month nine & ten | ezra

Sweetest baby Ez, somehow in the mix of the holidays I forgot to post your 9.5 month pictures & now, here we are, less than two months from your first birthday! I won't even lie, I have the feelings about your upcoming birthday! Plans are in the works and I am excited! (: 

These past couple of months have been fun and full and busy. We've been taking advantage of this unseasonably warm January by hitting the park or playing on the trampoline / in the driveway any chance we get & like your big brothers, you love being outside. You're scooting like a pro now (just like Solomon did--it's weird that none of you Martin babies crawl) and are pretty dang quick. You have 4 of the cutest teeth I've ever seen -- those top two ginormous chiclets slay me. You're the best eater around -- you're currently loving yogurt, pizza and peanut butter. And, you're even starting to consistently sleep through the night. Can you teach your biggest brother now? You give the sweetest kisses and seem to know exactly when to give them (you leaned in and gave me the biggest, wettest, sloppiest kiss when I picked you up from church nursery last Sunday). You say "addy" alllllllll day long, "bye bye", and "mama"--but only if you're wanting to be picked up in the middle of the night. You like to clap your hands when we say "yay" and hide behind your sleepy tiger when we ask "Where's Ezra?!" And, you're bald. Not 100%, but dude, your hair is taking forever to grow. 

It has made my heart so happy to see you really love being around Amos & Solomon. You don't have to be entertained by them, you just enjoy being with them. I've particularly enjoyed watching Solomon get to be a big brother to you. He's really sweet with you and will actually sit down and play with you throughout the day. My prayer consistently for you three is that you'll love each other and always be best friends. I love watching more and more of your personality come out day to day. You're loud, you're fun, you're sweet--so sweet! Keep growing big & strong, sweetest baby Ez! I sure do love you! 

[month 10 | solomon // month 10 | amos]

weekend

Things I want to remember from this weekend:

a sleepover at honey's with haley & sadie girl 

road tripping with some of my best girls all in the name of furniture

talks of motherhood and baby showers

dreaming up dreams and future plans with mikey 

the way ez kissed me when i picked him up from church nursery

a quiet sunday afternoon snuggled in with coffee and travel plans

dancing in the kitchen, with all of my boys 

weekend

we snuggled in for most of the weekend. the rain kept us in, twinkle lights on, fresh coffee brewing and candles burning all the day long. 

saturday night, though, mikey and i put our fancies on & headed to see mikey's freshman year roommate marry his girl.  we sat cozily in the pew with Mimi & Papa and listened and remembered our own vows, with smiling, grateful hearts. it never gets old - being reminded of the promises we made to each other, now 7+ years ago. it also never gets old dancing the night away with my boy.

already in 2017 we're enjoying a slower pace. dates to the park, weekending at home, plans for travel. this is the good stuff and we're drinking it in.  

currently

currently...

reading: this blog + [about to start] present over perfect 

playing: burned CDs from high school & college 

watching: the last season of Parenthood / the new season of The Man in the High Castle 

trying: to stay awake while Mikey gets some work done (12:38AM)

cooking: about to cook all the things since the gas has been turned on at our house & i can use my stove(!)

eating: chick-fil-a all day, er' day it seems 

drinking: cooooffffffeeeeeee (current fav: Driven RX coffee) 

calling: no one

texting: mikey 

pinning: travel plans / house ideas 

planning: our february family vaca (!!)  

crafting: not exactly crafting, but i've started bullet journaling & am really enjoying it 

doing:  organizing / cleaning out Amos' side of the closet (putting away size 3T things until Solly needs them)

going: to Hobby Lobby for 2 drawer pulls when Ez wakes up 

loving: that it's been 65+ and sunny around here lately 

hating: tension over what's already been done 

discovering: sparkly water isn't too bad 

enjoying: being back at the gym (thanks mom for helping me make it happen!) 

hoping: all of our travel plans come to fruition in 2017

celebrating: new things in 2017 (more soon) 

smelling:  Capri Blue / Volcano & the fresh hyacinth from Trader Joe's 

thanking: former President Obama. I may not agree with him politically, but he was still my President and his job was not easy. 

considering: buying this ... don't laugh. i've nearly cut 2 fingers off this past week with our new knives (not exaggerating)

finishing: working on our taxes until I get the rest of the documents we need 

starting: to plan Ez's first birthday party (!!) 

