My baby is growing up...

I was going through some pictures to figure out what to frame for the grandparents for Christmas (surprise, grandparents!), and I came across my favorite pictures of Ford from when he was a little bitty guy! I figured since I didn't start blogging until he was 9 months old, I was allowed to add a few "old" pictures! I can't believe in 5 weeks I'll have a 1-year-old!

3 days old

This was the picture on his birth announcement...I think he looks JUST like my dad. It's pretty disturbing when the first thing you think of when they place your baby on your belly after hours of labor is not, "Oh, he's beautiful and perfect and I love him so much" but "Oh my God, he looks just like my father!"

3 months old

I LOVED the bear suit! Unfortunately, I don't think Ford shared my opinion.

5 months old

Just call me frugal...or REALLY cheap!

This picture doesn't have anything to do with the post, but isn't it funny? It's Ford & Maryn at Ben & Jerry's in Charlotte, and it's a good thing it doesn't have sound or you'd hear two hysterical moms laughing like hyenas from behind the board!

Joseph and I are all about saving money these days. We've always had a budget, but we'd gotten very debit card happy as of late. If the money was gone for the month, we'd just swipe it! So we decided that for the month of September, we'd lock up the debit cards and really focus on sticking to the budget. And we've done a good job. But it's the last week of the month, and inevitably, the grocery envelope was looking a little slim. But I was determined to make it work.

I knew we could eat dinner from the freezer this week, but there were some staples that we had to have. Like milk. And bread. And chocolate chip cookies. And since the "Chip Mates" that I bought last week didn't go over so well with Joseph, I knew I would have to get the real deal, his beloved Chips Ahoy. And since Ford has had a turkey hotdog for dinner going on 3 nights now, I figured he'd probably need a little variety, not to mention nutrition, as well.

So this morning during Ford's nap, I raided Joseph's junk drawer and put all the change I could find in a ziploc. I got Ford up, fed him another delicious hotdog, and set off to Wal-Mart, because I wasn't about to go to Kroger for what I was about to do.

We got our groceries, just the bare essentials, headed to self-checkout, and I set up camp. I gave Ford his sippie cup and some Cheerios, rang up my loot, and proceeded to pay for my groceries with $17.26 in change. It took me 8 minutes to get it all in the slot. There was a family behind me with three kids, who I assumed were home schooled, and they just stared in awe. After the first 3 minutes, the mom went around me, but the kids stayed and watched! When I got to the pennies, they started counting. But I just held my head up high and kept at it! I figured I was helping them learn to count change, a very important life skill.

I could have very easily used the debit card, and saved myself some time and a little bit of dignity, but I walked out of there feeling pretty proud of myself! Now I'm going to go pop a bag of Great Value popcorn and curl up with a good book!!

Happy 30th Birthday, Jennie!!!

We had so much fun getting to spend your birthday weekend with you! Thank you for being the best sister and sister-in-law ever! We love you! Joseph, Sarah, and Ford

It's not who wins or loses, it's how you play the game...

We went to my sister's 1st softball game last night. She's playing with all the teachers she works with, and for the first time ever, I sort of missed teaching! They all were having the best time together! Unfortunately, they're not exceptionally talented in the game of softball, but they definitely had more fun than the other team! We got there 4 minutes into the game, and the other team had already scored 6 runs! I think the final score was 24-7. But if they can step up their defense, I think they have a shot at the playoffs...I'll keep you posted!

Brooke and Shealy in the "cage".


Go Aunt Bug!!

My Parents Deserve a Medal

We are in the process of building a house! It hasn't been nearly as stressful as I thought it would be. Luckily Joseph and I have very similar tastes, so it hasn't been a battle to pick things out. The housing market in Auburn is extremely slow right now, so the only thing we were worried about was if we would be able to sell our old house. It was a great little starter home that we had put a lot of work and sweat into, but there were many houses in and around our neighborhood also for sell. We knew that our new house was going to take at least 6 months to build, so we went ahead and listed our house with Ashley Smith Durham (the best realtor in the WORLD!!). Well, our sweet little house DID sell, and much quicker than we thought! The buyer wanted us out in 3 weeks! So my wonderful, amazing, generous parents let us move into their finished basement, and we've been here since the beginning of August! We're hoping to be into our new house by Christmas. Believe it or not, we're actually pretty content here. My parents have been incredible - available if we need them, but otherwise they give us our space. The dogs love it here. My parents live on a big pond, and Mac is down there swimming every chance he gets. They just do donuts around the house, running and rolling and having a great time! It's been wonderful having extra hands around to help out with Ford, and we've all gotten incredibly spoiled!

