The Martens Crew

The Great Unveiling...

2010-12-01T19:43:00.000-08:00

Now that our Christmas cards have gone out... Here are the pics we took for them! I just love the one of Sienna pointing at Santa- she's really got him all figured out doesn't she! Hah! And yes, that's a Smartie she's holding in her other hand- she wasn't too sure about Santa at first and thought she might want to cry like last year ;)

In honor of Halloween...

2010-10-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I guess we have kept the pumpkin patches in business this fall! Here are some pics.....

Sienna and I at the Arboretum with her friend, Haley Schmidt

At the Arboretum

At the Argyle Pumpkin Patch with Grandma and cousins, Cale & Riley:

Finally got a decent family pic:

At a fall carnival at First Baptist Frisco:

My sweet friend Emily (aka Haley's Mom) invited us along:

At the Celina Pumpkin Patch:

Hay Ride!

Feeding the goats- before they STOLE our cup!! Sneaky little boogers...

This one is not our favorite ;)

More pics of Sienna in her costume and with our "Big Poppa" Pumpkin to come!!

Hill Country Livin'

2010-10-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back we traveled down to Fredericksburg for Labor Day weekend. We stayed with my parents at their house there. We spent a day shopping in town and also made sure to hit the annual Doss Fish Fry. It is held by the community my Mom grew up in and supports the Volunteer Fire Department. It draws thousands of people and I am always shocked at the number of mouths they are able to feed. Good food and good times! We also made a trip down to some of our property so Sienna could play in the water and so my parents other guests, Betty and Don Hamilton, could take in the scenery!

My Mom and Sienna at Indian Cave:

Sienna and Stella catching some frogs:

We caught one:

Me and my girl, chillin' at Indian Cave:

She's a cutie...

On the hayride with cousins Lindsey and Christina at the Fish Fry:

Well, it really has frozen over...

2010-09-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

Here's something we never thought we would be doing on our Saturday...waiting in line for over an hour for a picture with BARNEY!! Luckily, Daddy and our friends Robin and Caris were along to keep us company! Check out that grin on Daddy's face...he is loving every minute of it ;)

Goin' Back to Cali...

2010-08-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

It's been almost 2 years since I was a resident of CA and I really do miss lots of things about it. Chief among them is the cool weather (especially given the 105 temps we have been having around here!)! Last week we were lucky enough to spend a week out there- splitting our time equally between Orange County and Santa Barbara. I was in my good friend Tracy's wedding in Orange County and so we spent our first 4.5 days there. We had a great time hanging out with the wedding party and reminiscing with our old friends Alexis and Aaron! While in Orange County we worked in some beach and pool time, an Angels vs. Rangers game, The Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, as well as some shopping at H&M and some great seafood and frozen yogurt eating (yea Yogurtland!!). On our way from Orange County to Santa Barbara we also stopped at the Getty Center and checked out some art, as well as the gorgeous views! When we lived in Santa Barbara I was pregnant with Sienna for pretty much the entire time, and so while I have been out to the Santa Ynez Valley wine country multiple times with guests, I've never gotten to REALLY enjoy it! So our first day in SB was spent on a bike tour of the wine country. We went to 3 vineyards and biked a total of 10 miles. It was the most fabulous way to see the countryside and feel good doing it! I highly recommend! The last two days of our trip we mostly spent time eating at our favorite places, walking around enjoying the Fiesta festivities, hitting the beach, and just driving around looking at our favorite things and places! Of course, I also had to hit my favorite shopping spot for Sienna and she undoubtedly was the big winner as far as souvenirs from the trip ;) Our hearts were heavy leaving CA, but we were excited to get back and see our little stinker again! Here are some pics, in no particular order:

dinner at Zaytoon, in Santa Barbara

SB Mission

Kurt at our favorite beach in SB, Arroyo Burro

me on Arroyo Burro Beach

biking the wine country- River Bench vineyard

outside Foxen winery

at the Getty Center, LA

view atop the Getty Center

With Alexis and Aaron at the wedding

Lex, Trac and I at the wedding

Angels v. Rangers

Bluebonnets!

2010-07-28T12:55:00.001-07:00

Okay, okay...I know it is the middle of summer, but we just got these pictures back from our photographer. Sienna was so cute in the bluebonnets this year! It was definitely her happiest photo session- probably because it was both only 15 minutes long and also outside! Enjoy! I am off to pack for Cal-i-forn-ia!! :)

What a Weekend!

2010-07-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

Me and my little sparkler :)

Grandma playing Wii with the grandkids

Brunch!

Our little fam at Freedomfest (thanks for the pic Julie!)

Yesterday on the 3rd of July we celebrated with a trip down to Freedomfest in Frisco with some friends and their kiddos! It started off with a bang for us because after finally getting parked we realized we had forgotten the one essential element- the DIAPER BAG!! AAAHHH! This is where I carry Sienna's sippy cup, diapers, wipes, toys, snacks, camera, basically the kitchen sink as far as Sienna is concerned! I was panicked. Well, at least we were meeting friends and I knew we could borrow everything but snacks and sippy cups. We did at least have one diaper. So off we went! We had a great time taking in the sights and were about to get on a bounce house when we realized it was about to POUR! So we all headed down to Mattito's for dinner and snickered at all the other poor souls stuck in the rain! After dinner we headed home and put Sienna to bed and watched a few fireworks from our yard.

This morning, on the 4th, we went to church and afterward had Kurt's family over to our house for brunch. I swear- I haven't baked this much since Sienna was born! She can be pretty high maintenance and is definitely a Mommy's girl- so I am very thankful she is gaining some independence and allowing me to get a few things done! We had a sausage and egg casserole, blueberry scones, banana bread, fruit and dip, and spinach artichoke dip. Yum! We had a great time hanging out with everyone afterward up in the media and game rooms. Then to cap off the afternoon, Kurt and I made two batches of homemade ice cream (vanilla and chocolate) while Sienna was napping. Then we all went to the pool when she woke up! What a fun day!

Sienna's Dedication

2010-05-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

It's been a big month in our house! Two weekends ago I was baptized and this past weekend (on Mother's Day) Sienna was dedicated! In typical fashion, I have pics of hers but not mine ;) We are so proud of our little girl and the sweet child she is becoming! My parents gave her a small James Avery cross as a dedication gift and I thought for sure she would try to rip it off. Boy did she prove me wrong! She was so incredibly gentle and delicate with that cross on and wore it the whole day! What a special and precious day it was too :)

We had a fantastic Mother's Day weekend with my parents in town to help celebrate. After the church service both families enjoyed a nice brunch at Chez Moi. I was ecstatic- I received the two presents for Mother's Day that I have been really needing (and wanting!)- a Coach diaperbag and a Lovesac beanbag chair for our gameroom! In fact, it was hilarious because we bought one Lovesac on Saturday night and Kurt insisted it was the only one we needed even though I tried to convince him to get two since they were running a good deal. Well, on Sunday everyone was fighting over who got to sit in it. So after about 5 minutes of discussing it, we hopped back in the car and went back to buy another one while the "Mother's Day Sale" was still going on! Hah! Our gameroom is now fully equipped and Mommy finally has a place to sit- YAHOO!!

There goes Peter Cotton Tail....

2010-04-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

Easter has come and gone and our little bug sure had a blast hunting eggs this year! One of my relatives, Lorie Franz, and her family sent Sienna a whole box of Easter goodies and after the first time we hid the eggs, she wanted to hunt them over and over again! And she would look every time to see if there was something in them- little bugger!! On the Saturday before Easter we traveled down to the Dallas Arboretum for some family photos with the Grandparents. The weather was gorgeous and we all enjoyed walking around the grounds and eating lunch afterward. Pics to come soon :) We enjoyed a wonderful Easter dinner at Kurt's parents' house and my parents were also kind enough to help up landscape our backyard while they were visiting. The following weekend Kurt's Grandma Clary and his Aunt Michelle were in town, so we had another nice family get-together. We were so thankful to be able to celebrate with so many relatives!

Aunt Michelle with the cousins

Kurt's Mom, Grandma Clary, Kurt and Sienna- 4 generations!
My Mom reading to Sienna

Mmmm...this is my "I LOVE JELLYBEANS" face...

With her Easter basket

Hunting Easter Eggs inside...the weather wasn't so good...

Sunglasses from her Easter basket...as you can tell, she really knows how to "cheese it up" for pictures now...

Opening her Easter basket...

Ready to go to church with Mommy...

Paw-Paw and Grandma Wilson

Opening the eggs from Lorie and fam...

Dyeing Easter eggs...

Another "cheese" pic...

Okay, so I know it's almost Easter...

