Martin Family Kids

SCHOOL!!!

2012-08-17T21:55:00.001-07:00

How can it be time!!! Back in December of 2006 I couldn't have even dreamed what August of 2012 would look like....WOW....yep it's true...time flies...

We went to the mall tonight to pick up Carrsons first ever pair of "school shoes". He tried on 2 pair and chose these all by himself. I can't believe in 10 days my very first baby starts school!

CAMPING!

2012-07-25T12:40:00.001-07:00

I hope we dont regret this! We have decided to go camping! on the beach! in a tent! yes....camping on the beach in a tent....in July. Crazy? Maybe. Regardless we will have some of the best memories I'm sure! Carrson has been asking to sleep in a tent for a while now and we've never been. Its typically too hot to camp in Texas unless you go in the Spring or in the Fall when the weather is more mild. But if we actually have a good time this weekend we are going to invest in a tent of our very own! Our super sweet friends are letting us borrow theirs for the weekend! (THANK YOU!) have you ever tried to pack for camping? like real camping...roughing it? Its a lot of work! I have a 4 page organized list broken down in to the different sections for the different types of items we will need just crazy. we will have no electricity or running water for 2 1/2 days...so when you think of it like that maybe that will help you imagine everything we will need. Maybe I'm just that in the dark about camping and yall already knew all of that. Needless to say its taken several lists and lots of organizing to get us ready but we are almost there! I'm getting excited! The best part is it will cost us a tank of gas there, $12 beach parking permit, and a tank of gas home...thats it! beach vacation on the cheap!

Long Time No See!!!

2012-07-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

Its been such a long time since I've written anything here...I'd like to get back in to blogging but I'm not going to promise anything yet. Carrson starts school in 5 weeks! Just 5 more weeks will he get to be carefree and not have to worry about homework. He will be in school through college (I hope!) and then working after that so really until retirement! Yikes! He is really excited and because his birthday is in December he already knows sooo much. He can count to 100, reads and sounds out words, can spell and write his name and many other words, can do basic addition and subtraction, and now we are working on counting money. All of this he has shown interest in and so we just teach as he shows interest. Paisley just turned 3 years old at the end of May and wow...I feel like I was just on here writing her birth story! She has grown so fast and is just a gorgeous beautiful little girl...but don't tell her that! She loves to hang with bubba and is obsessed with "being a boy" she doesn't want to wear skirts or dresses because she doesn't want anyone to tell her she looks pretty. She wants people to tell her she is handsome like bubba ;) She is our shy girl and wont even make eye contact with people she doesn't know or doesn't see often. Which also means she will not go to her class at sunday school haha! but thats ok because she is so quiet she just sits in the big church with us when we go and just writes or whatever she feels like doing quietly at the time. Violet will turn 1 on 8.31.12, what a whirlwind of a year that was..transitioning to having 3 kids was no joke! I feel like it definitely took a little bit to feel like I wasnt drowning in laundry and chaos! not to mention I dealt with Postpartum Depression this time around and finally I feel like thats all under control! (thats a whole other post, lol) She started walking at 9 months old....she has been the earliest walker of the 3. She is definitely the one who has just flown through the milestones the fastest, just blows my mind! The only thing she wasnt in a hurry to do was get here...she was born at 42 weeks and that was my longest pregnancy of the 3...guess she is all about trumping all the records as far as the kids go...longest pregnancy, heaviest birth weight, quickest with all the milestones...ok, ok Violet we get it..YOU win! As for me I'm studying to become a Natural Childbirth Educator through a program and series of classes called Birth Boot Camp www.birthbootcamp.com Its all about educating moms about natural childbirth and breastfeeding. Its something I've become so passionate about in the last 5 1/2 years and I'm excited to share it with the rest of the world! Literally anyone who will listen! When my kids are all in school I'd like to pursue Midwifery School and become a midwife...thats really my life long passion, as far back as I can remember I've always wanted to help mothers deliver babies...and thats transformed from wanting to be an OB/Gyn to wanting to be a midwife...much more my cup of tea. hopefully I can get back to blogging regularly! Megan

carrsons birthday invite

2010-11-22T13:39:00.001-08:00

Sweet Treat Blue Birthday

Birthday party invitations and cards by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

milestones galore!

