March 20, 2008

More Photos








More Easter Photos






Happy Easter and Update (w/ PHOTOS)






i know you almost fell over when you saw photos on my blog....i haven't posted in FOREVER, but a few things have been going on. i have a new job - which i love, our dog got sprayed by a skunk - which has been hideous, and i had to get an ultrasound of my thyroid to monitor nodules. so, the last month has been a little stressful, but i'm praying that everything works out fine.

so, onto the good stuff. i took cate to get her easter pictures, and here they are.



February 14, 2008

The Yabbits

If you say, "yeah...but" really fast it sound like yabbit. Everytime I ask Cate to do something she replies, "yeah, but...".
We're trying to teach her to say yes instead of yeah - but we don't set very good examples.
Anyway - I thought this was cute.
The yabbits...ha ha ha

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

February 4, 2008

Hey Potato

friends stopped over a few nights ago with their daughter tatum. she is the cutest 9-year-old i've ever met and cate really liked her. when they first arrived, cate was such a good hostess. she asked tatum if she would like to see her playroom and they wandered off quitely holding hands. 15 minutes later they were no longer polite little girls - instead they were crazed children running at mock speed through my house. in the midst of chaos, cate who wanted tatum to follow her, stopped in mid step and looked around. she paused for a second and called, "hey potato...come here".
i wanted so badly to laugh - but i didn't want to hurt tatum's feelings. i had a good chuckle after they had gone...i mean, "hey potato" - how funny is that?

January 25, 2008

Daddy's Girl

after 2 years, 7 months and 26 days of changing yucky diapers, getting up in the middle of the night, giving bubble baths, kissing ouchies, serving over 1 million sippy cups, playing playdough, singing (and i'm not so good at that), reading, and loving my baby - i have been replaced. cate has become a daddy's girl and i'm in shock. i'm not sure why because i'm a daddy's girl, but i wasn't expecting to be "second in line" so soon.
last night, when cate came home - i got a hug and a kiss and a little bit of sass. it was obvious that she was a little upset with me (i left her overnight at grandma's), but i didn't feel too rejected b/c i told myself she'd get over it and all is well that ends well. well... in walked peter! AND, he was the man of the hour. i never saw cate so excited...i mean she ran straight toward him like he was the last available swing in the park. She screamed "daddy, daddy daddy" at the top of her lungs, jumped into his arms all while pumping her arm up and down in the air.
well - i guess that's it. i will now graciously accept a backseat position to the most important man in her life (for now).

January 15, 2008

Growing Up

Ever since Cate has joined our little family, it's been obvious that time has played a cruel trick on us. I mean it's ridiculous how fast it goes...I remember being 13 wishing to be 16 so I could drive, and now I'm not sure where the last 3 years have gone. It's completely insane, but the realization has made me thankful for each moment, each conversation and every hug/cuddle I get from my sweet pea.
Yesterday as we were driving past a flooded (yes flooded) farm, I pointed out the high-water by saying, "look at that farm; it's flooded". Cate immediately responded by pointing out that I was wrong, and that we were looking at water NOT a flood. You gotta appreciate simplicity.
Anyway - the response made me think of how fast she's learning and growing and that she is no longer that itty bitty we brought home. :( It did, however, make me feel better when she said she would need her "lellow babing suit" in order to swim in the neighbor's farm. I made her repeat "yellow bathing suit" several times, just because it made me smile.
When they are gone, I will truly miss her mis-pronunciations - a sure sign that she is indeed growing up.

January 7, 2008

2007 in Review

i can't believe it's already 2008! 2007 was a great year for the martin family...i'll spare you the long version...and give you a quick run through.

in april our little girl turned 2...i can't believe how fast she's growing. hopefully, my new blog will inspire me to keep better track of her day-to-day antics and cute sayings. she really is a sweet little girl, and both peter and i are lucky to have her.

in may we bought our dream house...it needed a ton of work and we spent the ENTIRE summer painting, landscaping, buying furniture and making our country "ranch" our home. i'll make sure and post some pictures...the before and after one's are amazing. all i can say is hundreds of hours and 52 gallons of paint.

in august we spent a few weeks on diamond lake, which is one of my favorite spots in the world. i'm sure it doesn't compare to many places around the country, but for sentimental reasons it's special to us. peter, cate and i, along with pete's mom mel, stayed in a little cottage for 2 relaxing weeks. it was nice to get a way from our work duties at the "ranch"

fall went fast and the holiday's were a blur...we hosted several parties at our new home including a halloween party, gretchen's baby shower, thanksgiving, a holiday dinner and christmas. i am not hosting every holiday next year, and thankfully other relatives have offered to do it.

2007 was blessed with health (aside from a few colds) and great memories. hopefully, 2008 will be just as good or better.

Welcome

wow - so this is my very first blog post...how exciting! so, first things first...i guess i should welcome you to the world of martins. i hope that you'll come back often and checkout my new posts/pics...if i can keep my blog updated. that will be a challenge.