Safari Adventures

Tuesday morning we surprised the little one with a day trip to Lion Country Safari! The hour drive down from my parents' house worked out perfectly with his morning nap. We started the adventure off with wrong directions given by yours truly...typical. But what's a few extra dollars spent exiting and reentering the Turnpike a time or two? That was one less bag of candied sugar that Juan didn't really need, anyway. 

The 40 minute Drive Through Safari kicked off our visit and we all enjoyed seeing the animals. Except for one short babe, who couldn't see over the dash. Thank God for Mickey Mouse and YouTube. Austin rode his first animal- a camel! I say animal like there are tons of species just ready to be saddled up and hopped on. Funny he was given the chance to ride a camel before, you know, a horse. Or Duke. Who, by the way, is the size of a mini horse. I checked. I couldn't get enough of this babe's safari boots and shorts, his daddy's matching short shorts, and Uncle Colin's Lilly Pulitzer trunks- which in fact did match my dress. Tourists at their finest?

This was the most fun that we've had in a couple of weeks- our adventures have been pretty limited since the plague hit our home. But this one has been marked off as a definite success! And I'm sure Austin told his school friends all about his adventures- between the shared baby sniffles and snot. I hope that was a joke.

We're craving another adventure, and luckily it's almost the weekend... I hope we can make it happen! 

Cake Smash Picture Dump

A nasty cold left The Martinez Men out of commission this past week. As if our birthday fiasco wasn't enough, Austin and I were almost immediately knocked down with colds after his birthday party. Yuck. I'm torn between a great amount of relief now that I have time in the mornings to get things done while Austin is at school, and shock that the clean environment- the same one that doesn't allow shoes in the "play area"- is giving my kid the plague. My great grandma used to say we are always the weakest around our birthdays- and growing up it has really proven true for me. Every December I seem to catch something. This year my body held out an extra month so that Austin and I could share sweaty snuggles and a box of tissues. Awesome.

Moving on. 

An insane amount of expectation was baked into this blue smash cake. I had high hopes for a double handed Hulk smash, cake hitting the walls, or at least a little nose dive. My expectations were all brought to a screeching halt as we set Austin's cake in front of him and took a couple of steps back. Classy babe.

We expedited the process a bit by cutting his cake and smashing his hand into it. Then things got real.

"Oh, nice texture, smooth consistency..."

For the rest of the day, I was half anticipating projectile blue ombre. I thought for sure we would be in for a blue mess of a diaper, as well. Neither. Austin really held it together. Thank you to everyone for Austin's sweet birthday gifts and wishes! Happy Birthday to you, baby boy!

Birthday Babe

Austin's morning school sent him home on Friday with a little more than a birthday crown and a belly full of cupcakes. Infant and toddler germs are the worst. I was up the entire night before Austin's party, cursing the day I decided to put my kid in a room full of infectious infants. By Saturday morning I was totally ready to sit out on the party and let everyone still enjoy the celebration... until I called my mom a few hours before the party. Double whammy. Even then, I was still half considering letting the party go on without us, that is until I went in to wake the birthday boy...

His crib was covered- the kind of covered where you're fairly certain you can make out what your kid had for lunch the day before. Chunks of grapes, people. His diaper was hanging on by a thread, it had become a leaking vessel of doom. It was a ridiculous scene from a movie. Because this kind of stuff only happens in movies, right?? No. It's real life, and that diaper? It was not a joke. And my sweet angel babe? I found him with the smuggest look on his happy little face. I don't think it set him back one bit- he was ready to party.

We ended up pushing the party back a day. Luckily all of our guests were understanding and able to make it the next day. Thanks everyone! It all worked out, and we had a great time celebrating Austin's first year of life! He now has a book collection comparable to a small bookstore and a toy collection in need of a large toy box. The food was delicious, and the cupcakes and cake turned out just like I had imagined. I have my sweet friend, Mindi, over at Mindi Makes Cakes to thank for that!!

Look at this particular little baby hand so gently picking into his cake. I can't even. The amount of cake smash pictures probably doubles the amount of other pictures taken at the party- post will come soon! 