2010-01-18T20:46:00.001-08:00

I dont even know where to start...Paisley can do just about anything she wants now its nuts! the short list is:
crawling
pulling up to stand
wave bye bye
wave hi
say dada, bubba, rara (not sure what the heck rara is but its the first the she babbled constantly)
she can vocalize when she wants something, she kind of grunts at it to hint to us to start figuring it out haha
and she can do back bends....well while having a mini meltdown that is ;)
she is getting really big really fast and just developmentally she is amazing me each day, i always text rusty while he is at work saying, she is doing this, or she is doing that and its just awesome to see her grow and change each day. loosing my job was one of the hardest things for me because i've always been a very busy person going and going and never stopping to smell the roses but this past 13 months has forced me to do so and its been the most rewarding 13 months of my life, it wont last forever but i can't even express to you how amazing its been being with my children at home. Its hard being a working mom, and its hard being a stay at home mom and i've officially done both. all i can say is its going to be really hard having to go back to work, unless i sell everything in my house to stay at home first so i dont have to go back and i can keep enjoying my kids and watch them grow and learn. who knows maybe i'll be blessed to get a job that keeps me at home with them so I dont have to miss out :).

sickness update!

2009-12-15T20:55:00.001-08:00

well everyone is better around here thank goodness, they just have the lingering after effects of their colds, little runny noses but both are great now! the colds usually last about 10 days and there is really nothing you can give to them i usually just dish out the vicks baby rub and the vaporizer and all the nursing for paisley and loves and cuddles for carrson that they can stand and then one day they are just better. :) christmas is coming fast! wow!! and carrson is now 3 yikes! too fast just too fast!

Sick kiddos... :(

2009-12-01T20:20:00.000-08:00

Well after 6 months and 4 days Paisley is officially SICK :( she has a runny nose, and cough and watery eyes. The cough and runny nose I can handle, I know things need to run their course and there isnt much you can do to interfere. But today when her normal cough turned in to a barking cough, thats when I start to interfere. So instead of calling her Ped where all they are going to say is come in and then there we are just exposed to all kinds of germs right now while all kinds of kids are sick with much worse, I call my trusty midwife Kelly. So now both the kids are on Elderberry and Robitussin DM as needed. Carrson is getting better, his cold seems to be on its way out, he only coughs occasionally mainly at night or when he has been playing too hard. But Paisley is right smack in the middle of hers, right at the point where it gets worse before it gets better, so stuffy (sucking out her nose like crazy)and congested to where her little nose just leeks. Her little cough is so sad but for being sick she at least seems in good spirits most of the time besides needing to eat every 2 hours and taking some really long naps lately but hopefully our house if clear of the yuck very soon!

Dream-eze!!

2009-11-29T06:55:00.000-08:00

I began the journey of cloth diapering when carrson was 10 months old...that was over 2 years ago. Since then i've used many versions of cloth diapers and if it wasn't easy I wouldnt be doing it. And if you know me at all you know this is true. I'm all about easy easy easy! We've used Bum Genius, Fuzzi Bunz, Prefolds, just to name a few. Right now my new FAVORITE is called DreamEze in the cloth diapering world its known as an All-in-one or AIO I love it because its trim, usually with cloth diapers you get some bulkiness issues but this one is trim, not as trim as a paper diaper but still trim, and so so so soft on the inside its made with organic cotton and just soft as can be. It also snaps which is more durable than the velcro on some diapers because over time it wears and becomes shabby, and if your going to resale them which you can!! so you save even more money!!! than snaps are the way to go! I ordered mine from a local dfw mom and whom also happens to be part of my playgroup :) at www.simplebaby.com Shannon is the mom to adorable Coco and the site is awesome they have lots of cool SIMPLE things on there.

