ahoy!

::this merry band of misfits had a blast trick-or-treating and fall festivaling!::

ford said his school's fall festival was the greatest night of his life!

duncan got sent home early when he tried to climb in the corral with the miniature ponies.

and luke stuck close to granny's side...he was slightly overwhelmed!

::have you missed us?::

::we're still here!::

just CRAZY busy!

the boys are out of school for the summer,

and other than VBS next week,

we have no big plans.

but this mama still has a job...

and no childcare...

so things have gotten even wilder around the martin casa!

i've rearranged my work so i have every morning free

and then work every afternoon.

we're all adjusting and my plan is just to

wear them out every morning so they're content

to stick around here in the afternoons!

{i may or may not have resorted to bribery a few times

with a happy hour slush from sonic}

::and this guy has decided to make things interesting and cries ALL.DAY.LONG::

bless his little heart...and mine...and his brothers'...and anyone else

that is forced into contact with him.

for some reason, he seems to snap out of it when daddy walks in the door.

crazy, right?

he just has a gift:)

::duncan's 1-year stats::

weight: 21.13 - 30%

height: 30 inches - 55%

head: 75%

he was down a pound from our last visit, so if it weren't for that pesky stomach bug, i think it would have been in the same percentile as his height. and he's carrying on the martin tradition of having a big ol' noggin!

ONE

::my baby is ONE::

i am still in shock.

this year has gone by in a blink.

after delaying his party due to a nasty stomach bug,

we finally got to get our cake on last night.

---------

it was also our 7th anniversary,

& i can't think of a better way to celebrate.

i asked joseph if he thought we'd have 3 kids in 7 years.

he said, "maybe, but i sure didn't think we'd have 3 kids in 3 years!"

----------

this little boy is my heart.

he brings so much joy to our family.

-----------

and he sure can TEAR UP some cake!

he started out slow, not sure what to think.

but once he got a little taste and knew it was sweet,

he was all about it!

::we LOVE you, duncs!::

{stuck}

::i broke a pretty big parenting rule the other day.::

i handed my baby to a stranger.

a perfectly nice stranger, but a stranger.

we were at the chick-fil-a playground and my middle man

would not come down.

not with bribes, not with threats, nothing.

ford tried holding his hand down the slide,

then with my permission pushing him down...

nothing.

so i turned to a nice-looking lady and said,

"i know you don't know me, but will you please hold my baby?"

{who had a diiiiirty diaper and smelled like spit-up}

and i shimmied up the playset and retrieved my rascal of a son.

those things are not made for people in their 30s.

people didn't know they were getting lunch AND a show!

i'm sure we were quite a sight.

we won't be going back any time soon!

happy birthday, kate-kate!

happy 2nd birthday, sweet girl!

we love you so much!

{a reminder}

::even though ford is only 4, he's always been the "big" boy::

he was only 20 months old when he became the big brother,

and had just turned 3 when it happened again,

so he's always seemed so big in comparison to the little guys.

-------------------

::every once in a while, i'll get a reminder he's still my baby too::

today, he asked me to carry him upstairs for rest time.

he wrapped his arms around me, squeezed me tight,

and put his head right in the crook of my neck.

and he felt just like my baby again.

--------------------

::and then he tooted::

right on my hand.

3 times.

he laughed and laughed,

and said, 'gotcha!'

::they sure do grow up fast!::