Sunday, January 27, 2008

Tuesday Play Group, Jan. 22nd.




We held this past week's Tuesday Play Group at a local church's indoor playground. The kids had a ton of fun. Even Maggie enjoyed it. It was nice to let them run around without trashing one of our houses! We packed lunches, and the kids ate a little picnic there at the play gym. They were actually like little angels sitting there together! Oh, if every Tuesday could work out that well... Of course, it only took me four hours of preparation and packing that morning for two hours of play group!

My birthday, January 19th

On the morning of my birthday last weekend, Brian and Ben went out to get a cake for me. Ben had been talking about birthday cake for days. Even though I was in the shower when they got home, Ben was so excited to eat the cake that they cut into it immediately and had a piece! Brian had to take a picture just to prove that he did purchase a whole cake!


Why I love having two



I'm so happy we have two kids, and even happier that they are under two years apart in age when I see them play together. When they aren't beating each other up, they can be pretty sweet.

Becca's First Birthday



Maggie's girlfriend, Rebecca Howard, celebrated her first birthday on January 10th. She had a party on January 13th. Maggie wasn't quite ready to taste cake yet, but she certainly was intersted in all the toys! As Becca's grandmother says, Maggie and Becca are third-generation "girlfriends!"

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Learning to Read: Jan 12, 2008



Maggie now enjoys kicking back in the bean bag and reading (well, eating) a few books before naptime!

Bee Active: January 4, 2008





On that same trip to Batesville, Ben and I visited the Bee Active Gym with Rachel during open-gym on Friday night. I haven't been there since I was 7 months pregnant with Ben. We had a blast!

Ben's new "shobel"


Grandpa Hank dug up this old shovel that is just Ben's size. He taught Ben how to use it on a recent visit to Batesville. Ben loves to help Daddy and Grandpa shovel snow. He calls it his "shobel." Tossing the snow to the side is a skill he has not yet mastered...

Another Milestone: December 31, 2007

Maggie reached another milestone on New Year's Eve. She learned to pull herself up. Nothing below three feet is safe anymore! Of course, she MUST stick her tongue out when she's really concentrating. Ben is not too pleased that she has taken to tasting everything on his train table.

Just like Daddy

Ben got a shaving set from Santa. Now he can be just like Daddy.

Christmas 2007

Christmas celebrations extended over several days for our family. Each year, the ENTIRE Martin family gets together on the Saturday before Christmas. Then, we celebrate on Christmas Eve with Brian's immediate family. Christmas morning is just us in our own house. And, Christmas Day is usually in Batesville with Katie's family. This year, the festivities seemed to end after Christmas Eve for our kids. They had had enough! Christmas morning came, and Ben refused to even go downstairs to see what Santa left under the tree. Maggie ended up with a double ear infection and bronchitis. Mommy was in tears because all her hard work was left untouched. We finally opened our gifts from Santa (with little enthusiasm) when Katie got home from work on the evening of the 26th. We're crossing our fingers for a little more excitement next year!
Ben, with his cousin, Anna, on Christmas Day at the Pictors'
Maggie on the 26th opening a gift from Santa. She decides that chewing on the package is just as much fun as finding out what's inside!

December 7, 2007: First big snow of the season.

Playing catch-up on my blogging a little bit. We had a computer-crash, so I have been behind in my posts.

The beginning of December was our first big snow of the season. Ben and Brian strapped on the ol' snowpants and boots and headed outside immediately. Brian taught Ben how to make snowballs and snow angels. Ben enjoyed the falling-down more than the actual angel-making. It took longer to get Maggie in a snowsuit than we even kept her outside. But, once again, we attempted to get some family pictures for the annual Christmas card. We ended up using one of them, but we still weren't totally satisfied. Getting four people and a dog to look at the camera simultaneously is nearly impossible! Here are a few snapshots from the day:




They Marched for Life

I'm so proud of my dad and my two nieces, Mary and Rachel. Together, they participated in this year's 35th annual March for Life in Washington D.C. on January 22nd. The travelled by bus, slept in less-than-comfortable accommodations, and battled below-freezing temperatures to be just a few of the thousands fighting for the rights of the unborn. Rachel, an 8th-grader, is the one who instigated the trip. As her sponsor for her Confirmation this year, I'm incredibly proud of her initiative. I wish I had been that spirited as a teenager. I wish I had known that I could make a difference. I wish I had opened my eyes to the world around me and paid attention to current events. Rachel says that she wants to be a baby-nurse someday. I hope she does just that. And, I hope she gets to take care of some lucky babies that are born because Roe v. Wade is finally overturned!