2010-03-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

...but I'm just now getting around to posting Sienna's Vintage Valentines pics! Bad Mommy! Oh well, at least you can enjoy them now since I've been hearing some moaning and groaning about my lack of picture posting lately! ;)

Here's a short summary of what we've been up to the last few weekends:

On March 6th we celebrated our 6 year anniversary! This year wasn't as ceremonious as some in the past have been...but the funny thing about that is I think we actually had more fun since it was low key and no-expectations! We just picked up some donuts in the morning, Kurt got me a massage during the day, then in the evening we took Sienna to eat with us at our old standby, The Cheesecake Factory. Afterward we just walked around the mall for a little while. Sienna was happy-go-lucky and it was a great evening!

Well, that Sunday after our anniversary I was sitting on the couch watching the Academy Awards like the sad, celebrity obesssed person that I am! Well, Sienna climbed up on my lap and proceeded to be glued to the TV and the stars for the next hour. This is extremely strange for Sienna- usually she likes to be up wandering around and getting into things. I'm thinking- this kid is going to be a moviestar- she LOVES the Oscars!! Hmmm...not so much...I started to notice she was extra-warm and before bed we took her temperature. Yep, fever coming on. Over the next four days she ran a temp over 105 twice and we made 1 trip to the emergency room and 2 trips to the regular doctor! Our regular doc was out of town, but on the third try to the doctor they finally found out she had double ear infections! Lord have mercy- I think I could have been a doctor sometimes! Hah- except for my terrible science grades :) Anyway, we were supposed to leave town on Thursday, but ended up having to wait until Friday since that's when Sienna was finally on the mend- thank God for Amoxicillin!!!!

So last Friday we finally were able to head up to Austin for the State Basketball Tournament. This is a major family tradition since I've been going since I was a baby myself. Kurt and his parents started joining our family back when we were dating in college, and now his parents good friends, Don and Nancy, also join us since their son, Jason, is a coach. We have a lot of fun and eat a lot of good food between games. The highlights are always within walking distance of the Erwin Center, but are some pretty good eats nonetheless- Players Hamburgers, The Brick Oven, and Stubbs BBQ. Sienna was quite the challenge to babysit this year, so my Mom and I ended up missing about half of each session, but the weather in Austin was fabulous so we didn't complain! Speaking of Austin....oh how we love and miss you...Lord let us find our way back one day!!! It really is our home and we miss it so!

First Birthday- the Second Round :)

2010-01-25T11:10:00.001-08:00

This weekend we traveled to Houston for another round of Sienna's First Birthday! This time at my parents' house and with a lot of my friends from growing up all the way through to law school. Sienna loved playing with her friends Ethan, Jezek, and her new BFF Natalie! She also got to meet baby Gwendolyn for the first time!! We had a fabulous time visiting with everyone and Sienna got lots more fun gifts and clothes! Thanks Grandma Betty and PawPaw Walt for all the great food, beautiful decorations and hopitality!!

Loving the cake...

So cute- Natalie is patiently waiting to have some cake too...

Our little family...

Dahnya, Gerry and Jezek Hamilton

Jeff Bezner (Kurt's good friend from growing up), Tim Cole (my childhood friend Julie's husband), Kurt and Scott Simmons (my buddy from law school)

Betty Hamilton and Lesley DiBello- Betty made the most beautiful wall hanging for people to sign in honor of Sienna's birthday! She also made the cute chair cover for Sienna's "birthday cake" chair!

My Mom, Bettye, and Janet Ballard

Scott and Laura Simmons and us!

Susan, my best friend from childhood, with her little boy Ethan

The decor...

My childhood friend, Julie, with Sienna opening her presents! Julie is due to have a little girl in April!!

My childhood secret pal from church, Theresa Myles, with Sienna

Sienna and Natalie were obsessed with this oversize basket my Mom had!

My Mom and Dad, Walt & Bettye (with Aggie too!)

Ah, to be a kid again!

2010-01-18T10:40:00.001-08:00

Here's a pic of what we did this weekend...transform Sienna's gameroom into a playroom! We went to IKEA Friday night and bought the shelving, windowseat units and playtable. We spent Friday night after Sienna went to sleep and Saturday while she was napping putting everything together. I have to honestly say it was probably the easiest stuff to assemble that we have ever tried. I can't say my hands were thanking me though- ouch! It looks great though and now we just need a TV to set in the middle :) Thanks Kurt for being such a great Daddy and working so hard to get this ready for little SiSi! You rock!

Our New House

2010-01-11T17:01:00.000-08:00

2 stomach bugs, 5 days of moving, 5 furniture deliveries and countless repairmen/servicepeople later...we are finally all moved in!! I can't say it's a process I care to repeat anytime soon, but I sure can appreciate the results! We are in love with our new place and so are Sienna and Stella! It took Sienna a few days to adjust since when she left to go stay with Grandma Darla and PawPaw Murro we were still in our old house and when she returned all her things and us were in the new house! Until today it has been too cold for us to walk a block down and enjoy the awesome playground- but we took full advantage today and Sienna loved swinging and going down the big girl slide :)

Here are some pics of the new place- enjoy! (I am not posting any pics of the media and game rooms- they are still works in progress :))

P.S.- A HUGE THANK YOU to my parents, Walt and Bettye, who were with us for a week of the moving process. We quite literally couldn't have done it without you (except for the stomach bug you brought- haha)! Also BIG THANKS go out to Kurt's Mom and Dad, Murro and Darla, for watching Sienna and helping us hang 3 ceiling fans this weekend!

The exterior...

Stella's new "house"...and our new end table...

Our living room...

Kitchen

Master bedroom

Breakfast area

Entry

Stone patio we had built that looks onto the biggest part of our backyard

Steps around to stone patio

View from the concrete patio right outside our breakfast area

My garden...soon...

Patio...a work in progress...will get stained later this week

Dining room

One of my favorite things...the door...it has a "speakeasy" window that opens up...like in the olden days of prohibition!

Sleepy Time!

2009-12-17T19:56:00.001-08:00

Sienna is not the best napper. She sleeps pretty darn good at night now, but she DOES NOT like taking naps during the day. Well, I guess it all finally caught up to her at dinner on Monday night, because she zonked out in an unusual spot...

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Movin' on Up!

2009-12-05T20:23:00.000-08:00

First of all- scroll down- there are lots of NEW POSTS!! Including Sienna's First Birthday Party!

In the meantime though...we finally bought bedroom furniture!! I am sorry to say that our bedroom is the last in the house to get some decent furniture- the baby got a brand spankin' new set before us! But all that is in the past...here's the new set that will be delivered when we close on the new digs:

Sienna's First Birthday Party

2009-12-05T19:39:00.000-08:00

Today we celebrated Sienna's FIRST birthday (a week early due to Mommy's wisdom teeth removal next weekend)! It was a Winter ONEderland theme! Everything turned out just perfect and she had a great time playing with all her friends and licking as much icing as she could off her cupcake! Thanks so much Grandma and PawPaw Martens for letting us use your house!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Robin and Staci with Caris

Barat and Heath chatting...

Look at that tongue! Staci I think Hannah is a future KISS fan!
Me and Jill, my girlfriend from college:Tracy (my good friend I met while living in DC) with Sienna:

Opening presents:
Happy Birthday to you.....

Mmmm...I could get used to this icing stuff....!!!
Aunt Cara with cousins Cale and Riley:

Sienna playing with her friends, Madi and Hannah:
Uncle Ron and Aunt Carlita with Grandma and PawPaw Martens

SNOW DAY!

2009-12-05T19:25:00.000-08:00

We woke up to snow this week! It was unexpected and that made it even more fun!

Gone Huntin'

2009-12-05T18:59:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving we headed to the Hill Country for some R&R and a little hunting! Sienna got dressed up in her gear for a picture with Daddy:

Kurt and I dressed to go huntin'....

The view from the deer blind:

Opening an early birthday gift from Grandma & PawPaw Wilson...surprise, surprise...it's a basketball goal! :)

Sharing some of her Thanksgiving dinner with PawPaw Walt (her favorite was pumpkin pie!):

We went to the Mason square and courthouse lighting for a little bit of festive holiday spirit! We got a second chance to sit on Santa's lap and I'm sorry to say this time was WORSE (even though this Santa was much cuter)!! What can I say? Sienna has a Santa phobia! Mommy had to be in the pictures and even that didn't help!

Sienna & Santa

2009-11-21T10:16:00.000-08:00

Well, it's a rite of passage, so we trekked to the mall this morning for the obligatory photo with Santa. I was actually able to sneak a bow into Sienna's hair (a minor feat in itself) and we got 3 semi-smiling pics before she decided Santa was scary and started boo-hooing! Also no line to wait in since we were so early! I deem it a success!!

Home for the Holidays...

2009-11-16T12:23:00.000-08:00

It's almost ready!!! This is when it starts to get exciting! They have finished the brick and stone and have sheetrocked the inside, so texturing the walls is next. We can't wait to move in- projected close date is mid to end of December! If I can't be in a week before Christmas I'd rather just wait until after though! Too crazy otherwise!