[to the faithful, reward is certain]

snow

Our first (and hopefully only) snow day this year brought about decent snow for downtown where we live...buuuuuttttt, we were in Fountain Inn after having spent the night with Honey because Mike was running from Asheville to Greenville on Saturday and our heat was out. Fountain Inn only received a dusting, but the boys didn't know the difference. They went to bed anxious for the snow & I honestly didn't think it was coming. (I was up at 3:45ish to nurse Ezra & there was not a drop of snow to be found.) I actually don't think it started until around 7AM and then it only lasted for a couple of hours and was barely enough to cover the ground. Yet, enough to put on all of our snow gear and to get outside & "play" for about 12 minutes. Y'all, if I'm being honest, I hate snow days. But, I hope they'll remember their excitement over wearing their snow gear, throwing snowballs at Mama (that Mama made), and jumping in the muddy puddle in Honey's driveway. 

twenty sixteen in review

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Eeeek! I thought 2015 went by fast and then 2016 happened. Sheesh. Last year was just as chaotic, busy and full of change as the last, and whatya know? We survived. We played in the snow, baby-mooned in Charleston, celebrated Mikey's last year in his twenties, welcomed Ezra (our littlest arrow), worked on our white house a lot, ran races, celebrated weddings and babies, mourned with friends overs losses, vacationed with family, (I) tromped around RI on our girls trip, celebrated birthdays and our lucky number 7, we drank in the holidays with our boys and celebrated my 30th birthday as we waved goodbye to the year. 

I mentioned last year that Mike and I took time to reflect on things that we loved about the year, things that we did well, things that needed improvement and what we wanted for the next year. This year that conversation has been a little more choppy - in between chasing kiddos, bed time, traveling to families houses for showers and laundry (we still have no hot water), and the daily humdrum of life in the Martin household. We haven't been able to settle on a word to represent this new year yet. Mainly because everything I've come up with so far has been uninspiring. So, here's to hoping for a few quiet minutes with Mikey to really think about this year and what we want it to look like. We already have big plans for travel and change, growth and new ventures. 

welcome, twenty seventeen

Allons! the road is before us! 

It is safe—I have tried it—my own feet have tried it well—be not detain’d! 

Let the paper remain on the desk unwritten, and the book on the shelf unopen’d! 

Let the tools remain in the workshop! let the money remain unearn’d! 

Let the school stand! mind not the cry of the teacher! 

Let the preacher preach in his pulpit! let the lawyer plead in the court, and the judge expound the law. 

Camerado, I give you my hand! 

I give you my love more precious than money, 

I give you myself before preaching or law; 

Will you give me yourself? will you come travel with me? 

Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?

[song of the open road, walt whitman]

 i read this excerpt from Song of the Open Road at alexa and chris' wedding in november. this is our anthem this year. gimme all the open roads we can find. adventure, be it near or far, is what we're after. my soul is itching to take the boys places. to travel. to see all that this world has. so, twenty seventeen, let's do this. 

cheers to 30

my mikey planned a surprise party for my 30th birthday ... a room full of our special people (at Stella's -- our favorite place) who spoke encouragement over me and told stories from the past 30 years. this was hands down the best birthday i've had yet! 

things I want to always remember from that night:

that room filled with my people

mikey singing Pat McGee, "haven't seen for awhile" 

bennie & BD leading "happy birthday" in their best Italian opera voices 

glasses raised

chocolate peanut butter pie 

conversations and memories shared

pictures in front of the tree

mikey, you're simply the best. thank you for loving me, knowing me, and supporting me always. thank you for being my biggest fan, my camerado. cheers to turning 30. cheers to this next year, the first in this new decade, and all of the sweet adventures it may bring.