Hold the Cake! Pass the HAM! :)

From her first birthday...

Our baby girl, our first born, turns two on Monday. It's hard to believe that at this time last year she had only been walking about a month. Her vocabulary consisted of a wide range of noises and a handful of words like Dada, Mama, TaTa (Tucker), and duh (duck). At her party she had herself a big time, but didn't really seem to understand all the hoopla (though she quickly schooled herself on the concept of an unexpected treat like birthday cake!)

Another year. Already?
Umm, I don't think my heart is quite ready to go there today.

So while we anxiously wait on a few of her favorite presents to arrive, instead of slicing up another cake just yet, how about some HAM? Twelve months, a dozens worth, of good 'ole Hope-spun HAM with some never before seen picture footage of the HAM-ingest kind! Hope you enjoy some pieces of this little girl who makes us hold our sides (and hearts!) and grin from the inside out...
January 20… After a wonderful first birthday celebration came the sad realization that all our house guests had to travel home. Nana spent some lingering moments cuddling and playing with Hope before commenting, “If you say Nana, I’m telling you I’m taking you home with me!” The room grew silent and literally without a moment’s pause Hope patted her and said as clearly as she’s ever said any word, “Na-na!” Needless to say we had to check (and re-check) Nana’s suitcase before they finally went on their tearful way!

February 10… Hope apparently has great fun with being “that baby” in church and today was no different. Last week she became obsessed with bellybuttons… mine, Joe’s, Baby’s, and her own. After teaching her to call it a “button” she proudly showcased the discovery at home… and beyond. During meet and greet (we were first time visitors at this church, mind you) we introduced ourselves to a young man in front of us. When we said, “And this is Hope” she responded by pulling up her dress and pointing to her “button” with one very wide grin. To think the pastor only asked for people to shake hands and hug.

February 23… One of our favorite Saturday morning treats is to swing by a local, eclectic coffee house that serves the best and most affordable food. On one such special morning Hope was especially excited about the homemade strawberry jam we let her sample. On our way out Joe stopped to pay with Hope in his arms when she spied many baked goodies (a few looking suspiciously close to strawberry flavored!) She made all the servers laugh by smiling and acting cute… basically buttering them up for her final request. That’s when she distinctly pointed to her favorite baked good and in her sweetest voice asked, “Peeeeaaasssseee!” By the time we were ready to leave the Barista told her she could have the cappuccino and espresso machines too!

March 9… Hope has long adored the Dr. Seuss ABC’s book (and we have memorized practically the whole thing… nice for entertaining her in the car and elsewhere!) The great part is that when she gets excited or especially wants something, like tonight at dinner, she’ll try “pease” followed by shouting out her letters (A, B, and sometimes C). I can promise on my teacherly oath that I never taught her to do this, but oh the irony that I would have a child who uses the alphabet for bargaining power.
April 7… A virus going ‘round caught up with Hope and we made a trip to Dr. Chambers to make sure everything was okay. While there we found out her throat was indeed red and sore after the doctor peeked in with a tongue depressor. As soon as he removed the stick Hope looked at him pathetically and cried, “Jeshush!” (Jesus). Having just learned that word, she must have instinctively known then was one of those times to call upon Him. Our doc, a fellow believer, responded- “Yes, indeed, that’s exactly who can help you feel better!”
May 10… Lest we forget some of the language Hope has conjured up in these last weeks: When she’s really excited or content you would think her name should be Pebbles or Bam Bam as she literally exclaims, “Dappa Dappa Doo!” (We hear this the most when she’s happily playing or at meal time, and we can’t help but all join in). Also, when we are trying to teach her a new word and she doesn’t get it she’ll almost always come up with something to say and that something is usually, “Budgy.” A typical conversation sounds like this:
“Hope, this is a waffle. What do you call it?”
(Thoughtful, then certain), “Budgy.”
“No sweetie, a ‘wa-full’. Try that.”
(More certain), “Budgy!”
July 20… When Hope finally got to meet Maddie for the first time at the hospital you could tell she immediately fell in love with her little sister—smiling and touching all those little features. When we brought Maddie in the house the next day, Hope could barely contain herself as we tried to unload the car seat. Hope’s hands were all in the way and finally she kind of pushed us aside, stuck her face close to Maddie’s, and said “Maddie, I wuv ew! MWA!” Thank God we were filming this whole sweet exchange!
August-something… While I was recovering after Maddie’s birth Aunt Ellen was in town helping us get back on our feet. She planned lots of fun things for Hope including giving her a bunch of cool, hand-me-down outdoor toys. One was a V-Tech motorcycle that required new batteries for some of the bells and whistles. Aunt Ellen assured Hope Daddy would fix it when he got home. Over and again Hope would come up to Ellen pleading, “Daddy fix it!” Finally, in sheer frustration, Hope tried again. This time, “MOMMY fix it!” If at first you don't succeed... 'atta girl!
Sept. 19… Hope knows that anyone with the prefix “Auntie” before their first name means someone very fun and very special. But when she started calling Joe’s co-worker and our friend, Travis, Auntie Travis we got a little concerned (after a HUGE laugh, we might add). Later on that same week, though, she started calling me “Auntie Mommy. “ The clincher was when we were saying our prayers and she was thankful for “Auntie Jesus.” That’s when we figured it out… “Auntie”= Some kind of wonderful. (But as Travis, now Mr. Travis, concluded—good thing it was never “Auntie-Christ.”)
Oct. -Something… I (Joe) really enjoy my time with Hope putting her to bed almost every night. One night in particular we were playing some of our silly games when I accidentally “had a little air on my stomach” (as Katrina and her mom call it). I quickly said, "Excuse me" and we moved on. Later on after her bath Hope looked at me and said, “Ready?” “Ready?” I asked back in surprise. Then she closed her eyes in concentration and tooted. “Hope tootin’!” she told me. Not a second later she said again, “Ready?” And she did it again. She tried a third time with, “Ready?” She strained a bit on this one before announcing, “No more tootin’, Daddy!” No need to tell you how hard I was laughing!
Over Christmas Vacation… We had just checked into our room overlooking the ocean. It was nighttime so we had a great view of the Va. Beach light’s display lining the boardwalk. As I (Katrina) peered out the window I noticed that the nativity was within our view. “Look Hope, Baby Jesus in lights!” Hope pressed her nose hard against the glass and upon spotting her beloved Joseph, Mary, and Baby Jesus she excitedly told us in a voice that only childlike faith can exclaim, “THAT’S AMAZING!”
Jan.-somethings… Hope’s affection for her little sister is precious! When we bring Maddie into her room in the morning she says with such a gigantic smile, “There’s Maddie-Cakes!” Hope is determined to be a little mommy—wiping Maddie’s face, longing to dress her, kissing and hugging her to death. Whenever Maddie cries, Hope quickly tells her, “Maddie, it’s okay!” and tries to make it better with hugs, books, and toys. Thankfully so far there have only been a handful of times when a little “jealousy” appears on the scene. On one such occasion when we had been paying a lot of attention to Maddie, Hope came up to me (Katrina) and asked with a sigh, “So, no hit Maddie?” I reassured her, “NO hit Maddie!” Another time when Maddie rolled over both ways for the first time we all cheered. Hope happily joined us and then the thought must have struck. “Hey, Hope can roll over!” she reminds us all and then demonstrates just to be sure we really get it.

... To just the other night!

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For anyone who might be interested in the full list, like we sent out last year, please e-mail us at teammartins@hotmail.com and we'll hook you up! We just randomly selected this group of twelve.:) Have a great weekend!