pulled beard!

Ellie Kate was more than done with this whole scene by now, and the only way I was able to keep her even vaguely interested is with cookies, which Mrs. Clause had ~~purchased at United~~ baked just that morning.

Here's to hoping for a better go-round next year. Yet again.

Where I am

2012-01-10T17:00:00.000-06:00

I'm just going to come out and say it.

My last truly "daily" time spent in the Word was the morning Luke was born.

May 25, 2011.

7 months, 2 weeks, and 1 day ago.

I am mortified to say that since then I have had maybe a three or four times where I have purposefully sought the Lord. Certainly no more than 5.

As a result I can see myself, truly see, the decline of righteousness in my life. Not that I was righteous before, I just stood in His righteousness.

I don't like where I have come to. While I am not committing atrocious, overt sin (but really, isn't sin all the same?) that makes people shudder, I no longer am offended by the impure, I derive pleasure from ungodly pursuits, and allow my heart and mind to wander where temptation and Satan abide. I have started to question where God has taken me.

Today, through the grace of my consistently patient Savior, I made time to sit with Him. And write in my prayer journal for the first time since 5 days before my son made his way into my arms.

I imagine there is at least one other mother, wife, woman, Christian, person who fights the battle of stagnant faith. Or a feeling of being lost. And tired. While knowing there is more. I just thought it might help to put it out there.

God willing, this is the end of this valley in my Walk, and the start of the accent to greater faith. Because faith is full of mountains and valleys. The valleys are what make the view from the mountain top so spectacular.

It's never easy being honest about your Spiritual life, especially when you catch flack for it from many people. And I have been asked repeatedly to not discuss such topics here, on such a public forum, but oh well.

Honestly, my sole intent in posting this is to encourage someone else and not to offend.

The prayer I journaled this afternoon (it's verbatum, so excuse any grammatical errors or incomplete thoughts and lack of paragraphs), hopefully someone will find it encouraging or helpful:

Oh Lord, how distracted and ambivalent I've become. Complacency is my daily dose of faithlessness and while I know of my need for you and I know what a difference you make in my life there seems to be a true lack of want or desire on my part. I have the time and the resources. There are no excuses to my lack of relationship with my Creator. Yet I do not seek you out. I have ceased praying to you constantly. I have opted for worldly pleasures instead of that which is righteous. I have placed just about everything over you. Father, it makes me feel low and dirty and no-good. And at the same time it makes me feel so thankful that you have not placed burdens on me that would bring me to my knees begging for your mercy, your presence, and your healing hand. Lord, Savior, I do not want to wait for tragedy to befall me before i desire you again. Father, remind me of the joys of being one with you and having you dwell in my heart and on my tongue. Draw me back to your side where worldly pursuits are not chased and where my time in your Word and in your shadow sustain me. Let me derive my joy and peace and patience from your indwelling Spirit. Draw this wandering sheep gently to the Shepherd side and nourish me back to spiritual health. Truly, deeply, I miss you and long to be filled with you. Fill me Lord, to over-flowing. Pour into me so the my first and last thought of the day rests lovingly, faithfully, on you. Lord, grow my spirit to search you, seek you, and sit with you. May my idols be cast away and may I raise up that which has given me life. A beautiful, brings-me-to-tears, life. God, meet me, your wayward disciple, here.

Week in Photos

2011-12-30T07:04:00.000-06:00

I have a handful of Christmas posts waiting to be completed, so it looks like our Christmas is going to extend into the New Year.

Until then, here is our past week through my phone, (most of these are REALLY poor quality for some reason.):

Last week, after being confined to the house for just about 3 weeks straight I was desperate to get out. So we drove to Amarillo and went to the Discovery Center. This was our first trip where Ellie really played and explored and it was soo much fun! We will surely be going back more often now!

The kids "helping" me wrap presents

Ellie Kate and Luke with Mimi and Grumps at the Gaylord Texan

When we replaced the mirror in the hall bath we set the old one in Luke's room (before it was Luke's room) and Ellie enjoyed playing with it so much we couldn't bring ourselves to get ride of it. So it has been in Ellie's room for probably close to a year and it is the most played with "toy" we have. Ellie, Luke, and all the friends we have over adore this mirror.

Luke sitting in the shopping cart like a big boy!

The massive amount of laundry that is results from a simple 3 day trip. At least 7 loads. I wish I could say it's all done; maybe by tonight?!

Ellie at dinner last night. Nearly fell asleep eating enchiladas.

Luke: 7 Months Old

2011-12-29T15:14:00.000-06:00

When I was doing Ellie's monthly posts I would start a few days ahead of time and make sure I had all the new things written down before I started off. And I sure would have never missed a month.

Poor, poor, second child Luke. Once again, a monthly post composed on the fly. After skipping months 4 (I think) and 6.

Luke, your mother's lack of forethought into these memories is in no way an indication that I favor your sister. It just means I would rather be spending that time with you, instead of writing about you. And that you produce a lot of laundry that needs to be accomplished during nap time...

Also, I'll try to get some good 7 month photos up later. It's been a while since we've had a good "Luke Photo shoot!"

Here is what Luke is up to at 7 Months:

We still haven't had the need to go to the doctor, healthy boy!!, so I'm not sure what you are weighing or measuring. When I took Ellie the nurse tried to weigh you, but you wouldn't sit still. So she said somewhere between 15-18 lbs.

You wear 6-9 and 9 month clothes, although your sleepers are 6 months. But that's only because I haven't had time to purchase larger sizes. You have really grown out of them, they are pulling on your shoulders and it's a struggle to get your legs bent enough to fit them into the leg-hole.

You are still in a size 3 diaper, but I have been contemplating moving you to a size 4 at night. I just haven't done it because I can't bring myself to put you in a size larger than what your sister wears.

You are becoming a very opinionated young man. You know what you want and you let us know if something doesn't suite you. For instance, if we take away something you want to play with, or you see something interesting you will screech until we either distract you or give it to you.

I have seen this play out with nursing. You go through phases of wanting to nurse, wanting to have a bottle, and not wanting to eat at all. If I try one of those and it's not the right one you make it very apparent that you want something else. You woke up one night at about 3, and I assumed you were hungry. I tried to get you to latch for at least 45 minutes, which was beyond frustrating and annoying and being that I don't do well with interrupted sleep it's a miracle that you survived, but you were just screaming bloody-murder and arching your back and throwing a good ol' fashioned fit. Eventually I gave up, and since we had no formula in the house (you hadn't had a bottle in over a month), I just gave you a bottle of water. You took it right off and went peacefully back to sleep for the rest of the night.

I think you get your stubborn streak from me.

So now I believe you are self-weaning. You nurse the best in the morning and through the day I nurse you first, which you will only put-up with for about 10 minutes total, although sometimes not even 5, then I give you a bottle. You will eat anywhere from 2 oz a bottle to 8. It's always a guessing game with you, but you let us know when you want more.

You really don't a have schedule, so you go to sleep for the night anywhere from 8-11 and sleep until anywhere from 8-9:30. We did have a spell where you woke up at night to eat, but you are back to sleeping through the night. Mommy appreciates that very much.

You love love love to eat solids. Just love it. When you see me pull out a jar you get excited, wiggle, kick, and yell. You let me know if it takes too long by your standards to get it ready. So far you have eaten: sweet potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, green beans, apples, yogurt (that one was by mistake. It gets confusing early in the morning when I am trying to feed two hungry kiddos), bananas, banana puffs, chocolate (don't judge), and a chuck of candy cane that Ellie left on the floor. You have devoured all of them except the green beans. You spit the second bite of beans out and refused to take another bite; even after I waited a week to try again. You have some kinda memory.

You get around the house so easily and so fast. There isn't a room you haven't dragged your way into to explore. While you still army crawl, the last few days you have been taking a handful of normal-crawl-steps(?) but then return to pulling yourself along. I will be surprised if you aren't crawling like normal by the weeks end.

You pull-up on nearly anything you can reach. Once you pull up you walk your way forward and bounce. When you're done you either fall back down or climb over the object (like a large stuffed animal, my lap, some bigger toys). At Mimi & Grumps house you were pulling up on their crib. climbing has also become a fun hobby for you.

You haven't quite managed to put yourself into sitting position, although it wouldn't take much more effort. If I place you in a sit, and you actually want to sit, you will stay there. If you don't want to sit you straighten your legs and screech. This past week was the first time you rode in the front seat in the shopping cart, and you did great!! By the end of the trip, however, you had slumped to the side and fallen asleep.

You are in love with your sister. I'm pretty sure you think she is the greatest thing in the world (besides me- you're in a mommy phase right now), and you simply can't get enough of her. You follow her everywhere and when you see her you get the biggest smile on your face. While driving you too will look at each other and have a complete conversation. When Ellie gives you kisses and hugs you giggle.

If you get too much in Ellie's way, or try to take a toy from her, or pull her hair she gets very frustrated with you and will lick you. It has taken an act of God to transform her bites into licks, but you hate them all the same. When she licks you, you scream.

I am hanging on to your wonderful napping schedule. You still take a nap after every feeding. Praise the Lord! Exactly 2 hours after you wake up you are rubbing your eyes and yawning. You will typically nap from 1-2 hours.

No teeth have broken through yet. A few weeks ago I saw a sliver of white on the bottom, but that tooth has decided to go back down. There hasn't been a resurgence yet, although I am positive you are trying to cut one right now.

You had your first bought of illness this past month, lovingly passed from your sister. You had a stomach bug, but no fever. I had always wondered if I would be able to tell the difference between spit-up and throw up. There is no question that once it happens, you know. And bless your heart you were throwing up. You had a few days of slight dehydration, but you bounced back quickly.

As I mentioned earlier, you are in a mommy phase. Your favorite place in the entire world is cuddled on my chest with your head resting in the crook between my collar bone and shoulder. Once there you immediately stop crying and instantly rest. I'm pretty sure it's pure heaven for both of us.

You are very social and hate to be left alone. If everyone leaves the room you will come searching for us. And if I walk around you or step over you after your quest to find someone you screech and let the injustice of the situation be known.

You are talking more and more. While raspberries and bubbles are your favorite way to talk, you routinely babble "bababa" and what sounds like "hi," and "mama." And no, I don't think you're using those words in context.

You enjoyed your first Christmas this month. While you weren't too interested in opening your gifts, you were very into all the wrapping supplies. We spent Christmas in Southlake where you were fascinated by Mimi & Grump's dog, Max. You chased after him few times and enjoyed banging on his tail and paws. While we were there you met your great grandparents for the second time. You just loved seeing them and playing with them. You loved your great grandpa making faces at you and laughed every time and you would smile at great grandma when she sang to you. When great grandpa would sneeze you cried.

The number one comment we get about you from strangers is something along the lines of, "What a happy boy!" or "Does he always have such a big smile on his face?!" or "Is he always this happy?!" To which I almost always reply, "This kid was born with a smile on his face!" And it's true. You are joyful 90% of the day. And you show it by laughing and smiling all.the.time.

7 months old, Luke!! I am so very excited to see what the next 7 months bring, my son!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T06:47:00.000-06:00

From my family to yours...

Week In Photos

2011-12-23T07:00:00.000-06:00

Here has been the past week through the lens of my phone:

Ellie and Luke found their old Bouncer in the "donate pile"

She just doesn't quite fit any more!

Getting Ellie Kate up one morning. These two are always delighted to see each other in the morning and after naps!

Celebrating my friend graduating from college. She has 5 kids (and managed to graduate!!) and this one is Taylor!

Ellie chowing down on some Parmesan cheese while we wait for dinner at Pizza Hut

Baking delectable Cinnamon Rolls for Christmas morning. And MOPS. Can't forget my MOPS girls!!

Checking out the Christmas Village while visiting Santa. Ellie had just finished a cookie and was upset because she couldn't have another. She also didn't want her picture taken...

Eating some snow, (posted about here)

My sweet friend Robin's brand new baby boy, Jett. Can't wait to see him!! By the way, I just love the stage of life I'm in; all my friends having babies, it is absolutely the best!!

A typical lunch mess

Ellie's first screening of Sound Of Music! Surprisingly she sat through the first half, simply fascinated. When I stuck in the second tape (VHS baby!) she lost interest.

Playing in the Snow

2011-12-22T17:03:00.000-06:00

This week we were supposed to have gotten a blizzard. With up to two feet of snow and heavy winds. The patrons of Walmart went cra-zy, dragging two or three carts behind them because apparently a forecast of snow means they will be eating four times as much as they normally do. I guess it's to put on an extra layer of winter weight just in case they forgot to pay their electric bill and have no heat.

All those Oreos and frozen pizzas (which they wouldn't be able to cook) will keep them warm.

Anyway, absurd shopping habits aside, we ended up getting about half of what was predicted. Which still made for a beautiful snow. And absolutely miserably cold temperatures of which the Martin's are not clothing-ready for.

Change that. of which The Martin Children are not clothing-ready for.

