Say Cheese

Amelia has learned to give her smile when we say "cheese" and she has it mastered! I love her cute little teeth and I adore her smile!

Amelia

This little girl is obsessed with putting socks and shoes on her feet. All day she constantly brings me a pair of socks or a shoe for me to put it on for her. Most of the time she is wearing just one shoe around the house and 90% of the time it either Eleanor's, John's or mine.

The other day she spent a good 30 minutes trying to put these socks on her feet. At first she just placed them on top of her feet and then got so upset when she stood up and they fell off. After working with her for a few minutes she was able to put the socks on.

Valentines Day

Valentines Day this year was a lot of fun. For breakfast I made the girls heart shaped pancakes and Eleanor thought it was so fancy! They each got a little gift bag with goodies in it. Eleanor got a new valentines t-shirt that John picked out for her, a new Hello Kitty charm for her bracelet and some of her favorite candy. Amelia got a new pair of pajamas and socks but her favorite was the sugar cookie. She never actually ate any of it, but played with the cookie in the wrapper all day. It was pretty nasty looking by the end of the day!

Instead of just John and I going out to dinner we decided to stay home and have a nice dinner with the girls. I made a Spanish seafood paella for the first time and it was delicious! We also had green olives, bread, chorizo and machego cheese. It was fun having Eleanor help me set and decorate the table. She made sure everything was just right!

When John got home he surprised the girls with more treats and a bouquet of balloons. They were very excited. I got spoiled with gorgeous flowers. Overall it was a great Valentines day and I loved spending it with the people I LOVE!!

Eleanor was thrilled to handout her valentines at school this year. She enjoyed getting all sorts of cute valentines from her classmates. She told me she wishes valentines day was everyday and then she would like preschool.

Sunday Nap

I guess the girls weren't enjoying Curb Your Enthusiasm as much as John and I were. It's very rare to have both girls asleep at the same time before 9:30 pm and when it does happen, I savor every second!

Letters to Santa

Letters to Santa this year went out just in the nick of time. We woke up first thing on Christmas Eve morning and went to the post office. Eleanor was a little worried that Santa wouldn't get her letter in time, so we had to explain that the post office had an express box and that the letters would get to Santa in just a few minutes.

Christmas Eve At Home

I think I enjoy Christmas Eve just as much if not more then Christmas Day. It's been so much fun starting traditions with our little family. Last year we left carrots for the reindeer and Eleanor made sure we didn't forget this year. We also made a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies for Santa (per Santa's request) and left him a big mug of milk.

After the cookies and carrots were left out, Eleanor and Amelia got to open their Christmas Eve present. Each year it's a new Christmas book and I read it to the girls in Eleanor's bed. Right after we finished reading we heard a large thump on the roof and then we heard jingle bells! Eleanor was so excited! She hurried and covered her eyes with her hands, laid down and told me I need to get out so she can go to sleep! I went to check on her 15 minutes later and she was out cold!

The rest of the night John and I got things ready while watching White Christmas. We got everything wrapped up (pun intended) around 11:30. I had to promise John I wouldn't wake the girls up at 5am (I did that last year and Eleanor wasn't quite ready to wake up!). It was hard for me, but I finally fell asleep and waited for Eleanor to wake us.

Making sure the reindeer had plenty of carrots.



Amelia was being soo good about getting her photo taken! What a little pill!




This year Santa left letters in the girl's stockings. Eleanor thought it was pretty awesome!

Merry Christmas!

Martin Christmas Eve Party

This year we spent Christmas Eve in Elk Ridge with John's family. The highlight was a surprise visit from Santa!! Aunt Lana was reading 'Twas The Night Before Christmas' and at the very end of the book Santa came into the room. The look on Eleanor's face was awesome!! She was beyond excited! Right after he sat down in his chair she walked up to him and asked him if she got his letter (we had just mailed it earlier that morning). It was the sweatiest thing. She was even more excited when he brought her a set of princess kooky klickers. She told John that she has wanted those her entire life! Amelia didn't seem to impressed with Santa, but she wasn't afraid of him either. She did like her very first play dough set.

The kids also did their gift exchange. This was the first year Eleanor got to pick out all the presents for her cousins. She had a lot of fun picking out Lilly's gift and asked me about a 100 times if she could open it and just "test it out" for Lilly.

Listening to Twas The Night Before Christmas. You tell how much fun John was having!
Seeing Santa walk in.
Asking Santa if he got her letter.
Excited about her present from Santa. I had to explain to her that he was still coming to our house that night.

Amelia chillin with Santa.Amelia was more interested in Eleanor's hand then getting her photo taken.All the Martin grandchildren except Katelyn and Savannah.
Grandchildren with Great Grandma Hatch.
Don't ask!