Cruisin' Couple

2009-11-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

I have been told you either love to cruise or hate it....well, I think we fall into the former category! We went on our first cruise a few weeks ago. We flew to Puerto Rico and spent one night, then boarded a Royal Carribean ship (The Adventure of the Seas) the next day. We had a balcony room and absolutely enjoyed being able to sit out there and enjoy the views as we sailed in and out of ports and also watch sunsets. We went to Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten and St. Croix. St. Lucia and St. Maarten were our favorites- St. Lucia for its Hawaii-like beauty and St. Maarten for its culture and more modern amenities. We thought the food on the cruise was fantastic- and I am pretty picky- for instance I do not like All Inclusive resorts. But the food on the cruise never got old and the service was fantastic. We did the "my time" dining so we could eat whenever we wanted and didn't have to wait for a particular seating time. I also loved being able to go to a show in the evening after dinner or even just go to the casino for a little while- it was so much more entertaining than just staying in a hotel. We are already eyeing the new Oasis of the Seas that will soon be sailing out of Florida- looks amazing and HUGE! I have posted some of our pics below...

Cane Bay in St. Croix...I did some fabulous snorkeling here and saw a barracuda...yikes!

Us with the ship...

On Airport Beach in St. Maarten. You can watch the planes coming in VERY close overhead. It's a huge attraction and they pipe in air traffic control to the bar on the beach so you know when a plane is coming. You can even watch YouTube videos of this.

Kurt is in the red shorts...

Sailing into St. Maarten

About to go ziplining in the Antiguan rainforest

Kurt ziplining...

Me ziplining...

Sailing into Antigua

View from the balcony leaving St. Lucia

The harbor with our ship in St. Lucia

Little oasis beach between the Pitons on St. Lucia

Kurt and I on a water taxi riding to the beach between the Pitons

Us with the Pitons

Harbor in St. Lucia

At a banana plantation

Sunset from our balcony

Pool deck on our ship- where we spent most of our time on our one day at sea

Sailing into Barbados...we went scuba diving here on shipwrecks!

Us on one of the formal nights on the ship

Puerto Rico from the ship

First Howloween!

2009-11-03T11:04:00.000-08:00

Kurt and I were away on our cruise during Sienna's first Halloween :( But, we did manage to make it to one pumpkin patch before we left (despite all the rain)! We had Sienna's 9 month pics taken by a new photographer while we were there. Here are some of our favs! I am also posting a few of her in her Halloween costume- she was a 50's girl- it was one of the few costumes I figured she would actually keep on and be happy wearing! Cruise pics coming soon!! :)

Sienna & Ethan, Sittin' in a Tree.....

2009-10-01T12:54:00.000-07:00

My best friend, Susan, and her family came to visit this weekend! I have known Susan since we were 5 years old! We played together before we even started school, then we went on to play all kinds of sports together and even roomed together in college! I am so excited we now get to share this phase of our lives as well! It was so cute to get the kids together so they could play. We went to the playground, to an indoor play area at one of the malls, and out to eat on Saturday night to celebrate our birthdays (Susan and I are 5 days apart and had many joint b-day parties over the years!). Sienna and Susan's little boy Ethan are clearly in love and who knows, maybe we'll all get to be REAL family one day- LOL!! We love you guys!

A little K-I-S-S-I-N-G! Chaperoned by the Daddies of course...

Our little jailbirds...

Feeding the ducks out back...

Just chillin'...

Chowtime...Sienna loved these things Susan had called Mum Mum's! I don't know where to get them up here in Dallas- anyone know??

BFF's!

September

2009-09-13T15:11:00.000-07:00

Here is a collage of photos from some recent events:

Sienna's 8 month pics- she no longer tolerates big bows AT ALL!!

With Grandma and Grandpa Wilson
Our family at the country house

Swingin' at Grandma and Grandpa Wilson's country house

Grandma and Grandpa threw me a party at Mr. Gatti's to meet the rest of Grandma's side of the family!

First hayride at the Doss Fish Fry

I can clap! And I am SO proud of it too!

I can crawl! Everywhere! And faster by the day!
I can pull up all by myself!

My new play house...

Favorite viewing material.......j/k.....maybe like favorite teething toy! Uh oh, here comes trouble!

Hmmm...on second thought...this may be my favorite teether! Mommy's toe!!!
Dancing with Mommy!

Mommy's birthday- Tracy and Ben helped us celebrate!

Our little family on my b-day! Thanks for the gorgeous Tiffany cake Tracy!!

Kurt took me to The Melting Pot to celebrate my b-day. Yum! I loved it! We took this family pic before going out!
9 months old already! I love my new outfit Miss Katie- you are the best!! And I look so photogenic in it too!!

6 Month Pics!

2009-08-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some of Sienna's 6 month photos we recently got back...amazing she's almost 9 months already!!

What we have been up to...

2009-08-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

It has been a whirlwind around here lately! Here are some of the recent events:

Some of you may know that we have had an offer on a short-sale house in Prosper, TX for a while. Several months in fact. Well, a couple weekends ago we were starting to feel like it was just taking too long and we were starting to feel like we might rather have something brand new instead. Well, a spec home came on the market in Prosper, and while we LOVED the home, it just wasn't in exactly the right location. So, we decided to sign on the dotted line and build instead! The house will be in Willowridge (our favorite neighborhood in Prosper that is right off Preston Rd. and the Dallas North Tollway). We are SUPER excited about the lot we ended up getting- it is a corner lot on a semi-cul-de sac and almost 1/3 of an acre. The house is a 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath with a game room, media room and 3 car garage. All bedrooms are down, with the media, game and 1 full bath up. We are also getting wood floors in the hallways, entry, dining and living- yea! We are so excited about the house and can't wait for it to be ready at Christmastime! Here are some pics we took at the spec house that shows what our house will look almost like:

Kitchen

Living room

One side of the house

The other side of the house

Our lot

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My girlfriend Staci and I had a girls night out a week or two back. It was Staci's anniversary and her hubby, Heath, was out of town, so I was excited to be able to celebrate with her instead! Kurt was a sweet Daddy and enjoyed having a night with Sienna to himself. Staci and I hit up Benihana's. I hadn't been since early college and I forgot how much I liked it- yummy!

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Kurt and I have been planning a trip down to Austin for a few months. It was to be our first trip away from Sienna. Kurt's sweet cousin, Gina, and her hubby, Jacques, have a condo close to Lake Travis and they were kind enough to lend it to us for the weekend! We loved hanging out at the Beach Club, eating lunch there, ordering some beverages and just relaxing! We drove into Austin one night too and ate dinner at one of our fav places (Moonshine) and then walked down to Esther's Follies for the 10pm show. We also had a few friends out to the pool to join us one afternoon. Unfortunately, our trip was cut short when we got the sad news that Kurt's Grandma Martens had passed away. She had been battling cancer for a few months and the news was expected, but tough all the same. The pics below are from our Austin weekend.

Me with my good friend from college, Jess, and Julie, one of our best friends from Austin.

The gang hanging out at the Beach Club.

Kurt and I waiting for the Esther's Follies show to start up.

Kurt lounging at the Beach Club- that's Lake Travis in the background- check out how low it is!

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We traveled to Indiana last week for Kurt's Grandma's funeral. It was a sad occasion to have to travel for, but the service was very personal and special. There was some sense of celebration since Grandma was now free of the cancer and gone to be with Grandpa in Heaven. We feel very blessed that Grandma was able to travel down earlier this summer right after her diagnosis and spend some quality time with all of us and see Sienna for the first and only time.

We had a lot of good times hanging out with the rest of the Martens family- they're a laugh a minute as any of you who know Murro can probably guess! We also got to visit with Grandma Clary, Darla's Mom, and she really enjoyed holding and playing with Sienna! It was Sienna's first plane ride and we weren't sure exactly how she would do but she was a perfect angel and impressed us all with her behavior on the whole trip! I was one proud mama! We had to leave Stella behind at the kennel since we are now traveling with a whole lot more STUFF now that we have Sienna- but she was in the Princess Suite- so no worries! Hah!

Sienna on the plane!

With cousins Katie and Sadie...send me more pics if anyone has them...for some reason mine are sort of blurry!

Playing with Aunt Merilee and Aunt Michelle

4 generations- Darla, Sienna, Kurt and Grandma Clary

Out and About...

2009-07-27T15:46:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Kurt's Grandma got all of us girls (me, sis-in-law Cara, mom-in-law Darla, Aunt Carlita, and cousins Jeana and Melinda) tickets to see Legally Blonde at Fair Park. I was so excited on two counts- first, I am sad to say that since we moved to Dallas we have not had a chance to go out downtown and second, I have always loved that movie since it has a chihuahua and a cute lawyer story! So, anyway, we went down for lunch beforehand at a great place Melinda recommended and then headed over to Fair Park for the show. It was great girly fun! Thanks Grandma Clary!!