I just can't justify purchasing snow gear for the once a year snow. And Rob can't justify buying Ellie a pair of boots. I on the other hand can totally justify it with "oh my gosh how adorable does this little girl look in fur boots!!!" Ya know, the fur boots that adult woman should not wear because they look ridiculous and this trend should have passed 5 years ago. The fur boots that for some reason go with workout shorts if you're in college. Yep, those fur boots. Anyway, somehow Rob just doesn't agree. Men.

All of that to say that we didn't go outside to play in the snow. I just didn't think that jeans and a pair of shiny Mary Janes with a cute pink bow would be adequate for Ellie Kate.

Instead we brought some snow inside, where we were able to stay most comfortable in our jeans and long-sleeve shirts. Ellie didn't even have to wear her pretty shoes with the pink bow.

Checking out what Mom brought

First reaction is to throw it everywhere.

Second reaction is to eat it.

And since that little bite wasn't enough...

Overall, the snow was a huge, and apparently very tasty, hit!

I moved the snow into a larger bin, added some more fluffy goodness, and gave Ellie some snow toys: a spoon and a fork.

It didn't take long for Mister to find us and want to join in on the fun

He, however, was not such a fan. Much too cold for him. But he just couldn't not play with it.

I think this is the closest look of disgust I have seen from this child yet.

And of course, Luke had to try some snow too. Gotta love that Oral Stage.

And that's about when Ellie decided she no longer wanted to share her snow with Brother Luke.

I really think Ellie could have played and played with the snow all day. She absolutely loved it and could not have cared less that her hands were bright red from the cold. She just threw it, took a bite, threw it, carried some into Elmo on the TV, took a bite.

The only thing that snapped her out of her snow fixation was Daddy coming home for lunch. Somehow he makes her forget about anything else she is doing! She's got some serious Daddy Love!

Luke on the other hand didn't want much else to do with snow. He just wanted his sweet hands warmed back up, which I was more than happy to do. blowing hot breath onto his hands elicited the biggest belly-laughs from him!

Anyone else enjoy the snow in the comfort of their warm home too?! Or are baffled by the odd and inane shopping habits of people frightened by snow?

Baking Christmas Cookies

2011-12-21T09:02:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago Ellie Kate and I started our first real Christmas tradition: baking and decorating scrumptious Christmas Cookies!

When I was in town a while ago I picked up some new cookie cutters just for this occasion, a Christmas tree, a star, and a crown for the King of Kings.

I really wanted Ellie to actually help with the baking, not just watch and lick the beaters. I hope to instill a love of cooking and baking in her and what better way and time to start than creating sugar cookies as a toddler?!

So Sweet Pea was involved in every step of making these cookies. She also tasted every step. And I really think she greatly enjoyed herself!

Also, it's really hard to take pictures of your two-year old baking, even more so when you have to do hand-over-hand things the majority of the time. So a lot of these pictures aren't of the best quality or focus, but that's what you get with the self-timer and no time to make sure you are actually the center of the photograph. There was also a lot of "take the picture as fast as you can so that she doesn't throw the bowl of batter onto the floor" blur going on.

It's not the holidays if your food doesn't have at least a cup of butter in it!

Playing in and tasting the sugar

Ellie really enjoyed using the beaters and did a good job of holding on

To crack the eggs she just squeezed the heck out of them. It got the job done and surprisingly didn't leave too many pieces of shell in the bowl, (I had her crack them into a separate bowl knowing there would be shellage).

Finishing combining the wet ingredients.

Jonesin' for that butter and sugar creamed goodness.

Stirring together the dry ingredients

And the best part: tasting your hard work!

After letting the dough rest in the fridge for a few hours, cutting them out and baking them away we started to decorate. I made a version of royal icing and dyed them red and green while leaving some white. Ellie didn't do any of the decorating prep; icing dye is just too concentrated and I would imagine impossible to get out of clothes and off counters.

Also, I wanted the cookies to keep their shape really well so when I measured out the ingredients I purposefully only added half of the baking soda so that they couldn't spread. Turns out I should have halved that baking powder. The cookies were massive and spread like my behind after Christmas. Oops.

I wanted Rob to have a part in these memories so we waited for him to decorate. Ultimately we waited until 9 o'clock that night to start decorating because he had to work late (so is my life these past 8 months- thanks for retiring Stacey!), but it was so so much fun and I am glad we waited!

Stripped down for the fun and finger painting with icing

She wasn't too sure about what to think with her dirty hands. In the end she decided it wasn't too bad!

The sprinkles were by far her favorite part. Absolutely no competition.

The sprinkle and icing clubbed hand

Ellie Kate's first decorated sugar cookie!!

On to the next cookie! Please note the sprinkles she is dropping; we had to try all the ways to decorate.

Tasting the goods

And the Aftermath!

All three of Ellie's cookies, the star being partially snacked upon. A girl gets hungry cooking and decorating for the holidays!!

Rob and I decorated the rest. And by decorate I mean dunked in the icing before taking a bite.

While we would have loved to give these out to neighbors and friends, this particular batch wasn't quite sanitary. Ellie tasted each step, some multiple times, and we may or may not have had a few good sneezes right onto the dough.

Cleanliness and sanitation is just something we're going to have to work on next year.

Week in Photos

2011-12-16T10:14:00.002-06:00

Here's our week:

Sunday Rob found a blue M&M in the deep abyss of Ellie's car seat and thought she should have it. So Mom got to clean blue dye off pretty much everything. Also, that would be a huge RV in our neighbor's driveway. It's called "Reflection of God's Grace" and it reflects everything but that; we're super classy.

Luke had the privilege of helping me do some laundry, which means he got the coveted ride in the laundry basket. Ellie still loves to do this!

Ellie's very first (yes, first) climbing adventure. I was cooking dinner and heard her yelling, she had gotten herself in quite a pickle and couldn't figure out how to get down. She isn't much of an adventurist.

Wednesday, once the fever had been behind us several days and the tummy troubles had slowed down Ellie got to spend the day with her friend Eli, and I got to see sweet Jonah. And his mom. But really the visit was for Jonah. Baby fever much?!

Ellie and Daddy cuddling on the couch watching some good ol' TV. Really this is the perfect night!

Hope y'all had a great week!

Week In Photos

2011-12-09T13:49:00.000-06:00

I thought I would start posting pictures I have taken throughout the week with my iPhone on here every Friday.

I know there is some big link up and such out there, I think it's called Insta Friday or something, but I'm too lazy to go looking for it.

And since this is the first time, there are going to be more than just this week.

These are pretty much the photos Rob gets throughout the day to show him what we are up to!

Daddy dressed Ellie for church: polka-dot pants and a bright, stripped jacket, and unbrushed hair

Mister exploring the house; his first trip into the kitchen/dinning area

Baby Jonah!! Our friends little boy, just 6 months shy of Luke. To say that this kid was prayed for is an understatement!

While the family was out getting Baby Jonah we kept their dog and the kids LOVED it!

My parents surprised us with the beautiful kitchen table!! We are officially college-furniture-free and don't have to have our dinner guests sit on folding chairs!

I tried cooking bacon in the oven and forgot about it. Apparently grease is quite flammable. And while my first priority was to put Luke down, my second was in fact to take a picture. Also note that the oven is flashing FIRE.

My home-made Christmas tree skirt crafted out of a Walmart table cloth and a pair of scissors. Can't beat $7 for a tree skirt!

Our nearly completed Christmas tree

Ellie Kate ready to go out in the big snow and freezing temps we had this week

Our tradition of baking Christmas Cookies. There's a whole post coming on that!

Luke pulling up and climbing. He is everywhere and I am having to baby-proof much more than I ever had to with Ellie Kate.

My Surgery

2011-12-08T12:28:00.000-06:00

In the middle of October I went in to Dr. Alzeerah, and Thoracic surgeon in Amarillo, to have an Ablation done on the Varicose Veins that I have in my left leg.

Now everyday is not so bad with these, but when I was pregnant it was very painful. There were some days where I couldn't walk, I had to wear extremely tight (and expensive) compression hose that were hideous, and even wearing those I couldn't stand or walk around for more than a couple hours.

So really I got this procedure done for future pregnancies and because if my veins are this bad now there is no telling what they're going to be like when I am 40 or 50. Ya know, old. And I wanted to get a head start on them. It also didn't hurt that I had made our insurance deductible so it was F-R-E-E Free!!

Basically what was supposed to happen, as I understood it, is Dr A inserts a catheter of sorts and heats up the main vein that causes the blood back flow and pain so that it cauterizes it in a way and closes it off. The blood is consequently re-routed to healthier veins that aren't "diseased." If that is what actually happened, I'm not sure, but that's what I heard when he was describing the procedure.

Anyway, what was supposed to be this relatively quick, in-and-out procedure was not. I ended up being on the in-office operating table for over 2 hours. Something that was also supposed to be incision free lead to multiple incisions up my thigh and at least two vials of local anesthesia.

I should have known. My body doesn't handle any sort of medical procedure well. My body and I, well we just don't like change.

So after a few hours and being told once that "we're going to try one more thing and if that doesn't work we're out of options." They were able to successfully close off my vein so that there is not any more blood flow.

When I finally able to take my bandages off I was not all to surprised to see the amount of bruising. They really had to push and pull and dig; that I could definitely tell. But they were very very surprised at the amount of bruising. Somehow I don't think this was the "slight bruising" that was mentioned on the consent form.

Still, as far as I can tell the procedure worked. All follow-up appointments have shown there to be no blood flow in that vein and Dr. A told me that any subsequent pregnancies wouldn't alter the results in anyway. So I guess I'll have to wait for Baby #3 to really be able to tell if this worked.

Oh, and if any of you are looking to have something similar done in Amarillo. I highly recommend Dr. Alzeerah. He was thorough, answered all my questions, even called me personally twice to check up and see how I was feeling. Not to mention there was hardly ever a wait time for any appointment. I think the longest I waited was 5 minutes; that's for the waiting room and the exam room. Most efficient doctor's office I have ever been to.

Boo at the Zoo

2011-12-07T16:47:00.000-06:00

The Amarillo Zoo holds a Boo at the Zoo at every year where you can venture through looking at the animals, get your face painted, enjoy snacks, dance to a live band, and hit up different stations for trick-or-treating candy.

This was a lot fun, but I am sure that we will enjoy it much more when the kids get older. The only activity that we did was getting Ellie's face painted. However, this was the first Zoo trip in at least a year where she wasn't terrified of the animals! Really hope we're around that bend becuase I adoore going to the zoo!

Maxwell Pumpkin Farm

2011-12-07T16:38:00.000-06:00

We took a Saturday and traveled into Amarillo with some friends of ours to Maxwell Pumpkin Farm. Which is a lot like the pumpkin patch from the previous post, but had a ton more activities for kids.

The family we went with has a little girl, Eli, about 6 months older than Ellie, and they simply adore each other! I will be very surprised if they aren't bffs. Even greater, they just adopted a little boy, Jonah, who is 6 months younger than Luke. Pretty sure they'll be bffs too!

We all had a blast playing and exploring the ins and outs of Maxwell's.

Picking Pumpkins

2011-12-07T16:18:00.000-06:00

The next town over has a huge pumpkin patch and we headed there for some fall fun and pretty pumpkins.
This was an actual pumpkin patch, with the pumpkins and gourds and squash still on the vine that you had to snip with massive shears. Not the Dallas pumpkin patch I grew up with where pimpkins grow on the top of hay bales which are placed in perfect parelell lines in the grocery store parking lot.

Also, pretty sure we spent $45 on pumpkins...

Ellie's Birthday Party

2011-12-07T15:49:00.000-06:00

First off, yes. This is two months late. And it has been sitting in my "drafts" department for nearly three weeks.

But, always better late than never (that was also my motto when I sent out 2 thank-you cards for gifts we received for Luke. 6 months late). And as I have learned, you get later with each subsequent child. Which will put in quite a pickle in a few years...

Also, I totally had it in my head to blog every day this week to get caught up. Clearly didn't happen being that it's Wednesday and the previous post is from last Monday. So, this is going to be (hopefully- if the kiddos stay asleep) the first of a handful of catch-up posts where there are hardly any commentary, which I'm sure make them more palatable, and mostly photos. Unedited photos at that.

I say that, this post will have commentary. It is my eldest's birthday after all.

So on to Ellie birthday party that happened the first week of October:

My parents came into town to celebrate with us and one of the gifts they brought Ellie was a Thomas the Train video that came with a train whistle. The video wasn't such a hit. But the whistle was possibly the coolest thing she had ever seen.

Ellie blew the whistle all night and the next day until she opened her other gifts. But the whistle didn't go far and we play with it at least once a day still.

The morning of Sweet Pea's party she awoke to mass amounts of balloons again and again she loved it.

Clearly green was her favorite!

The night before I spent a few minutes doing a quick decorating job and setting up a spot to display all of Ellie's gifts. It looked so nice and bright.

And then we walked out that morning and saw that all of my balloons that I paid to be filled with helium had deflated. Except for the solitary pink heart. Which I guess kinda worked out because they were just the right height for Ellie.

