Here Comes # 2!

Our blog is living up to its "Growing Martini" name because we are expecting #2! Jill just finished the 1st trimester, and our new little one is due to arrive August 20th! Jill is glad that part is over, as she has been feeling very nauseous this time around. We had our second doctor's appointment today with another ultrasound. It really is amazing how much a baby grows in 4 short weeks! I have included a few of the ultrasound pictures below. The first one shows just the foot. (sorry the picture is kind of dark) That little thing measures only 1cm right now. It truly is amazing to see God's miracles as you watch another person growing inside of your body. So far the doctors say that the baby looks healthy. We know things can always change, so we say a daily prayer for a healthly baby, no matter if it is a boy or girl. And yes, we will be finding out the sex. Anthony is a need to know kind of guy. ;)

Little Isabella still doesn't understand, but hopefully as we go along, she will start to see the changes and get used to having some other little person in the house. Right now she is really trying to say more and more words. She tries to repeat some that you say. Otherwise, she continues to play and walk around "speaking" in her own way. It is very cute. She continues to love reading books and go to music class. She also likes dancing around the house with Mom. As far as her gaining weight.....well we will see. She has been eating much more than she used to and tries new things every once in awhile.

We will continue to keep you updated with both "babies" growth developments.



Foot

Baby's profile

Baby's profile a little bigger

Some Light Reading

One morning after breakfast, I look over to see Isabella reading her book to herself. It was very cute. More and more she is reading her books out loud, in her own "language". She is getting so big!
I am a few weeks behind keeping you all updated. So, now I will catch you all up on Isabella's latest doctor visit. She is now 18 months, so it was just another check-up. Of course she had to get shots again and now that she is getting older, it is harder to keep her from getting upset. I don't blame her. Who wants 4 shots in one day?! She is developing physically and mentally as she should. Her weight is still the issue. At this visit she weighed 16 1/2 pounds and is now 29 1/2 inches tall. She has plateaued with her weight so the doctor basically said "feed her fat"! Of course, he meant healthy fats like peanut butter and cook veggies in olive oil, etc. Well, that would be great if she liked all foods! So, it has been a constant struggle to get her to eat. The doctor also suggested a supplement in her milk that has lots of calories to help her gain weight. You would think that would be an easy thing.....but of course, Isabella doesn't like the chocolate or vanilla flavors that I have bought! So my thought is, I'm just going to feed her cake and sweet and McDonald's. That is what she likes!! I'm kind of joking of course.....but if that's what it takes to get her weight up, I might just do that. We are to go back for a weight check in March. If she hasn't gained weight, the doctor will possible do a blood test to test her kidneys. It is something that happens in children and he said they usually grow out of it. If it is positive, she would be put on a medication until it resolves. Oh wouldn't it be so great to eat whatever you want because you are too skinny!!!

We will continue to keep you updated. Until then......let's all try to make it through this winter and look forward to SPRING!!

Merry Christmas....a few days late.

We hope you all had a very happy and merry Christmas this year, getting to spend time with family and friends! Here in Colorado, we had a white Christmas...and cold too. It was very beautiful and made the spirit of Christmas even more magical!

This year, we hosted a casual Christmas Eve meal for the Martini family. Grandpa Martini joined us this year, flying in from Detroit. He really enjoyed spending time with Isabella and Jackson and marvelling at how much they have grown! Christmas morning was very relaxing for us. Isabella was great and slept in until 8:30! I know in years to come we will be wishing for that to happen again. We know that as she gets older, the excitement will grow for the arrival of Christmas morning! We then spent the rest of the day at Grandpa and Grandma Martini's for a wonderful Christmas dinner and family fun! It was great to see Isabella and Jackson playing together with some new toys! All in all, I think Isabella enjoyed herself on Christmas this year. Check out the pictures below to see....



Whoa! The Christmas bear is as big as me!

She loves pushing around her baby stroller.

Jackson and Isabella with their matching train toys.

Isabella showing off her new sunglasses and slinky.

Isabella is a gift herself!

One of her fun toys.....a vacuum.

Opening up her presents.

Learning to jump

I apologize that this video is sideways. I have tried for awhile now to get it turned right side up, but nothing is working. Hopefully you can still enjoy her "jumping".

Winter time fun

Technically as I write this, it isn't officially winter until tomorrow. It just seems like it has been winter for a long time already. There is still snow on the ground from a few weeks ago! Although, this weekend has been a balmy 50 degrees!