Sunday, my good friend Darri was in town with her hubby, Danny. Darri and Danny helped give us a shower for Sienna in Austin and Danny had yet to meet Sienna! He was so cute with her and of course she just lights up when she sees her Auntie Darri coming! Thanks for treating us to brunch guys- we owe you one!

And here are a couple of Sienna just because I think they're so darn cute!

Like Old Times...

2009-07-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

Kurt and I enjoyed hanging out with old friends from college this past weekend. Well, most are from college at least. Kurt knew several of the guys from high school, and we have added a few along the way as well, but most were part of our group of friends at A&M. We had a group of 20 in Dallas for the weekend and we were also lucky enough to celebrate Meredith and Robin's 30th birthdays! Kurt's Mom was so sweet to come over and babysit overnight while Kurt and I stayed at the NYLO Hotel with everyone! Sienna did great on her first night without us and we were able to feel secure that she was with Grandma and have a good time as well! Here are some of our pics from the weekend. We are grateful to have so many lifelong friends!

Kurt chillin' with Joe and Lacey at the NYLO...Joe and Kurt are "really close"...j/k...I couldn't resist!

Kyle, Heath and Kurt hanging out at the NYLO. They have these cool lounge things that you use by the pool by day and at night you can hang out on them!

Kyle and his sexy birthday girl, Meredith!

Kurt and I hanging out in one of the pod chairs at the hotel

I am tellin' you girls...I have GOT to get some of them lashes!!

Me, Robin, Staci and Meredith lounging at the pool.

Hot couple alert! Heath and Staci swimming.

Me and my good friend Tracy, who just moved to town. We were introducing her and her fiancee, Ben, to everyone!

Kurt, Joe and Kyle...is that coffee in your cup Joe??

Some people came over to our house to hang out on Sunday and see Sienna...she decided she wanted to snuggle up to Jeff...watch out Daddy...she already knows how to flirt!

4th Fun!

2009-07-06T12:33:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we made the trip down to Houston to visit my parents for the 4th. I love going home for the 4th because there's a big parade on Main St. and then a celebration at the park afterward. My parents live within walking distance of both these things and so it's a lot of fun to go and see people you don't see much anymore. This year we had Sienna, so we went to the parade, but missed most of the action at the park since she had to take a nap!

We also snuck out Friday night and went down to the Heights to see a couple of my good girlfriends. My best girlfriend from law school, Holly, and her hubby Dan just moved into a new townhome a few months back and we got the grand tour of their place. It is so nice and made us sort of want to live closer in to the city! They have an amazing rooftop deck that overlooks downtown! Holly is pregnant and going to have a baby in August- although she certainly doesn't look it! After visiting with Holly and Dan we went over to my friends Lyndsey and Daniel's house for dinner. They also have a new house that they built and it was absolutely gorgeous- but of course I expected nothing less from Lyndsey- she has great taste! Lyndsey and Daniel are also expecting a baby soon and just found out it's a little girl! Thanks guys for a wonderful evening- we didn't want to leave!

Sienna loves car trips- NOT!!!!

Sienna with her Grammy and PawPaw Wilson

Dancing with Daddy to Clay Walker!

The Wisset wishes you a happy 4th!

Mommy and SiSi at the parade

All dressed up for the 4th...well SiSi was sort of dressed...she spit up on her cute dress right before leaving for the parade...so we had to wash it out and wait for it to dry! Any of you with kids know this is pretty much par for the course...anytime you want them to look cute they are going to end up spitting up on themselves!

Me and Lyndsey

Dan and Holly

Sienna with our good family friend, Betty- look at that smile- she LOVES Betty!

Eating PawPaw's ice cream at Gringo's!

splish, splash!

2009-06-30T15:15:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Sienna and I went to the splash park with some friends. She had such a good time she ended up asleep on my shoulder! So cute- that never happens anymore!

We bought Sienna a little blow-up swimming pool for the backyard and now her favorite activity is splashing! Oh no- we may have given her some bad ideas for bathtime! Hah!

6 Feet Tall- REALLY???

2009-06-22T16:21:00.001-07:00

I took Sienna for her 6 month shots and checkup last Friday. Here are her stats:

Weight: 21.1 pounds, >100 percentile
Height: 28.8 inches, >100 percentile

The doctor predicts she will be 6 feet tall!! I guess we will have a volleyball and basketball player on our hands...or maybe a supermodel! Daddy and both Grandpas will be in hog heaven! Then again, my doctor said the same thing to my parents when I was 2 years old...and look at me...I have to round up to 5'8"!

I just love this pic of SiSi sleeping in my arms...these moments are getting few and far between these days!

Kurt and Sienna on Father's Day- we love you Daddy!

VIPs!

2009-06-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

This past week we had some Very Important People visit us! Kurt's Grandma Martens came in to visit and see Sienna for the first time! I am amazed that Sienna is able to know both her Great Grandmas on her daddy's side. I was never able to know any of my Great Grandparents growing up, so I think this is a very special thing! Grandma was a real trooper and came over to help babysit Sienna while I had an afternoon out. Then we all went to Spring Creek for some BBQ- you can't visit Texas without BBQ, right?! We also enjoyed a day at Kurt's parent's house hanging out with the entire family. Cousins Katie and Sadie also made it to Dallas last week (after a VERY LONG car trip from South Texas involving the case of the disappearing cat!). Kurt had taken my camera to Fenway Park (I'm sure he will want to post pics of this later) so Sadie and Katie if you are reading this send me pics ASAP!!

My good friend Darri, who I used to work with in Austin, also came to visit Sienna and I last week. Darri's sister lives in Frisco, so we love to spend a day with her when she comes to visit! We had a yummy lunch on the patio at Mi Cocina and an afternoon of girltime and shopping at Willow Bend! Darri is so sweet with Sienna and Sienna just loves her to pieces! Thanks Darri for the adorable outfits- she is such a cutie pie in them!

Hill Country Livin'

2009-06-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we made the 6 hour drive down to Fredericksburg to visit my parents at their country house. We took Kurt's Mom and Dad along, as they had never been out there. Sienna was a really good girl considering how many hours she had to be strapped in during the car ride, but she did have a partial meltdown on the ride home! Murro and Darla have now been indoctrinated into Sienna's crying fits- they now know that this girl can really go!! We really enjoyed visiting the Indian Cave property, shopping and eating on Main Street, and just sitting on the porch with good food and good conversation! Thanks Mom and Dad for putting us up!

Shop till you drop- that's Sienna's philosophy!

On the porch at Grandma and Grandpa's country house.

Eating lunch outside at Rather Sweet...yum!

Me, my Mom and Dad by an old well in town.

Kurt with his Mom and Dad.

I just took this one this morning- look at those feet crossed- so cute! I think I used to sit like this too!

That smile could melt my heart!!

A Busy Weekend!

2009-05-26T15:44:00.000-07:00

Well, we had good intentions to relax this weekend...but I guess that just wasn't a priority! Instead it seems like we were running around doing fun stuff all weekend instead! Saturday Kurt went to play golf with his Dad and brother at DCC. His Mom was sweet enough to keep Sienna that morning and I got to enjoy a nice relaxing morning at home- wow, that never happens anymore! I loved sleeping in, enjoying my breakfast, cup of coffee and catching up on The Bachelorette! Then after golf my mother in law took me and my sister in law shopping! We got some cute clothes and accessories and enjoyed a yummy Starbucks too! That night Kurt's Mom fixed us a great meal to celebrate our niece Riley's 4th birthday!

Sunday we decided it was about time to start checking out churches around here! On my sister in law, Cara's, excellent recommendation we attended Preston Trails. It is only a few minutes from our house and is a bible church with a band and lots of cool technology. We really enjoyed it and will probably check out a couple more churches before deciding on a church home. That afternoon we went searching for furniture. Some of you already know that we have an offer on a house in Prosper (just north of Frisco, where we live now). It is a short sale, so we are waiting on the bank to approve or counter our offer. Our lease is up at the end of July, so we needed to start looking for some furniture soon. We need a breakfast table, a new living room set (our current set will go in a game room), and bedroom set. We spent about 4 hours at Stacy Furniture in Allen and picked out a really nice leather couch, and two club chairs and an ottoman in contrasting fabrics. We had fun working to design our own space and Sienna was such a good girl while we were there.