Still Rob and my dad make a quick drive down to Dollar Tree and purchased a handful of balloons to replace the sad, droopy, non-dollar balloons I bought the day before. Lesson Learned: Always but party supplies for a dollar.

Before Rob's parents, Uncle Andy, and Uncle Scott arrived we changed Ellie into her birthday dress that I'm fairly positive will fit her for another 2 years minimum, thank you Zulily for not representing your sizes correctly.

The birthday girl with her Mimi, and Luke with Gigi:

While to food finished cooking and we were all playing with Birthday Girl and talking about how big Luke had gotten Uncle Scott began to assemble Ellie's gift from her Mimi and Granddad.

Of course, Ellie being Ellie (or a woman, or a Martin, or my daughter, take your pick of cliches- also, just imagine cliche has an accent make over e. I have no idea how to insert one.), she just couldn't wait for it to be finished. She need to play with her Crazy Coup and she needed to play with it NOW!

So for her second birthday she received a convertible.

Sadly, she has never figured out how to move forward in her Crazy Coup and to this day she backs up everywhere. And into everything. I have the dents in my furniture and walls and her toys, and occasionally Luke to prove it.

I say she never figured it out. That's not totally true. We realized like a week ago that she is in fact still too short to fully reach the floor. So extending her tiny legs to get enough traction to pull herself forward is just not gonna happen. Poor girl!

After a too-over-planned-first-birthday I opted to go for a very simple, low-key second party this year. Only family was invited and all we did was grill out burgers.

But I love to cook and bake. Just love it. So of course I couldn't leave well-enough alone and just use a simple box cake mix. I just had to bake a Citrus Lemon Cake which is pretty time-intensive.

Except I forgot to grease the pans really well...

So the night before, when I realize I had ruined the cake beyond repair, I decided to still fore go the box-mix and picked up the ingredients for a chocolate cake instead. Except I couldn't just throw away a cake that took hours to create, so I turned it into a trifle layered with blueberry jam and home-made whipped cream. And i dare say it was yummier than the chocolate cake. Both of which you can see at the end of the food spread.

We chowed down on grilled cheese burgers with all the fixings, potato chips, fruit salad and cream cheese dip, a three bean salad, my citrus-blueberry trifle, and our chocolate and sour cream cake. It was all pretty scrumptious and the only leftovers we had were of dessert.

I also made everyone wear party hats while they ate. It was for Ellie and not at all for the pictures.

Ellie Kate's favorite food was by far the Cheetos and Doritos, two things of which she never gets to eat. She would quite literally suck all the cheese flavoring off the snacks and then either throw or spit the now flavorless treat away.

We are the picture of a healthy family.

When it was finally time to blow out the candles and eat cake she wasn't in the mood to do much of anything but suck cheese off highly nutritious bagged food.

Thankfully she managed to give us a wave,

and enjoy the equally nutritious chocolate fudge icing.

When we began to open presents all memory of the glory that is processed, powdered cheese faded and for the first time in her short two years Ellie greatly enjoyed opening gifts.

She was thrilled to finally be able to rip paper without getting rebuked and excitedly peered into each box and bag to see what goodies it held. This part of the day was soo much fun!

And that concludes Ellie's second birthday party.

Happy Birthday my Sweet, Sweet Ellie Kate!!

Headless

2011-11-28T10:28:00.000-06:00

Sure you've heard of the Headless Horseman, but have you ever heard of his long-lost cousin...

The Headless Wise Man?

Courtesy of Elizabeth Kate.

Outtakes

2011-11-23T18:17:00.000-06:00

Several weeks ago had the audacity to try and take a decent picture of Ellie and Luke together to use for Christmas gifts.

Try as I might, I have no where near the ~~patients~~ skill to photograph children while trying to get them to simultaneously look at the camera, capture natural light, and keep their clothes from mysteriously migrating over their face.

Here are the outtakes:

Really tired of being next to Brother

Planning her Great Escape

Carrying out her plans

the inevidable sneezing picture

My children are clearly great thinkers solving the worlds problems

Help me! Luke just couldn't hold himself up

Pretty sure she shoved him away. Gotta love that sibling love

We have to get in a few good pokes too

Cracks me up! Luke doesn't know what's coming

The Final Meltdown

And we're through...

Tomorrow, before Turkey, we are going to try to take family pictures for Christmas cards. I have pinned a few ideas which don't require looking at the camera. It's my only hope.

Wish me luck!

5 Days Early

2011-11-20T20:10:00.000-06:00

I got a little impatient today and while the house was napping I hoisted myself into the attic to bring down all of the Christmas decor.
Just a few days early, but since we're not really having a Thanksgiving I don't count it as premature...

Unfortunately Christmas decorating equates to a rather large mess in my house.

So until I get everything in just the right spot, this is what we will be living with:

And yes. Those in the bottom left-hand corner are all baggies containing a string of lights. There's at least a dozen.

We like 'em bright.

Sweet Potatoes

2011-11-16T22:07:00.000-06:00

The time has come.

Luke had his first "meal" of solids tonight after his nursing session.

And now we have two kids who make massive messes at dinner.

Yay!!

We started Ellie on sweet potatoes when she began eating solids and since that worked so well for us then we, (and by we I mean me. Rob couldn't care less what solids we start out on), decided to do the same thing with Mister.

A plus, sweet potatoes super nutritious, puree into an incredibly thin mixture, and have a hefty amount of fiber in them. And I was able to make 6 large jars for just $1.50 (budget win!).

We tried rice cereal twice before, but Luke was not interested in any of it. So I just moved on to something tastier. And the night before last when I tried sweet potatoes he had a good few bites then thought better of it and spit it all out.

Tonight though, he was all for his dinner!

We'll probably keep him on sweet potatoes for a bit before introducing new foods, but I hope to keep updated on his likes and dislikes.

Ellie's Birthday- The Post with Nearly 3 Dozen Pictures

2011-11-08T22:55:00.000-06:00

We wanted to start Ellie Kate's birthday out in a fun way! So while she was sleeping peacefully I snuck in and placed 50 balloons in her room and covered her doorway in streamers so she could walk through.

When she woke up the next day Daddy and I went in to get her together, singing Happy Birthday at the top of our lungs. While she was watching us and enjoying her private concert we threw a bunch of the balloons into her crib with her.

She was absolutely delighted!

Daddy then proceeded to sing to her a special rendition of Happy Birthday and tell her how much he loved her. Of course she was enraptured...

Once we made it out of bed Ellie moved on to the streamers. At first she didn't know what to do with them. But she quickly followed me out, and then it was a few minutes of racing out

And back in

We continued our celebration with a hearty breakfast of homemade Buttermilk Biscuits with Sausage Gravy.

Ellie wasn't a fan of the gravy, but boy-oh-boy does this girl like her biscuits! She enjoyed hers topped with syrup. Daddy on the other hand had five total biscuits, 3 with gravy, one with jelly and one with syrup. I may be possible that I need to bake these more often!

When breakfast was finished we got dressed to visit a local pumpkin patch about 15 minutes down the road. And Ellie got to wear her Birthday Beads! She was just fascinated with her Birthday beads. All day they were a constant source of entertainment. Occasionally she would lift them over head to take off, or pull them apart, then quickly bring them to me to fix and place back around her neck.

This girlie girl loves her jewels!

It was a beautiful day to spend at the pumpkin farm and Ellie always enjoys being outside, so it was a perfect way to spend her first afternoon as a two-year-old!

The first thing we did was take some pictures before playing and getting dirty. I really wanted to get some great fall pictures to put in our current frames to add to my autumn decor and I think I got some really sweet photos.

I tried adding Luke to the mix, but he wasn't in the mood for getting his picture taken and there were a few times Ellie tried to shove him off the hay bale, so...

The farm had a steep, fun slide that emptied into a huge pit of corn kernels. This was probably Ellie absolute favorite part of our visit.

The first time she slid down the slide I didn't catch her and she just face planted into the corn and hay. It was pretty funny and she didn't mind it at all!

I also went down with Luke, who seemed to enjoy it too.

And then again with Birthday Girl

Since there weren't a ton of kids at the pumpkin patch we were able to play in the corn pit, which both Ellie and Luke loved.

Of course it wouldn't be a trip to the pumpkin patch without venturing through the pumpkins and gourds, so we loaded Ellie and her friend into the wagon while Luke caught a ride in the stroller. I'm sure Ellie didn't think anything about all the pumpkins, but it was really neat for me to see an actual pumpkin patch. Growing up a pumpkin patch was a hundred pumpkins or so placed on hay bales or lined up in a field, so this was a fun experience!

On the way into and out of the pumpkin patch there was a scarecrow hoisted up to welcome you to the pumpkins and Ellie Kate, being to social butterfly she is, kept trying to tell him "Hi" and "Hey there". For the life of her she could not understand why this person was not talking back to her! It was hilarious seeing her yelling and getting frustrated at this scarecrow who just would not pay any attention to her!

We rounded out Sweet Pea's birthday by having some other friends and their daughter, Eli (E-I as Ellie calls her), over for some Frito Pie and apple pie.

I truly hope that Ellie enjoyed her special day as much as her daddy and I did. I just can't believe my baby is two. Especially since found out we were expecting her last week.

Oohh, time goes too fast!

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-01T21:51:00.000-05:00

Since this is the last (and only) year that I think I will be able to choose Ellie's costume I wanted to do a sibling get-up.

And what better duo is there than Mickey and Minnie Mouse?!?

I didn't find any pre-made costumes that I liked so I made these. Well, a sweet friend made Ellie's skirt and Luke's hat came from Etsy. But the rest was done through the creative genius of Pinterest.

I had been working with Ellie on wearing her costume so that she would be used to the ears, nose, and full skirt, and boy did that work! After she got fully dressed in her costume she just stood in front of her mirror looking at herself, turning, looking at herself, and turning. The only way I got her out of the house was telling her that we were going to see her friend Eli.

I took Ellie out front to try and get some cute pictures with our plethora of pumpkins, but the second picture she gave me this face:

Pretty sure I am in for another 20 years minimum of this ridiculously annoyed sixteen-year-old "Ugg I can't believe you're my mother. This is so embaressing. Are you done yet?! look. Hilarious!

Our first stop of the night was at the Fall Festival that First Baptist put on. Where we meet up with the loved Peacock Eli...

From there we stopped by to visit Dr. Carter who was handing out toys and candy. Both of which Ellie enjoyed greatly!

Our plans were to go door-to-door afterwards, but we ended up just going to one door.

We went to show the friend, Eli's grandmother Nonny, what a great job she had done on the skirt, and we just got to talking and stayed there for the remainder of the night.

Eventually Eli showed up too, so Ellie had a blast. Every time the doorbell rang she would hurry to the door to see what exactly who was waiting for her. And all the kiddo-trick-or-treaters enjoyed seeing her in her costume, many yelling, "Minnie Mouse!" when they saw her.

When she wasn't playing or answering the door she was robbing the candy bowl. While I lost track of what all she consumed, there were several packs of M&Ms (pretty sure they were her favorite), Skittles, a Snickers or two, and a few packs of Starbursts.

Not sure, but I think she LOVED Halloween.

Laughin' Luke

2011-10-28T12:46:00.000-05:00

This was our night last night. For some reason I still can't embed videos, I might need to start usig vimeo instead of youtube... But follow the link to watch.

Pure bliss!
Also, don't kow why there is a delay in the sound. I'm gonna have to call Nikon about that!

Luke: 5 Months

2011-10-25T22:04:00.000-05:00

Gah, nearly half a year old! Time just never slows down.

Here is my joyful boy this month:

Luke is talking and babbling constantly! He loves to make gurgling and spitting noises which Ellie is more than happy to mimic back to him. When we are in the car it is a symphony of baby sounds- who needs the radio?!

While his gums aren't swollen, he seems to be teething. Not much makes him happier than a cool teething ring to gum. Sadly, the ones we have are from Ellie so he has been chewing on pink and purple hearts and diamonds.

Pacifiers are definitely used for naps and bedtime, although Luke much prefers to suck on the middle and pointer finger on his left hand. He self-soothes beautifully with his fingers. Praise the Lord!

Luke is in size 3 diapers. The same size as Big Sister. Here's to hoping that that will save some money. He is mostly in 6 month clothes, although a few 3-6 month outfits still fit; it all depends on the brand. I purchased him his first pair of shoes for the cold snap we are expected to get, and they were a 12 month size. The beanie I also got was 6-12 month and it is too small.

Tummy Time has become the majority of Luke's day. He is on his belly all the time. The only time he is on his back is when I put him down to play, then he is immediately on his tummy goin' places.

Speaking of goin' places, he has stopped rolling. He now Army Crawls everywhere. If he sees something he wants he goes right after it. Luke uses his knees to spin himself in whatever direction he desires. He has also been getting onto his hands and knees and rocking, although it is only for a few seconds at a time.

