Bananas in Pajamas

Happy Friday! Our week went by too quickly... wow, did I really just say that? I must be growing up...

I had a presentation on Tuesday in my "Psychology and Sociology of the Exceptional Student" class, and let me tell you, I rocked it. When it comes to college classes, my biggest pet peeve is when the student, or teacher, reads directly from the PowerPoint during a presentation. Now I know I'm growing up. But seriously, we are in college, I think we all can read. Show a little effort and take the time to memorize at least a little about your topic! Okay, that's my end of the week rant.

We finally made the time to scout out some good "first time food" for Austin. It's recommended that infants start solids on a day that you are able to stay home, so that you can look for allergic reactions and such. Makes sense. I'm just so glad we finally got to experience this!

So... what did we choose to feed him first...?

 

Totally kidding.
If only, right?

The real deal. Can you tell what it is?

Bananas for the win!

 Such a let down after those Krispy Kremes.

Well, at least someone got to enjoy a donut.

BARK Bakery

As of now, I don't think Austin is too much of a fan of big people food. Hopefully he will come around soon, you know what Julia Child says about people who love to eat...

1.  Bedtime Bath-- Austin takes a bath every night before bedtime & this stuff is great with helping him calm down after his incredibly busy day ;) It also doesn't burn his eyes if I get a tiny bit in them... I'm not saying I do...

2.  Cloud B Soothing Sounds Sleep Sheep-- Any little sound machine is necessary, in my opinion, for bedtime. This is the one we have, and within 10 minutes, Austin is out. His favorite setting is the heartbeat sound.

3.  Gap Chambray Hat-- We got this about a month ago, so Gap no longer has them in stock... 

but Juan and I Austin loves it! I highly recommend a summer hat to keep baby's face shaded, not to mention they are too cute!

4.  Baby Einstein Activity Saucer-- This is for 4+ months, but we started using it at 3. Austin is still getting used to it, but he has definitely taken more of a liking towards it this past month. As of now, it keeps him entertained for about 15 minutes at a time. Just enough time to get a quick shower!

5.  Bright Starts Flexi Ball-- This is currently Austin's favorite toy. He shakes it and shakes it, sometimes I even find him sucking on it or Hulk smashing it on Duke's head. 

6. Bunn Water Heater-- Juan's dad actually just bought this for us, and I am in love. Just boil water and pour it in to the canister, and it stays hot for days! It's quick, clean looking, and great for middle of the night feedings.

Memorial Day Weekend

Yesterday, Austin and I spent the afternoon downtown at a Jazz Music Festival. We invested in this stroller fan, with hopes to keep cool in this Florida heat. Do not make the same mistake. This fan is getting returned first thing tomorrow! It's useless. Though we struck out with this one, I'm going to do a little research and find a quality stroller fan- I really do like the idea of one.

On the bright side, my (sorority) little sister and I had a great time strolling Austin around the festival. It would have been even greater had we had the luxury of a fan... sorry, I'm a little bitter. 

We dropped 8 bucks on this hunk of burning love a pineapple. It was some sort of a strawberry, lemon, and pineapple concoction. And it was worth every penny. We went back for free refills twice! 

I really do love a good festival, or any outdoorsy market-type event for that matter. In my hometown, Fort Pierce, there is a Farmer's Market every Saturday morning. Now that's a good time. 

Big Baby alert! Little big duckydoodle was 15 and a half pounds at his 4 month check up! (My guess was pretty darn close!) He is 26 inches, which is in the 87th percentile for his age. 

He helped mommy hang up some laundry this morning. Extra hands are always helpful, especially when you decide you are only going to do laundry once every 10 days... 

And I will leave you with this cutie pie showing off his new trick. Happy Monday and Memorial Day, folks!

Dog with a Blog

Duke's Debut

Duke Alfonso Martinez was born on February 6, 2012. Juan's friend breeds German Shepherds up in Georgia, and, well, he seemed to have gotten both of his little ladies pregnant at the same time. So, we ended up getting this precious thing for a very good price!

But honestly, how can you say no to this face?

Daddy and Mama Dukes (see what I did there...) are from Germany, so that makes Duke a German German Shepherd! There really is a difference. 

Juan surprised me with Duke the day before we were heading up to Savannah for St. Patty's Day. Naturally, Duke traveled with us. He has been a world traveler ever since!

Long trip home from Texas! Summer 2012

Duke enjoys long walks on the beach and ice cubes. During my pregnancy, we both downed ice cubes like no one's business. Literally, one for me, one for Duke, one for me, one for Duke- until the entire cup of ice was empty. 

