Such an impactful article...touched my heart. http://powerofmoms.com/2012/04/your-children-want-you/

Love this idea...

Being Mommy

Isn't this so true though?!?

Big Dragon...

Tara's imagination doesn't stop just because it's lunchtime. At lunch today>Tara: "Whoa! It's big!" Me: "What's big?" Tara: "The dragon-it's a big DRAGON mommy!" (Referring to a piece of her burrito) Me: "It is big, Tara; just eat it honey." Tara: "Okay. He wasn't going to get me anyway..." lol That girl :)

Anyone out there?

So at first Liam was such an easy baby, and still is for the most part. Yet the last few days he's turned our world upside down...between eating more, screaming more, not happy unless he's held (which I can't always do) it's been a real nail biter these last few days. My prayers often start with "Dear Heavenly Father, I'm sorry I'm praying (while on the toilet/while doing dishes/while doing laundry) ag...ain, but it's my only time to think! And here's what I've been thinking...I don't think I'm as good at this as other moms I know..." We're all trying our best to adapt, using humor all along the way. My favorite quote from today? At one point this evening, after the baby was changed, fed, rocked, kissed, etc. Sean turns to me and says "Just growl at him-establish your dominance." I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe. That's why I married him :) I suppose I'm sharing this all because I'm clinging to the belief that I'm not the only one whose swallowed up and lost in the middle of this new baby/sassy independent toddler/barely keeping up with housework (let alone my sanity) stage of life. So I just want to take a quick moment to say "Hello world. Is there anyone else out there?"

I just loved this picture...

So sweet...

Thought this was incredibly romantic...

So sweet!

Superstar

So I just want to share what a superstar my husband is! After many nights in a row of not enough sleep for either of us, he still takes over a 1am feeding, just so I can get more rest. Then last night, being as exhausted as he was; he dropped everything just to give me a blessing because I've been having a hard time with something. THEN this morning as I was stepping out of the shower, he personal...ly delivers a warm fresh baked biscuit to me, because he's awesome like that and had the rare chance to bake on his day off :) On top of it all, he never fails to take an opportunity to express appreciation and love for each of us, and takes the time to say that he notices the little things. Is he the most amazing husband & daddy on the planet? Yes, yes he is...

March Photos

I'm a big believer that a photo is worth a thousand words, and here are some photos from our month that capture the joy that we've been sharing in our home; with these two little kiddos bringing so many smiles to our faces. Enjoy!



I walked into the livingroom, and Tara said "Shhh...I'm reading to Liam." How cute is that?!?


Our little man...I love the way he looks at me :)





Tara and Liam just cuddling on the couch before bed.





He adORES his sister. Whenever she kisses him, it elicits a sweet little smile, and when he hears her voice; he turns his head towards her. It's amazing to see how deep the connection is already between the two of them...


Totally posed-but super cute. I just couldn't resist...


Tiny little hands...


Ten cute little toes...



AAAhhhh...yep. We make cute babies :)

"I love you mommy..."

Just now, Tara and I were cuddling on the couch during Sesame Street, and she grabs my hand and says "I love you mommy...I hold your hand." I looooove the way her hand feels in mine :) She is just the sweetest girl in the whole wide world...

Liam-Maternity Photos

Thanks to Mariea Alice Photography, we have some amazing maternity photos>here they are!

Valentine's Day fun with Mr. Martindale...

So a friend of ours who's an amazing photographer (Kristen Moss Photography) had a great deal going on fun couples photos for Valentine's Day. She was great! She took care of the chocolate covered strawberries (and other yummy romantic desserts), the long stem glasses, the location, and some amazingly romantic photos :) We had a blast-and between her efforts, and some smooth moves on Sean's part; it was the best Valentine's Day we've had since we got married! Here are some of the photos:

Baby photos-as promised!

"It's probably him..."

Just now Tara and I were looking through photos of Liam from the hospital, and came across a photo that Sean took of me in the hospital gown, minutes before he was born. Tara points to my pregnant belly and exclaims "Oh! It's baby brother!" I said "That's right, honey." Then as I'm going through more photos I hear her say quietly "It's PROBably Liam...it's probably him." lol Who else would it be, funny girl? haha

How smart IS this girl?

