look what we got!

We had a little credit at a sporting good's store around here, so we picked out this bike trailer for on a whim today.  I've had this purple bike since I was about 13.  Now we'll put it to good use!

Little man had his first bike ride, and I believe he liked it.
Now ... does anyone know where to find an infant helmet!?

christmas 2011

I remember thinking last year that this year would be so different.
I was right.  Maybe not in the way that I had imagined.  But I was right.

We had an absolutely beautiful Christmas.

(It wasn't necessarily captured in beautiful photographs ... but snapshots that might help me remember little man's very first holiday season!)

And here are the details - just so I remember!  

As tradition would have it, we spent Christmas Eve with Pops and Marley. 
Only this year was fajitas around our kitchen table, not a fancy steakhouse.  :)
But it was delicious and special and wonderful just the same.
Luke opened a few gifts played with some tissue paper and then headed to bed in his Christmas PJs.

On Christmas morning, Adam and I got up early to have a few minutes of quiet before the chaos. 
This, too, is a bit of a tradition.  And one of my favorite moments of the entire year.

When little man got up, he played with some new toys and some wrapping paper.
I don't think he knew it was a special day.  But he was spoiled and loved just the same! 

And in the late morning, Honey and Cramer came to celebrate. 
Adam made a turkey and we had traditional fixins.  Delicious! 
Little man played and played and played!

We spent the 26th with Adam's family this year at the Martin's.
All his sisters and all the kiddos were in town and it was gloriously loud and fun and crazy.
Paw-Paw made a yummy meal.  We all ate around big tables, and the kids told stories of Santa.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 
Isaiah 9:6.   

merry christmas!

Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be of child and give birth to a son, and we will call him Immanuel.  Isaiah 7:14

Hallelujah.  And Merry Christmas.

Love, The Martin's

Adam, Jen, Luke & Daisy

meeting santa

ten months

Ten.  Months.  
Holy cow.

Luker!  You are getting so big! And you are so handsome!
You weigh 18 pounds, you are longer than most of your PJs, and you starting to feel thick!
You have two bottom teeth that came around nine months - one right after the other.
You are serious about your hair!  It's getting longer and thicker every day, and it sticks out over your ears.

You eat everything.  You feed yourself most of the time.
Your favorite food is a grilled cheese sandwich and you are still breastfeeding.

You spend your days crawling around, exploring exploring exploring.
Your toys are boring.  But cabinets, drawers, closets, bags, curtains, Daisy's food dish -- those are fun.

You started crawling around eight-and-a-half months.
You started pulling up around nine months. 
And at ten months, you're beginning to cruise the furniture.
You've got worlds of confidence.  Nothing slows you down.

You are scared of nothing - except loud noises and strangers sometimes.
We just started going to a new physical therapist and we BOTH love her!
Your leg is making slow and steady progress and you handle these challenges with such ease.
You are absolutely amazing.   

You babble, talk, whine, hum, cry, grunt, squeal, or scream.  Constantly.  Constantly. 
You are loud.
I love the sound of your laugh.
You are ticklish. 

You play peek-a-boo all the time.  You wave.  You are busy.  So so busy.

But every now and then, you will slow down just enough to put your head on my shoulder.
This is new.  And we love it.

a little resemblance

I've told you before.  Now I'll show you.

This is my brother.  Around Luke's age.  Crawling on the floor.

This is Luke.  Crawling on the floor.

This is my sweet brother.  Asleep in his high chair. 
For the record, my kid would never fall asleep in his high chair.

This is Luke.  Asleep in his stroller. 
Pretty neat, huh?

the i-don't-like-that-noise face

Little man is so sensitive to sounds!  And most of the time, he is scared of the loud ones.  

The vacuum.
Daddy's power tools. 
The lawn mower. 

Every time a loud noise begins, he makes the same face, then bursts into tears. 

Well when Molly was here for a visit, the babies were in the bathtub and Molly kept making a loud grunting sound.  Luke didn't like it, and this is the face:

Absolutely hysterical. 
I love this boy. 

a little getaway

For Adam's birthday - a few days early - I surprised him with our very first night away since little man was born.

Saturday night was the Chesmar company holiday party, in Houston.  So I booked us a hotel room there in the city and surprise we got to stay the night!  Hotel Icon was spectacular.  What a beautiful place! 

I wore heels. 
We held hands. 
It was so romantic. 

We got up the next morning and went for a little jog through Memorial Park, then went back to the room to get dressed.  Later, we sat outside and had brunch at a trendy little spot in Midtown before coming back home to our baby.  It was a wonderful weekend. 

Thanks, Honey for spending the night with Luke so that we could celebrate!  :)

week in review

I've finally gotten back in the habit of taking iPhone pics.  And what a great week to remember because we had fun!

These two are always together.  I wouldn't necessarily call them friends, but they follow each other around and it's wonderful.

Remembering to live by this.

Helping mommy with the laundry.  Helping mommy with the craft bucket.

First Dum-Dum.  Keep in mind my kid eats homemade whole wheat banana blueberry pancakes and drinks organic raw spinach smoothies.  So when the nurse said, Would he like a sucker? I almost said no.  But we were at a follow-up appointment for his boy parts and holy moly let's just say the kid deserved a sucker after what he went through.

Luke and I met daddy for lunch one day.  And on another day, a great friend brought me lunch.
I'm convinced lunch dates are the secret to happiness.

We started a little construction project at our house.  And by we, I mean Adam.

And Honey and I did some Christmas shopping at the mall.  Luke thought that was super exciting. 

Also, I got a haircut but didn't take a picture.  I love getting haircuts.  Other than that, it was a pretty regular week, and nice to be back into routine after a week of sickness and surgery, then a week of holiday-ing!