on another note Paisley is now 6 months old so now the solid food adventure begins! Its recommended to wait until 6 months to start solids to prevent the development of food allergies, and really solids are for fun anyway until the kiddo turns a year old because nothing has a higher caloric intake than breastmilk or formula. Solids should NOT replace nursing or bottles EVER and are just given in addition to so the baby can practice eating in preparation for their second year of life. We are taking an approach to solids called Baby Led Weaning more can be read about that here http://babyledweaning.blogware.com/ but it skips purees and rice cereals all together and Paisley is having lots of fun with it! We are too :)

We go for the kids' well baby check ups on Carrsons 3rd birthday, which is coming up way too fast! so we'll have an official weight and length for her then but I have a baby scale at home and according to that she is a little over 16 lbs now. She has been sitting up un supported for well over a month and she hates being on her belly so who knows when she'll crawl but i'm in no hurry for any of that to happen cause then that means i'll have to invest in a $100 baby gate to reach from the wall to the bar to block off the kitchen and i'd like to wait till after christmas to make that purchase :) Other than that the kids are doing great and we can't wait till christmas!

Fall Update

2009-10-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

I know its been a while, life happens and things get busy! So a little update :)

When school started at the end of August (my last post) I started homeschooling my little brother and sister. Its actually a virtual academy and just public school from home but School at home none the less. It was kinda crazy at first before we figured out a routine and got organized but its been great and now that it all flows like it should its so easy and they are both really happy with it! Especially now that we found a home school social group. They do stuff almost every day of the week! So we meet with them around once a week maybe twice if they get ahead on their work and its great fun, its local here in burleson and the kids are their age! Definitely a great school program www.k12.com has going for them :) Their teachers have it the best though they get to "teach" from home! we have talked to a few of them at the latest field trips that we have gone on and they all just love it! but who wouldnt ;) doing less for more money :) and they still get to work with the kids.

Its Official Carrson has Learned the Potty!!!! He is in underwear full time now except for at night of course but that comes with time. We are so proud at how fast he took to it! Over the course of the last year we have been trying and practicing and making him familiar with the potty and then after all summer of not being interested because, well baby sister was in diapers so why shouldnt he get to be......Well I decided it was time to try just one more time and really go for it! No more half and half cause that can be confusing when your 2 wondering if at that moment you had diaper or underwear on so I decided just to go for the underwear full time! No more confusion! and he has done EXCELLENT! I think a combonation of being relaxed not having any expectations or timeline of when it SHOULD happen and being flexible and waiting for him to be ready really made it easy.

Last weekend we went to the pumpkin patch in flower mound. I had heard it was great and that it was free best of all, but we had been going to a pumpkin patch here in Burleson for the last few years, so we decided just to try it and well....it was ok...not that great but carrson had fun none the less. We will be going to our hometown pumpkin patch next weekend! We should be redeemed then :) We did get lots of pictures but really it was just cold and wet and muddy!

Paisley is getting so big! she is starting to get the cutest little personality, she is now trying to grab everything she can get thats right in front of her, really starting to use her voice and just being cute as ever. She rolled over for the first time a few weeks ago but now every time you put her on the floor on her back she flips over to her stomach. She loves playing with her feet and I'm sure as soon as she figures out how to eat them, they will stay there full time. I'm proud to say that some crazy cold/fever/sickness went around the house and little P didnt catch anything but a watery eye! yay for mama milk :) everyone in the house is better now but it was nasty whatever it was that went around here. I know so many people that have the flu right now, I know its just a matter of time, I'm not scared of it just waiting on it I guess. But maybe we'll still luck out...Just remember that warm soapy water is better than hand sanitizer! She is still a wonderful sleeper, which is so nice compared to Carrson WOW :) even Teething has officially started. She continues to surprise me with just how easy going she is.

My sisters baby will be here soon She starts her 3rd trimester next week! crazy!! its going to be very busy the next few months with birthday parties and baby showers :) Exciting!

3 months old!