So a couple of hours ago, Tara was tossing around her little nerf football; and said to me "I want to play with this at the playground." I told her that it was cold, and that Liam was still too little to take outside quite yet. She looked at me and said "I know, he's tiny. You stay here with little Liam, and daddy and me will go to the playground." (So funny!) I called Sean at work to inform him that little miss had plans for him once he got home...

Baby Liam's Hungry!

Oh my gosh! Liam's been sleeping, and Tara and I just heard him wake up and start crying. Tara immediately jumps up and says "I go check him mommy, I make sure he's okay: I go get the baby." When she got in there, I heard her say "It's okay baby Liam, I'm here, it's okay now." Then I heard her say "I go tell mommy what you need." She came out, and said "Mommy! Baby Liam's hungry!" She went back in and said "Liam, I told mommy you were hungry." Haha This is all in less than a minute and I half, while I was finishing up a task; and headed in there! She's so stinkin cute :)

Sid

This girl cracks me up! She loves to watch Sid The Science Kid, and she goes around every day, singing the opening song from dawn til dusk. It came on just now, and she's marching around the livingroom, doing the dance and singing along with the opening song. When the song was over, she throws her hands in the air and says "We did it!!!" lol I can't get enough of her cuteness, and I laughed and said "I love you Tara..." She said "I love you TOO mommy!"

What's in her tummy?

So since Liam was born, Tara has asked almost every day to see my scar from the C-Section. She first started asking about it in the hospital, because Sean had to explain to her about "Mommy's owie", and why she couldn't press on my stomach. So almost every day, she wants to see "mommy's owie". She's been very into pretending that she has a scar too, and that's where the doctor took out HER baby :) However, this morning proved to be a much more interesting, and funny conversation. She asked to see my scar, so I showed it to her. She then pulls up her shirt, and shows me "her scar". I asked her what happened, and she said "The doctor made it." I asked her why, and she said "It's in there." Normally when I ask "What's in there?" She'll say her baby is in there. But today when I asked what's in there, she thought for a moment, and then replied "Um...crackers."


What a girl...

He's here!

He's here!!! We had our little baby, and he's perfect. Liam Addington Martindale was born February 21st, and it's been a whirlwind of craziness since then. We've had feeding issues from the beginning, so that's why facebook hasn't even been on my radar since little man got here. He was 8 lbs 12 oz at birth, and dropped down to 7 lbs 11 oz within a few days. We've been going back to the hospital for almost daily weight checks between discharge and this last wednesday. (You know you're spending too much time at the hospital when your toddler calls from the backseat "We're home!!!" as you're pulling into the hospital parking lot yet another day in a row...) Anyway, Liam's doing better now, and growing each day. He's beautiful, sweet, calm, and the sweetest little angel...Sis loves him to death, and can't stop smothering him with kisses. We've got plenty of pictures, and I'll post a couple when I have a chance.

Love this age!

So I've thoroughly enjoyed every stage that Tara has gone through, but I'm particularly finding so much joy in this age. She's so independent, and wants to do so much "All by myself!". She's got this little attitude that just makes Sean and I crack up most of the time. The way daddy will tease her and we hear this little voice say "NO daDDY!" Or when you catch her singing a song, and she gets shy and doesn't want you to look at her because it makes her self conscious; so she says "No watching me SING! Look over THERE!" It makes us laugh every time...But mixed in with this newfound independence is this sweet way she has of capturing our hearts by her complete wonder and awe with the world, and all her new discoveries. From seeing stoplights and cars and saying "Ohh...pretty lights! Pretty cars!" to the way she is realizing how loved she is. For example, just this morning she melted my heart. She had run off to play after breakfast, and I called after her and said "I love you so much Tara!" I heard her stop in her tracks and say "Aww..." then as she's running back into the room she had just left she looks at me with her big eyes and throws her arms around my stomach while she says "You love me!" And then she left with the biggest smile on her face, and said "I love you tOO mommy!" What an angel...I'm so in love with this litle blond haired beauty :)