Family Update

Happy Halloween! Here is Mr. Police Officer, Frankenstein (lost under his hat for the moment) and Queen Bee.

So I finally have made a few moments to sit down, blog a little and try to upload some of our pictures.

So in the last few months (wow) here are some things that have been going on in the Martinez Family!

1) Levi: This week the little (big) guy turns 16 months! And he finally started walking right at 15 months. It was super cute because right at first he looked like Frankenstein when he walked. So that is what we made him for Halloween this year. Just a few short weeks later and he is really on the move. His biggest goal seems to be to keep up with his big brother-that and to often times chase him and wrestle him to the ground. Levi's vocabulary has really taken off lately too. Of course one of his favorite words is "cars" which he says often throughout the day and with much enthusiasm! He can also say aqui, ten, mas, leche, Judah (although it doesn't sound quite like Judah!), Jesus, boo boo, troca, yea....and counting. (Translation of the words-here (like physically here), here (like "here-take this"), more, milk, Judah, Jesus, boo boo, truck and yea). He is a bit on the mischievous side, climbing all kinds of things, opening whatever he can to get into whatever he can. He also loves making Judah laugh so it doesn't matter how gross or against our rules it is, if it will get a laugh from big bro, Levi is up for it.

2) Judah: Quite the big brother these days-in every sense of the word. He does everything from worry where Levi is, to giving him kisses, to telling him what he can and can't play with, to telling on him, to hugging him, to wrestling him....the list goes on. He is also understanding more and more about the two baby brothers mommy has in her belly. We talk about them everyday and in those moments he likes to remind me that Levi is also "baby Levi". It never ceases to amaze us all Judah is learning every day. Most impressively lately has been his dual language skills. We only speak to him in Spanish but obviously he hears us speak English to each other, hears it from his cousins and my mom some as well as on TV. But his world is mostly in Spanish. The other day a neighbor came in and he immediately made the switch, realizing the neighbor spoke English and said to him "Look Levi's over there". I, in amazement of hearing him say a sentence in English asked him in Spanish what he said. Judah then looked at me and told me the exact same thing but in Spanish. I can't believe he is code switching already! He also has started to tell me the names of some things in both languages (without being prompted). I'm very proud of his dual language skills and proud of us for sticking with it! In other news (or not so new news) Judah is still very much into Disney Pixar Cars. I think this is something that is going to stick for quite a while. We don't even put the movie on any more but we don't have to-the obsession is already there. He talks about McQueen all the time, sleeps with his McQueen Easter basket (in the shape of McQueen), drinks from Cars cups, wears Cars shirts and socks and PJ's and more. Oh and speaking of clothing, he has quite the opinion lately. My most recent favorite was the night he decided he would throw a fit if I did not let him go to sleep in a Run DMC shirt and khaki pants instead of traditional PJ's. I had to explain that one to the nanny the next morning so she wouldn't think I was some horrible parent when she got him up and found him in street clothes.

3) Stevie and I: Well Stevie hit a monumental birthday in October of this year-the big 30. So we celebrated big by taking a vacation to Puerto Vallarta for a few days by ourselves. It was our first trip away from both of the boys. Although we missed them like crazy we had a great time! The weather was great and we had a lot of fun exploring little beach towns and eating at great authentic places on the beach. It was really nice to have some alone time too! And although I'm not the big 30 yet I'm going under some changes myself! My belly is getting bigger (and more uncomfortable) each day as the twins grow bigger. So my belly is getting bigger and my hair got shorter. I finally gave into the short mom hairdo and I actually love it. It is yes what they all say "easier" to deal with. And working full time, having 2 little ones at home and 2 in the over, "easier" is just what I need right now!

Update on the way....hopefully!

I know, I know. I'm WAY overdue a blog update. I just hope the blogger gods haven't cursed me already.
See this is what happens when you're pregnant with twins, have 2 little ones at home, work full time (and then some on some days), have little to no zero energy and as I always must mention, crappy Internet service.

I come home everyday and just want to spend time with my boys and Stevie, in addition to having to take care of things like dinner and bath times. So by the time we get the boys to bed, sitting on the computer is the last thing I feel like doing.

But I am making a new resolution to myself...and anyone else who may happen to still check my blog (if that number hasn't plummeted to zero yet)! I will start updating again more frequently and soon. Good news is we got a brand new upgraded camera so hopefully we will start taking more pictures and pictures we actually like! So the next step is figuring out how it works and how to get the pics from the camera to the computer.

So before I sign off, I do want to assure those of you who have sent me messages of concern that I and the babies are doing well. I am 17 weeks pregnant now and the babies are strong and growing well. They kick me and poke me pretty frequently now too! Judah and Levi are doing great and I will have some more detailed updates on them soon!

THE BIGGEST, HUGEST, MOST SHOCKING, EXCITING NEWS WE'VE EVER HAD!

Yesterday we found out we are expecting....twins! The last 2 months have been filled with ups and downs but this piece of news left us with mouths gaping open. I went in for my first sonogram and the technician took the longest pause ever, gave me a million mile stare and asked me if twins ran in our families!

I laughed for about 15 minutes in disbelief!

We are excited to say the least!

