The Martens Family

Diamonds or Emeralds???

2010-04-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

Well the final countdown has begun. I am due in 5 days...but the big question is will Miss Sydney make her arrival in April or will she hang tight until May? Will her birthstone be diamonds or will it be emeralds? I am sure she will be happier in the long run with diamonds...if only I could tell her that arriving in April will make her much happier as she grows up :)

I had an ultrasound last week and they were already estimating her at 7 lbs 11 oz. I sure am hoping that she comes sooner then later because I definitely don't want a 10 lb newborn!

Cross your fingers for me that she makes her appearance in the next week!

MIA...

2010-04-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

I know I have been totally MIA to the blogging world these past few weeks...but it has been a busy month! Our trip to Florida was fabulous. We got to enjoy some time away and some warm weather before the baby arrives. We basically spent our time sleeping in, eating good food and visiting with family. Here are a few pics from our trip...

I am about 30 weeks pregnant in this picture...don't mind my double chin :)

Relaxing by the pool

This is my grandma trying to feel my belly button to see if I still have an "innie" or if it had turned to an "outie" yet. Good news...it was (and still is) an "innie!"

While we were gone one of our goals was to decide on a name for Baby Martens. We drove over to the opposite coast to visit Justin's grandparents one day and I went through every page in the baby name book. I was amazed by some of the names that were in there. I think my favorite was probably "chick" or maybe even "baby." I ended up making a list of about 20 names (which did not include "Chick" or "baby" although I was very tempted :) )that I liked and the following day we went through them together marking them off one by one. Eventually, we decided to name our daughter SYDNEY ANN. The first name is just a name we both really liked and her middle name is after my lovely mother-in law Denise and my amazing Grandma (Ann is both of their middle names).

All in all our trip to Florida was a success. Unfortunately, about a week after we got back my Grandpa George passed away. We were very luck that we got to visit him while we were down in Florida. I wish he was going to be here to meet baby Sydney, but I know she now has a great guardian angel looking down on her from heaven. We miss you grandpa!

I am now 37 weeks pregnant and hoping that we get to meet Sydney very soon. We had maternity pictures taken shortly after we got back from Florida. Here are a few of my faves...

Well, I hope to post again before Sydney's first birthday...but we shall see how that goes :)

Oh one more thing I forgot to mention...yesterday was our sweet puppy Lola's birthday. She turned 6! I can't believe how time flies. She got a new bone and a new collar for her birthday. Sofi's birthday is next Saturday and she will be 4. She got her birthday presents early.

Until next time...

Florida bound!

2010-02-17T08:54:00.001-08:00

We are heading to Florida this evening for one last get away before the Baby arrives. We are going down tonight and will get home on Monday afternoon. We plan on making the drive to the East coast of Florida to visit Justin's grandparents on Friday. My Grandma and Grandpa are also down in Florida, but unfortunately my Grandpa is in the hospital right now. He had to have an unplanned surgery on Sunday. He made it through the surgery (which was the 1st big hurdle) but is still not 100% out of the woods yet. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as the next few days are critical in his recovery. Since he is in the hospital, my mom is actually down in Florida as well. Needless to say, we have lots of family to visit but are hoping for some quiet time by the pool as well (at least i know I am!!) :)

Baby Martens is doing great. I had my 30 week check up on Monday and now I start going to the Dr. every 2 weeks. It is crazy that she will be here in just 10 short weeks. It seems as if she has made herself quite comfortable on my sciatic nerve. I sure am glad she is comfortable because I am in horrible pain and can barely walk sometimes. I will be sure to remind her of the pain I am going through when she is a teenager!

I have some cute pictures to post of Lola and Sofi playing in the snow, but my camera is already packed away for vacation so I will have to post them when we get back.

Until next time...

Go Colts and baby update

2010-01-25T09:14:00.000-08:00

That's right...the Colts are headed back to Miami for another superbowl (just in case you ahve been living in a cave and didn't know). Justin and I were lucky enough to go to the game yesterday and had AWESOME seats (thanks Mom!). Here are a couple shots from our seats...

The first time the Colts went to the superbowl in Miami we had friends over to our house to watch the game. This time around I don't think it is going to be quite that easy seeing as how our basement is a complete mess while we are trying to move furniture and just stuff in general to make room for the baby. That being said...who is having the party this year :) We are looking forward to cheering for the Colts as they win their 2nd superbowl.

Speaking of the baby...we still don't have a name picked out but we have made some major purchases over the last few weeks. We have gotten our stroller and car seat (Thanks Grandma Denise!) as well as purchased our furniture (thanks Grandma Laura for the crib!) Here is what the furniture looks like...we got it in the espresso finish so it is a bit darker than the picture

We got our furniture from a store in Noblesville called Decor 4 Kids. If you or anyone you know is looking for baby furniture or furniture for younger kids I highly recommend this store. They are super helpful and if you can't find something there that you like then I wish you luck because I don't know where you will find it. We still don't know quite how we are going to decorate the nursery but have found a bedding set that we like. Once we make the final decision I will post a picture.

In other news, today marks my 27th week of pregnancy. Only 13 more weeks until we get to meet the little lady. We are getting very excited for her to get here and can only hope the next 13 weeks go by as fast as the first 27 have. I have been avoiding this post for as long as possible, but I keep getting requests for pictures of my belly...so here is one of us from the game yesterday. Sorry it is sideways but I couldn't figure out how to rotate it without distorting the image and making me look even bigger than I already am :)

One last thing before I go...I wanted to say congratulations to our friends Ed & Mary on the birth of their daughter this past Saturday. Congrats guys and we can't wait to meet her.

