Tales of a Misspent Youth

This is the sight Joseph and I woke to the day after Christmas! A brand new shiny Volvo in the lot they just cleared next to us! Come to find out, it belongs to some kid who got it for Christmas and was taking it out for a joy ride Christmas night and somehow ended up in a mess! The kid and his dad came to clear his stuff out that day, and I swear the boy didn't look older than 12...what is he doing in a brand-new Volvo that he obviously doesn't know how to treat with respect??? He told our contractor he was trying to turn around...I'm not buying it, considering we live in a circle! And instead of knocking on our door or the house next to the lot, he somehow managed to climb a 10-foot fence, walk across a huge field, avoid 6 BIG dogs, and knock on the door of the house far behind us. Hmmmmm....

Thanks Becca for the Christmas pajamas!!

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! This was about as good of a picture as I got...which isn't really saying much! Ford got lots of fun toys, books, and puzzles, which has made his mommy very happy to have new things to occupy him! I've moved my office to our house, so I'm interested to see how we manage once the holidays are over.

Ford is officially walking as of two weeks ago, but he's a very reluctant walker. He'll only do it if you set him down and not give him a choice! That kid would much rather crawl everywhere, which has inspired me to keep the house clean since the knees on all of his pants are looking a little rough!

We've had some hard days in the Martin home. Nothing major, but Ford has just been incredibly fussy, has been up at night coughing, and his eating has not gotten any better. We went to the doctor this morning, and he has a double ear infection and she was really concerned about his weight. He's only gained 2 ozs since his birthday 2 months ago. Every meal is a battle with us. Ford just screams when we feed him, and really the only things he'll eat with any consistency are yogurt and cereal bars. If he feeds himself, he'll put the food in his mouth, chew for a little bit, and then spit it out without swallowing. I think we both dread lunch and dinner time. Dr. Young prescribed him Zantac this morning, thinking maybe he has reflux or heartburn. I am PRAYING this is the answer. She said we probably won't be able to tell a difference for a couple of weeks, so I'll keep you posted! Please say a prayer for us if you think about it!

A Few House Pics

Here are some pictures of the kitchen and the backyard! I LOVE my kitchen! I haven't done much more than use the microwave up to this point, but I LOVE it! The kitchen is the only finished room thus far, so it's the only one I'm sharing. Sorry the picture is so dark, I couldn't get my flash to work.

View from the butler's pantry, which connects the kitchen and dining room

The cabinets are a work in progress. The painters splattered the chocolate glaze all over the cabinets on the right, so they're coming back after Christmas to fix them. They just covered them in plastic like I wouldn't notice...um, yeah, I noticed.

The patio and deck - we have doors that open from our bedroom and from the kitchen.


This is the area where we'll put a swingset for Ford this summer.

The dogs have made themselves right at home! They weren't happy at being left outside the other day, so they dug a few holes to get back at us. They've never been diggers before, so if anyone has any tips to make them stop, let us know!

This is Ford after he got his hand popped for playing with the candle. I'm determined to not clear my coffee table and everything else in the house. He's a pretty obedient little boy, but he likes to test his limits! I know this might not work, but I'm willing to try for now!


Ford and his best buddy, Jack

Sweet Jack just lays there and lets Ford climb all over him!

We've been a little busy...

Sorry for the lack of posting...we've been BUSY!! We are in the new house - HOORAY! I'll do a moving post when I have a little more time, but I thought I'd post a picture of Ford for now. Notice his little feet - and not the one shoe on, one shoe off - that's how he sits in his booster seat, with his sweet little legs crossed! Adorable! He's adjusted quite well to the move. All he wants to do is climb the stairs and watch all the big trucks outside. He'll stand at the window in the dining room with a dog on either side and watch all the trucks go by. They've started clearing the lot next to us, so we'll have free entertainment for a couple of months!