I still nurse Luke every 3 hours. Although it seems like I go through a week about once a month where I have low supply and have to supplement with formula at night. That is the only time he gets a bottle and we only give it if he is screaming hungry after nursing.

He sleeps through the night wonderfully still. We have only had 2 nights this past month where he woke up, and that was when I was going through a period of low supply and he was hungry.

Luke seems to be interested in eating solids. He watches us constantly when we eat and will grab for our food and utensils. So last week we tried him on his first solids, oatmeal cereal (I don't know why not rice, I was just feeling like trying something different at the store.). He really didn't like it and wasn't the least bit interested in more than a few bites, which were pretty forced. So we are going to try again in a month or so.

Luke absolutely loves to be tossed into the air. He giggles and belly laughs the entire time. Kisses and peek-a-boo are other games that elicit his gorgeous smile.

The swing is on the way out. When Luke is put in the swing he fusses, and when we sit him in the Bumbo he comes thisclose to pushing himself out of it. So we have stopped using both items.

We have had to switch out Luke's bumpers for "breathable" bumpers. Before falling asleep he will crawl and maneuver his way into the corner of the crib and there have been countless time I have found him with his face smashed into the bumpers sleeping. Clearly, scary.

There isn't any toy in particular Luke likes to play with. Any and everything on the floor is his favorite toy. And typically that means he has the pick of Ellie's strewn about toys.

We love this little boy more than any words can say. We are so thankful that he has joined our family, he brings so much joy to our lives everyday.

Luke's In The Army

2011-10-16T22:55:00.003-05:00

Ok, so obviously he isn't going to go fight for our freedom, but he sure has their crawl down!

And apparently Blogger won't let me embed the video, so go HERE to see Luke crawling.

A few things:
1. Luke's smile and his laugh are precious. How can you not fall head over heels in such a joyful Mister?!
2.Please ignore my annoying talking. Isn't hearing yourself just the worst?
3. Ellie wouldn't keep out from the front of the camera, so she sat in my lap. Which is why the picture wobbles occasionally.
4. Pay special attention to Ellie Kate telling Luke, "Hi Duck!" as she watched him on the camera screen. She is just adorable.
5. Don't be jealous; the house didn't get vacuumed today. It was out because I had to get the ironing board out of the closet and it's so packed that a few things need to be moved around to get other things out.
6. Soooo yeah. The ironing didn't get done either. We decided to go the pumpkin patch instead. It's all about priorities in the Martin House.
7. I'm really so thankful that our priorities are pumpkin patch, then ironing!
8. The dishes you hear getting cleaned in the background... that's Rob. I have the best husband ever!
and lastly...
9. Even though Tubberville can't make a good play call and Doege can't complete a pass to our own receivers, we still LOVE our Raiders. Hence Ellie's Tech jammies.
.
So proud of my Mister Luke! He is such a big boy!!

Oh, and as I have written this he has crawled his way from laying with Daddy to by my chair. Just lookin' up and smiling at Mommy. Pretty sure I need to hold him now...

The Saturday of The Lion King

2011-10-15T17:01:00.001-05:00

Today Rob had to volunteer for a Turkey Shoot Out with the Rotary Club here in Dumas. Which meant that I had the kids all to myself all Saturday.

Instead of spending the day at home doing the usual Saturday chores of cleaning house and laundry catch-up I wanted to do something special with my kiddos.

So I decked Ellie out in her new Tech gear (Thanks again Uncle Andy!!), dressed myself in some Red & Black (Wreck 'Em!! Wildcats are goin' down tonight!!), and put Luke in a pair of comfy overalls (I really need to find him some Tech clothes) and we took of for A-town.

We arrived just in time for the first showing of that day for Lion King 3D. And to make it even better, both Luke and Ellie were free. So we got in for 9 bucks!

Ellie did so good! She enjoyed the previews, and probably ate a fourth of the bag of Goldfish I brought along to supplement the popcorn. I knew that we would be golden as long as there was plenty of snacks. By the end of the show she had also put away over half the bag of small popcorn.

We tried the 3D glasses but they were too distracting for Sweet Pea, so they didn't last long.

I think she looks equally adorable and hysterical in the over-sized glasses!

Once the movie started every time a lion came on screen she would Meow. Sometimes loud, other times in a meek little voice. It was the funniest thing! She was meowing for the majority of the movie.

Ellie never got scared, even through Scar's song and the hyena chase scene.

And I would say Luke was even more interested in the movie than Ellie Kate. He was even too interested in watching the big screen to nurse. He just sat in his stroller the entire time, eyes fixed on Simba.

Both kiddos lasted far longer than I would have ever hoped for! They finally got restless as Simba was about to make is comeback as king. Right after Can You Feel the Love Tonight.

Overall this was a highly successful outing and I feel much more comfortable taking Ellie and Luke back to the movies.

The only "issue" we had was mine. We were the first people in the theater and I never saw anyone else come in. I kept looking around to make sure we were still alone so that we could be as loud as we wanted. Seeing no one, I talked to Ellie and Luke in my normal voice, had Ellie tell me when she wanted a drink or more snacks, answered a phone call from Rob, and yep. Sang along to the songs. Extra loud just for Ellie.

And as we were leaving, I turned around and saw a lone woman, sitting there with a gigantic bag of popcorn, watching the movie.

I have no idea how long she had been there. I just hope it wasn't during my rendition of I Just Can't Wait to be Queen...

Ellie's TWO!

2011-10-12T23:48:00.000-05:00

Good Gracious! I can't believe I am writing this post already. Two years have absolutely flown by faster than I could ever have imagined. Whoever said the the days are long but the years are short could not be more right.

Two years of absolute unadulterated joy. Pure joy. Of innumerable hugs and kisses. Giggles and tickle parties. Being the recipient of running hugs and precious cuddles.Two exhausting years of late nights, midnight sicknesses, and very early mornings. Two years of leaning what parenting is, what unconditional love is, and where the fine line is between discipline and choosing my battles. Two years of stunningly bright and beautiful blue eyes, blond curls, and more attention from strangers than a proud mama could ever hope for.

Two years of Being Ellie Kate's Mama.

Looking back I can see me waiting in hospital for her to arrive. I remember hearing her tiny, powerful wail when she breathed her first breath of blessed life. And I can vividly remember laying in the recovery room draped in an unsightly hospital gown, with IVs and tubes surrounding my bed, when I heard a newborn cry as they were being wheeled down the hall. I looked at my nurse and asked with tears of longing and hope pooling in my eyes, "Is that my baby?! Do I get to see my baby now?!"

Holding her for the first time, and nursing her and never wanting to put her down.

All a very short two years ago.

And today, the day before she turns two. Well today I woke up to my precious toddler yelling Hi and Hello from her bed. As I changed her and refastened her pajamas she asked for Elmo and I told her that, yes, we could watch Elmo while we ate breakfast. When I set her back on her feet she ran into the living room yelling Elbow! Elbow! Elbow! until I turned on Sesame Street. While she was watching her favorite show and drinking deeply from her water cup I asked her what she wanted for breakfast, going through our list of typical breakfast fare: yogurt, bananas, Rice Crispie cereal. I knew I hit it on the head when I mentioned eggs and she ran over, looked at me and said, "Yes" followed by a stream of ekgz! ekgz! into the kitchen. I held her and she watched as I scrambled up some cheesy eggs.

Those two treasured memories only a mere two years apart.

Growing my Ellie Kate, while trying and mysterious and turbulent some days, is a wonderful experience that I look forward to every day. When I remember too, I thank God for the ability to stay home with her and spend my day with her. I get to love her, feed her, cuddle her, play with her, and teach her obedience. I get to see her change and learn and explore. What a blessing to have spent every day and every night, save a handful, with my loving, stubborn-willed daughter.

But enough of how much I have enjoyed these past two years. This is what my Girlie is doing now a days, this is who my first-born is growing up to be:

Ellie is loving. So very loving. She gives kisses to just about anyone. If one person in the room asks for a kiss or gets a spontaneous kiss, you better bet everyone else is getting a kiss too!

If we are shopping and she is sitting in the seat at the front of the cart or hitching a ride on the stroller handles and I ask for a hug she will throw her arms akimbo, say "Uggz" and wrap herself around me neck, resting her head on my collar bones. It's pure bliss I tell ya.

For as loving and sweet as she can be, Ellie has a strong will and, albeit rarely, a fierce temper. If we ask her to say a word or do something for us and she doesn't want to she simply won't. There have been some nights where she doesn't eat dinner with the rest of the family because she won't say bite or more, choosing to clap her hands as a sign for "more." And if she doesn't want to hear "no" she will yell NNNNNNNOOOOOO and take a swipe at whatever is around. While the later is rare, it has happened.

She will eat almost anything with ground beef or roast. It takes a small miracle to get her to consume chicken. Regardless, this child can EAT. She will have multiple bowls of cereal in the mornings, numerous snacks, several helpings of dinner, and glasses and glasses of milk. It is not often to find her full or unwilling to eat something. Especially ice cream, her all time favorite food. In fact, if she is hungry she will often say Iccce to tell me she wants food.

For all she eats, Ellie Kate is still a tiny little girl. She is currently wearing anywhere from 12 month-24 months clothes. 2T is too big. A few days ago she weighed in at a whopping 22 pounds.

My Sweet Pea is no longer sin Physical Therapy. She runs most places, is tripping less and less everyday and has started picking up her feet when she jumps. She loves to do summer-saults (with mommy's help!) and twirl with her arms above her head and her hands turning like a Miss America wave.

Speech Therapy is still taking place a couple times a month, although we aren't needing their services very much lately. She is talking so much more. Just a few two-word sentences, but mostly single words to get her point across. At the end of this post I am going to list out Ellie's words and her pronunciation. The only thing we are really needing to work on is pointing; this girl still won't point. And making decisions. If I give her a choice (clothing, snack, toy...) she will grab for both instead of deciding which one she wants.

Ellie loves to have her hair brushed and really likes to brush other peoples hair. She will take turns at night going around the room and brush Daddy's hair, Mommy's hair, Luke's hair, and her hair. She just loves playing with our hair.

In the mornings after I get her dressed and fix her hair she will run over to her mirror and just stare at herself. Sometimes she will give herself a kiss and sometimes she will give herself a great big cheesy grin. This morning while she was doing this ritual I told her, "Ellie looks so pretty!" and she started repeating "pretty" as she gazed at her own beauty. It was too funny!

Speaking of beauty, Ellie still gets compliments anywhere we go. The most complimented features are her eyes and her hair. I have had more than one person ask me if I curl her hair. And I truly cannot tell you the number of people who have proclaimed that she looks "just like a doll!" As we pass people in the aisles or in the park I almost always hear people comment to one another something to the effect of "Oh! did you see that little girl? She is so cute!"

Ellie is very much a Daddy's Girl. She prefers him to Mom 9 times out of 10. When he comes home she prances and giggles and yells daddy!. When she gets hurt and he is home she runs straight to him. She loves to sit with him and ride on his shoulders while using his ears as a handlebar. First thing in the morning she looks for him. When she wakes up in the night he is the only one who can calm her. Often times I will find her just staring at a picture of him in a frame or on my phone. When we look through our wedding album and see a picture of Daddy she hits his face and yells Daddy! with the biggest smile. It is endearing to watch and warms my heart that she is so in love with her daddy.

And dare I say the love is mutual. I have been warned that "no boy will ever have dinner at my table" when I mentioned having boyfriends and girlfriends over to dine in another 15 years or so.

Her love for Luke is growing to be just as strong as for her daddy. After she finds Daddy, or if Daddy is already gone to work, she searches for Luke. Once she finds him she tells him hi!, and gives him a hug and a kiss Good Morning. The vast majority of the time Ellie show all kinds of love to her brother, who she will call Duke or Luck. Occasionally she will take away a toy or get frustrated and give him a bite. She will look for him when he cries and will want to watch him sleep. If I am getting things in the house and I let her out of the car or stroller she will stand by her brother as if to say "Don't forget Luke." She talks to him all the time and will lay next to him on the floor. She is typically extremely gentle with Luke, petting his head and holding his hand.

Once again, the love is mutual. When Luke sees his sister he will flash her the biggest smile. He watches every single move she makes, following her around the room. When she talks to him he may giggle. I pray they maintain their love. I want nothing more than a close sibling relationship for them!

Hands are Ellie's prefered method of eating. We are seriously trying to push the spoon and the fork, and she does well for a few seconds. Then she moves on to pick up the food with a utensil, but use he other hand to actually eat the food. And a few bites later the game is on and it's finger food from there on out. We're working on perseverance. It's a life lesson ya'll.

Ellie Kate greatly enjoys bath time. When we tell her, "Let's get a bath" she runs in the bathroom and will turn on the cold water faucet. She will also try to take her clothes off, which she is occasionally successful at. She is not picky as to which washcloth we use; she will grab a large handful and throw them into the water. However, this is not just a washcloth phenomenon. She will throw anything and everything into the tub to play with. Cell phones, clothes, diapers, bead mazes included. Once in the bath she is absolutely loves to have her daddy read to her. They also have a ritual of her turning on the water and getting herself a drink.