Finally...

2009-12-28T06:25:00.000-08:00

Sorry to everyone for my late post of the big reveal of Baby M! Anyways here goes...

Clue #1: The first song was about a dad and his son. The second song was titled "Come on in boy" but if you listen to it it really is about a dad protecting his daughter. The key here was to listen to the words of the songs before looking at the next clues.

Clue #2: In the 2nd song, there is a line that says "She is her daddy's girl, her mama's world." That is why Clue #2 was a baby holding a world.

Clue #3: In the 2nd song, the very last line of the song says "have her back by let's say about nine...thirty." That is why Clue #3 was a clock showing the time as 9:30.

Clue #4: In the 2nd song, there is a line that says "I don't remember all that Spanish, or the Gettysburg address" That is why Clue #4 was a little kid reciting the Gettysburg address.

Now...given the answers to all the clues you finally have to (and hopefully) realize that we are having a GIRL!!!!

I will post more soon about our christmas and how we told our parents and all that fun stuff. Hope everyone had a nice holiday!

Baby Clue #4

2009-12-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

Here is clue #4...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvlsco7ux4g

Only 3 people have figured out the exact meaning of the clues so far...they will all tell you it really isn't as hard as it seems.

Either way, only a few more days until the big reveal :)

Hope everyone is finished or is finishing up their christmas shopping, it will be here before we know it.

Baby Clue #3

2009-12-19T19:15:00.000-08:00

Here is baby clue #3...

Come on...someone has to be catching on by now!!

Only a few more days until the big reveal....

Baby Clue #2

2009-12-16T09:51:00.001-08:00

For those of you anxiously awaiting clue #2...Here you go!

Anyone catching on yet? If you think you have a guess, take a guess on the poll to the right! Hope you are having as much fun with this as we are :)

Baby Clue #1

2009-12-14T15:02:00.000-08:00

We had our 21 week ultrasound this morning. My mom and my grandma went with us to see their future great grandbaby & grandbaby. We were able to find out the sex. We now know that our little one is going to be a..........SURPRISE to everyone reading this! Well, not a complete surprise but we aren't telling everyone quite yet. We have decided to keep it a secret from our families (except Grandma Pat) until Christmas. We let my grandma stay in the room while the ultrasound lady got the baby to spread its little legs. My mom, on the other hand, had to leave. We thought for sure we would open the door and she would fall into the room from pressing her ear up against the door trying to listen! For those of you who know my mom this isn't that far fetched of a thought! However, while I can't say she was happy about it, she actually cooperated and went out into the waiting room and didn't fall in the room when we opened the door.

Some people in our family think our little game is torture, so to help them pass the time (it's only 10 days so it isn't as long as it seems) we are going to send them little clues every few days to see if they can put everything together and figure it out themselves. I thought it would be fun to post our clues on the blog so everyone can play along with what our mom's think is cruel and unusual punishment :) The first clue that was sent today is as follows...
_________________________________________________________________

One of these 2 songs will reveal the sex of the baby...but which one is it :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_CpawBfzoI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDTsLjDf_uE

_________________________________________________________________

And, no don't worry, it isn't twins (we got quite a few responses thinking it was one of each).

While you are pondering today's clue, here are pictures from our baby's first photo shoot... Enjoy

Stay tuned for Baby Clue #2...

Congratulations & baby update

2009-12-02T10:28:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was a big week for several of our friends. We want to say congratulations to Lauren & Kyle on their wedding as well as Marie & Joe on theirs! We also want to send a big congratulations to our dear friends Kristen & Will on their engagement...we can't wait until your big day!

In other news...I am officially 19 weeks pregnant. I think I am starting to feel the baby move around, but I still can't be 100% positive. My belly is starting to show a little more each day. I will try to post some belly pictures once I look more pregnant and not just like I have a big beer belly :) I am not going to reveal how much weight I have gained just yet, but I can tell you I have never weighed this much in my entire life. Glad it is for a good reason and it isn't really just a big beer belly!

We go to the doctor on December 14th to find out if Baby Martens is a boy or a girl (take the poll to the right to cast your vote on what you think the sex is). Much to both of our mother's dismay, we have decided to keep the sex our little secret until Christmas. Hopefully I will have some ultrasound pictures to post in the next few weeks.

People keep asking me if I have had any strange cravings. The only thing I would say I really have been "craving" are jalapeno chips. I have bought a few different brands at the grocery store, but none of them are as good as the kind at Subway (I think they are Miss Vickie's brand). I can't seem to find them anywhere in the grocery so Subway has become quite a staple for me these days. I am not sure I would call it a craving, but I have also had a new affinity for fruit punch capri suns. You should see the Mike's Express Carwash trash bag in my car, I think I counted 4 or 5 empty capri sun pouches in there this morning.. If any of you know how bad I am about cleaning out my car, this probably isn't a shock to you! But, hey, at least they are contained within an actual trash bag :)

I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving and that you are getting all of your christmas shopping done because it is going to be here before we know it.

Until next time...

1st blog post!

2009-11-20T10:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally did it, finally started a blog. With all of the exciting things going on in our lives I thought now would be the perfect time to start a blog. I am still trying to figure out this whole blog thing, so hopefully my next post will be a little more exciting. But for now, here is a little info about us...

Justin and I have been married since October 2007. We live on the southside of Indy with our 2 spolied rotten dogs Lola and Sofi.

For those of you who don't know, I am currently 17 weeks pregnant and we will be welcoming our little bundle of joy into the world in late April 2010 (April 27, 2010 is when I am due). I hope to update soon with some stats and info about the baby. Until then, welcome to our blog!