Girls' Weekend

Me, Ashley, Lenz, Allyson, Molly, and Allie


The Hostesses & the Guest(s) of Honor

Ashley and I hosted a girls' weekend in honor of Lenzie and Knox this past weekend! It was so great to have time with just the girls, thanks to my super-fabulous husband taking care of Ford the entire weekend. Thank you, Joseph!! Molly flew all the way from Ohio to be here! We ate, shopped, talked, and laughed a lot. It makes we wish all these girls lived right around the corner from me! I love all of you tons...and I am so excited to meet little Knox Lane! I hope you enjoy your papasan swing and bouncy seat as much as your buddy Ford did!

It's Crawdaddy's Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Crawdaddy! My dad is truly Ford's most favorite person. Everytime my dad walks into the room, Ford starts laughing and waving his arms and bouncing up and down. EVERY single time! It's so cute! And I think the feeling is totally mutual. Crawdaddy loves his namesake (my dad is CrawFORD, which is Ford's middle name) and apparently everyone thinks Ford looks just like him, which my dad LOVES to hear. My dad tells anyone that will listen that Ford has totally changed his life! We love you, Crawdaddy!

A Thanksgiving Post for Papa and Dede

Sorry this post is so delayed...I've been crazy busy finishing up a calligraphy job and making our Christmas cards! We spent Thanksgiving in Charlotte with the Rays, and then we went to Atlanta on Friday to spend some time with all of Joseph's Dad's family, minus his dad and Debbie:(...Papa and Dede, I'm posting lots of pictures for you so you can feel like you were there with us! Katie, if you have any pictures from Atlanta, please send them my way! Thanks!

Ford all alone at the Thanksgiving table...where's the turkey, guys??

Clean cousins!

Ford and Maryn really played together for the first time. It's so funny to already see their personalities coming out! Maryn is definitely going to be the boss!

This picture looks so sweet, but I think Maryn was actually trying to rip the bottle from his mouth! Speaking of bottles, they are no more in the Martin home! And it was so much easier than I thought it would be!

Cooks in the Kitchen...I wish I'd gotten a better picture of the 3 girls cooking - Jennie and Mark invited their friends Shawn and Andrea to share in our Thanksgiving feast and we had a great time! Andrea is one of the sweetest, funniest people I know, and she has the best accent! Joseph tried to read all the road signs in her voice on the way home and it didn't sound nearly as cute coming from him. At one point, I called Jennie (who was following us to Atlanta) and asked if I could please switch places with Mark so I wouldn't have to listen to it anymore! That pretty much stopped the accent!

And brought to you by request from Darby Stickler...the little pup in the corner is Max the War Eagle Beagle! He's not on Jennie's "Favorite Things" list right now due to his obsession with food and the lengths he'll go to get it, but he's the 2nd cuddliest dog I know (right behind his cousin Mac). Max, I hope you enjoy your blog debut!

We had Christmas while we were there and it was great! Ford got some fun books and puzzles, Parker got a Thomas train wash that he played with for 10 hours in one day, and Maryn got a baby stroller and a Cabbage Patch Kid (inspired by Paige and Carol...thanks Darby!)!!

Hours of entertainment...Parker got major air jumping onto the beanbag! The babies would try to get on the beanbag and he would get so annoyed!

Ford loved pushing around the popper. He has a push toy at home, but we only have tile and I think he really liked being on the carpet!

And a quick update on our lives...we are scheduled to close on our house December 14th! Praise the sweet Lord! Joseph claims the first thing we're moving in is the Christmas tree...we'll see about that! I'm thinking more along the lines of furniture and the millions of boxes that have been in my parents' basement for 4 1/2 months! Also, we took Ford to the doctor yesterday for his 1-year shots and check-up, and his weight has dropped pretty drastically, from the 50% percentile to the 10%. Our doctor wants him to come back in a few weeks for a weight check to make sure he's gaining. It's not a big deal yet, but we'd appreciate a few prayers for Ford to eat! A boy cannot survive on graham crackers and yogurt alone! He actually ate a good bit of turkey potpie last night, so that gave me a little more peace of mind about it.

