Pop's Hat

Truitt and Sue (Charlie's Parents) arrived late afternoon on Sunday. It was a journey for them as we had severe winter warnings and about 7 inches of snow that had come. Truitt was wearing this hat when he arrived and Hannah loved it so much she had to keep putting it on! Just wanted everyone to see the cute picture of her. Hope everyone is staying safe and warm just like Hannah!

Merry Christmas!

We did not end up getting a Christmas card out this year with being so busy. But wanted to share this picture of Hannah. We are very excited for this upcoming Christmas and Hannah is very excited too. She loves the Christmas tree and all the lights. We have all been very busy and are very thankful for a great year. Hannah has taught us so much this year and we are lucky to have such an amazing daughter. She is caring and loves to help us no matter what it is. I myself feel very lucky. I have a wonderful husband who works very hard and does so much for our family. He is such a good husband to me and father to Hannah. We are all counting down the eight weeks left before our little bundle of joy comes into this world. All of us busy preparing and teaching Hannah all about babies, to prepare her for her little brothers arrival. Along with that we have been unpacking again. Yes again because we finally bought a house. Many of you know we sold our Condo back in June and have been waiting to find the perfect house. Just when we thought we would stop searching God brought us to a brand new house in Issaquah, WA. It was everything we were looking for and more. Charlie's office is just five minutes away so that has been a real treat for him not having to go far to the office. We have been in the house for almost two weeks and are unpacking and trying to settle in our new home. It is great to finally be done moving for a while and to be able to unpack and have our home when the baby comes. It feels like such a wonderful gift to have gotten this house just in time for Christmas. We are all excited to begin to make memories in this house. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Thank-you to all who have been supporting us and praying for us during this busy time.

"What"

Our little girl is growing up so fast! She loves to do everything Charlie and I do and say. She has become quite the little helper too. Last night we realized how much she loves to say things like us and copy things we do. Yesterday all day long she would put her hands on her hips and say "what". In response to things we would say to her. Charlie and I discovered that we always say that as a response to things. She quickly picked up on it and is continuing to say it and repeat different words we say. Also she has become quite the ice addict. Yes that is me teaching her that one, having horrible heart burn and crunching on ice chips. Through out the day she takes a cup over to the fridge dispenser and says "ice?" She loves to suck on the little bits like mom. At first I would just put my cup away and say its all gone but then she realized that if it is all gone we need more and would want to help to get more ice for both of us. It reminds us how we have to be very careful in what we do and say because we have someone always watching us and looking up to us as parents. It made me think about the song "O Be Careful, Little Eyes" One part says,

O be careful little mouth what you say
O be careful little mouth what you say
There's a Father up above
And He's looking down in love
So, be careful little mouth what you say.

I remember my parents teaching us this song and singing it growing up. Sometimes we forget about things like this, but having a child has reminded me that not only is our Heavenly Father looking down but my little girl is looking up to us and we want to be a good example to her.

"Poopy In The Potty"

Today was a big day for Hannah. We have been trying to get Hannah interested in going to the bathroom on her potty chair. We first had it in the living room so she could sit on it with clothes and get used to it, we then moved it to the bathroom this week and have been letting her sit on it when ever she wants. Today was a busy day of her wanting to sit on it. Finally this afternoon she sat on it and went poopy. She then got up and said "uh oh" repeatedly. She thought she had done something wrong. We all praised her for going poopy in the potty but she just kept saying "uh oh". What a big girl she has become. I am hoping this will keep up and maybe we can have her potty trained in the next couple of months.

I Can Dress Myself!!

I know it ends up around my head and on my body!

Maybe if I just put it on my head it will work.Ok, this is confusing, how do I get it over my head!
"Hannah let me help you" daddy said and her pouty face came out and she was just sad!

Hannah is miss independent! She likes to do everything herself. She has perfected the pouty face to try and get her way.

Su Su (charlie's mom) has been here for a week and has been a great help. Hannah is still having ear problems and we had to take her back to the Dr on Friday. Her right ear drum burst and she has an infection in the left still. So she is on another round of meds to see if we can get it better. Thankfully we have help because she is extra fussy! The Dr also took her off of all dairy products because she thinks she has an allergy to it. We are on a Soy trial for three weeks to see if it makes a difference. The baby is doing great. I had an appointment yesterday and they said his heart rate was good and he looks great. Thank you to everyone who has been thinking about us and praying for us.

Halloween

Hannah was a ladybug for Halloween. We went to a church event called Fallapallooza. Hannah had so much fun watching all the kids in their different costumes. She was a bit young to do many of the things there but they had an area set up for toddlers with slides and toys that she loved. Dad even helped her bounce on an inflatable bouncer they had. She was so worn out by the end that she fell asleep. It was so fun to see her all dressed up. She is growing up! She is talking a lot more now and is looking more and more like a little girl not my little baby she once was. Here are some pictures of the night.