I'm posting some pictures of the new house. A few disclaimers...the brick is not going to be the color it looks; we're getting wash on it and it will be much lighter! It looks a little odd right now, but they assure me that's how it's done. We will have 4 bedrooms, and we're going to use the largest one as a playroom. Our yard backs up to the Kinnucan's yard, and apparently he's not too thrilled about having neighbors because he built a 10 foot fence! It's HUGE! But somehow his dogs are on our lot every time we are there! It's a brand new neighborhood with a lot of young couples with kids, so I think it will be a lot of fun for Ford. I'm sure we'll be posting more pictures as the house progresses!

Front of the house - I love the arched door!

There will be a covered porch running the length of the house with a deck coming off of the back. We got cable run to the outside and I have a feeling this will be Joseph's favorite spot!

We're the only house in the neighborhood with a wood-burning fireplace. Joseph insisted on this; apparently, the Martin men take great pride in their fire burning abilities, and who am I to stand in the way of this time-honored tradition?

Or maybe this will be his favorite spot...the walk-in crawl space, otherwise known as the man room! Joseph has all sorts of plans for this room - it will have a concrete floor, electricity, and store all of his tools. I think he would have had cable run down here, but I had to put my foot down! I think they're starting to sheetrock it early next week, so things are really moving along!

The Birthday Parties

Joseph got to celebrate his 28th birthday 3 times! The first time was in Seattle, with steak, baked potatoes, and wilted spinach...yum! Then we went out to eat with friends Monday night to Amsterdam's, and he got a delicious BBQ Chicken Pizza. On Tuesday night, his actual birthday, my mom made his favorite dinner at his request - baked chicken with gravy, rice, and green beans, topped off with his favorite dessert, banana pudding! I didn't get pictures of the first two celebrations, but here's dinner with my family.

Even though it was Joseph's birthday, the main attraction was Ford!


Mmmm Dad, that meringue is delicious!

Would you rather have me or your new golf shoes?

Happy Birthday Joseph!!

Happy 28th Birthday to the most incredible husband in the world! I love you!

Seattle Recap

What an amazing week! I am so blessed to not only get along with my in-laws, but to truly enjoy their company. We were spoiled silly while we were there, but it's really not about the "stuff". We just really love our time together! It's so funny to see Joseph and his dad together...their mannerisms, facial expressions, talking with their hands, how they stand, everything, are just alike! I call them Wadisms, and I think Joseph picks up about 5 new ones everytime they're together! It'll be neat to see if Ford has those same traits. Thank you Wade and Debbie for such a great week! And Ford said to tell the Papa and Dede that he LOVES his boots and there will be a picture soon to follow!


The boys & babies on the Grassy Knoll


All dressed up for birthday dinner



Parker & the blower...his most favorite toy EVER!


Papa & Parker selling some bonds to pay for all the plane tickets!



Naked babies in the bathtub

Little boys checking out the airplanes...Parker had to "wake them up" so they would be ready for us to fly home.

SEATTLE ROCKS!!

Postcard from Seattle

We made it! And almost without incident, if you don't count my expired driver's license and the strip search that resulted from it! Note to all travelers: Check the expiration date on your license BEFORE you are at the ticket window! And it wasn't like it was a few days expired, we're talking 3 months, people! That sends up a few red flags in this day and age!

The babies were wonderful on the plane - we even got multiple compliments from other passengers. Wade and Debbie did actually get automatically upgraded to 1st class, but they graciously traded their luxurious seats to sit in coach and help us out. Irma and her friend thought they'd hit the jackpot! The only major incident was when I was playing with Maryn and threw her up in the air and bonked her head on the overhead compartment. Apparently, babies don't like that very much. We looked like a circus crew getting out of the airport with all the babies and carseats and strollers and luggage...Wade had to rent a stretch Excursion to fit everything! Parker loved riding in the "lemonade" and the babies loved the overhead twinkle lights!

Mark and Joseph get here tomorrow. The girls are going shopping tomorrow afternoon, we have Jennie's fancy birthday dinner Thursday night, and then Jennie and I get to have an afternoon at the spa on Friday! Now that's a vacation! I've posted lots of random pictures (mainly for my parents). Enjoy!


Now I sort of know what it feels like to have twins!

Debbie and Parker

Up on the Grassy Knoll


I could just eat him alive when he scrunches up his nose!

Cousins sharing a hot dog, peas and carrots


Papa and Parker doing the daily watering

Look out Delta, here we come!

This picture is from our family trip to Charleston in June. I think it's next to impossible to get everyone looking at the camera at the same time, much less smiling, so this is the best we could do!