This babe is now ONE!

Blue Ombre Explosion

 My bedroom is an explosion of blues and eating utensils. I think I have at least 6 hot glue burns on my foot. Also, I walked into the gym last night with blue confetti in my ear. We're a hot mess, and I don't think I want to see another shade of blue for a good long while. Waving the white flag.

 I've caught myself actually considering recycling all of this and decorating Austin's room a bit. Sort of like a party year round, yeah?? I've also just considered selling it on Etsy as a bulk package. One too many hot glue burns to just throw all of this hard work away. Pom Poms, paper banners, and mustaches on a stick going once, twice...?

Despite my burns and minor mortification when the trainer pointed out my blue glittery ear, planning Austin's first birthday party has been so much fun. Choosing colors, food, flavors, and decorations has been a blast... and I really hope we can pull it all together for his big day to make the room look like a blue ombre wonderland! 

Next year I'm thinking this birthday party thing will go down a bit more simply. A low key day in the park with some baby friends. But this year, it's a damn party.

And a little party never killed nobody.

Austin's Birth Story... One Year Later

It's Day 3 of Austin's birthday week! The birthday party to do list seems to be growing faster than I can cross stuff off. Needless to say, nap times this week are spent being super productive doing basically an entire day's worth of work on extreme fast forward. So. Moving on. Check out my baby bump post from yesterday if you haven't already!

Austin's due date came and passed. Nothing. My doctors scheduled me to be induced the following Monday. Friday night rolled around- Juan and I were watching a movie at home. I had downloaded an app to track my contractions weeks before, and it was that Friday around 9pm that I opened the app for the first time. Juan had fallen asleep halfway through the movie, so I went on with my "contractions" in silence. Bad. Ass. They weren't too bad, and I wasn't 100 percent sure they were real. I finally woke Juan up and told him what was happening. We didn't think too much of it because the "contractions" didn't hurt too badly. I was awake the entire night. They slowly grew in intensity, so we called the hospital, cleaned the house, packed our bags, and left the house at 7.

The app I used was called "Full Term".  I left out the hours in between, but you can really see the difference in frequency, holy contraction!

My hospital and labor experience was incredible. The most amazing moments of my life. We loved all of the attention and support that we got for those 3 days in the hospital. We had a ridiculous amount of visitors including several of Juan's fraternity brothers and a few of my close sisters. Friends who knew nothing about babies- or scared shitless of them- came to see us. One of Juan's brothers was very concerned when he pointed out that Austin had no teeth. Probably one of the funniest things ever. We were so blessed to have so many friends and family members there for us. 

Except for that god forsaken epidural shot, my labor was really manageable. My anesthesiologist was celebrating Austin's birthday with a game of pin the tail on the donkey... with his needle... on my back.  Eff. I must have been stabbed three or four times. There aren't enough choice words in the world for that man.

The most shocking moment of my life. Hands down, this was the biggest news flash: Wake up Jennifer, you're a mommy!

This little round squish stole my heart on January 19th at 4:02 in the afternoon. Austin Grant Martinez was the first baby that I had ever held. I had never even changed a diaper. Everything kind of came natural, it all fell into place. The girl who was once terrified of babies and refused to babysit children under the age of 4, is now the same woman who juggles a 24 pound infant in one hand while vacuuming or doing makeup with the other. Life is crazy. This experience has been crazier. You can really surprise yourself with what you are capable of doing, and what you will do for your babe. 

Happy Birthday week baby boy!

Baby Bump

This is it- the final week of Austin's first year of life! This time last year I was shuffling  wobbling  basically transporting myself by any means possible on my short breath and ballooned feet. That may or may not have consisted of rolling around on a computer chair and begging Duke to bring me another glass of water. I am so glad I was able to greet this New Year as a proud mommy and with 45 less pounds. I will never again take for granted being able to zip my winter boots...

This week leading up to Austin's big day, I have put together a series of posts recognizing the little birthday prince as we are getting ready to celebrate his FIRST birthday!