My girlie adores the outdoors. I sincerely think that she could spend every second of her days outside, be in the yard, the park, driving somewhere, or shopping. She knows when we are about to leave and will go grab her shoes and bring them to me, saying "Shoe on." While I load up the car she stands in the doorway leading to the garage and patiently waits for her turn to be put in the 4Runner. If I take what she deems to be too long, she will protest with feet stamping, whines, and yelling "Side! Side!" If she isn't outside she is looking outside through the storm door or windows. If Rob or I are outdoors watering plants or talking with neighbors she will throw her own little fit banging on the door and yelling "Hi!" and "Side!" until we let her out.

Ellie is down to one nap a day. She usually goes down around 2 and will sleep until 3:30 or 4. If she is really tired she has been known to sleep until past 6. When she wakes up, before we can get her out of bed, she has to cuddle her two green blankets and her Teddy. She rolls around with them, covering her face and laughing. This goes on for a few minutes at least. When she is ready to get out of bed she will stand up at the side of the crib and say "down."

Lately Ellie Kate has been getting herself undressed at the most inopportune times. She has removed jeans, pajamas, and cotton pants. Once these have been taken off, of course the diaper is soon to follow. There has been a few times where the diaper has been removed while her pants and onsies are still on. The last few days she has also begun to take her shirt off too. I have been finding her with one arm inside her shirt, playing like nothing is amiss.

I know that I am leaving a ton of Ellie-isms out, but hopefully I can add more as I'm reminded. Even though this age has had some trials, it is such a fun time! Every day is something new and everyday holds so much play and discoveries.

While it's not exhaustive, here is a large list of words Ellie is saying on a daily basis along with her pronunciation:
please- weeze
more- mo
milk- nilK
ice
ice cream- icekr
Elmo- Elbow
Luke- Duke/Luck
Book
Hi/Hi There/Hello/Hey/Hey There
Bath- bats
up- uPP
down- dowwwn
sit down- sit dowwwn
no
shoe- shaw
shoe on-shawn
swing- wing
slide- sly
lunch- unch
bye bye
outside- side
nap- nas
shirt
drink- dink
baby- babeeee
beep beep
ribbit- bit
meow
baaa (sheep)
Daddy
Mommy
Eli (her friend)- E-I
apple
bite- biTe
bank- ank
diaper- diper
ball- ba
bubble
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star- Up Above the World (said as 1 word)
grape
Thank You- ank ew
Rock-a-by Ellie (a song I sing her)- Rocka
high chair
off- offfff
on
in
out
Uncle Ross- ukl Boss
Uncle Andy- ukl daddy
Uh Oh!
eggs- ekgz
hugs- uggz
belly- bewee
me

That's My Girl!

2011-10-11T21:50:00.000-05:00

Today I put on Ellie's favorite thing: her "Elbow" video.

When I peeked in to check on her she had found Luke's Raider Red and they were watching Elmo together.

Start 'em young and raise 'em right!

Luke Sittin' Up

2011-10-10T21:53:00.001-05:00

Tonight while we were watching the Rangers take the ~~Dodgers~~ Tigers (Ok, so as I was sitting there watching the game tonight I realized I said Dodgers instead of Tigers. As in the Detroit Tigers. Stupid D on the uniforms!) in the third extra inning Luke sat up for the first time!

He was going between watching his sister and his daddy, loving every minute of it!

I am so excited for this milestone! We will definitely be practicing his sitting technique and muscles. Luke being able to sit up in the shopping cart will make my life soo much easier.

No words to describe how much I love this little man!

Some Things

2011-09-28T15:53:00.001-05:00

I seriously have a handful of posts in the "drafts" department. I just can't get around to finishing them!! Like the Colorado trip post that I started two weeks ago. And Luke's 4 month post started a week ago.

I just can't get my act together!

And now, this last line was how far I got before the normally chipper Luke decided that he needed to be help. So until he decides other-wise he is sitting in my lap. Also, I just totally tried to spell other with a u.

Anyone heard of uther before?!

Ellie is been sick to her stomach. Again. We wanted to try taking her off Gluten Free and I think (??) that's when her tummy started acting up. We chose a really poor time to test out a diet change; too much has been going on and there are too many variables to really know causes and effects.

Good news, though. It's not Listeria.

I just re-applied to Texas Tech, also known as the largest time-waster in the Panhandle. It took me pretty close to 3 hours to talk to someone who knew what their job was- after a dozen transfers- and reapply to the Graduate program.

Can I just say that 3 hours is ridiculous! Who the hell has 3 hours to waste with people who are simply on the pay-roll?! And after graduating 3 years ago, no! I do not know the dates of my GRE test.

To be honest, it took me quite some time to figure out when exactly I graduated. Which I realize makes me sound like a flip, but school didn't stop for me at graduation. I went directly into the certification and Masters program. So was it May? July? December?!

All I remember is what I was wearing that day. And that our speaker sucked.

Anyway... hopefully now that I am reapplied I can finish my last 2 (yep. only missing 2 courses) classes and get my Masters.

Although, if I don't have time to apply, not sure how well actual course work will go over...

Now for posterity: Luke is rolling like a champ. He goes all over living room and this morning he pushed himself up on all fours for a few seconds. Pretty sure he is going to be crawling at 6 months!

Ellie's new favorite thing is the slide. When she sits down and schooches her bottom to the slide she yells, "Weeee!" the hole time. Then she ruuuns back to the stairs to go again. A few times she has gotten brave and tried to walk down the slide. That didn't go well either time.

Tutoring is getting to be too much time for me, so I am goin down to once a week. And Rob is still doing his stuff at work.

I really really really hope to be able to start blogging again. I feel like I am missing so much of what the kids are doing!

Oh, and I have lost my camera. And Rob deems cameras as "wanted luxuries" not a necessity. So he is nixing buying a new camera.

Needless to say, he is not allowed to purchase even a can a beer until I get a camera.

"Wanted Luxuries" go both ways!

YouTube Favorites

2011-09-21T22:22:00.000-05:00

Ok. So clearly I still haven't had the time to get with updating this thing. I decided to work on laundry the other night instead of waiting on blogger's unbelievably sloooow photo uploader.

Lately we have just been running around with our head cut off. I have started tutoring refugee kids at a local elementary school three days a week, tonight I began my first Bible Study for local high school girls, and we usually have at least one dinner with friends a week. And that's not even talking about Rob's ridiculously late night. I'm talking late; he has been known to work 13 hour days...

So, instead of pictures and memories of my Colorado trip, Luke using the swing in the park for the first time, our plans for Disney World, or a million other more important things, I am going to share Ellie's FA.VOR.ITE YouTube videos.

We watch these at least once a day, multiple times in a sitting. And they are always in this order.

Feist Sings: 1,2,3,4

Will.i.am's Song "What I Am"

Elmo's Ducks

Ellie's ER Visit

2011-09-19T21:53:00.000-05:00

Gah! Would you believe that I started this post last Monday?! We have just been so crazy busy. Every day we either have something to do or someone is sick. Hopefully I can throw a bunch of posts together tonight to have for the rest of the week.

There is a TON to catch up on. And for starters, how about Ellie's ER visit and our first experience with Febrile Seizures.

Last week (ok, ok. Two weeks ago!) while we were having the house work finished I tried to stay out of the workers way; which meant I spent almost every day (except Monday, when I barged in on a friend and took over her house. Thanks, Darcie!), in A-town.

And Thursday (yep, Thursday before last...) was spent just like the rest of the week: 45 minutes from home.

I had been wanting to take Ellie back to The Discovery Center for a while and thought that was what we should do. Sweet Pea loved playing there. She spent an hour alone with the tubes you can connect yourself changing the paths, watching the ping-pong balls fly along the PCV Pipes.

When she finally tired of those toys she moved to the magnetic balls, which held her attention for at least 20. She would pull with all her might to separate then them throw them all back on to see where they would stick.

Such a good time!

Then we decided to head towards the cowboy campfire. And that's when it happened. She tripped on her too small shoes and pretty much slammed her face into the floor.

And bit through her upper lip.
She started crying hard. Screaming, shatter the glass, hard. So picked her up to comfort her and when she looked at me I saw her teeth covered in blood.

When I saw all the blood my heart dropped. I cupped my hand under her chin as I tried carrying her and pushing Luke in stroller to the front of the Discovery Center, and by the time I reached the admissions desk my hands could no longer hold all of the blood. It was running out of my hand and down her shirt and my arm. When I was able to get her to allow me to look I could see a huge chunk of lip hanging down.

The DC workers very quickly wrote up an incident report and we rushed out to go to the Emergency Room.

By the time we arrived at Northwest Hospital Ellie had calmed down enough that I thought maybe we could make it without going through the rigors, and let's be honest- expense- of the ER. So I brought her up to the intake nurse and asked him if he thought she would need stitches. He told me that he was fairly certain that she would need stitches, and we would probably have to see a plastic surgeon to make sure she wouldn't have a disfigured lip.

Fast forward an hour or so, past numerous phone calls, a very tired and hurt toddler, and nursing Luke in the ER admittance room (awkward!), and we are finally seeing a doctor.

She literally lays Ellie down on the exam table, opens her mouth, takes maybe a 5-second look (and that's being quite generous!), and says, "So the inside of the mouth gets infected easily; therefore we aren't going to stitch her up. It's going to be swollen for a few days and then it will heal on it's own. Any questions?"

And that was that. Except that I stopped to snap a few pictures. You really can't tell anything is amiss from this photo though. The majority of the damage was inside.

When we got home I was able to take a better picture, but she wouldn't allow me to open her mouth.

A few days later and my Sweet Pea is completely back to herself. We had to take eating easy for a bit, but now you can't even tell there was ever any problems.

And now we also know to not trust ER admitting nurses. Plastic Surgeon my hiney!

Sadly, that was not the end of Ellie's health problems. While I was gone to Colorado Springs Ellie came down with what we have been told is Strep Throat.

Rob called me Saturday night to tell me she had a high fever and was sick to her stomach. When I got home Sunday she had a 103 fever and threw up on the carpet. Then all over Luke in his Bumboo.

She also had her second Febrile Seizure. Her first one took place Saturday night while she was eating her dinner. Her eye lids would flutter, her eyes would roll back and she would go limp. It was unbelievably scary.

After talking to Dr. C and doing a bit of research, thankfully(!), these seizures aren't dangerous, and happen either when a fever spikes or begins to decline. By the age of 6 kids out grow them. However, once one has taken place it is three times more likely to reoccur. So as soon as her fever hits 101 we are to completely undress her and put her in a tepid bath.

Praise the Lord, she has not had any more seizures, and once her penicillin shot kicked in her fever broke and she was back to herself. Except for her allergies; but that's a different story.

And that was just the start if our busy busy week!

Time Flies

2011-09-12T06:56:00.000-05:00

Exactly a year ago today, at around 7 in the morning , I began jumping up and down (literally jumping!) and whispering "Thank You Lord! Thank You Lord!" over and over while in our tiny bathroom.

Septemeber 12, 2010 we learned our sweet family would be growing.

And today, September 12, 2011 we have the great blessing of a nearly-two-year-old daughter and a 3 month old son.

What joy!!

Where Have We Been?!

2011-09-08T17:42:00.001-05:00

Well, we have been without the beautiful, addictive thing that is the Internet.

While they have been laying the tile (it finally arrived!), we haven't been able to have all the appropriate cords connected.

But now? Well now all that's left is tiling the bathrooms and grouting.

Which means we are up and running with the Facebook, blog, email thing.

Which also means I now have my mindless time-wasting habits back.

Hoorah!

We have a lot to catch up on.

Like a first for Luke and a trip to the ER for Sweet Pea, (praise the Lord, she is a-ok now!).

But, (also Praise the Lord), tomorrow, after having my weekly dose of girl-fun at MOPS, Luke and I are headed for the Mountains. Rob is going to spend the weekend havin' lots of daddy-daughter dates with Ellie while I take Mister to Colorado Springs for some rest.

It's going to be absolutely beautiful. Lots of naps, lots of reading, no tv, no phone, and maybe an occasional trip to Ann Taylor.

And maybe a quick jaunt to Pikes Peak.

Who knows!

So, until Monday, when our home will be back in working order and when I will be back in working order...

(Why would I not have thought this would end up with pee outside the diaper?!)

And have you tried these yet?! Becuase if not, you're missing out.

House Update

2011-08-30T14:27:00.000-05:00

So last week began our Home Destruction. And I guess I was incredibly naive to believe it would all be finished by this week. Because wouldn't you know, at this point, a week and a half after starting everything, we have no floors, the bathroom tiles haven't been removed yet, and the fabulously large Home Depot has lost our order of tile. The end is nowhere in sight...

Which totally sucks. Because I have no washer or dryer (with a toddler and an infant!), my kitchen is pretty useless due to the dirt that has accumulated everywhere, and we have to wear our shoes all over the house which makes me feel so dirty and makes the house actually dirty. We have no place to eat our fast food and take out, and every room is stuffed full of furniture and computer gear from all the rooms that are getting redone.

