Christmas Day 2011

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Eve

Another sunny and warm Christmas here in Southern California!  We began our Christmas Eve by attending our church's early service (3pm and it was in the high 70s- I am ridiculously hot in my sweater but it is the only thing I own that is red) which was followed by a short photo shoot...

Merry Christmas!



Getting creative..



Finally caught them both looking and sort of smiling!

 

...then a fun fondue dinner with steak, shrimp, veggies, cheese, bread, and Granny Smith apples.  Not completely up to par with The Melting Pot, but we all enjoyed it. (We skipped the chocolate fondue and ate our homemade Christmas cookies instead).

Last but not least, the girls got to open one gift each on Christmas Eve...



Both girls loved this ark animal sorter from Grandpa and Grandma Martin and Aunt Danielle

After spreading the reindeer food outside, and setting out milk and cookies, the girls were off to bed to wait for Santa!

An early present

We were so excited to have Darryl's brother and family visit us right before Christmas. 

We spent two days in Disneyland and the rest of the time here in Moorpark.  It was so great to see them and share some special memories together!

The Maryland Martins and the California Martins at The Rainforest Cafe



All three kiddos (and the moms) playing at the Lego store.



That's one big lego!



Uncle Brett taking Zoe and Gibson for a ride



Posing with Dumbo



Having fun in Toon Town

Some shots from Malibu Creek State Park....



 Thanks for coming to see us!  We love you guys!

Jingle Bell Hike

The Jingle Bell Hike is a great holiday activity put on by the Thousand Oaks Rec Center.  The kids get to play games, participate in holiday songs, make crafts, drink hot chocolate, and most importantly, hike through a decorated woodsy area to see Santa.  Last year Maddie was still a baby so she spent most of the day in the Baby Bjorn, but this year she was really able to enjoy it.  We weren't sure how she would react to sitting on the big guy's lap, but she didn't cry and happily shared his lap with her big sis.  Zoe, of course, absolutely loved all the holiday festivities!  Now if only it wasn't 80 degrees out, it might feel just a little bit more like Christmas!



Maddie is concentrating hard on decorating her reindeer antlers!



Zoe added lots of stickers!

Both girls jamming to some Christmas tunes.

Waiting patiently for our turn to see Santa.

Visiting with Santa!

Signs of Christmas

Clockwise from top left: Christmas countdown tree, Zoe concentrating on the gingerbread house, Chippy the Elf, our completed gingerbread house and the advent Nativity Scene, Zoe working on holiday crafts (watch your mailboxes, Grandparents!)

18 Months

Dear Madelyn,

You are now one and a half years old, much more a toddler than a baby, but of course we both know you will always be my baby.  I have loved every minute of you since the day you were born, but this is definitely one of my favorite ages.  You are so much fun to be around!  You are silly and funny and brave and independent and lovable and sweet and smart.  You keep us on our toes with your crazy toddler behaviors like freaking out when I try to put your shirt on or strap you in the stroller.  The moments you test my patience are worth it for the sweetness of your hugs and kisses, the sound of you calling my name, and the feel of your tiny fingers on mine.  I want to remember everything about you right now. 

You love to read books, just like your big sister.  You especially love flap books right now.  You are learning your numbers, letters, colors, and shapes.  So far you can consistently name a circle, oval, star, heart, and  diamond, and you can identify the colors purple, white, and black.  You know the numbers 0, 1, 8, and sometimes get the others right.  You know the letter M for Madelyn. 

Some of your favorite things are Elmo, flowers, bugs, and monkeys.  You love the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, and If You're Happy and You Know It, and you can do some of the motions and sing some of the words along with me.  You like to "feed" your toy animals and give a bottle to a baby doll.  Thankfully you are starting to clean up your toys a little, you say "way" to put things away.  You can tell me when you pooped in your diaper, but don't always let me change it without complaints.  You are getting very good at using a fork and spoon, but still enjoy using your fingers to grab your food. 

You have so much to say, little girl!  I can't even begin to list all the words you are saying.  There isn't much you don't repeat and you are talking mostly in two and sometimes three word phrases.  You are even starting to use manners like please and thank you!  Some of your words are crystal clear and some only Mommy or Daddy can understand.  Some of my favorites are: yanky (blanket), Doe (Zoe), wagee (wagon), cozy, ocpus (octopus), and of course, Mommy.  Your 'l's sound like 'y's which is especially cute.