I really wish I had blogged throughout my entire pregnancy, or any of it for that matter. What a great thing to go back to and show the babe when he is all grown. So, here I am, blogging about my pregnancy a year after giving birth. 

Due Date: January 14, 2013
Birthday: January 19, 2013
Names: Girl- Savannah / Boys- Noah or Austin
Total Weight Gain: 50+. Shameful.
Sickness: No pregnancy sickness, ever! Just a nasty cold that lingered for 5 weeks throughout our Texas trip. Boo.

Throughout my entire pregnancy I was tossing back ice chips like no one's business. Duke and I would consume 6 or 7 cups of ice in 2 hours flat. Bam. More please.  I even became a regular at The Loop restaurant just to chow down on their perfectly sculpted and textured ice cubes. Other than the ice, I didn't have too many cravings. One day it was apples, another it was Peppermint Bark ice cream.

I had four baby showers- I was so incredibly lucky to have so many supportive friends and family in so many different cities! Oh, and Austin's nursery wasn't finished until about a month before he was born.  Mom of the year over here. (Oh, am I going to pop out a baby in a month? Do I need a nursery for that?) And by finished, I mean slapped some paint on the walls. We never actually finished it, per se. It was just a generic Babies-R-Us Nautical themed room. I'm not disappointed with how it turned out, I just wish I had gotten more creative.

This was in the old apartment. I hope to get more creative in his new room.

Austin's due date came and passed. Little rascal was still packing his bags for the big day!

Check back for Austin's birth story! 

Five on Friday

We're slugging around this morning in our jammies, looking for any excuse to put off today's errands for a few more hours. At 11:30, excuse number 14 is brought to you by the Five on Friday link up and my lack of interesting news from the past couple of days. I'm linking up this morning for another Five on Friday with the ladies... it's only been what, a few months, since we've participated!? Today I'm just going to dump out a huge pile of random, and you just sit back and be thankful it's not Fifteen on Friday.

  

One.
With Austin's first birthday in just a little over a week away, his birthday party planning is in full gear. I picked out the theme months ago, and luckily it has ended up a pretty simple theme. I can make really almost any sort of decoration for his party using nothing more than crafting supplies found at any given craft store. His love for Mickey Mouse almost brought him a Mickey Mouse birthday party, but after thinking about the cost and the fact that those sorts of decorations would be found at a party store, we decided it just wasn't in our budget. Besides, who is going to turn down hand crafting decorations for a party?! Blue ombre, and any sort of ombre for that matter, has sure proven itself an easy and very DIY type of party theme.

Two.
Today is my oldest and one of my truest friend's 23rd birthday! So true that she is road tripping and storage unit moving with me on her special day. I must owe her a birthday shot, or two. Now Austin's Godmother, this girl and I have been connected at the hip since Kindergarten and she has been there for me every single day since. Literally, every day... as in, daily phone calls... daily texts... daily complaints when I don't answer... ;) Love you Mandy! Happy Birthday girly! 

Three.
Naps. One of the most productive (or lazy) times of the day for me. I cherish Austin's naps for a few reasons... for starters, the obvious- this is the sweetest and most peaceful face I have ever seen. No tears, tantrums, giggles, sass... just pure peacefulness.

I take full advantage of Austin's two daily naps. During his morning nap I usually blog, relax, or may even try to sneak in a nap myself. The afternoon nap is spent running errands or straightening the house. I do cherish these naps, but I will tell you I equally cherish the time out of the house alone.  Lately, I've been considering knocking out a nap and trying to get him in the habit of one, long nap a day. Yay or nay? Am I setting myself and this little lovie up for a complete disaster?

Four.
Juan insisted we go back and recreate this picture taken when Duke was only 3 months old. He is now almost 2- and still growing into his body (and ears)!

Five.
And lastly, some crazy pictures I found of my hometown circa the torrential downpour of January 9, 2014. Insane!

I've painted my nails, checked the mail twice, and even reorganized the refrigerator. I'm officially out of excuses and need to get this show on the road. Friday errands, here I come.

Have a wonderful weekend!