Duke is Juan's treasure. Juan lets him sleep in our bed, sit on the couch, ride in the front seat... the ridiculousness goes on and on. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs. But, the line needs to be drawn somewhere, and I have no problem drawing a thick ol' line when Duke is going on 3 weeks without a bath. 

Speaking of which, do you have ANY IDEA how difficult and tedious it is to wash and dry a 100 pound dog by yourself. In a bathtub. With only so many towels and a hair blow dryer. 

It's madness. 

Yes, we pay a stupid amount of money every now and then for Petsmart to have a go at him, but he either comes home not fully brushed, covered in his own pee (sometimes, he gets a bit too excited when we pick him up), or cute as a button, in which case, he expects another professional bath in a week. 

Something Petsmart IS good at? Puppy training! 

Disclaimer: If you have ever visited our home, disregard Duke's initial behavior. Sometimes, like I mentioned, he gets a wee wee bit excited. Or he may go in the total opposite direction, lose his shit, and bark at you until YOU pee your pants. 

I swear he has manners. 

Duke's graduation from Intermediate School- he even went on to get his Masters at Advanced School!

See, my dog can high five. What a scholar.

 Recommendation: If you are thinking about puppy training at Petsmart in the St. John's Town Center in Jax, go with Katie Wilson. She's amazing. 

This right here melts my heart.

Bad parenting? Probably.

 Only one year apart, these two are going to have a great time growing up together. 

A long, drawn out love story

One year ago, today, I married my best friend. No, we didn't have a long, drawn out Nicholas Sparks love story leading up to our marriage. A short one, maybe. The Last Song meets Knocked Up. Few understand our story, and many, who don't personally know us, probably enjoy spreading their own version of it. Here is mine.

Juan and I formally met at one of his fraternity's parties. My long-gone, never to be seen again, size 4 self was feeling quite confidant that night (thanks, Jack Daniels). I was barking out orders suggestions to the DJ, poor guy, until he had had enough. God bless him. He marched me over to Juan and introduced us. I invited myself to his formal quite promptly- hey, he didn't object! No shame. 

... Have you ever been to or heard about fraternity formals? 

Okay, imagine a hotel- two entire floors, occupied by college men and their (sometimes, not too classy) dates. No chaperones. I mean, come on... have you ever seen Animal House? (Go watch it, it's great.) I'll let you use your imagination.

Now, let me give you an outline of MY experience at Juan's formal. (Phew, right!)

Hours packing nonsensical things that I never ended up needing. 

Juan picked me up, there was a rose and my formal invitation waiting in the truck. Aww!

Began our drive to Tybee Island.

Juan broke the, in my opinion, not so awkward silence, with an incredibly awkward statement that I will never forget: "It's a long car ride, so you need to talk." 

Stopped in Savannah, Georgia and walked around a bit.

We got to Tybee Island and Juan unloaded his secret hoard of alcohol. 

Everyone started drinking, I stuck to my vodka soaked gummy bears. Delish.

Ran around and explored the hotel.

Everyone put their fancy clothes and dancin' shoes on.

Down to the room they rented out,  got our groove on.

Dinner.

More dancing.

Formal awards.

More dancing.

Back up to the hotel rooms to get the real party started.

Juan and I spent our night "room hopping".
We literally skipped to every single room and hung out for 10ish minutes and then set off for the next room. I was somewhat sad the next day listening to all of the awesome stories about everyone's night, we never stayed long enough in one room to witness anything too exciting. One of my sisters cheered me up a little when she said that though we weren't there to witness any of their great stories, we were probably IN everyone's stories. 

"...And then Juan and Jennifer came in..." 

'''...And then Juan and Jennifer showed up..." 

It's so funny because it really is so true. We were everywhere that night. 

Until about 4am. 

Then we went to bed. I rocked some nice flannels that night.

We had a wonderful 6am wake up call. One of (my favorites) of Juan's brothers came in holding two bottles of alcohol, screaming "PARTY, WHO IS READY TO PARTY!?" 

After formal, it was pretty much set in stone. We were inseparable. 

Skiing in Maggie Valley

 St. Patty's Day in Savannah

 Visting my hometown, Fort Pierce

Yadda yadda, more adventures, more love...

And then... POOF! A little Christmas miracle!

3(ish) weeks pregnant

Like I've said before, first comes love, then comes marriage...

