current faves

In no particular order...

1. Babytrend double jogging stroller - this makes me want to go walking in the mornings! I LOVE it and highly recommend it! Luke has been in it since he was about 3 weeks old, I just put a rolled blanket around his head for a little extra support. I don't use it as my everyday stroller because it's quite large in the back of my car, but it's a must if you plan to lose that baby weight by walking or running with the kiddos!

2. Fiberone Oats & Chocolate Bars - my perfect snack! I'm hungry ALL the time due to nursing, and these are almost as good as a Snickers...almost:)

3. Babywise - I know this book is controversial, but I tell you what, it has saved my sanity! We used it with Ford from the beginning, but with Luke's early entry into the world I kept putting it off. I started my version of baby boot camp this week and it's been fabulous! He's taking 2 2-hour naps and 1 1-hour nap consistently everyday like clockwork! He's still waking up once in the night, but he's not at 12 pounds yet and Jennie tells me that's the magic number. Since she's the best (and most experienced) mom I know, I tend to take her word on just about everything!

4. Peanut Shell Sling - a must for for #2. I can get so much done - be it laundry, dishes, or playing outside with Ford - while Luke just chills in the sling. We take a walk around the neighborhood most afternoons while waiting for Joseph to get home from work and I use this to keep my hands free to grab Ford as he attempts to dart off the sidewalk every chance he gets!

I would like to point out that while that is my sling, that is neither me nor my child {I think my baby's cuter than that one - but I'm slightly biased}

5. Epidurals - have I mentioned there wasn't time for one of these with Luke? Man, oh man, it was not a pretty sight. I screamed just like the crazy women on tv do. And he was only 5-3!

6. Facebook - my latest addiction! As if I needed something else to fill up my time!

7. These little guys - 2 of my 3 most favorite people ever! Ford is loving school, loving his choo choos, and loving his little brother! And Luke just gets bigger by the minute! He's really long! He's in 3-6 month clothes now and some are already short in the stride and he's only 11 weeks old! Some days may be crazy around here, but I wouldn't trade a single second of it!

Controlled Chaos

We had a great weekend in Charlotte - for having 5 kids 3 and under, and 4 of them under 2, it was surprisingly easy! Ford had a cold (which he passed on to his momma) and was a little cranky, and Luke didn't sleep all that great at night, but all in all, the weekend was way more successful than I ever could have imagined! We even took all 5 kids to the mall to play on the indoor playground. Those Ray kids are as cute as they come! Parker is smart as a whip, and Maryn is an absolute doll. She is talking so much now and it gets me so excited for Ford to start talking more! She just loves on everyone, especially the babies. And Emma is precious...I thought she looked like Maryn, but now I think she looks more like Parker's baby pictures. I sure do love my nephew and nieces! It makes me really excited to find out what Shealy is

having!

The first picture is of Ford and Maryn at around 3 months, and the second is Luke and Emma at 8 and 7 weeks! Maryn is 7 days older than Ford and Luke is 8 days older than Emma. Jennie keeps telling me I'm on my own next time around, but with kids as cute as hers, it would be a shame not to have another one! Thanks for a great visit, sweet family! November can't come soon enough!

And by the way, my littlest man is 2 months old today! It seems like he's always been with us! The one word I'd use to describe Luke is content. The child didn't make a peep in his car seat the entire 6 1/2 hours trip both ways. He's sleeping pretty well at night - sometimes he'll go 9:30 to 5, which is amazing considering his adjusted age is only 3 weeks! He weighed 10-11 at the doctor yesterday, which means he's more than doubled his birth weight! You always wonder if you'll love the second as much as the first - the answer is YES!!! He has my heart in a different way than Ford does. Ford's my little pistol, and Luke seems happy to sit back and watch. I wonder how long that will last! I adore my boys...we are blessed!

Last thing - a tip for all you moms out there: if you have to give your baby medicine, put it in the nipple of a bottle and let them suck it out. One of the nurses in the NICU taught me this trick and it worked like a charm this morning! I waited until Luke was hungry and he sucked that stuff down in record timing! I always worry about how much they're getting of an antibiotic and how much ends up being spit out, but this is a sure thing!

Back to School

Ford got his Back-to-School haircut tonight! Keys to Success: strapped down, watching Mickey, with a bowl of M&M's!! I'm not nearly as excited about tomorrow as I thought I'd be. We've had a great month - basically ever since my temper post, Ford has been the sweetest thing! We still have our moments, but he's been so affectionate and loving, and as long as I make sure to give him some one-on-one quality time, he's pretty precious! I'm going to miss the little man and our mornings together, but hopefully I'll be really busy with work and his little brother! It'll be nice to have some alone time with Luke!