So if any of you out there in blogger land have twins and have any advice, bring it on!

Birthday Fun!

I got to celebrate my birthday twice this year thanks to my sweet husband's secretive scheming and planning.

First, we celebrated a day early with our family at our house. Carmela made my favorite meal, we opened presents (I'm very excited about my new cowboy boots and digital frame!) and we had my favorite - ice cream cake with coffee for dessert.

Opening my presents

Posing with all of the kids except Judah who refused to be in the picture

Then I got more on my actual birthday! I spent the morning having breakfast with my two dearest friends, Kerri and Lois. They did such a good job of keeping Stevie's secret to themselves. Thanks to all of you who were able to make it out for my surprise birthday party. Stevie really did surprise me-it was so sweet of him and he did a great job (with the help of family and friends). He knows me so well....he planned for karaoke and a piñata-two things I always said make a good party!

Yes that is me hitting a piñata on my 29th birthday-never too old!

Thanks babe-you're the best!

Our "staycation"

In lieu of a family vacation away from home this summer, we did our own version of a "staycation" this past weekend. This was primarily due to the fact that Stevie's truck bit the dust (needs a new motor which is not cheap) and so we had to forfeit our San Antonio/Sea World plans and make the best of it. In actuality, we had a blast this past weekend and I think having fun around Dallas and sleeping in our own beds at night was probably the best thing we could have done!

So on Friday we took the boys to their first movie ever-Ice Age 3 at AMC Firewheel. Stevie and I were amazed but they watched the entire thing and loved it! Judah was so cute chomping on his popcorn and drinking his juice. We never even had to step outside with Levi which really surprised me!

Me and the boys in front of the theater. If you look closely, you can see Judah's "Manny" toy from the movie Ice Age that he got with a Happy Meal from McDonalds. He sat with Manny during the movie of course!

Then after lunch we headed to the Science Place at Fair Park. They got to see "Manny" (a mammoth like the one from the movie), lots of animals, cool gadgets and gizmos and my favorite part, the children's exhibit on the bottom floor. If you haven't gone, you really should! They have live animals-snakes, ant farms, spiders, etc., a barnyard area, lots of cool dress up stuff, themed career areas where kids get to "try out" the careers (firefighters, theater, construction and more), a toddler area where kids can crawl and play, sand tables, a water room....so much for them to do!

The Water Room

Levi checking out his funny relfelction on the "stage" of the "theater"

Watching the cool things the light does in the ball when we touch it

Both boys playing in the toddler area

We ended Friday night with dinner out and then all of us off to bed at home!

Then Saturday we headed to Fort Worth for some fun in the sun on the beaches of Burgers Lake. Another very cool place! Check out the website http://www.burgerslake.com/ - although it does not do it justice. After playing in the water, Levi napping in the shade of a makeshift tent with our stroller and towels and a picnic lunch in the shade of the trees, we headed to the Stockyards to see the sights and of course the longhorns.

Picnic lunch in the shade

Ready to jump in! The water was nice and cool!

Levi taking a cat nap....this is the life!

Ride 'em cowboy!

Look at those longhorns!

The boys had so much fun (as did we) and did much better than we even could have expected! A family "staycation" ended up being fun and fulfilling!

BIG NEWS!

Kathy and Sonny are engaged! On Thursday night (July 16) Sonny surprised Kathy in front of both of our families while celebrating Carmela's birthday and popped the question! It was so neat how he did it. Sonny plays the guitar and so he sang and played the Brad Paisley song "Then" and in the middle of the verse where he describes proposing, Sonny stopped the song and went and dropped to one knee. We are so excited to welcome Sonny into our family! Congratulations you two! Here are just 2 pictures I managed to snap during the moment. However, in the midst of all the celebrating afterwards I didn't get a shot of them looking at the camera or of Kathy's incredibly gorgeous big ring! Oh well, another post another time!

Down on one knee!

Aww how sweet!

Levi's 1 year checkup

Levi's one year checkup took a suprising turn today...Here are the stats.

Head - 18 inches (25-50%)

Length - 30 inches (50-75%)

and then there's the suprise:

Weight - 19.6 lbs (5-10%)

Yes I said 5-10%! It seems that Levi is now following in his big brother's footsteps. Apparently between his 9 month and 12 month appointment he should have gained an average of 9 grams per day. Instead, he only gained 7.2 grams per day. The good news is that this time around the doctor is not alarmed. She said since she now understands Stevie's history of high metabolism (oh poor Stevie) and since they have done tests on Judah and see that nothing is wrong, then we aren't going to worry so much about Levi. She instructed me to do the same things I was told to do with Judah-increase his milk intake, add butter to his food when possible and make sure he's getting good fatty foods like cheese, yogurt, beans, etc.

The funny thing is, we would've never guessed this was going to pan out like this today. Stevie and I were SO SURE Levi weighed at least 20 if not 22 lbs. And then to top it off, he eats SO MUCH! I give him the same serving sizes as Judah, he often eats what Judah doesn't touch and then he also asks for food all throughout the day. There are some moments where I have worried that we are feeding him too much-apparently I'm not feeding him enough!

You can't tell by this picture though!