I hope you all had a terrific Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for such wonderful friends and family the Lord has blessed us with!

Ford's Pictures!!!

Oh my goodness, I have a new favorite person! Ford's "photo shoot" was this morning, and Sharon, the photographer, was AMAZING! She made it so easy! I'm posting the link, but you should take the time to go to her website and see all of her beautiful pictures. It is well worth the drive if you're in the market for an incredible photographer!

Ford's pictures

All Dressed Up

Joseph and I got to have a night out last night! We went to the beautiful wedding of Perri and Levale and got to see the whole town of Opelika! Joseph thinks everyone should be required to wear name tags at such events because I'm so bad at introducing him to people. Thank you Brooke and John for taking care of the little guy - I keep finding peanut butter in the strangest places! Maybe I should just go ahead and give him a bath!! And thank you Lenzie for the dress...it sure is nice having a pregnant best friend willing to share her wardrobe with the unstylish!

We are heading to Charlotte tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving with the Rays. Ford is having his one-year pictures taken on Tuesday, so I'll try to post the link after they're taken - I know my mom will be dying to see them! We'll be back on Friday to get ready for the Iron Bowl! Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels to all of you!

What do YOU think?

This site also has a thing that compares your face to celebrities - it said I looked like Kate Hudson! It also named some less flattering people that my vanity will not allow me to share. Who do you look like?

Hunger Strike '07

Anyone that has talked to me in the past couple of weeks knows that I've been one frustrated mommy! I can't remember exactly when it started, but for the past 3 or so weeks, Ford has been on a hunger strike! That child would not eat ANYTHING with nutritional value. Graham crackers? Good. Cheerios? Good. Any meat, vegetable, or fruit? NOPE!! His old favorites, like pears, cheese, turkey dogs, chicken nuggets - he wouldn't have anything to do with them! I don't know exactly what he was striking for - better toys? less room time? a trip to Disney World? Whatever it was, his demands have been met, because I'm proud to say the boy is eating again! All it took was a little ground turkey with spaghetti sauce (no noodles - he's NOT a fan of pasta) and we have an eater once again! I tell you what, this little boy had me STRESSED! My laid back husband kept saying, "He'll eat when he's hungry, don't worry about it" and about a million other annoying phrases along these lines that I knew were right, but it is a mother's job to feed her child and he was going to eat that grilled cheese sandwich if I had to force it down his throat! I guess this is our first hurdle in learning that Ford is his own person and we can't always "make" him do everything we want. Looking back, his loss of appetite was probably due to his ear infection, so maybe I'll be a little more relaxed the next time this happens and watch his ears!!!

Joseph's first race was this past Saturday, and he got 2nd in his age group and 15th overall out of more than 100 runners! He also beat the time he was going for by 2 minutes! Yay Joseph! He is totally addicted now, so we really might have to start that Runner's Fund for entry fees! He's going to do a 10K in December for Toys for Tots, so at least it's for a really good cause. Ford and I are so proud of him!

Happy Birthday to Ford!

So I know his birthday was almost a week ago, but this is my first day back at work and the first opportunity I've had to blog about it! My parents have this really awesome thing call dial-up, so it takes FOREVER to upload pictures and my patience has dwindled for all things time-consuming since I became a parent. I had planned to do this big post entitled "A Year in Pictures", but maybe I'll wait until it's "Two Years in Pictures".

This look basically sums up his entire birthday!

Ford's 1st birthday was not exactly the picture perfect day I had imagined. He got some sort of stomach bug on Tuesday, we went to the doctor on Wednesday and he had an ear infection and the croup, I got the stomach bug on Thursday, and we were both still feeling pretty puny on Friday, his actual birthday.

My wonderful sister-in-law Jennie risked illness and she, Parker, and Maryn drove their rental car down from Charlotte on Saturday. A rental car, you ask? Yes, a rental car, because their car CAUGHT ON FIRE on Thursday night! Absolute insanity!! But that's how much she loves her nephew - she didn't let a little thing like a CAR FIRE keep her from coming for his first birthday!