We had decided Monday was the day we were going to take Sienna to the pool for the first time! We are members at Lifetime Fitness and so we took her up there in the morning as soon as we could get everything together. She wasn't quite sure about the temp of the water- not that I can blame her- it was a little chilly! She did get used to it though and enjoyed sitting in the sloping shallow end kicking her legs! We were actually able to stay for 3 hours and she just slept in her stroller in the shade. The two bummers were: first we did not have what they considered a "coastguard approved" float and therefore could only hold her in the pool, second you cannot take pictures at the pool as I was promptly informed since they have had a problem with pedophiles in the past! Needless to say were were pretty annoyed with all their rules by the time we left the pool! I understand the need to keep everyone safe, but it all seemed like a little much! We can't wait to have a neighborhood pool!

Monday night we went over to our friends Heath and Staci's house for some yummy burgers that Heath grilled and just enjoyed spending some time with friends!

Me and Staci with Sienna and Hannah

Hannah, Caris and Sienna getting in some BFF time!

Sienna with her swim stuff on ready to hit the pool!

Daddy and Sienna before our camera had the smack down laid on it!!

Sienna jammin' to guitar hero with Daddy!

I just love this picture- Sienna has discovered her feet!

Some new Sienna

2009-05-05T12:49:00.001-07:00

Our little girl is just growing up before our eyes! As you can see from these recent pics she is starting to look more like a little kid than a baby (sniff, sniff).

Stella and Sienna hangin' out together...

Grandma Darla bought Sienna this adorable little hat at Christmastime and I kept thinking it was too big for her- well all of a sudden I tried it on again and she's almost outgrown it!

Our little Aggie doing her favorite activity- putting her hands in her mouth!

She loves her Jumperoo as of about a week ago- guess she can sit up good enough now to enjoy it! We usually have her in front of the window- we don't always just make her stare at a blank wall!!

We went to visit Meredith and Reese while they were in town, so Sienna got to spend a little girlfriend time!

Our Easter

2009-04-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

I am a little late on my Easter post!! My Mom and Dad, Walt and Bettye, have been in town for the week after Easter and we have been running around doing all kinds of fun stuff! Sienna had a wonderful first Easter filled with all kinds of fun toys, new clothes and books from Mom and Dad, Aunt Cara and Uncle Kevin, Aunt Sammie, and both sets of grandparents! She just loved spending some extra time with her Grammy and Grampy Wilson this week. She is absolutely in LOVE with my Dad! It is too funny- she just smiles and cracks up every time he looks her way! And believe me the feeling is mutual! She already knows how to wrap the guys around her finger!

Easter was so busy around our house that Mommy did some really silly things! First, Sienna was extra fussy one night and I just couldn't get her to go to sleep! Well, in the morning when I went to change her diaper I realized I had somehow double diapered her!! Poor girl- 2 diapers for the whole night! No wonder she was mad! Then the next day on Easter Sunday I put her sweet little dress on her and cut the tags out and took her over to Grandma and Grandpa Martens' house. She wore the dress the whole afternoon and finally when she went down for a nap I changed her into something more comfortable. Well, that was when I realized I had left the bloomers attached underneath the dress! No wonder that dress seemed so poofy! My lord- people are going to think I'm a BAD mother!! So, you will notice she has no bloomers on in the Easter photo below! Hah!

Me and cousin Katie on Easter Sunday!

Kurt's brother Kevin and his beautiful wife, Cara, and their two kiddos, Cale and Riley

Showing Miss SiSi some love!

Sienna in her Easter dress- yep- sure enough- no bloomers!

Sienna and Grammy Bettye

Sienna and Grampy Walt

Sienna's adorable Easter basket!

The First Supper...

2009-04-11T07:33:00.001-07:00

We decided to try some rice cereal last night since we had some on hand and Sienna has been acting really interested in our food lately. Well, surprise, surprise- she really liked it and got the hang of things immediately! I thought for sure we would have to work with her a while before she actually started "chewing" it- but nope- she was on it right away! That's my girl!

Yesterday Sienna and I also spent the day at the Dallas Arboretum with Kurt's Mom (Darla), sister-in-law (Cara), and cousin (Katie). It was an absolutely gorgeous day and we enjoyed sitting outside and eating lunch at the cafe, then walking around and enjoying the lovely grounds. I had never been to the Arboretum before and shamefully didn't even know it existed! Everyone kept telling me I had to go take pictures of Sienna there while the spring flowers were pretty! So we made sure to do that! And by the way, I have never seen so many professional photographers taking pictures in all my life- we probably saw at least 10 brides and girls in quincenera dresses taking pics! Tracy- if you're reading this- you should consider this as a wedding (or at least a bridal portrait) venue!

Hop, boing, like a bunny bunny...

2009-03-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

Last week, Sienna and her friend Hannah had their picture taken with the Easter Bunny. He was not your typical Easter Bunny with the big smile and floppy ears... he was more serious and wore red Chuck Taylors. I guess he was Peter Rabbit? Kazzye and Stacy had a great time spending their baby-daddy's money on some neat matching outfits. Hoppy Easter to all!

Sienna also received a snazzy pink personalized chair from her Grammy and Grampy Wilson. Although Daddy let out a few choice words while trying to figure out how to assemble the chair, it goes nicely with our living room decor and Sienna already had her first photo shoot while lounging.

Lets Get Together...Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

2009-03-25T13:34:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a busy one for us! On Saturday evening we had the Collins and Poindexter families out for a cookout. We had an awesome time watching the girls interact (Caris Collins is 1 month older than Sienna, and Hannah Poindexter is 2 months older) and just hanging out! Reeves Poindexter is 3 and the life of the party! He decided Sienna was his new girlfriend and kept giving her kisses all night long! I think that all came on a bit too early for Daddy- hah! The highlight of the evening had to have come when Reeves decided to go streaking! Staci had specifically told him not to go out in the living room since he didn't have any clothes on- so I'm sure you can guess exactly how well he obeyed those directions!!

On Sunday we went over to Kurt's parent's house for lunch. We haven't been over there in a while, so it was fun to see Kevin and Cara (Kurt's brother and sister-in-law) and their kids. Riley, their daughter, just loves babies and she was so cute loving on Miss Sienna!

Darla and Sienna

Cousins- Riley and Sienna

Reeves kissin' on Sienna!

Hannah and Sienna playing together

The Girls- Caris Collins, Hannah Poindexter, and Sienna Martens

State B-Ball Tourney

2009-03-18T08:11:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we headed back to our old stomping grounds (Austin) for the State Basketball Tournament. This is a big tradition in my family since my Dad used to be a basketball coach and actually took several teams to the State Tournament himself (and won once!) back before I was born. I went for the first time at 6 months of age and have only missed 3 or 4 in my lifetime! Kurt started going with us when we were dating back in college. Somehow his parents started attending also since they love to follow high school basketball as well! I mainly go now for the social and family aspect of it (as well as the good food we always hit up in Austin during the intermission breaks!). It was fun to be able to take Sienna this year and she was of course super spoiled by all her grandparents and held constantly! She was a really good girl for 2 of the 3 days, so we were thankful for that- especially given that the weather was so cold and rainy! We also enjoyed a fun brunch out with some of our Austin friends on Sunday, but silly me forgot to get the camera out! Guess I was too busy holding a little someone named Sienna!!

Sienna is now able to sit in the Bumbo for short periods of time! She's holding her head up already at 3 months!

Mommy and Sienna in our hotel room.

This was strange- some random guy walking around the State Tournament dressed like Borat- notice the reactions on everyone's faces in the background! Keep Austin Weird, right??

Sienna at her first State Tourney!

Grandpa Walt holding Sienna at a lunch break. She is staring intently at a TV in this pic- good thing we don't let her watch them because that's all she would want to do!!

Grandma Bettye with Sienna!

5 Years of Wedded Bliss

2009-03-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

Kurt and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary last Friday! Thanks to Kurt's Mom and Dad we were able to celebrate with a dinner out at PF Chang's and some shopping at Watters Creek in Allen. We are hoping to go on a vacation this summer that will be a longer celebration- that is if we can leave Miss Sienna for a while!

SiSi is now grabbing things and this little puppy is her favorite!

Just couldn't resist this one! We bought her a little sunhat and sunglasses while we were out celebrating our Anniversary- she looks like a little starlet!

Our little family before going out to celebrate our Anniversary!

The beautiful roses Kurt gave me!

The new stats!

2009-02-20T11:45:00.001-08:00

I am a little late posting pics of SiSi at 2 months...it was really like a week ago. So here they are, along with her latest statistics- she is going to be a tall girl and is obviously still taking after her Daddy!!

Weight: 13 lb., 9 oz.- 100th percentile
Height: 25 1/4 in.- over 100th percentile

Head: 15.3 in.- 75th percentile

Kurt's 30th...and a few cute pics of SiSi

2009-02-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night we celebrated Kurt's 30th in style! First we had an awesome dinner at Fogo de Chao with Chris and Robin. In case you've never been to this restaurant, it is a really cool experience! It's a Brazilian steakhouse where they give you a card with a red side and green side- the green means "Bring on the meat!" and the red means "No thanks I'm about to bust"! Based on your card the waiters will bring 15 different kinds of meat on skewers over and slice it off for you! They also have a great salad bar- but who wants to eat that stuff, right? Or at least that was the guys' take on it! Kurt and Chris really liked it and despite the hefty price tag Kurt deemed it worth going back!