First year of marriage wasn't easy. Reality set in.
You wake up one day and your husband is in the bathroom shaving his (No Shave, July?) beard in your sink. Yuck!
You find yourself no longer turning on the bathroom sink to muffle the noise of your mexican dinner from the night before. Double yuck!

As Maroon 5 would say, "...It's not always rainbows and butterflies, it's compromise...." It really is all about compromise. This is the time the ground rules are set.

One year down- forever to go. Let's do this. 

Shopping, In-Laws, and a (4 Month old) Birthday Babe

This past week the in-laws came in from Bogota and surprised Juan! We have been enjoying their free babysitting company for the past few days, I'm going to be so sad when they go home! If there is one thing I've learned about Juan's parents, and quite possibly all foreigners, it's that they have the strangest and most exhausting ability to shop. until. they. drop. Okay, minus the drop part- they never get tired! They can literally shop for hours. 

Juan and his dad 2 hours into our Home Depot trip. We are repainting the entire condo, woohoo! Our homemade frappuccinos and festive paper straws made the trip a little bit more bearable. 

Paper Straws

The day didn't seem to take a toll on Austin. A new little handyman?

I think he agrees with my pink laundry room idea. 

In their defense, I've been told it is waaayyy cheaper to buy things here than it is in Colombia. Something about tariffs and overall shipping costs... any way, I guess that gives them a bit of an excuse. But, I do know, for certain, that I will never live to see the day that another person(s) loves and frequents Ross as much as these two. Never have I ever seen so many extra large Ross bags leaving that store in the hands of a single person. Hours upon hours are spent in that store, and I have never seen them dissatisfied with their purchases. What up Ross, here are your new spokespeople!

I would put all of my saved Christmas money into a bet on my in-laws being the absolute best. I really lucked out. Juan is an only child, so I really feel like their daughter, minus the slight language barrier. Juan's dad speaks fairly good English, and his mom speaks more English than I do Spanish, which doesn't say much- but hey! I'm learning! And she is, too! Is it wrong to feel like Juan uses this to his advantage? "Lost in translation" takes on a whole new meaning. 

Seeing Juan's parents together is such a funny sight, I wouldn't doubt that many folks do a double take when looking at them. At 6 feet 5 inches, Juan's dad towers over his slightly under 5 feet tall mother.

 

I am such a sucker for family photos, especially when everyone matches. 

3 generations, holla!

On Sunday, Austin turned 4 months old! We planned on feeding him his first solid food, and having a little photoshoot. Well, with Juan working, my homework, and then adding two shopoholics into the mix, it just didn't work out. Austin's 4 month check up is today, so hopefully the doctor will give us some ideas for his first food. Any guesses on Austin's weight? I'm thinking 16 pounds... 

A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes

New to the blogging world, here I am! Better late than never, I guess.

As a mama to a freaking adorable Irish-Colombian (almost) 4 month old, a 100 pound feisty German Shepherd, and wife to 24 year old modern-day Peter Pan, (ex) frat boy, Juan, I decided I  MUST HAVE  some way to document all of our adventures. 

I have been obsessed with a handful of blogs that I have followed religiously for the past several months. Jealous! So without further ado, and with a bippity, boppity, boo- A Dream is a wish your heart fast typing, hoping they can keep up with your racing mind, fingers make! Did I mention I love Disney?

Let's backtrack. 

OUR STORY

Two crazy  greeklife college kids in love

Alpha Tau Omega Formal, Tybee Island



Delta Gamma Formal, Jacksonville Beach



Juan surprised me with this little rascal about 2 months before baby Austin came about. Duke was our first baby. Now, over a year later, he is about 100 pounds! Post on Dukiedoodle to follow.

First comes love, then comes a puppy marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage? Hah, yeah, that's not how it happened. Mommy and wife at 21? Bring it on.

Austin Grant Martinez was born on January 19th, 2013 at 4:02 pm.
9 pounds and 7 ounces.  22.5 inches. Big Boy!

 Austin's First St. Patty's Day! Kiss me- I'm Colombian Irish!

Between both of our crazy ideas of what married and parenting life is supposed to be like, we manage to make it work. Ideally, Juan will graduate Spring of 2014 and I will follow in the Fall of 2014. Until then, I am taking full time classes as an Education major, and Juan is taking his sweet time with his business double degrees. You may have wondered why a 24 year old hasn't graduated? I know, I know, grow up Peter Pan. Being from Colombia, Juan wasn't too familiar with the school system here in 'merica! So, he ended up applying late for college- and then coasting through at a  s l o w and steady pace. So, here I am, playing Wendy Darling to my three baby boys!