We made it back to church this morning, and Ford walked right in his classroom like he owned the place! Going to school has been so good for him - I can't say enough great things about Parkway. Everytime we drive by, he gets so excited and shouts "SCHOOL"!! It is such an answered prayer - he used to cry the entire time at church every week and on Wednesday nights. I would wake up on Sunday mornings with a knot in my stomach - no fun! I guess that's one of the drawbacks of having family here. He never really had babysitters other than my parents and Shealy. Although I certainly wouldn't change that for anything!

Oh - notice Ford's knees in the picture - his first of many skinned knees! He fell at church Wednesday night running to the fountain. He cried for about .3 seconds and then was on the go again! He is ALL boy!

Good Practice

A little forshadowing...an engaged Clayton and Shealy holding baby Ford

I'm going to be an aunt (again!!) My little sister is having a baby! I am so excited for Shealy and Clayton - they are going to be amazing parents! It has been torture keeping this secret for the past 6 weeks - I've known about Baby Mac about 3 seconds after the stick showed a plus sign! So please pray for this little one, and also for the little mama - she's been pretty sick, and I can't imagine how tough it is to start a new school year feeling like you're going to have to stick your head in the trash can every 5 minutes! Not exactly the look you're going for with a bunch of 6th graders!

He Woke Up

Sadly, this is the best picture we have of the two of them together...Ford doesn't exactly love to hold his little brother!

Luke has officially "woken up", as so many people warned me he would around his due date! He's still an angel baby - he'd sit in his papasan seat ALL day if his mother wouldn't suffer massive amounts of guilt for letting him - but he's definitely joined the land of the living. He's up twice in the night, usually for about 45 minutes a time, but luckily I have a fantastic husband who takes on one of these feedings so I just have to get up and pump. We're all a little sleep deprived - I can't say with 100% certainty that I brushed my teeth on Friday, but it could be a lot worse! Speaking of pumping, I've sadly stopped nursing and am just pumping. Luke is what we call a "lazy nurser"...he'd nurse for an hour a time and then want to repeat the process an hour later. Not exactly conducive to keeping up with a toddler! I thought maybe it was just a growth spurt, but after a week of this, we had to reevaluate the situation! I was spending half of the day sitting on the couch with a child attached to me while trying to entertain Ford, and it just wasn't working for anybody (except maybe Luke!) So now I'm exclusively pumping, which actually isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Although everytime I turn it on, Ford yells "OFF" over and over again...but he's dealing!


Thanks Knox for letting me borrow all of your cute clothes! This is Mama's favorite!


And in a moment that will go down in Martin family history, Ford actually cleaned his plate for the first time ever on Saturday! He's finally decided to eat without fussing, screaming, cajoling, or bribery! It's amazing! I don't know how long it will last, but we're certainly enjoying it in the meantime!


He's also really gotten into trains and anything with wheels. Jennie got a bunch of Thomas stuff for him a few months ago, but we were saving it for when Luke came so he'd have something new to play with. He LOVES it! Although he can't quite understand why all his trucks can't fit on the track!

This is his new favorite spot - whenever Luke's not in it, he is!


And here they are together "playing" trains. Ford is actually very sweet with Luke, always patting him and giving him kisses, and he gets really upset if Luke is crying. And he's very good at sharing - the other day, Ford and I were sharing a cup of lemonade. He loves to drink out of real cups, so I just put a straw in everything and we're good to go. Well, I was flipping through a magazine, not paying 100% attention to the boys, and Ford took the cup over to Luke to "share" and dumped the entire contents on his sweet little head! Luke was shrieking, Ford ran and hid in his cabinet, and I couldn't stop laughing! Life with these two will never be dull!

August 10th

Today is Luke's due date! This has been the day circled on the calendar for the past nine months...I never in a million years would have thought I'd have a 5 1/2 week old on this day! SURREAL! And as crazy as those first few weeks were, I wouldn't change a single thing! This little angel has almost seamlessly become a part of our family. I can't imagine life without him! Everytime I look at him I'm reminded at what a miracle he is and what a blessing.

He had his 1-month checkup on Thursday. He weighed 7-15 (if I hadn't changed a huge diaper right before he would have been over the 8 pound mark!) He's now 21 1/2 inches, so he's grown 3 inches and gained almost 3 pounds since his birthday! Pretty good for a little guy that only got IV fluid for the first 5 days of life! He really would have been a whopper if he had been born today! We love you, little Luke! And that includes your big brother, even if he doesn't always act like it:)

Baby Boys

Here are my two little angels, Ford at a few days old and Luke at 2 1/2 weeks. Do you think they look alike? The top picture is Ford and the bottom is Luke. I love looking at sleeping babies! So peaceful!

And as an aside, I don't think that picture looks anything like Ford now. And man, that child was orange! I think this was the day he had to stay in the baby tanning bed to get rid of the jaundice. They brought the light box to our house and you could see the strange glow from the street. Cars would drive by very slowly trying to figure out what it was. Hopefully the big blue bow on the mailbox tipped them off that we weren't doing anything illegal!