Parker loved throwing rocks into the lake with "Grownie" (rhymes with "brownie"), what he called my mom all weekend! I think my mom would have kept Parker here if Jennie would have let her!

We had a small party on Sunday night, and Ford loved all his presents. We're both feeling so much better, and I still can't get over the fact that I have a one-year-old! Joseph and I can't believe how fast this year has flown by. Every new stage is our favorite, and I know I'm a bit biased, but I really do think Ford gets more adorable every day!

He wasn't a fan of the cake, but he sure did like the balloons! Don't be fooled by that icing on his face - it was put there by me. Not a single bit went into his mouth! And he didn't like it on his hands either!

Ford Loves Aunt Bug - and the dump truck she gave him!

1st Birthday Stats: He weighed 19 lbs 8 ozs (little squirt) when we went to the doctor on Wednesday, but his real appointment had to be changed so she could recheck his ears in a few weeks. He has 3 top teeth (the middle 2 are HUGE - it cracks me up) and 2 bottom teeth. He can say 'hey' and 'go go go', and he's been saying 'mama' and 'dada' for a while. He loves his daddy - he gets so excited when Joseph gets home every day. He can walk holding on to one hand, but we're not really encouraging it until we get moved in to our new house! Now that he's feeling better, he's the most fun little guy ever! He laughs all the time, is pretty obedient (except about throwing food on the floor for the dogs - we're still working on that one), and would stay outside all day long if I'd let him.

Thanks to everyone for all your support this past year! All of your prayers were definitely felt! Please continue to pray for Ford as well as for Joseph and me as we walk down this crazy path called parenthood that we look to Jesus for the guidance, for the patience, and for the grace necessary to raise a child to know Him in such a mixed-up world. We love all of you!

Ahoy!

This is Joseph dressed for success for work today. They are closing all three bank branches at noon and having a Halloween party this afternoon! No wonder Joseph loves his job!

He's going to kill me for posting this, but I'll take my chances. Last night we had a run through of the costume to make sure we knew how to tie the ascot, etc., and he wanted to show my parents. He got one of my dad's cigars, filled up his crystal glass with Ford's apple juice, and he got lots of laughs. A little while later we were on the couch watching The Office on TBS and he kept saying he didn't feel right. He said the room was spinning and his stomach was a little queasy. I honestly didn't think much of it because I was really into The Office! Later that night when we were in bed trying to go to sleep he said he still didn't feel well, and then it hit him - he had gotten a buzz off of putting the unlit cigar in his mouth! I guess that's what happens when you're a non-smoker! I don't think he'll be doing that at work today! Wade - are you sure he's really your son?

A Whirlwind of a Week

What a week we have had! My niece Maryn's birthday was Friday, so Ford and I went to Charlotte on Wednesday for the birthday party. It was the first time I've ever made the drive by myself, and I can't say it was the best time I've ever had - 6 long hours in the car, 5 of which Ford spent SCREAMING his head off! But it was definitely worth it! I love, love, love spending time with the Rays, and we had so much fun and many misadventures getting ready for the party. A cake so atrocious we had to throw it away, poop in the tub and the kitchen floor, and a quick shopping trip with enough Godiva to make you nauseous to name a few!

Maryn's party was Friday morning, and it was great to get to see all of their friends and friends' kids. I don't know how many kids were there, but it was A LOT!!! Jennie always throws beautiful parties, and this was no exception. I was videoing so I don't have any pictures on my camera, but I'm sure Jennie is working on a post so check out her blog!

We came home right after the party because all of my best friends from college were coming in town to stay with us for the Ole Miss game! Ford finally got to meet Abby, my friend Ashley's little girl, and she had no problem letting him know who was boss! Wes and Allyson got there too and we all went to a party at the Durham's on Friday night while my sweet parents babysat, and it was great to go out without kids!