Gah!

I can't wait for this to be over! This is really making me rethink a kitchen remodel.

Ok, Ok. Enough complaining, here is all of the work and progress so far.

The AC guys were supposed to begin replacing our duct work and cementing in the old vents last Monday. Except their Friday job ran over and they never showed up. They also didn't call to tell me they were pushing our repairs back. Thank you so much!

When they finally got here Tuesday I told them that we had scheduled our contractor to come Wednesday to begin their work, and they all enthusiastically reassured me that they would be able to work with the contractors and no one would interfere with each other.

So they got to work taking out our heater and cutting the holes in the ceiling for the new vents.

Then they removed the dirty rusted vent coverings so that they could pour in the cement. Please keep in mind that during these two days we had no air conditioning. Talk about hot! When I got up to nurse Luke at 4am, the thermostat read 81. During the day it was around 86. Hell.

And of course, because Ellie is Ellie, while I was cooking dinner she found the hole full of cement and thought it would be a ball to play in it.

Wednesday, when the contractors were supposed to be able to work while the AC guys were finishing their job, I was informed by the contractor that, in fact, they were not able to work at the same time. Fabulous.

When the contractor was actually able to begin his job he started by taking down the cabinets. You can see where the mold had continued to grow behind the support brackets. You can also see the damage the water had done to the wainscoting.

Next he removed the wainscoting and we found huge amount of mold that was growing on the wall. At this point we pretty much figured we had a wall covered in mold.

We were right.

The smell in house when he removed the sheet rock was astounding. It was difficult to breath and gave me a terrible headache. Rob and I both knew we needed to get Luke and Ellie out until the mold had been killed and the wall was erected again. So I threw a few clothes and diapers into a suitcase and the three of us were off to spend the weekend with Gigi and Granddad, Rob's parents.

The day we left the tile guys had come to begin removing all of the non-carpeted floors. Since there was going to be a lot of dust and debris they taped up plastic sheeting over the doorways to the kitchen and dinning room. However, Ellie figured out she could crawl under the plastic, so I had to make my own barrier in the hallway to keep her from getting into the dinning room.

Our house was all kinds of messy.

When they removed the laminate floor they found that the previous owners took the easy was out and put the floor over the old linoleum. Which was a hot mess. The black is the old linoleum that they were in the process of peeling up.

After completing the kitchen, dinning room, hallway, and entryway they stopped. And that's where we are today. What you see is what we are living in.

Thankfully at least our laundry room wall was able to be finished and the cabinets replaced. Here is the final results. All that's left is painting (and floors).

(That cabinet door is missing because I am doing some experimenting with that ugly, dated hardware. Hopefully, if it works well, I will be sharing that too!)

And that's where we are at today. I am desperately praying that we are done sometime this week. I don't think I can handle much more!

Luke: 3 Months

2011-08-28T22:10:00.002-05:00

Luke is three months old today! (Well, he was when I wrote this post. Then we had house trouble and I had to make a quick exit with the kids. Three days ago Luke turned 3 months. The house issues will be addressed Tuesday!) A whole trimester. And, while he is beginning to get more and more clingy, he is still such a joy. I just love this kid more than words can say.

Here are some of the things Luke has been up to this month:

His weight and height are now average. According to our home scale he is 14 pounds (64th percentile) and using a seamstress tape measure he is 24 inches (50th percentile). I will tell you that he looks a lot bigger than average.

He is wearing 3-6 month and 6 months clothes and size 2 diapers.

Of course, the night I wrote about what a fantastic sleeper Luke is, he woke up every three hours at night to eat. And is eating every 2-2.5 hour during the day. Hello 3 Month Growth Spurt.

Before he hit his growth spurt, he was going 3 hours on the dot during the day and sleeping through the night. While he was still in the bassinet he slept from 10-7 and when he was in his crib it was 10-9. Almost to the minute, an hour and a half from him waking up to eat, he gets sleepy and needs a nap.

Luke has been exclusively breastfed, and will nurse for anywhere from 10-20 minutes. Now that he has hit his growth spurt he is nursing 10-15 minutes. At least once while he nurses he will look up at me, stop nursing, and give me the biggest smile. It just makes my heart melt!

Speaking of smiling, that is all this kid does! Just look at him and he flashes a smile. He is smiling more and more at his sister too. Despite all she puts him through, he lights up when he sees Ellie and follows her with his eyes as she plays and wanders around.

Tickles on his belly and arms and kisses illicit laughs. Luke just loves to get kisses on his cheeks and hands. And if you give him your full attention (when Ellie naps that is), he will just talk and talk to you. He finds it hilarious if you mimic back his sounds.

For all the joy he gives, he is beginning to hit the stage of wanting to be held constantly. If I set him down to change his diaper or clip his finger nails or attend to the other needy child, he will protest. Most of the time he can be pacified by sitting in his Bumboo. I think he likes to be able to look around.

And this past week he has begun fighting his sleep. Getting him to fall asleep is taking longer and longer. We have begun Cry it Out, but to be honest it is too hard for me to handle. He only goes a few minutes before I pick him up and rock him. I never had this hard of a time with Ellie when we did CIO, and I have no idea why it is soo much harder with Luke. The one time Rob forced me to leave him be and let him cry, Luke only lasted 10 minutes before he fell asleep.

The majority of the time Luke is swaddled when he sleeps.

He gets a bath maybe 4 or 5 times a week, and shares the bathtub with Ellie. This seems to be enjoyable for him since he never complains.

Tummy Time is getting longer and longer. Yesterday he was on his belly for 30 minutes. Luke does roll over, but it is only maybe once or twice a week. He just doesn't seem that interested in it. However, he moves like crazy. He has figured out how get his legs under him and will push off of his knees, springing him forward a good few inches. He will also literally turn circles during Tummy Time.

Luke has really started to reach for and grab toys and fingers (and my hair while he eats) the last couple of weeks. He will shake his rattle and play with the toys that hang on his activity mat.

The last few days Luke's allergies have flared up. He has awful congestion that keeps him awake and makes it difficult for him to nurse. This morning he has started spitting some up too. Unfortunately he is too young for allergy meds, and all we can do is suction his boogers out, which doesn't really help since all his junk is in his sinuses. To keep him propped up to help it drain he has been napping and sleeping in his swing.

He will take a pacifier only about half of the time and when he does take it he typically spits it out within a minute. This boy is just not a fan of the pacifier. However, he is a lover of his fist and fingers. I said it once, and I will say it again: he will be a thumb sucker.

Luke also began crying real tears this month! The first time I noticed those tiny tear drops it nearly broke my heart! He will cry if he is hungry and if he is tired. If I am busy and can't get to him right away the tears will flow.

When laying on his back Luke will roll onto his side. He hasn't yet made it all the way over to his belly, but once he figures out to move his arm he will be unstoppable. He also tries his very hardest to sit up, raising his head way up and doing mini crunches.

Having two kiddos is harder than I ever imagined, but Luke is such a pleasure and so full of happiness that it makes all the time and energy spent worth it. I just love this kid so much and our family is beyond blessed by him. I can't wait to see what his personality will be like and who he is to become.

A Great Sleeper

2011-08-23T18:42:00.002-05:00

Saturday night was Luke's first night all by his lonesome in his own room and his own crib.

And I must say that we should have made this transition much sooner!

The first night Luke slept straight from 10 to 9.

The next night he went to sleep again at 10 and I woke him up at 9!

So happy in the mornings!

Since he has been in his crib he hasn't woken up before 8:45 in the morning. Except for today when I woke him at 8 so he could nurse before all the contractors showed up. But I don't count that...

I am so so glad that my boy likes his sleep so much! It makes for a very happy mama.

Now if only we could get Ellie Kate to go to sleep before 10:30 and not wake up at 6:30 or 7.

Baldy

2011-08-22T13:20:00.003-05:00

Looks like it's another hair post...

For the last week Rob has been hounding me to let him shave his head. And for a week I have held my ground. I even attempted to call the woman who cuts his hair several times, and just my luck, she never returned my phone calls (clearly she has great business sense!).

So last night I gave in. I believe my final response was something along the lines of, "Fine! If you want to look like an idiot go ahead. Just remember that Aaron would kill to have your hair." (Yes Darcie, I actually said that!)

And so our friend Shannon, her husband Brian, and their girls came over to remove all the hair from Rob's head. His thick, long, beautiful hair.

Before the shaving began

We all sat outside and watched the travesty begin.

When Shannon was finished with her first round, Rob clearly needed to go shorter.

So Shannon cleaned off her razor and stuck a smaller blade on. This was the result:

Still a little bit too long, and so now h efigured he was at the point of "Shit or get off the pot."

Except he couldn't decide how short he wanted to go. It was between blade size 1, 2 or the shortest, 1/16 of an inch. So being the supportive, decisive wife I am, I held them behind my back and had Rob choose a hand.

He chose the hand with the 2 and the 1/16 of an inch, so he had to choose one last time. And his luck-of-the-draw was:

The 1/16th size blade.

Joy.

The recently shaved hair, now decorating my patio

Now Rob and Luke are twins, and please note that Luke's sleeper reads 'Cool like Dad." That was not an accident.

The two bald men in my life:

Also, just for the record:

The women in Rob's bank have started a petition for him to grow back his hair and his boss has snapped a picture, emailed it out to the entire bank, and Rob has gotten a handful of choice emails in return.

Ellie is fastinated. She keeps turning his head back and forth and pushing and pulling it up and down. She also loves to rub her hands in circles on the top of his head.

Rob said he really likes his new do and is planning on keeping it.

And me? Well it depends on the angle. Half of the time I really like it and think he looks extra good. The other half I catch myself grimacing and and thinking "ugh." I guess time will tell.

Anyone have an opinion or a husband who makes bad hair decisions?

The Different Looks of Ellie

2011-08-19T06:06:00.002-05:00

Ellie has always had a ton of hair.

And as she has grown, her hair has thickened and has become quite curly. So curly that it doesn't look like her hair has grown at all in the past six months or so.

I have been having trouble finding good products to use on Ellie, and since I can't find a decent product that holds her curl while not looking like she is doused in gel, I have been experimenting with a few different styles.

One of my go-to styles is the pony-tail. So quick and easy and (the true test), it's difficult for her to take down.

The braid has also made an appearance, although not often. I learned how to braid in my high school Spanish class- which is probably why I can't speak a lick of Espanol!- and it is quite apparent that I haven't braided in the last 8 years. I need a lot more practice, and I'm pretty sure Ellie's hair needs to even out in the growth department.

Possibly my favorite hair style is the braided pig-tails. They are simply adorable and are impossible for her to rip out (and she tries her hardest). And yep, she actually sits still for me to do this!

And the style that Rob and I dislike the most...

blow dried and straightened. It just doesn't look like our Ellie Kate! And yes, I am that mom who uses a blow drier and a straightener on their 2-year old.

Any moms out there who have a great product for a child's curls? What I use for myself doesn't work for Ellie and I would love to find something for her!

Until then, we are going to be sporting the braided pig-tails and pony-tail.

Mimi & Grandpa's Visit

2011-08-17T15:08:00.000-05:00

Saturday afternoon my parents, Ellie and Luke's Mimi and Grandpa, came to the Dirty D to visit with us for a few days.

Ellie and Luke loved having their grandparents here and all of the fun stuff that we did.

Since the hotel Mimi and Grandpa stayed at had an indoor pool and hot tub we all thought that Ellie would enjoy going for a swim. I had taken her to a swim park with a toddler area twice before, and neither time went just really smooth, so I had my doubts, but hoped for a better time.

We started her off in the hot tub thinking it was close to a bath, and she ended up doing great. The only snafoo we hit was trying to but on a pair of arm floaters. Ellie wanted absolutely no part in her alligator floaters.

Once Sweet Pea got used to the idea of swimming we moved over into the big pool. she didn't mind the cold water and really enjoyed being swung around and jumping up and down in the water.

After a while, and after Rob dunked me under the water, we moved back over to the hot tub and started the bubbles going. Everyone but Rob thought that the jets would terrify Ellie Kate and result in a meltdown, but Rob was right and she loved them!

By now Mister was awake, so I decided to stick him in one of Ellie's extra swim diapers and let him try the hot tub.

Like everything else, this wasn't a big deal to Luke and he just took it in stride.

The next day, while Rob was at work me, Mimi, Grandpa, Ellie and Luke ventured into town to buy some new shoes for a certain little Sweet Pea. Three stores later we ended up with Ellie's first sneakers. It is taking her some time to get used to walking in them, but I think they are going to be great for walking and adventures to the park.

Before we left we took Ellie to see her very first movie! Kung Fu Panda 2 was playing at the dollar show in the mall, and since it was mid-day I figured there wouldn't be any serious movie-goers who would be upset by a distracted toddler.

Ellie Kate is so little and lite that the seat folded up on her! So Mimi had to keep her leg on the corner of the seat so Ellie wouldn't get squished.