Then we continued on to the Dallas Mavericks game to see them play the Chicago Bulls. My camera wasn't taking very good pics in the arena for some reason, but here's one that shows how close we were sitting to Mark Cuban (owner of the Mavericks). He's in the black shirt standing up right on the court:

And finally, I just couldn't conclude without a few cute pics of our girl over the last week:

Can't you tell how excited she is about tummy time??

In case there was ever any doubt about who her Daddy was, just check out that hair:

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-02-06T07:43:00.000-08:00

We hope it's one to remember! Can't believe it's the BIG 3-0!! Thanks for being such a wonderful Daddy and Husband- you light up our lives!

Meet & Greet

2009-01-28T14:02:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we went back to Friendswood for a friend's wedding. While we were there my Mom had lots of friends over for a Meet & Greet with Sienna. We had the best time visiting with everyone and showing off our little sweetie! Here are some pics:

Here's one of SiSi smiling- it's hard to get the camera when she's doing it!

Mary Ann (one of my Mom's best friends) with SiSi:

Betty (one of my Mom's best friends) with SiSi:

Mrs. Hasselmeier and Grandma Ballard with SiSi (she is smiling at Grandma Ballard- how cute!):

Rachel, my college roomie, with SiSi (Rachel has her third on the way!):

Laura, who is the wife of my law school buddy, Scott. Laura is holding her little girl, Natalie:

My Mom and I with Katie and Alison (one of my best friends from high school and her Mom):

Cindy (who used to be our neighbor and is the Mom of my good friend Julie), Eva (Mom of Susan, my best friend since about age 5!), and Grandma Ring (Susan's Grandma):

Me and Susan (we are holding opposite kids!). She is holding Sienna and I'm holding her little boy Ethan, who is 5 months old:

C'mon Vogue...

2009-01-22T18:51:00.000-08:00

Some of the many faces of our little SiSi:

The "What do you mean there's no Santa Claus" Face:

The "Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful, Hate Me Because I Have Better Hair Than You" Face:

The "Even though I just ate 2x my body weight in formula, I'm still hungry" Face:

The "Oh my gosh we just got our butts kicked by Kansas" Face:

The "I've really got all this figured out...I'm just playing along for the fun of it" Face:

The "Who me? Pick my nose? Never!" Face:

Our Little Angel

2009-01-15T14:47:00.000-08:00

We just got the pictures back from the photographer that we had taken at our house when SiSi was less than one week old! Here are a few of our favorites!

Sienna Laine - One Month!

2009-01-12T20:07:00.000-08:00

Sienna is on the boob, so I am blogging for Kazzye. Our little bundle of joy has hit her first milestone - one month old! She has been so much fun to watch and care for over the last several weeks. I think we learn something new about her everyday, and it's been such a challenging, yet rewarding experience! We took this photo of her yesterday in one of our chairs! Thanks to Aunt Cara for the neat birthday hat! We look forward to taking a photo in the same spot each month so we can look back and discover her many changes.

I'm also including a short video of Sienna hanging out with Stella on the floor. Stella has been such a great dog and cannot wait for Sienna to get a little older so they can play together.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Friend Pics!

2009-01-01T17:14:00.000-08:00

Sienna has had quite a few visitors over the last couple of weeks...here are a few pics of her with some of our favorite people (sorry Jess- we forgot to get one when you were here!)!

With Kurt, Chris and Chris' baby Caris

On New Years with her new girlfriends- Heath & Staci's baby Hannah, Chris & Robin's baby Caris, and Kyle & Meredith's baby Reese!

With her Great-Grandmother Clary

With her Grandpa and Grandma Wilson

With her "Auntie" Darri!

Our Little Christmas Present!

2009-01-01T15:41:00.000-08:00

We wanted to share a few of the cute pics we've gotten of Sienna the last couple of weeks! She is growing like a weed and is in the 97th percentile for height and the 75th for weight- taking after her Daddy I imagine! She has smiled at us a couple of times now, so hopefully we will be able to capture that on film sometime soon!

Sienna Laine Martens!

2008-12-15T15:25:00.000-08:00

This is Kurt posting for the first time... wanted to let everyone know that we are all settled in at home after a few days at the hospital. Sienna had a bit of a rough start as she swallowed some fluid and had the cord wrapped around her neck upon her grand entrance to the world. As a result, she spent the first few days in the NICU as they observed her and monitored her vitals. It was hard seeing her hooked up to various wires from the outset, but she came around quickly and was released to our room on Saturday afternoon. Sienna weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz. and was 21.25 inches long. Now that we are at home, Kazzye, Sienna, Stella and myself are doing great and getting adjusted to our new schedule and daily events. I am taking the next few days off from work to ease in to life as a new parent. Sienna is such a blessing and we enjoy staring at her, observing her many features and movements. So far we're covered some of the basics that we expected - middle-of-the-night crying, HUGE diaper blowouts, and puke. I'm sure there is PLENTY more to experience along the way. Stella has adjusted quite well - she really likes Sienna and would LOVE to lick her entire face, but she's been instructed to keep her distance for now. She's a great companion in the nursery though, and keeps a careful eye on Sienna as she gets fed, burped, and changed. Thanks to all for your well wishes, and we'll continue to provide updates as we begin this new journey...

A new arrival!!!

2008-12-12T12:23:00.000-08:00

Very early this morning at 2:45am we welcomed our little girl into the world!! Her name is Sienna Laine Martens and she is the spitting image of her daddy! I was in labor for 13 hours or so and she weighed only 7 pounds 8 ounces- amazing given the fact I was a 9 pound baby and Kurt was 10 pounds 4 ounces! Pictures to follow a little later when we can get them uploaded.

7 Things You Never Knew

2008-11-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

Staci tagged me with the task of revealing the "7 Things You Never Knew" about me. Some of these may surprise you and others may not! :)

1. I used to work for the CIA...
In college I interned with the CIA in Washington, DC. I had to clear a background check and a polygraph test in order to do this. I was lucky to have done it before 9/11 because after that they quit letting interns have access to Top Secret stuff. I decided to return home and go to law school even though I could have gone back to work there!

2. Kurt and I met in the bathroom line at a party! I was actually there with another guy and he says he had to hit the keg multiple times in order to come talk to me! He then proceeded to try to kiss me after just meeting me in the bathroom line! Talk about love at first site- haha! Sorry honey- hope you don't kill me for that!

3. My name comes from a pro-basketball player from the 70's- Cazzie Russell. His was spelled a little different as you can see. My Mom only agreed to the name my Dad wanted on one condition- that it end in "ye" like her name does since she's Bettye with a "ye".

4. I have probably owned over 100 pets in my life! Our house was like a zoo growing up- we had guinea pigs, chickens, ducks, mice, hamsters, rabbits, sheep, hermit crabs, fish, dogs, cats, lizards, and even something really gross called meal worms which I now have no idea why! This probably explains why I literally cannot exist with only one pet now...I have been pushing Kurt for another dog even though we're about to have a newborn!

5. I am a total clothes (and shoe!) horse...this probably actually won't surprise many of you who know me... I am not kidding when I say that I probably own around 100 pair of shoes and have hauled them all across the country! Oh, and of course now none of them fit since I'm pregnant!!!

6. My favorite places in the whole world are tropical. Growing up we went on vacation almost every summer and it was almost always to a tropical place. I have been to Hawaii twice, the Bahamas twice, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Aruba, Miami, Mexico and the Florida Keys. In fact, I'm feeling a little deprived...haven't been on a vacation like this since we started moving around the country a year and a half ago! I did get to live in Santa Barbara though, so I shouldn't complain!!

7. I was somewhat of a mammoth in school! Up through the 7th or 8th grade I was taller than all the boys (and the girls too!)! That made me great at sports, but unfortunately didn't help much in the dating department!! Not to mention I had a Dad who was superintendent- they were really afraid to ask me out!! I'm afraid our daughter is doomed considering my history and the fact that Kurt is 6'5"!!

Okay, so now it's your turn Kate, Julie and Christa!! You've been tagged!

A little bit of everything...

2008-11-18T06:24:00.000-08:00

Stella loves to snuggle up to the belly- it's so cute- I swear dogs can sense things!

We took these pics at the park near our house right before we left SB....An ode to our beautiful former home and all the people suffering through the raging wildfires there right now...

Last week we snuck in a dinner with Chris and Robin amidst all the craziness of moving in, preparing for baby, etc. We were afraid if we didn't see them that week we might not see Robin until after the baby! This pic's for you Robin since you said you didn't have many of your pregnancy and the belly!