Auntie And The Kids Leave

Our morning started at about 2 am when Hannah started screaming "Akariah" she just loves her cousin Zekariah. We are not sure if she was dreaming about him and then woke up to call him or what she was thinking about. We got her settled back down and 7 am seemed like it came fast. My sister and her family left early this morning for their flight back to South Carolina. It was sad saying good-bye as Hannah did not understand why she was not going with Auntie and the kids since for the past month that is what she always did.

We were able to distract her, as we left soon after them to go to get an ultrasound to check on the baby. It was the first time Hannah seemed to be interested in looking at the screen watching the baby. Of course Charlie being excited that we are having a boy had to ask the technician if it still was a boy! And yes he still was a boy!

When we got home Hannah seemed to wander around the house looking for the kids and calling Akariah. We miss them all already and I am sad that we are not closer to family as this was Hannah's first experience being around kids everyday.

I thought this picture was so cute! My sister was packing last night and Hannah climbed in the suitcase ready to go with her.

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we all went to the pumpkin patch. Hannah and my sister's kids had so much fun. The pumpkin patch was filled with so many different things; a petting farm, kids play area, wagon ride, Washington's largest corn maze, and a field full of pumpkins. We all had a good time, although it did take us all a while to get out of the corn maze. After spending the day there we all went to Red Robin for dinner. By the time we got home Hannah was fast a sleep. It was good to spend time with them before they leave tomorrow.

Hannah and Dad in the corn pit.

Hannah watching and telling everyone what sound a goat makes.

The Martin Family in the corn maze.

Sleeping after a long busy day!!!

A Visit From The Smith Family

My sister has been here visiting and helping out. It is great to have her here and her three kids. My nephew Caleb is 4 and my niece Alexia Karis is 3 and my youngest nephew Zekariah is 1. Hannah is having so much fun being around them. Especially that her and Zekariah are only 9 weeks apart. They have been going to the park and taking a lot of walks. There is a trail by the house which all the kids love picking blackberries. It is fun to see them come home with blackberry stained hands and faces. We bought them some bouncy balls which they love to play with in this gated basketball court. We don't see them often because they live on the other side of the country so it is nice to be able to see all of them and all the kids interacting together. My sister and I have always been really close so it is nice to have my sister and a good friend to talk to and be around.

Rebecca has been a big help while I'm getting rest with this pregnancy. She has taken on watching all four kids and cooking meals as well as helping do the cleaning and laundry. You should see her with all the kids, she does so well with all of them and I admire how much she can do. She is here for a little while longer and then Travis my brother in law will fly out here to help her fly home. We will all miss them when they leave and Hannah will miss all the interaction she has been getting with them.

Back To The Dr. Again

Yesterday was a crazy day of everyone being sick. Hannah has only gotten worse. We took her back to the Dr. and her ears were still infected. Her bronchitis was worse and they put her on an inhaler. We have to watch her breathing and temperature to make sure they don't get worse. The Dr. said we might have to go back in a few days to get her on steroids for her bronchitis. With everything else I ended up with an ear infection in both ears too. We were so busy with going to the Dr. and picking up medication that cooking was just not an option. Thankfully Charlie's parents ordered us a hot dinner meal from Honey Baked Ham with warm apple pie. We appreciated the meal as it has been hard to even think about cooking with trying to get us all better.

"Balloo" "Balloo"

Charlie has been sick for a while coughing and congested we finally took him to urgent care this morning because he did not sleep all night. Our family Dr. closed down because they are building a condo where the office was, so we knew he would not be able to get into a new Dr. right away. The Dr. prescribed him some medicine and some antibiotics. Thankfully we were the only ones in the urgent care so we were in and out pretty fast. Afterwards we dropped off the prescription at Walgreens. While we were waiting we walked down the street to the Issaquah salmon festival. Hannah and daddy had so much fun trying the different foods. While we were walking around different kids had these big balloons. Hannah repeatedly said "balloo" "balloo". Charlie saw the person selling them about two blocks away. Being the great dad he is, he ran as fast as he could to go get her one. The things a daddy will do for his daughter. When she saw him with the big balloon she could not stop screaming, she was so excited.

Asleep At Last

For the past couple of days Hannah seemed to have gotten worse. The antibiotics we were giving her were all in the penicillin family and were making her very sick. Tonight she had her fourth try of a different antibiotic which was not penicillin. The Dr. thinks Hannah is allergic to penicillin so we are hoping that she will feel better soon with a new antibiotic. Since she is very congested she does not sleep very well in her crib so daddy's shoulder seemed like the right place to finally dose off to sleep.