While watching the movie Ellie got to enjoy popcorn, which held her attention better than the movie. Over all she did really good. She paid attention for maybe 30 minutes, then just wanted to go back and forth between grandparents and talk to them.

One of the other things that we all did was swing at the park across from our house. I wanted to show Mimi and Grandpa how Ellie can swing all by herself on the Big Girl Swing.

Ellie does wonderful holding on to the chains and getting her balance. But we haven't gone very high yet because when she is done she just lets go! We have to be close by to catch her.

While Ellie Kate was showing off her new skill, Luke was just relaxing in the stroller, taking in all the sights. He really seems to enjoy being outside.

Thanks for coming to visit, Mimi and Grandpa! We all enjoyed getting to see you!

Home Repair, Decorating, and Pintrest

2011-08-16T07:21:00.002-05:00

So, if you remember, at the start of July we had massive home issues. Well, it has taken over a month to get the insurance adjuster out, contractors to make bids, and scheduling all of our work. By the way, can you believe that there is a 65% difference in cost between contractors?!

And I am so so excited to say that next Monday we are entering "destroy the Martin home" week. We are going to be replacing the entire AC and heating venting system in our house, ripping up and replacing probably 70% of our floors, tearing out and replacing a wall, part of a ceiling, and all of the cabinets in the laundry room.

It is going to be one dirty, busy, long week. And I can't wait to see how everything turns out.

Since we are making a little bit of progress on making the house "ours," I am getting into decorating again. I seem to be hot or cold with decorating; it will either be something I am solely focused on or I don't give it a second thought. And now, I am hot!

Really this has come about more because there is not one single room in this entire house that is finished and put together. Even Luke's room has been transformed into Rob's guitar room. I love our home and am proud of what my husband has provided, but am so embarrassed by the half-finished look in each room and the mismatched furniture.

So, I have decided to start working my way around the house, making it beautiful and functional.

And what better place to start than the laundry room? It's the smallest room in the house which means it is the most inexpensive to decorate. And when you are working with whatever moolah is left over from the previous weeks budget, you need cheap.

The laundry room before we moved in

Clearly this is going to be long process. Working with about $30-40 a month it will take a while to save up for window treatments and furniture and pretty pieces, but we'll get there.

Meanwhile, I am collecting ideas over on Pintrest. Feel free to follow me and see what my plans are!

The Fourth of July

2011-08-15T07:35:00.002-05:00

Every year my parents host a neighborhood cookout for Independence Day.

We have a huge brisket, lots of fruit salad, sweet corn, and a massive amount of desserts (although this year the desserts were lacking... sad day!) and watch fireworks be shot off from a handful of cities over Grapevine Lake.

Then, once the professional fireworks are over and the alcohol has set in, the men and boys in attendance have their own fun with hundreds of dollars worth of fireworks. This year, a Bazooka was also made an appearance to aid in the firing.

It's a good time.

And what made it even better was that my grandparents flew in from Miami to meet Luke; their first great-grandson.

Unfortunatlety I only have pictures of before the cookout.

Luke is finally getting to be held by his Great Grandma!

And Rob got the privilage of carrying around both his babies while us women were busy setting up.

Once Ellie got her fill of Daddy, she moved on to her Mimi and Uncle Ross. Andy- you have some serious competition with Ross! Ellie is a big fan of her uncles!

Right before the guests started arriving Luke got comfy with Great Grandma and took a little snooze.

The last day of our visit, before we left for the Dirty D, we were able to get some great family pictures. We are so blessed that we are all able to get together and spend time visiting. Rob and I truly have the best families!

Convicted

2011-08-13T08:48:00.000-05:00

After writing about my lack of "me time" this article, Motherhood is a Calling, pretty much felt like a slap in the face.

Guilty as charged.

I desperately need to remember this daily. And remember that this, my life, is a direct call from God and a beautiful chance to live the Gospel not only as a witness to my family, but also to friends and strangers.

Dallas World Aquarium

2011-08-13T06:51:00.001-05:00

To kick off my decision to post more often and catch up on what we have been doing, I thought I would start back on the 4th of July.

For the weekend of the Fourth we all loaded ourselves and the majority of our home into the car and drive to Southlake to spend the holiday with my family.

While we where there Rob and I took Ellie and Luke to the Dallas World Aquarium. We had gone a few years ago, before we were married, and really thought Ellie would enjoy all the animals and fish.

Since the only day we could go was the Fourth, we got there when the aquarium opened, which was the best idea of the day. And, since we were celebrating our nations Freedom, Ellie got to wear her patriotic dress.

The very first exhibit was the Anteater, and the little guy scared the begeezes out of Ellie Kate. She just started bawling and had a death grip on Rob. We considered turning around and leaving, but since we had just paid over $50 to get in, we decided she could deal with it and kept going.

The trick was to carry her. If we put her in the stroller or on the ground to walk she would start up again. So Rob and I took turns carrying Sweet Pea through the entire aquarium.

These guys scared her too. But I don't blame her for that!

She did much better once we reached the bottom of the Rainforest and began the journey through the aquarium. We were even able to set her down to see in the lower aquariums. As long as I was right by her side.

The humidity in the exhibit gave Ellie the most gorgeous curls!! I wish we had gotten a better picture of them!

Pretty much the entire time Luke just watched what was above him. We didn't hear a peep out of him.

Ellie's favorite part of the trip was the large glass wall where she could watch the manatee and sea turtles and large fish. She just loved this and stood with her hands pressed to the glass watching the animals float by.

The glass tunnel was also a favorite. She so surprised and excited when she looked through the water and saw me. She was yelling "Hi!" and waving frantically.

On the way out we stopped by the gift shop and Ellie found herself a neat little bouncy-ball that had Nemo inside with glitter that would float around when bounced and played with. Ellie was fascinated and carried that ball all around the shop, continually bringing it over to me and Rob to show us her treasure. When it was time to go I brought the ball to the register to buy it for her. Unfortunately Rob joined me and much to his horror the price for Ellie's find was $5. Which is apparently $4 too high for this Banker. So Ellie Kate left her first visit to the Dallas Aquarium without a special trinket.

We really enjoyed our little trip and were very glad we decided to continue going through the aquarium instead of turning back. I think that in a few years, when Ellie Kate is a bit older and less sensitive, this is going to be a favorite destination!

Lost

2011-08-12T16:51:00.000-05:00

Somewhere, somehow we have managed to lose 3 cloth diapers.

Can you please tell me how in the world you can lose cloth diapers? And three of them never the less!

What's even worse is I have no idea when they even went missing.

Ahh... my life.

What Free Time?

2011-08-11T21:49:00.000-05:00

So, as made clear by my extreme lack of posts, I am having a bit of difficulty finding some free time to jump on this thing and give an update.

Before Luke made his appearance I knew that I would be a bit busier with two under two, but I had no idea that there would be absolutely no down time. Seriously. Zero. Day to day I get about a total of an hour where neither child is needing food or attention and there isn't a chore to accomplish. And that hour is typically made up of 5-10 minute segments; just enough time to read my email or Facebook, but not enough to respond (which is why it takes me days to respond- so sorry for that!)

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday my days begin at 5 in the morning and normally end at 10, once Ellie is in bed and Luke is finished eating for the day. Every other day typically starts at 6. If I'm lucky, 6:30.

And while I love my days and couldn't imagine spending my time in an office (or classroom) instead of with my babies, I am soo ready to have a solid block of me time. I really feel like I am getting bogged down in being a "housewife." At least one day a week I don't get a chance to get out of my pajamas until 3 or 4. And that's not ok.

Ok, all of this to say that I am going to make it a priority to post more often (and get dressed everyday before the end of Sesame Street. Yep, my mornings are timed according to morning television.). I have missed recording so much the past few months and I hate that. And posting often makes me take tons of pictures, and lately my camera has been collecting dust.

So expect to see more of the Martins in coming days!

Brother & Sister

2011-07-28T10:33:00.001-05:00

The Slow Death of Losing Weight

2011-07-27T09:01:00.000-05:00

So today was the first day of Boot Camp and I totally admit it kicked my ass. Hard.

First let me just say that I got the start date wrong. Thank the good Lord Darcie realized this and kept me from waking at an ungodly hour to sit and weight for nothing to happen at the gym. Monday was supposed to be the first day, and like a good little fat-girl I was up at 5, nursed Luke, put him back to sleep (which worked beautifully!), got dressed and packed my stuff- which is my drivers license and a water bottle- in one of those used-to-be-trendy itty-bitty workout backpacks. Ya know, with the annoyingly uncomfortable rope straps? Ya, I totally dragged that outta storage. At least I used to be cool...

Anyway, miracles of miracles, it was actually raining in the Dirty D. And not just raining, POURING. Like I couldn't see the road and a few times found myself driving on the wrong side. At 5:45 in the blessed morning. Thanks be to the rain, the Y's power went out and I ended up sitting at the gym for 15 minutes waiting for what ended up being nothing. Which is what I was so thankful I avoided the week before. The trainer came in and he receptionist told her I was waiting for Death Warmed Over, and she just looked at me, or in my general direction- it was too dark to see anyone, and told me "Ya, it's canceled for today. Come back Wednesday."

And as I was driving home, on the correct side of the road, the thought hit me that if I were truly dedicated I would have stayed and used their gym equipment. Opps. Then the thought hit me to stop by the donut store and bring home breakfast for me and Rob. True story. I'm glad to truthfully admit that I decided that wasn't such a good idea and continued home sans donuts.

All that to say that this morning, after a total of 4 hours of sleep (thank you Starbucks Caramel Frappachino that I thoroughly enjoyed at 4 not thinking at all it would have residual effects past 1am), I woke up and did the whole get-ready routine again and made it to Boot Camp as the other no-self-disciple-so-need-someone-to-yell-and-MAKE-them-workout people were making their way to the park. I joined and we began an hour of feel-good torture.

I was one of 5 or 6 and I am so so proud to say that I was NOT the worst one present. Thank God! I will tell you that apparently this is the second camp in a 3-part series so everyone else but me and Darcie had already completed the first first session. Which means I am currently 5 weeks behind. But I still wasn't last!! Woo hoo!!

And now? Well let me just say that a mear hour or two after finishing my first day it is painful/impossible for me to: take off my clothes, washing my hair, dry my hair, put on a shirt, lift Ellie in and out of her highchair (someone will be eating today's meals in the living room), and bend down to pick up toys. Or anything for that matter. Tomorrows outlook doesn't look good.

Still, I WILL finish this course if it is literally the last thing I do. I have weighed and measured myself and expect at least minimal change. Since Luke is our last baby for at least 3 years (God willing that is) I want to get back to a decent shape. Like before marriage shape.

Although I will say, this is great birth control. In the shower I had the thought that I would have to do this all over again after our next baby, and that was quickly followed by the contemplation of whether or not I wanted to go through this hell again.

The jury is still out.

Luke: 2 Months

2011-07-24T22:17:00.001-05:00

My word!! I can't believe it has been two months already. Still, it seems like it has been 2 years since we were at the hospital bringing this Little Big Man home. I could never have imagined he would fit so well into our family. There is no doubt that we are more complete with him in our home.

Before he arrived Rob and I would say that we were nervous about how difficult he would be. We assumed that since Ellie was such a good and easy baby that we were really in for it. Apparently we just didn't know what easy was.

Luke is truly the happiest, most content baby I have ever experienced. Such a great blessing!

Here are some of the things Luke has been up to, as well as why he is so dad-gum easy:

He now weighs 13 pounds (based off our home scale) which is the 90th percentile and is 22.5 inches long (based off my measurements with a seasmstress tape measure) which is the 87th percentile. We are always saying how big he is and that we can't believe his size.

Luke is wearing size 3 month to 3-6 month clothes and has just today moved up to size 2 diapers.

He nurses every 3 hours throughout the day, anywhere from 10-20 minutes total. Nursing has really become a pleasurable experience and I am so glad that we have stuck with it through the rough times. While Luke nurses at every other feeding, he will occasionally get a bottle (4-5 oz) late at night, around 10-11. This is Daddy's Feeding.

Every night without fail Luke will sleep for 9-10 hours. Typically he falls asleep at 9 or 10 (which is why we give him a bottle for his last feeding) and wakes up for the day anywhere from 6:30-7:30. It is an absolutely beautiful schedule.

He will usually only stay awake for 30 minutes after his first feeding and then nap for 2.5 hours. After every other feeding he is awake for an hour and a half to two hours and then naps until he is hungry. It is so so easy to put this kid to sleep. All I do is either put him in his swing or lay him in his crib and he is out. No special routines or tricks needed.

The only time he cries (seriously the only time) is when he is hungry and I don't get to him in what he deems a timely manner.

Tummy time is become more consistent and he is still doing great with it. I can no longer leave him alone during this time however because he wiggles his way around and over things and into the path of Ellie Kate. Though sometimes he wears himself out and falls fast asleep.