Ford and I are heading to Seattle bright and early Sunday morning! It will be his first flight, so I'm having a bit of anxiety about it...I just don't want to be the lady on the plane with the screaming baby! Joseph's dad, Wade, and his stepmom, Debbie, live out there, and we've always had the best time on our visits. Jennie is turning 30 September 23rd, so they are flying the entire family out there for a week! Wade and Debbie flew to Charlotte this morning for a wedding this weekend, so they will pick up Jennie, Parker, and Maryn at a ridiculously early hour Sunday morning and hop on a flight to Atlanta. Ford and I will meet them in Atlanta, and then we'll all fly to Seattle. It's about a 5 1/2 hour flight, so it should be pretty interesting how we do with 4 adults, a 2-year-old, and two 10-month olds! I figure Wade and Debbie will desert us at the first sign of trouble and try to upgrade to 1st class! I probably would if I were them!

Jennie, Parker, and I went out there last summer when Parker had just turned one, and the flight was one to remember. Parker threw up all over himself and Jennie, and while she had packed a change of clothes for him, she didn't have anything in her magic mom bag for herself! We cleaned her up as best we could with wet wipes and bathroom paper towels, but it was not a pretty sight. She had to sit through the rest of the flight and the ride to Wade and Debbie's with a lovely smell wafting around her. So at least we'll be a little more prepared this time!

Joseph and Mark are flying out on Wednesday, and then we all fly home on Sunday. Please say a prayer for us for safe travels and that we all make it there in one piece! I'll try to post some while we're out there because I think Granny and Crawdaddy would sink into a deep depression if they didn't at least get to see new pictures of Ford while we're gone!

Ford Crawls! Ford Crawls!

Well, I walked into Mrs. Pat's house today to pick up Ford after work, and lo and behold, the little man crawled right to me! Once I got over not being there to see it the first time he did it, I was so excited! He was so proud of himself. He'll crawl a little on his knees and then get up on his feet like a little monkey and take a few steps like that. Hilarious! I know crawling is a typical occurence in the life of most children, but I really thought he was just going to skip straight to walking. It's funny how once you become a mom, ordinary things become extraordinary when it's your child that's doing them. I remember right after he was born, all the (bajillion) books I had read said the most favorite thing for a newborn to look at would be his mother's face. Well, apparently my face was not very interesting, because Ford would look everywhere BUT my face. Then he didn't smile when "they" said he would. So of course, like any hormonal, sleep-deprived new mother without a clue would do, I panicked and started researching what could be wrong with my baby. I must have diagnosed him with 25 different disorders, all before he was 2 months old. Then one morning, he gave me the biggest grin I'd ever seen, and I started sobbing hysterically and uncontrollably, and had to go wake Joseph up so he could take care of Ford while I got ahold of myself! Short story long, Ford has hit every single milestone, but in his own time, not some checklist's. My advice to every new mom is throw those books out the window and soak up the moment you're in instead of stressing over what comes next. Ford is exactly who God made him to be and we're just along for the ride!

*This picture has absolutely nothing to do with crawling, as Joseph so kindly pointed out to me, but I just thought it was so stinkin' cute I had to share it!

Parker's 1st Day of School

This is my precious nephew, Parker! He had his first day of preschool yesterday. Jennie (Joseph's sister and the most fabulous sister-in-law in HISTORY) said he told her he played in the kitchen and ate pretzels. Sounds like a good day to me! If it weren't for Parker, I don't know if we would have Ford. Joseph and I were more on the "let's have time to ourselves" marriage tract, but when Parker was born in May of 2005, we quickly changed our minds! He is such a sweet boy, and extremely bright. I love him to pieces!

Ford is 10 Months Old!

My little boy was 10 months old on Sunday! He's getting so big. He has two bottom teeth, and he refuses to eat baby food. We're all about some grilled cheeses these days. As for crawling, he can go a couple of "steps" on his knees, but he usually just slides everywhere on his belly, doing the army crawl! He can pull up and his favorite thing to do is walk around holding on to Mama or Daddy. He is the BEST sleeper ever...he takes two 2-21/2 hour naps during the day that I usually have to wake him up from and he sleeps 12-13 hours every night. Joseph and I are spoiled rotten by this happy little boy!

Ford's 1st Auburn Game!

While the game may not have been pretty, we sure did have a great time! Ford did so well all day long - the only time he wasn't happy was when the jets flew over the stadium! He recovered quickly, though. We had so much fun tailgating with friends, eating good food, and just being on the Plains with thousands of Auburn fans! Ford and I went home right after the game started, but Joseph stayed on campus and watched the game at the tailgate.

We stopped by Clay and Lenzie's tailgate first so Ford could give them a present for the baby.

Then we went to see Becca and had a mini OHS reunion with Laura and Kyle. It's always great to see old friends.

We made it to our tailgate just in time for Tiger Walk!

Whoa, King Dunlap is HUGE!!

This is how we spent most of the day...Ford wants to be on the move at all times. I don't think he'll walk by himself anytime soon, though! His balance is a little off - he looks like he's had about 6 too many cocktails!

I lost count of the number of people who said, "War Eagle, little man!" to Ford. One guy actually walked all the way across the street to see him and tell us we were raising him right! I can't wait for next week!