There are so many more things about you that I know I will forget over time.  But I know I will always remember the joy of getting to spend every day with you and how lucky we all are to have you. 

Thanksgiving 2011

A quiet Thanksgiving for the Martins this year...lingering colds forced us to cancel our trip to Monterey so it was just the four of us for a simple yet yummy turkey dinner.  Missing my extended family but feeling very thankful to have my husband home, and for our two precious girls. 



Gobble, Gobble!



Tired

Full Day Kindergarten sure can tire a girl out...

Sunglass Faces

Serious face...

Peekaboo face...

Silly face...

Matching

I think it's really cute when my girls have matching or coordinating outfits, and luckily they are still both young enough that they don't find this dorky and refuse to wear what I pick out.  I found this cute stars and stripes set at my favorite store Target, and had to do a quick photo shoot when I saw how cute the girls looked.  Zoe was hamming it up but Madelyn wasn't quite sure about posing.  Sadly, my days of dressing my girls alike are coming to an end.  Zoe can still fit into some 5T clothes, but is mostly in the "big girls" section of the stores now.  It's usually harder to find matching outfits from the toddler section and the big girls section, so I will enjoy it for the next few months.  Just another sign my baby is not a baby anymore.  Sniff, sniff.

Halloween 2011

Still can't get used to carving pumpkins in 80 degree weather!



Zoe digging in for the guts.





Madelyn getting in on the action.



Dr. Zoe, the veterinarian, and Madelyn, the busy bee





Checking out the loot after trick-or-treating



Babies in Motion

Now that Zoe is in kindergarten full day, Madelyn and I had a chance to take a Mommy and Me class. This one at the Thousand Oaks Rec Center was called Babies in Motion, and Maddie had the opportunity to climb, slide, sing, dance, and play with lots of toys.  I wa pleasantly surprised that she was not at all shy and jumped right into playing and exploring.  Hands down her favorite thing to do was "gump, gump" (jump) on the toddler sized trampolines. These pictures were taken on our last day of class which happened to be the Halloween party.   Loved having this time with you, baby girl!!

Big Bear Lake

Yes, this post is almost a month late.
 Yes, I have been completely neglecting my blog lately.
 Yes, I am going to try and get back on track.
 While I won't take the time to recount everything we've been up to the past month, I do need to talk about this awesome weekend. 

Big Bear Lake is about 2 1/2 hours away from us, in the San Bernandino Mountains.  It is a beautiful lake surrounded by an adorable small town and incredible mountains.  The last hour of driving is up the mountain on the swerviest (is that a word?) road known to man.  I get so completely nauseous on this road, but it is all worth it to arrive at this peaceful, relaxing town. We came to Big Bear last year in search of some real fall weather and colorful leaves, and fell in love with it right away.  As September came and went and the temps were still in the 80s, we decided it was time to head that way again.  This year, we had the pleasure of going with some old and dear friends, the Zeislers, and their sweet little girl Brooke.  Great memories...until next year!



Our favorite photo spot

 

Zoe and Brooke pretending to be bears!



Nothing like reading by the fire in your jammies!



Me and my girls



Stealing a smooch



A trip to Big Bear is not complete without a visit to the Alpine Slides




Love this guy




The Martins and the Zeislers



Trike Time

Loves the bug helmet, loves the bell, loves the bike.

Grandma's Visit

Another fun-filled week with Grandma!  It's always wonderful to have my mom come to visit us, and this past week was no exception.  We had a great mix of fun activities paired with relaxing times to talk and play.  Thanks for coming to California, we can't wait to see you again in January!!



Grandma and Madelyn having fun at the farm!




Snuggle time with Grandma!



Mother and Daughter

  We planned this visit around the weekend of the annual Navy Hawkeye Ball so we could take advantage of the world's best babysitter (who also happens to work for free!) and enjoy our first overnight away from home since Maddie was born.  It was definitely fun to get dressed up and see my hubby looking handsome in his uniform, and it was incredibly refreshing to be kidless for a few hours.  :)
 

Hawkeye Ball 2011





View from our room at the hotel in Ventura