My Poor Baby!

My poor baby girl was up all night crying. We had to take her to the drs. yesterday because she has been sick for the last couple of weeks. Hannah has two bad ear infections and an eye infection in both eyes and has bronchiolitis. She has never been that sick before and as a parent it is hard to watch her be in so much pain. I wish I could take all her pain away and make her better. We are hoping that she starts to feel better soon and gets more rest.

A New Addition To The Family

We are very excited to share that we are expecting our second child. The arrival of child #2 will mean some big changes ahead for all of us. As we are busy preparing and as mom is getting all the rest she needs please keep all four of us in your prayers.

Swim Fun With Dad

Today was a beautiful, sunny, hot day here in Seattle. After church we ran some errands and let Hannah take a nap. When she woke up we took her swimming. Mom was lifeguard, and photographer on the edge taking in the sun and relaxing. Dad was in the water with Hannah. She loves swimming, and splashing. We spent a few hours at the pool since it will be getting cold and this was probably one of the last times to go swimming.

Good Bye Is Hard!

Today was a hard day for all of us. My mom and Jakob left, they have been staying with us for the past month helping us settle into our new house and just spending time with us. Charlie took them to the airport and I stayed home since Hannah was still sleeping. When she woke up she seemed to be fine but as the day progressed she started to wonder where they were. My big girl is just a chatter box now. She repeatedly screamed Nannie and akob which she means "Jakob" over and over all day long. Anytime she heard a noise or kids outside she would run to the window thinking she would see them. Which made me tear up thinking how attached to them she had gotten and how sad it is that they don't live closer. Hannah will miss her Nannie and Jakob and all the times they shared. Whether it was just cuddling or learning to swing on the swing they will be missed by all of us.

I'm so happy my Nannie and Jakob came to visit me!

Nannie taught me how to swing.

Playing in the ball pit and peek-a-boo time!

Uncle Jakob showing me how to blow up a balloon!

Riding my first roller coaster with my uncle!

Nannie taught me what sound each animal made on my farm.

I will miss them so much, thank-you for coming!

Hannah’s Birthday Celebration

Hannah had a wonderful birthday. The day before we took her to Chuck E. Cheese to play, and ride on the toddler rides. Grandpa flew in to help celebrate and Nannie and her uncle Jakob have been here with us already. She was not too sure of the rides at first but began to have fun after the first few rides. I think she liked it better when the rides were not moving. She loved watching Chuck E. Cheese and all his friends dance and sing on the stage. She participated in the dancing part as she loves to dance. We also went to Olive Garden as she loves to eat spaghetti. She enjoyed having some peach tea while we were there too. Hannah was so excited her birthday was finally here that she woke up early to begin the celebration. Grandpa had gone early to get her Krispy Kreme as she loves the glazed donuts. She opened all her gifts in the morning, we all had to show her how to unwrap as she was not sure what to think of the whole thing. I think her uncle did most of the unwrapping which was fun for him. Her big gifts were already put together, thanks to dad who stayed up late putting the pieces all together and the batteries in so they would be ready to use right away. She had a wonderful day playing with all her toys and she just loves her ball pit. She is fearless and dives right in. We had a birthday dinner and celebrated with birthday cake. She had a smash cake that we were not sure if she would even do anything with but she ended up accidentally sticking her hand in it and then she began to realize how fun it was. For all you who know Hannah you know how fast things change so one minute it was fun and the next it was not, she wanted to be clean. Dad rushed her up for her birthday bath and she was so tired from the long day she fell a sleep shortly after that. It was a good day so thank-you to my parents who were here to help with all the different things and to all those who thought of Hannah on her 1st Birthday.

I can’t believe it has been a year since our little miracle was born. Hannah Grace Martin turned one today and it has been a busy year for all of us. While we spent the past year trying to teach her all about life, Hannah taught us what life was all about. We stopped living for the occasion and started living for the moment, because when we see Hannah’s eyes light up and a beautiful smile start, we realized how precious every second was for us. Our lives are not our own anymore, we live for a new little person. We have laughed more and have never been more exhausted, which we seem to forget as soon as we see our beautiful little girl. We and I mean “daddy” will do anything to cheer Hannah up or make her laugh in public. Even if that means embarrassing mommy. Each day we discover something new God is growing her into. She is a beautiful person in and out, thoughtful, carefree, and determined. We are excited to see all the new things that will continue to happen in all of our lives and share them with everyone. That is why we created this blog, we wanted to be able to share all our memories for those who are not near us.