We all went to Lenzie and Clay's tailgate the next day and had a mini Chi O reunion. Auburn won, I got to see my favorite people, and I got to eat nothing but brownies, cookies and candy bars all day - my perfect day!! Here are lots of pictures from the weekend!


Abby and Ford in the bathtub - they had a major splashing battle and Abby won!


All the girls - Allyson, Erika, Ashley, Lenzie, me and Allison


Ford, Abby, and Sawyer playing on the game board Clay made - they loved it! Walker, Ashley and Sawyer had to leave early because Sawyer wasn't feeling too well.


Ford crawled around with the orange cup for a good 20 minutes. I'm just going to stop packing toys and let him play with trash!

Ford loves to share his food - he let Abby have some goldfish (and she accidentally bit him!) and he gave Aubie his cookie! What a sweet boy!

Halloween Come Early

What a weekend! Joseph went to New Orleans with all of his college buddies for the game (and yes, I know the game was in Baton Rouge), so Ford and I were on our own. My parents had a wedding party for my mom's best friend's daughter Saturday night, so Shealy and I helped her stuff tomatos and we ran errands. I LOVED hanging out with my sister. Clayton was hunting for the weekend, so Shealy was by herself, too. It hasn't been just us girls in way too long, and I needed a day with her!

The party Saturday night was fun - basically, everyone just got really dressed up to watch the game! It was so fun that the cops came THREE times for disturbing the peace! Apparently, my parents' neighbors go to bed at 8:30 on a Saturday night while the biggest game of the year is on and didn't appreciate us cheering on the Tigers. The cops all thought it was ridiculous and two of them stayed and watched the game for a little bit!

Ford had his first Halloween party on Sunday afternoon. I bought his monkey costume a month ago, and while it looked a bit warm, I just assumed by the time the end of October rolled around, the temperature would probably be at least in the 70's. NOT the case. The party was outside, and Ford DESPISED his costume. He was so hot. Needless to say, we didn't make it very long at the party. Joseph wasn't back yet, so I was there by myself with an unhappy child, and my fight or flight mode read flight! I stripped him down to his diaper, and we met up with my mom and sister and took pictures of him naked in a pumpkin patch. We're going to try again with the costume on Halloween, so hopefully we'll get some better pictures!

Two seconds after this picture was taken he dropped the pumpkin like a hot potato and had the worst look on his face! I'm guessing it didn't taste too good!

Side note...Blogging has brought me a new friend! Shortly after we got to the party on Sunday, a cute mom came up to me and said, "You look so familiar." Turns out she found our blog (we have a lot of mutual friends) and she's been reading! I had actually just looked at her blog about a week ago and thought she had the sweetest little girl (she's the white tiger in the picture). So from now on when Joseph makes fun of me for blogging, I can say I'm cultivating undiscovered friendships!

K-N-O-X

Ford and I went to Dothan to visit the Lanes during the first part of Lenzie's fall break. We had a great time, but I think Lenzie is pretty relieved that Knox won't be nearly as active as Ford is as soon as he gets here! Ford is pretty nonstop these days!

Our main purpose in going was to help Lenzie register for Knox. I remember how overwhelming that was - you don't know what you need and you don't know what half of the stuff in the baby aisles is used for! But I've learned quite a lot in the course of a year, so I just pointed and she clicked and we were out of there in about 45 minutes! It probably would have been sooner if I didn't have to keep feeding Ford Cheerios to keep him occupied!

Here are some pictures from our trip - of course we forgot to take one together, but I did manage to get a bump picture (although not a very good one) of Lenzie! I told her I wanted a picture of Ford and Knox together, but really I just wanted the bump! I'm sneaky like that!

Ford in Knox's crib, with all of his cute monogrammed blankets and onesies! He's going to be very stylish AND know how to spell his name by the time he's 6 months old!

Copper and Piper were so good with Ford. They are going to love Knox!

Bent-over baby bump + crying baby = not the best picture