He is talking all the time and when he sees Rob or I or hears his name he will give us the biggest smile. The entire time we talk to him he will smile, talk back, and laugh (although right now his "laugh" is a gasp and a short squeal). He is such a pleasure to be around!! Right now he is laying beside me talking away.

We try to give him a pacifier, but 90% of the time he doesn't want one. I do, however, think he is going to be a thumb sucker. He is constantly sucking his fist, regardless of whether or not he just ate.

He loves to look around and especially enjoys being held facing out. He also likes sitting in his Bumbo seat while I am cooking or we are eating dinner.

If Luke seems discontent I will put him on his tummy so he can stretch and move. He really seems to enjoy physical activity and being able to hold himself up with his arms and push himself into standing while in our laps.

Ellie is always messing with Luke through the day, whether it's patting his head, poking his belly button, or stepping on him while rushing to get a different toy. And he just takes it in stride, none of it seems to bother him in the least. She has even stuck her fingers in his nose and pulled him back while nursing (not the most pleasant of experiences) and he just looked at her. Nothing fazes this kid.

Luke is defiantly a cuddler and loves to be held and snuggled. Rob and I like to give him lots of extra love and attention each morning and after Ellie goes to bed. It's his only one-on-one time.

He is complete joy to have and I am so thankful to have a healthy, beautiful boy to call my own.

Every Morning

2011-07-21T09:01:00.001-05:00

Each and every single morning, at about 8 o'clock, you can find Ellie Kate here:

Standing at the front door waiting to wave Goodbye to her daddy one last time for the day.

And when he finally pulls out of the garage and she gets to see him, she dances and prances and giggles.

It is a sweet tradition that I love being able to witness. I'm so very thankful Rob and Ellie have such a beautiful relationship!

Ellie's Annual Evaluation

2011-07-20T16:00:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe, but it has been a year since Ellie has started her therapy through Early Childhood Intervention (ECI). You can read about the start of her therapy here.

She began this journey with an Occupational Therapist, then progressed to a Physical Therapist (because the OT moved employers, not because of a lack of progress), and is currently mostly seeing a Speech Therapist.

We are no longer needing Ellie's PT!! She has caught up with her gross motor skills and is right on track for her age! Praise the Lord!!! While Sean, the PT was not able to evaluate Ellie Kate with the other therapists, we are all positive that she will be passing the exam with flying colors.

Ellie is walking, doing a "quick walk" and tries to run, although this mostly ends in a spill. She will go up and down stairs and will occasionally kick objects (but only when she wants and not when asked. Ahh the Trying Twos!) She pushes/pulls heavy objects, can place items in containers, walk backwards, and use "tools to accomplish a goal."

While she has excelled in her physical development, her speech and comprehension are still lacking. She is around the 12 month age skill set, so is behind 6-9 months in these areas. The Speech Therapist was not concerned about this since children don't usually begin to develop these areas until they walk. Since that was a relatively recent milestone, she is still in the "ok" range. They were also very sure to convey that while she is developing slowly, it is on her own curve.

To be honest, I wonder how much is her not understanding and how much is me assuming she doesn't understand. Most days I simply do things for her because it is easier (way to go mom) then waiting for her to accomplish. For instance, brushing her hair. I told them she didn't understand what that meant, but then again I have never asked her to brush her hair.

This morning while I was fixing her hair I told "mommy's brushing your hair" a handful of times and then gave her the hair brush and asked her "can Ellie brush her hair?" and sure enough she picked up the brush and began to stroke it on her head (granted it was the flat end without the bristles), but I think that just shows that she does understand and I haven't been giving her credit.

I also told them she wasn't able to follow 2-step directions. But I had never given them to her before! Last night I asked her to "Go get a book and bring it to Mommy." And she did it!! Without getting distracted (which is HUGE at this point!). So is able to follow more complex directions.

So, all this to say that while she is surly behind in speech- she is only saying a handful of words still. I'm not so sure she is really as far behind in comprehension as I relayed to the therapists.

Some of the things we are working on this coming year are following directions and vocabulary. I, myself, mainly need to work on follow-through. When I ask/tell Ellie to do something I have to make sure she does it (this will be great for obedience!) and if it is something she doesn't understand I am supposed to do it with her to show her what she needs to be doing.

I have also made her a small vocab book. I have taken pictures of Ellie, Luke, Rob, me, her cup, bed, bath tub, blanket, and teddy bear and placed them in a flip photo album (which was super hard to find!). We are supposed to go through the book several times a day.

The end result of the evaluation is to stop Physical Therapy, be seen bi-weekly by the OT to work on speech/comprehension, and been seen every-other month by thee Speech Therapist.

I am just so proud of my girl and all that she has accomplished! God has certainly created a beautiful, strong-willed, intelligent child who does things just as she pleases and on no one else's time frame. I have long prayed for patience and I think Ellie Kate is God's way of answering that prayer. And I love her all the more for it.

A Little Bit of Everything

2011-07-15T13:21:00.000-05:00

Miracle of Miracles both kiddos are napping at the same time! At least for 30 minutes until Luke wakes up to eat, which will probably be when Ellie Kate stops singing and talking and actually falls asleep.

But hey, I have 30 minutes of Me Time to eat lunch and blog. So, I'm gonna make this a bullet-point thing...

Just learned that Good ol' Mike has written a book

You better bet that that sucker is going to be gracing our night stand pretty darn soon!

We weighed Luke the other night and this kid is up to 13 pounds!! Not to compare kids or anything (a good mom would never do that!) but Ellie hit 14 pounds at 8 months... Luke is 7 weeks. Think we have different kids?! By the way that puts him in the 90th percentile for weight, and he is 87th for length.
Ellie is now 21 pounds. That would be the 2nd percentile. Not that I'm comparing or anything...
My Green Thumb Experiment has taken an unexpected turn. Of the three flowers I planted in my large pot, only one is thriving.

The Petunia's have absolutely exploded. The Assylum died a month or so ago and got pulled. And the red Geraniums are barley holding on...

This kid is putting on a concert in Lubbock sometime in October.

Since The David Crowder Band is my all-time fav (yes I just wrote fav) my friend Darcie and I have coerced our husbands into watching our babies while we go live it up for a single Tuesday night. Who knows, we may even hit up some Ruby's Margaritas before the show. Or maybe after would be better- we don't want to be those people who show up to a Christian concert smelling of Tequila.

Luke has really helped Ellie learn how to share. When it is time for him to eat and I go to get him from his nap he almost always has at least one of Ellie's toys sitting beside him.

She just drops them in! So funny!

Ellie has also learned that if Luke is crying he will quite down if she sticks her finger in his mouth. So when she sees him that is usually he go-to "Hey little brother!" move.
Monday morning, bright and early at 6 am, I am starting a Boot Camp put on by the local Y. Darcie is going to be keeping me accountable by subjecting herself to misery too. The sad part? I have to get up at 5 to nurse Luke before I go. That is sad. So very sad.
Another lesson I have learned is that the newborn inserts from BumGenius make the world's best burp clothes.
Luke's head control is so good that I can now wear him facing out in my wrap and he is an ol' pro at the Bumbo Seat

And finally, we have really been working with Ellie Kate on feeding herself using silverware. The silverware is the hard part. Anyone know of any great tricks for teaching this lesson besides hand-over-hand?! I'm not gonna lie. The messes she makes are KILLING ME! I would (almost) rather feed her her entire life than have to clean up the disaster that comes with her using a spoon and fork three times a day!

Seriously... tips welcome!

Until the next time all the stars and the moon align and both babies are napping. Or until Rob is home and there isn't a load of housework to be done while he entertains them,

When it Rains it Pours

2011-07-12T22:57:00.000-05:00

And boy is it pouring at the Martin house.

My last post I mentioned a leak we found in the laundry room. We managed to get an AC repair man out right away to stop the leak in the attic drain pipe, but the cabinets (and we assume the wall) are pretty damaged. When Rob was cleaning up the mold he accidentally punched through the ceiling of the cabinet into the attic.

It looks as though we are going to have to replace part of the ceiling, the better part of the wall, and the cabinets.

Last night I went into the kitchen to start the dishwasher before we headed to bed and was quite surprised to step into a puddle of water. Apparently the fridge had sprung a leak and had been loosing water under the floor.

We were up past midnight trying to stop the leak and find out the exact cause and clean up all the water. The pad underneath the wood laminate is so saturated that when you walk on it now it still bubbles up water. The planks are crazy warped and it is like walking through a Fun House through out the kitchen.

We had a contractor come out today to look at the damage and we learned (although we knew this would be his opinion) that we have to completely replace the floors.

Oh, and while he was here he took a look under the sink and found a brand new leak. Yep. Coincidence or what?! As it turns out the pipe under the sink has corroded through. He tried to replace the damaged pipe, but whoever installed the broken piece saudered it into the wall (did you know that was possible?!). So we had to cut the water off to the kitchen and call a plumber out who made great use of his blow torch.

And have I mentioned before that we have been in legal proceeding with our home warranty company to have our air ducts replaced? Nope?! Well, we found out about a week after moving in that the in-slab duct work is pretty much destroyed and desperately needs to be replaced. We just settled with the company and so are also needing to fix the ac which includes cementing in the current duct work, running new lines through the attic (and cutting vents into the ceiling) and replacing our heating and ac units.

Wow.

I knew home ownership was expensive and unpredictable... but come on!!

Welcome Home! Now Have a Home Repair.

2011-07-06T13:35:00.000-05:00

We got home late last night from our trip to the Big D where we spent The Fourth with my family and grandparents.

As Rob and I were carrying our no-longer-sleeping babies into the house I jokingly asked Rob if he wanted to take a bet on whether or not something had "leaked, broken, or burned down."

Well, this morning when I went to start the myriad of laundry that is always inevitable following a trip of any kind with children I found this in our laundry room cabinets.

Looks like I should have taken a bet on leakage.

The good, and totally unrelated news: I have completed 4 loads of laundry by 1 pm thanks to this new beauty.

She doesn't match the washer, but she dries clothes faster than I can wash them! With our old dryer it would have taken me at least 2 days to get everything from our trip finished. Now I am done in a quarter of the time!

Although, now it seems we shouldn't have spent the money on a new dryer. What, with a massive repair bill coming... Can we ever win?!

Mornings With Luke

2011-06-30T08:23:00.000-05:00

I just love mornings with a baby. They are so blissful and pleasant.

After Luke nurses, usually around 6 or 6:30 we get back in bed with Rob and watch Home Improvement or Saved by the Bell and enjoy spending one-on-one time with Luke.

Yesterday morning I took some pictures of this joyful time and I think it was just as joyful for Luke as it was for me and his daddy!

Luke: 1 Month Old

2011-06-27T12:48:00.000-05:00

It is beyond me how my second born is already a month old! And what a fun and tiring month it has been.

Here are some of the things Luke is up to and has done this past month:

Luke is now wearing size 0-3 month & 3 month clothes and while the size 1 diapers are a tad bit big, the newborn size is too small so he has moved up and out of newborn!

At three weeks we had him re-weighed and he was 8lbs 13oz- up an entire pound from birth.

He is a fabulous sleeper, usually going to bed around 9 or 10 and, with a "dream feed" (feeding while he is asleep) at 11 he will sleep until 6 or 7 in the morning. The last few days however he has been stirring to eat at about 4 or 5 (this is the feeding Rob sleeps through and never remembers happening).

Luke is strong! He rolled over from tummy to back in his second week, will "crawl" his way up your torso as high as he can, if propped up with a blanket during tummy time he will "crawl" until he gets over it, has ridiculously good head-control, and will stand, full weight, on his skinny little legs if you balance him.

His "crawl" is pushing and bending his legs and "pulling" with his chest. No arms needed!

Smiles have been lighting up his face for about a week now. He smiles mostly at me and Dad, and sometimes Ellie. Also, if you very gently tickle his jaw line with a single finger he will grin.

Luke is a very easy baby. He will only cry when he is hungry (he does fuss if there is a burp or he wants to be held- but he doesn't cry). And when he gets hungry he wants to eat NOW. His cries get so hard he will not breath and turn blue. SO SCARY. every. time.

Luke is nursing every 2.5-3.5 hours during the day. He started out great nursing, then we had some trouble, but now we are back to full swing and couldn't be doing any better. He will eat anywhere from 20-35 minutes total. I know he is done when he falls asleep and can't be woken up again.

After eating Luke will cat-nap for 5 minutes or so and then have at least an hour of awake time.

While tummy time is certainly not an every day occurrence, Luke doesn't mind it at all. He will either fall asleep or "crawl" his way forward.

Luke currently will sleep most anywhere and has slept in: the swing, on his playmate, his crib, the bassinet, the car seat, and of course our arms. He certainly doesn't have to be in any particular spot to sleep and doesn't have to be swaddled.

After he eats Luke will get terrible, huge hiccups that have lasted 15 minutes. He hates these and will get so frustrated!

His hair is thickening, although staying dark. The back is down to the middle of his neck and the sides hang over his ears bit the top is short. His eyes are starting to turn a light blue like his daddy's and sister's.