2009-08-31T18:31:00.001-07:00

Paisley turned 3 months old this past Thursday she is about 12 and a half pounds and looong with the cutest chunky thighs you've ever seen! She has the sweetest personality always smiling and talking to us when she isnt sleeping or eating. Lately she has enjoyed some play time in between her regular just sleeping and eating pattern. She loves her brother he talks to her and is so very sweet to her, she definitely lets him know when she's had enough and he is quick to back away once she does ;) . We just got back from our first road trip with a baby who hates the car and she did AMAMZINGLY well!! We are so thankful! maybe the real issue is she just wants someone to look at while she rides in the car...

Thats about it for us right now...

Congrats to Amorey and Brandon and Aunt B and Uncle Josh on the birth of Baby Hadley Jackson!!

family pic preview #1

2009-08-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

2 months!

2009-07-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

Paisley had her 2 month well baby visit yesterday and everything looks great! She is our long and skinny girl just like her brother, most babies when the gain weight they gain it in rolls well Paisleys cheeks get bigger and her legs get longer ha! But she is healthy and growing well and dr said he likes what he sees :)

She is SUCH a good baby, she smiles and coos and talks and sleeps well, her only rough spot is her belly issues but thats mostly my fault, i guess i'm a little scared to give up dairy again even though i know that it wont be forever. I just hate to see her cry after the gas from the foods i've eaten builds up on her after about 2 or 3 days cause its about every 3rd day that we get a crying fit out of her poor baby :( I bought this stuff called Colic Calm and it REALLY helps i guess this is why i'm hesitant to actually give up the dairy because i know this stuff works and helps her out! its like mylicon TIMES 10! its the best stuff i've found and I wish I would have had it with Carrson!

Carrson keeps doing better and better with her, he is so sweet to her the only thing that makes me nervous is when he tries to move around next to her, his knees and feet get a little wild but i just remind him that he has to move slowly and then he pays attention better. He loves to talk to her and hold her and play with her on her little toy mat. He really does love her :) for now anyway ;) We'll see how he feels when she starts moving around and going after his trains he has set up all around the house....HA!

Paisley's Photoshoot!

2009-07-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

Heather took these for us! Thank you Heather!!

Paisley's Chiropractor Visit

2009-07-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

I took Paisley to the Chiropractor yesterday for her "newborn chiro exam" and got her all checked out to make sure she was all aligned ;) and told her about her being gassy at night and how it makes her pretty unhappy and she adjusted her and all is well in our house! so if the gas starts agitating her again i'm calling dr. kristy! newborn chiropractic care is safe AND recommended!

Paisley's first 4th of July!

2009-07-05T19:47:00.001-07:00

We went CAMPING!! the entire family went and a good time was had by all! Paisley was a sweetie, and took great naps so I could go swimming with Carrson a few times and have fun with him. Carrson had a GREAT time with his cousins Bella and Sophie. We watched the most beautiful fireworks display and then went back to the campsite and set off a few of our own fireworks! Thats always fun, Carrson wasn't too impressed with the loudness of the fireworks so his hands were firmly pressed against his ears for the entire show but he enjoyed them from afar. Now for the best part of any vacation is unpacking and doing laundry.... omg the worst :(

2009-07-01T14:37:00.001-07:00

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First Day without Daddy!

2009-06-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

Rusty went back to work today after 4 weeks and 6 days off! what a blessing it was to have him at home while we transitioned in to a family a 4. We had a great day today no road blocks today at least everybody got fed and clothed and diapers were changed and the house got picked up so i'll say it was pretty successful! Carrson had a little bit of a testing time this morning where he was testing me and still making sure that all the same rules still applied even though Rusty wasnt home and we worked through it, it turned out being a great day! We sure do miss Rusty being home with us but somebody has to work in this household!

Paisley is a smiley little girl now! She will be 5 weeks old tomorrow and is just precious as ever! Carrson is so sweet to her, when she cries he says "mommy pick her up!" or "mommy she needs num nums!" or if we are in the car he says "its ok paiswey-no cryin" he is so sweet and caring :)

We are getting ready to celebrate our first holiday with her! The 4th of July and we are going camping (renting a cabin) on Lake Whitney should be a great time we are really excited to go out with the whole family!