It is the Sunday before Christmas and I'm sure it is going to be a busy week for all of us as we prepare to spend time with our families and celebrate the birth of Christ! What fun it will be! Anthony, Isabella and I will be hosting Christmas Eve with the Martini's! We will just have a casual evening, as Christmas day will bring lots more food and fun! I'm hoping that Isabella enjoys Christmas morning this year. I know in the years to come, it will be even more exciting. Yesterday we tried to go visit Santa. It was a mistake to try to go on the Saturday before Christmas, but we thought we'd try. The line was over 90 minutes long, first of all. Secondly, to pass the time, Isabella and I went walking around the mall. She was walking herself. Well, she ended up falling 3 times face first and ended up with a fat lip as well as sobbing each time. So, that ended the waiting in line for Santa. Maybe we will try in the morning during the week this week. In the end, we finished the trauma of it all with a yummy Cinnabon.....that made all of us feel better. :)

Today we had some fun. Isabella made us laugh a lot!! I have a couple of videos to show you all of her latest accomplishments. I also have gotten Isabella to wear pigtails in her hair, now that it is longer. Even though it doesn't last long, she looks darn cute! Enjoy the videos and pictures!!

We would like to say to all of our out of town family that we love you and miss you and wish you a very Merry Christmas!!

(I couldn't upload the second video, so it will be on the next post.)

Is everyone as busy as we are trying to get ready for Christmas and celebrate the birth of Jesus! We are getting very excited this year, because Isabella we get to share the excitement with Isabella. She loves looking the the ornaments on the Christmas tree. Of course, all of the ball ornaments, she calls "ball", well because they are round and do look like balls. She also likes to point out Daddy in one of the ornaments that has our picture on it. We have been lucky so far, she hasn't tried to rip any of them off the tree.....yet.

Today we went to a special holiday music class. It was fun! Now, Isabella has started to dance....which is very funny to watch. So, she did a little of that when she wasn't just staring at everyone else. I have been trying to get video of her dancing, but once she sees the camera she stops to come get the camera.

We haven't made the trip to see Santa yet, but I have a feeling that this year won't be as pleasant as last year. Last year she didn't care who was holding her, she just smiled. This year she has become a little more aware of people and of course who is the mommy, so it should be exciting!

We had our annual holiday party last Saturday night. Would you believe that Isabella slept through it all! We had probably over 50 come throughout the night. We invited family, friends and neighbors. It was a good time by all! It is so nice to have that out of the way. Now we can just enjoy the season.

Enjoy the last days of the busy holiday season! To all of us experiencing this freezing cold and snowy weather....stay warm! Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving

I know I am a few days late but we want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! Isabella and I spent most of November in Peoria visiting family and friends. We had a great time staying with Grandma H. and visiting Grandpa ("papa") H. The time went by so fast, as it always does. We were kept very busy seeing everyone. Anthony joined us on Saturday the 21st for a few days.

One day we went to Tanner's Apple Orchard with Aunt Diane, Hannah and Grandma. Isabella loved the goats and llamas and rode the horse. I can't believe that she let the goats lick her hands! She would just giggle. It was very cute.

Isabella also had her first taste of Avanti's. If you are from Peoria, then you will know that this is a big deal because everyone loves Avanti's and it is one of the first places we go to eat when we get into town. I even tried to give Isabella a little piano lesson while we were there. I'm thinking she might be a little piano player. We will wait and see.

We went to Uncle Gary and Aunt Lesa's house a couple of times. They have 2 big dogs, Lucy and Toby, both of which Isabella absolutely loved! Even though Toby knocked her over a couple of times due to excitement, she wanted them around. Now when Isabella asks for a dog, we will just send her to Uncle Gary's house to spend time with their dogs.

We had a great Thanksgiving meal on Sunday at Aunt Diane and Uncle Tim's house. Isabella loved the sweet potatoes! It was a very yummy meal. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! We also got to see some Hohulin cousins later that evening. It was a great time!

Thanksgiving evening, we had to fly back home. We had a nice morning though. We had breakfast at Grandma's house, had a little Christmas with Grandma and then went to visit "Papa" H. It was a good day and thankfully the plane ride home was uneventful. We came home to beautiful 60 degree weather with the sun shining all day. I do miss my family in Peoria, but we are always glad to get away from the dreary Illinois winter weather. (Sorry to rub it in)

I have included some pictures from our visit. Enjoy the next few weeks before Christmas!!

Isabella with Grandma and Grandpa Hohulin....and us too.

Isabella with most of her cousins.Isabella tickling the ivorys.Riding the horsey!!
Letting the goats lick her hand.