Pregnant Pics

2008-11-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

Kurt and I decided the perfect way to capture both Santa Barbara and my prego belly would be to have a professional photographer take some pics before we left! These pics were taken at about 34 weeks prego. Some are at our house there, some at the church across from our house, and some on the beach! Here are some of our favorites!

Oh, and by the way- we are officially Frisco residents now! We got mostly moved in this weekend and I had my first Dr. appointment here last week. Now we just have to start getting that baby room ready!!

Movin' on up...

2008-10-28T12:06:00.000-07:00

Well, the time has finally come for us to leave our beautiful SB! In fact the movers are here packing our stuff up as I type this! They are packing us up today and moving everything out tomorrow. Thursday Kurt's office is giving us a baby shower at lunchtime. Thursday evening after Kurt gets off work we will drive to Palm Springs and spend the night, then continue driving for a couple of days to Dallas! We made time this past weekend to get in a few of our "favorites" here in SB....like a trip to Cajun Kitchen for breakfast, a stroll to some of our favorite shops on State Street for Christmas presents, and a trip to the beach on Sunday! The weather here is still in the 70's most days, so we will definitely miss that when we leave- I hear it has been pretty chilly in TX the last few nights! We are excited to get moved into our new place in Frisco though and get ready for baby girl's arrival! We know we will return to SB one day to show our daughter where she lived before she was born!

Our next move is to...

2008-10-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Dallas!! Or Frisco is actually more correct! Last weekend we took our house hunting trip to Texas to look for a place to rent for 9 months. This will be Kurt's last rotation and hopefully we will be staying in the Dallas area after that, but we are renting just in case! We found a beautiful 1 story house in Frisco (Kurt is actually working in McKinney but we wanted to be closer to all the fun stuff nearby in Frisco) that is on a pond and golf course. So Kurt can't ever say his dreams of living on a golf course were never fulfilled- Hah! We leave SB at the end of October to drive back to TX! These next few weeks are going to fly by for us! Have to get in that one last trip to the beach!!

Oh, while in TX we also finally were able to buy some baby furniture!! We got it at Lonestar Baby and it's called the Munire "Deco" pattern in espresso. Baby girl will be all set up in her nursery...now if only we can finally buy ourselves some real bedroom furniture!!

And a couple of the guys...

2008-10-02T10:59:00.001-07:00

I wanted to post these pics the other day, but didn't have enough room! Here's a couple of the guys at our Austin shower- good lookin' group!

Whirlwind Week!

2008-09-30T08:52:00.001-07:00

I headed to Friendswood about a week and a half ago and directly into all the hurricane mess! We had two baby showers planned and I had to attend a CLE class in Houston the next week. The baby showers went surprisingly well considering the circumstances and the hostesses did such a lovely job with everything- especially considering half the town was still without power! My parents power finally came back on two nights before I had to leave (out a total of 12 days and cable is still out!). Susan's parents, Russell and Eva, who have always been like family to us were kind enough to take me in so I could sleep in air conditioning! It was an interesting visit to say the least! I was thoroughly impressed with the way the community has pulled together to help friends and neighbors through the aftermath however!

So last Friday my Mom drove me to Austin so I could meet up with Kurt for ACL Fest and a baby shower our friends were throwing there. We had an awesome time in Austin eating at our favorite places, seeing some of our favorite people, and just generally being back in our old stomping grounds! Thanks so much to Jess for hosting us for the weekend (and even giving up her bed to the preggo chick!) and to Darri, Lacey and Julie for such a wonderful couples shower! We enjoyed it so much! ACL was pretty fantastic this year since the weather was generally cooler than in past years! We made it out all three days for the late afternoon/evening shows. Foo Fighters definitley rocked the house and was our favorite. Yesterday we flew back into SB (on the hottest plane ride I have ever experienced- probably thanks in part to changing planes in Phoenix!). We had our first celeb sighting on the plane ride. Jeff Bridges (who many of you will recognize from lots of movies including Seabiscuit, The Big Lebowski, Iron Man) was on our plane and we didn't actually realize it until we were waiting for our bag! I looked over at him and told Kurt, "That guy sure looks a lot like Jeff Bridges- couldn't be him right?" Finally we saw the girl who sat next to him on the plane go over and take a picture with him and we figured it had to be true! Kurt was so embarassed that I dragged him over to ask for a picture too, but Jeff was very nice to us and apparently has a house in SB! Anyway- made our night to meet him and sort of cracked us up that movie stars have to ride in on the regular puddle jumper in the sweltering heat just like us (no first class into this town)!

Ike Aftermath

2008-09-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

When Ike whipped through the Galveston/Houston area early Saturday morning it left quite a mess in its wake. My parents were left with downed fences and trees. They had a neighbor's tree fall on the corner of their house with what they think is some minor damage. Also had a tree completely uproot and land on top of their carport- the carport luckily sustained no damage at all! Their garden shed was also smashed when a tree fell into it. We feel very lucky that nobody was hurt and all friends in town also seem to be fine. Electricity to their house still is not on, so please pray that will be up and running soon! Quite a few others around Friendswood seem to be starting to get power back, so hopefully it will not be too long! My parents are very thankful to have so many wonderful friends and neighbors who have shared power from their generators with them (to charge their phone and to plug in their freezer).

I feel pretty helpless out here in CA, as you can imagine. It seems very strange to me that life around me in Santa Barbara is going about it's usual course, when my heart is in TX where so many are affected. I am supposed to fly into Houston on Friday for two baby showers this next weekend. Please say a prayer that the power will come back on around town and we will be able to have the showers and I will still be able to get back home...

The Big 3-0!

2008-09-11T08:50:00.000-07:00

So yesterday marked a milestone for my life- I turned 30! Hard to believe since I sometimes still feel like a teenager! It was a good day though, as we have so much to look forward to this year! Kurt started off the day with a cute card that informed me that I was to keep my new iPhone (part of my present) close by me all day to receive further instructions. Throughout the day he kept texting me these clues that all led up to dinner on the beach at sunset last night! He was so cute, he had gone and gotten takeout from The Boathouse (this cool restaurant that just opened up on our favorite beach here) and had a blanket and everything laid out. It was nice that it was a Wednesday night because there were hardly any other people on the beach with us. He also gave me a pair of Maui Jim sunglasses I had been lusting after- to shield my eyes from the sun at sunset! Thanks, honey, for making me feel so special and loved on my birthday! Thanks also to my Mom and Dad who sent me the beautiful bouquet of flowers shown in the pictures above!

On another note, please say some prayers for my parents and the other residents of the Gulf Coast region. Hurricane Ike has turned in the last day and now appears to be going in much closer to Galveston than anticipated. My parents are packing and boarding up to leave town right now, as Friendswood is currently under a voluntary evacuation, but could switch to mandatory later on.

From SB to SD!

2008-09-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

We spent Labor Day weekend in San Diego! Kurt had Friday off too, so we made it down to SD on Thursday night. We stayed at the most beautiful hotel, the Estancia La Jolla! I can't even count the weddings we saw there this weekend- beautiful grounds! We spent Friday at the San Diego Zoo. My favorites were probably the pandas since I don't know that I've seen one in a zoo before. Saturday we took a trolley tour of SD that you could hop on and off of to see the sights. Our first stop was the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier. Pretty much as soon as we got off the trolley we happened to pass two guys running. Turns out one was Kurt's marketing prof. from UT- how crazy to run into him out in SD! The Midway tour took several hours and we were pretty worn out by the time it was over- but we had so much more to do! We also got off in the Gaslamp Quarter and at Balboa Park. The Gaslamp Quarter was pretty cool with lots of restored restaurants in it- we enjoyed an icecream at Ghirardelli since we were so hot and tired by then! Balboa Park was beautiful and a definite place to go if only for a stroll. At the end of the day the trolley let us off in Old Town and we had some good Mexican food and most importantly fresh tortillas! Yum! Sunday was spent around La Jolla breakfasting, walking by the beach, laying by the pool, and finally a very nice dinner at George's. On Monday we had to drive back, but we drove a stretch of the PCH so I could see Laguna Beach (yes, I know I'm too old to be watching this show!) and Newport Beach. Very fun and pretty beach towns- but not enough time to stop! Oh well, all good things must come to an end, right??

Congrats Susan & Trace!

2008-08-19T17:00:00.001-07:00

On Saturday my best friend from growing up, Susan (Ring) Williams and her husband, Trace, welcomed baby Ethan! When I talked to Susan on Sunday she was on cloud 9! We are so excited for them and can't wait for our little girl to meet Ethan!

Our little Hoosier dog...

