Oreos have a new fan!

I remembered I had some Mini-Oreos in the pantry for Ross' snack mix. I decided not to put them in it though so he's never had an Oreo. He got 4 as dessert on Tuesday. He definitely likes! With the first one he ate it whole. The next one he pulled apart and popped each half in separately. Then he realized there was cream so with the next he pulled it apart and scraped the cream off with his finger and ate it. It was so funny! I grabbed the camera when he got the last one but of course he didn't do it.

See Ross (insert witty remark here)

Uncle De got Ross a bean bag after seeing Lester in one of the posts. It is really cute and Ross loves to crawl on and off it. Though he can't figure out how to do it with books in tow so we usually assist. I snapped this picture just because I thought it was so cute! Are you tired of chair pictures yet? I think he likes having his own little space. Occasionally he gives Daddy a run for his money on the leather chair but after a while he'll usually climb down and get in his red chair. Every morning this is what I see. I'm in the bathroom getting ready and Ross comes out of his bedroom holding his buddies. He's always in a good mood and chatting away. We love mornings! (though I wouldn't complain if they started a bit later)

Beating the heat

As mentioned previously Ross absolutely loves to be outside. It is just too hot. However, the compromise is letting him play in the water. Though it is more of a compromise on our side rather than Ross' b/c he is more than willing to oblige.

He's a fan of the bubbles too. I don't remember bubbles being so messy as a kid. Ross doesn't seem to mind. Reminds me of getting my mouth washed out with soap.

Night Night Monkey

We have always been so lucky with Ross and his sleep schedule. He started sleeping through the night at 11 weeks. He has a bedtime that he sticks with. I couldn't have asked for a better bedtime baby. Note "couldn't". Not too long ago our perfect baby decided that he hated his bed. The first time I realized we had a problem I put him in his bed and he had a meltdown for 45 minutes and didn't stop until I picked him up. A couple of days later I tried the cry it out method where I just left the room hoping he'd eventually go to sleep, only to deal with him getting so upset that he threw up. ...yeah, I haven't tried that again. So what you see is our solution. If Ross starts out in our bed there is no getting him to his bed so each evening we put a blow up mattress in his room and begin our night-night routine. We read for at least 30 min and sing songs. (never in all my years of daydreaming about being a Mom did I envision camping out on my child's floor on an air mattress)

He always has his entourage of Lester and his puppy. Better known as "ster" and "woo-woo".

This is what I found last night when I opened the door to check on him. Not long after this his Daddy moved him to his crib where he slept all night. One of these glorious days we'll be able to evict the blow-up mattress from his room! Oh happy day!

Not a baby anymore!

Ross got his school pics in yesterday and was I shocked! He looks like such a big boy!!! Of course they are just your average school pics but I couldn't get over how grown-up he looked. I'll have to get last year's pic and do a comparison on the blog. (these are scanned so not the best quality but I just had to share!) They said that he posed like a rock star and they didn't have to do anything except put him on the mark and let him do his thing.

Fun in the Sun!

We got Ross a pool over the weekend so we could let him outside more during the day. This way he'll stay cool while getting his way. :o) I blew it up one night before his bedtime and he tested it out. He played in it all night and the next morning before I moved it outside.

I think he likes it! We put it on a tarp so he could crawl around without getting grass all over him. He kept sticking his face in the puddles but would get mad when water got up his nose. Still he kept doing it... Of course the tarp makes for a "slip-n-slide" also so one time he slipped and ended up sliding on his belly to the end of the tarp. He wasn't a fan but it sure was funny to his Momma!

A wagon ride kind of day

Ross absolutely loves to be outside! We go round and round when we are home on the weekends about going outside mid-day b/c it is so hot. Trust me, he gets to go out plenty though. He got a wagon ride a couple of days ago. I did a comparison pic from Christmas and now. He's getting so big! He got more and more comfy as the ride progressed!

We love Da-Da!!!!!

Ross loves his Da-Da. If you've watched the post I did when Ross is asked "who's your buddy", "who's your pal", "who's your friend", "who do you love the most", then you'll follow the next video. Previously Ross was saying he loves Momma the most but now he answers Da-Da to everything. Coincidence? I think not. So I decided one day to toss out other questions to him and see how he answered once Da-Da finished with his round. Things such as "who's the meanest", "who has a big nose", you know such niceties as that. So in this video I was trying to capture it on camera. Once he went through the round of brawl beating questions from his Da-Da I asked him if he wanted to go see Da-Da. You can see the answer for yourself. Bottom line, it doesn't matter what he answers to the questions: actions speak louder than words. :<)

You can see in this next video that Ross really is quite fond of his Da-Da. He love to look out the window when he thinks we are outside and gets so excited! I love to see him on his tip-toes.

Meet Lester!

Lester is our ever faithful side-kick. He's been around since before Ross was born. Daddy even practiced with Lester on the changing table. He's one of those great friends that doesn't demand attention and is perfectly fine if he is in the background. In fact I bet you haven't even given Lester any attention in the past. (that's ok, he forgives you)

That Lester is such a good buddy to Ross when he's sick... ...when he needs a prop up in the stroller

...and when he needs a buddy in the bed.

I definitely think Lester will be around for a long time. He's very special to the Martin family.

Nephew #2 Arrived!

Alexander Caelan arrived yesterday at 6:33pm via c-section. Weight is 8 pds and 21 in long. Everyone was doing great. Note I said "was" b/c I haven't talked to them after their first night as a family. ha
This is his daddy, my brother, Brent. I'll have to get a mom and baby picture too. (I don't think he likes him one bit. ha) Alex is all wrapped up in his Miracle Blanket, a.k.a baby straitjacket.