I'll post some pics soon!

3 weeks old!

2009-06-16T11:18:00.000-07:00

Paisley will be 3 weeks old on Wednesday, and did i miss something somewhere that says when you have a baby your supposed to stay locked in the house until the random people at random stores say its ok to come out???? I dont think so! so people keep your comments about my tiny baby going to the store with us at home! We were at babies r us and this lady is standing behind me and she says oh how old is she....i reply and she says oh my goodness can you imagine being that tiny out in this heat? are you kidding me lady seriously we live in Texas, she is dressed appropriately and taking a nap...looks comfy to me...ugh

speaking of going out places a fall back to being a 2nd child is that you have an older sibling to keep up with and big brother has to keep entertained so we went to the water park last week and mama and pais stayed in the shade with the nice breeze and big brother and daddy had a blast at Bedford Splash water park! This week we are going to the Cleburne one....and dont worry baby police she will stay shaded and comfortable just like last week :)

Paisley is getting better at lifting her head and holding the support of the big old thing lol, its so cute, she is starting to get the "attitude head" going its cute...she has also found her "witching hour" its normal at this age for babies to have a fussy period during some time of day, and she has found hers...at about 7-8 pm she starts getting fussy and inconsolable and gassy :( its not too bad rusty and i switch off taking turns trying different things to console her, i wish it was as easy and her nursing and being happy again but not so much. it usually lasts till about 10:30 or so and then she is ok and goes to bed and sleeps just fine at night. Its just getting to that point and juggling, nursing, burping, walking, rocking, rubbing her belly lightly, bicycling her legs, changing her diaper and starting all over at the beginning when none of that works or when it only works for a few minutes. But the great website of www.Kellymom.com tells me this is normal

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussy-evening.html

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussybaby.html

http://www.kellymom.com/pantley/pantley22.html

anyway hopefully this tiny little phase passes fast, i hate hearing her cry and not being able to fix it, makes me so tense to not be able to fix whats wrong! anyway i need to upload some more pictures from my camera and hopefully i'll have some time to do that sometime this week :)

2 week check up!

2009-06-11T14:01:00.001-07:00

well our baby girl is now 2 weeks old, time is flying! and she is still precious as ever, thank goodness because her big brother is becoming a lovely little handful :D we had our 2 week check up with Kelly in Peaster and Paisley is now weighing in at 8 lbs 6 oz, she only had to be back to birth weight by 2 weeks but she has definitely surpassed that! She also got her 2nd newborn screening (blood test) done and it didnt go as well as the first in regards to her tolerating the heel prick...poor baby, the first one she nursed right through and didnt even budge...this one, not so much, she was latched on and as soon as her heel was pricked she unlatched and was MAD but it was over fairly fast and she was ok again. I also got checked out to see how I was healing up and so far so good, I'm feeling great too so thats a plus. We go see Kelly again in 4 weeks just to check on us one more time :D I'm sad that we wont have any appts after that I sure will miss those girls.

Paisley also saw Dr. Young today our Pediatrician for the first time and he also gave her a clean bill of health she is 21.5 inches long now and her head is 14 5/8 inches so she is growing everywhere perfectly just as she should and he said she looked perfect and to keep doing what we are doing :D . We'll go back again on July 27 for her 2 month check up.

Paisley also saw her first movie in the theater today, Rusty and I went to see "The Hangover" wow it was very funny and Paisley did pretty good we only had to leave the room once to change her diaper and the rest of the time i was able to nurse her just fine and then to get her back to sleep i just walked her in the little hall way so i was still able to see the movie so i did'nt miss hardly anything at all!

SLIDE SHOW!!

2009-06-06T12:17:00.001-07:00

http://www.dfwbirthphotographer.com/Paisley.html

this is more pictures in slide show form of paisleys birth

First Bath!!!

2009-06-04T16:08:00.000-07:00

her cord stump fell off on day 6! thats crazy fast it took carrsons 3 weeks to fall off...anyway so she can enjoy baths now...and she did she loved it! Rusty gave her her first bath and she didnt even cry :)