2008-08-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

It was a sad weekend for our little family this weekend. We had to take our little weiner dog, Hoosier, to a rescue organization in LA. He had bitten me pretty badly a couple of months ago and then two weeks ago when I went to pick him up at the kennel they told me he had bitten one of their personnel and would have to be quarantined by animal control for 10 days because of it! That was kind of the last straw for us since he has a history of doing things like this and we can't have that around the baby when she is born. So, we had to make the very difficult decision of giving him up. This was not easy for either of us since I bought Hoosier for Kurt as a birthday/Valentines gift back in college. He has been with us for 8.5 years and so we definitely feel an emptiness in our house now. Please say some prayers for us that we can now have some closure with this, especially Kurt since he spent so many years in Austin before we got married with Hoosier. We have faith that he will find a good "adult only" home- hopefully with people who have had dachshunds before and know what to expect!

From NYC to SB...

2008-08-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

My good friend Christina, who actually grew up right around the corner from me, came all the way out from NYC to visit us this weekend! She spent the first part of last week in the San Francisco area, then rented a car and drove down the coast to see us. We had a nice meal out on Friday night at Opal, a cute little place we can actually walk to from our house. On Saturday she got my typical driving tour of SB, then we joined up with Kurt and did the State St. thing. For lunch we were all excited to have some good mexican food (which I'm happy to report closely resembled Tex-Mex for once!)! We ended the day with a stroll on the beach with Stella- she loves to run off leash with the big dogs! So cute! We both really enjoyed our time with Christina! We just always seem to have the best conversations with her and I really enjoy reminiscing about old times since we were best friends back in about the 5th grade!

On another note- WELCOME HOME HONEY!! Kurt was in training last week in LA and it was so lonely around here without him! It feels so good to have him home again!!

Fiesta...forever!

2008-08-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post that last week was Fiesta here in SB! This is a big event around here with events starting Wednesday night and continuing through Sunday. You wouldn't believe the amount of confetti eggs being sold on the streets in all different colors and sparkles- so fun and of course we couldn't resist cracking a few on each other! We went down to shop at the vendors (we bought Jumper- that's what Kurt calls her since she always jumps around so much on ultrasounds- a cute little senorita dress), eat some authentic mexican food, and listen to some music! We decided to get Stella a little something to celebrate the occasion too and she was the hit of the party in her sombrero! Ole!

An LA kind of weekend...

2008-08-05T20:24:00.000-07:00

Kurt is in training in LA this week, so we decided to go down a day early and see some friends! On Saturday we drove down and checked into our hotel (after about an hour of sitting in LA traffic on the 405!!). Then we headed over to meet one of my best friends from home, Alison Spencer and her hubby Earl at their hotel. Alison had a hookup and got us some awesome Dodgers tickets and a VIP parking pass and everything! We were right in the middle of the 3rd base line about 12 rows up and were able to see Manny Ramirez hit his first homerun as a Dodger! Super cool since we were in Boston last year for the world series. Alison's Mom, Katie, and her stepdad, Bill, were also along for the fun night! We had such a great time hanging out and catching up with them!

On Sunday Kurt and I laid out at the hotel pool for a while, then he had to start his training, so my friend Tracy who lives in LA came to pick me up and we went down to Hermosa Beach to shop! So fun!

Golf, Greek and the Cowboys!

2008-07-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

Kurt and I had a busy weekend! Kurt decided we should go down to Oxnard (about 30 minutes down the coast) to check out the Dallas Cowboys training camp. On Saturday we drove down there and did some shopping first (since our shopping opportunities in SB are limited- we don't even have a Target!!). Then headed over to the training camp about 3pm. We don't have any pictures because even though we brought the camera, we forgot the charged battery! Oh well! Guess my picture with Tony Romo will have to wait! On Sunday we headed over to the driving range so Kurt could work on his golf game and I sat and got a tan while he hit some balls. Then we drove over to the Greek Festival that was going on in town and chowed down on some Baklava and Gyros! Probably the best Gyros I've ever had- yum, yum!

It's a...GIRL!!!

2008-07-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

We are SO THRILLED!!! Bring on the pink!

Texas girls on the town!

2008-07-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

My good friend Darri came to visit several weeks back and I just now got some pics of her visit! Darri and I worked together in Austin and I was so excited she was able to come out and visit since I hadn't seen her in a year! One of the highlights of her trip to SB was the morning the Big Dog Parade marched down State St.! Caesar Millan, better known to animal lovers as The Dog Wisperer, was the grand marshall. We were sad to see Darri go (especially since she probably gets the #1 houseguest award!) but hope her and Danny will be able to make it back to SB sometime in the future!

Hotel Martens...may I take your reservation?

2008-07-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

We hosted another group of visitors this weekend- Kurt's parents Murro and Darla. Murro had been to Santa Barbara before for work, but Darla had never visited. They were here for about 5 days, so in addition to showing them the local sites (I think we should just start a tour service!) we also took them out to the wine country. On the drive out we didn't see any signs of the Gap Fire that plagued Santa Barbara in the last few weeks- so that is good news now that it has been put out. While in the wine country we visited Bridlewood Vineyard, the towns of Los Olivos and Solvang and ate steaks at the Hitching Post. If any of you have seen the movie Sideways, the Hitching Post was the restaurant in the movie! The Santa Ynez Valley right outside SB is where the whole movie was filmed. We were sad to see Murro and Darla go since we probably won't see them again for a few months- but it sure was fun while it lasted!

A Tourist Weekend

2008-07-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Kurt's brother, Kevin, and his wife, Cara came to visit. We did our darndest to pack everything you've just got to see in SB into one weekend! These two have a lot of energy, so we were pretty much able to do it! We ate some great cajun and seafood, browsed the harbor, shopped on State Street, toured the Museum of Art and visited the artwalk along the water. On Saturday night we went bowling at Zodo's and just had the best time! I have to put in a plug for myself...I beat everyone the first game and lost to Kurt by one point in the second! Cara said she's getting me a bowling ball for Christmas- ha,ha! We will miss these two and had such a great time visiting!

Howdy Y'all!

2008-07-07T13:55:00.000-07:00

A side view of Susan and I with our "baby bellies"! As you can tell I have a long way to go still!

Mom and Dad

With my college roomie Rachel Fisher

With my old back door neighbor and childhood friend, Julie Young

My Mom's best friends who are like family to me, Betty Hamilton and Mary Ann Grimsrud

Last week I went back to Texas to help throw a baby shower for my best friend, Susan Williams. Susan in having a little boy that they will name Ethan in August! I also got to see Susan's new house while I was in town- it is so beautiful!! While in town I was able to meet up with lots of old friends for lunches/dinners- with the dual purpose of sneaking in some of my favorite food joints at the same time! It was so great to see everyone and catch up! Lyndsey, Alison and Holly- I am so bummed I forgot to take a picture when we had dinner so I could post it!! My parents were also kind enough to cart me around to look at baby furniture and bedding in the Rice Village and over on 1960. I didn't fly out until the 4th of July, so I was able to go see the Friendswood Parade in the morning and still be back in SB for the fireworks on West Beach with my honey!

Fire Update: This is for those of you that I haven't talked to but have been hearing about the fires in SB. It is really about 6-8 miles away from where we live and more over in Goleta (the little town that borders SB along the coast to the north and where Kurt works). It is the highest priority fire in California right now because it is so close to many homes. Many residents have been evacuated from their homes. We heard they have it up to 28% contained, so it appears to be getting better. We aren't getting much smoke and ash over here in SB unless the winds shift in the evening. It was pretty bad over in Goleta when I flew in on the 4th though- ash falling like tiny snow flurries.

Summer Solstice

2008-06-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

We went down to State St. Friday night to get some gelato and noticed that everyone already had their chairs set up for the Solstice Parade on Saturday! This parade celebrates the first day of summer. We didn't want to be left out...so we went home and grabbed our chairs and went down to set them out. People are seriously psycho about this event...they rope off their little areas along the sides of the street so they can have the best view possible! So since we already had our spot we walked down to the parade with Stella about 11:30 on Saturday. The parade was supposed to start at noon, but I don't think it made it down to where we were until 2:00! Boy was it hot- felt like Texas at close to 100 degrees! Thank goodness for umbrellas! Later after the parade was over we walked to the park where they were holding the festival for a couple of hours. We noticed the food offerings were healthier than in TX- haha- guacamole and roasted corn! Also listened to some good music, and of course the best entertainment was the people-watching!

A weekend in Sequoia Nat'l Park

2008-06-17T12:47:00.000-07:00

Kurt and I packed up the P-finder and drove to Sequoia Nat'l Park for a long weekend. We stayed in a little cabin so we could cook some of our own meals and also take the dogs! The scenery was absolutely gorgeous- it is amazing that some of those trees are over 2,000 years old! Just think of all they have "seen" change in the world! We went on a 3.5 mile hike up to the top of Topokah Falls, which was really cool because the snow up in the high elevations is still melting so the waterfall was really flowing! We also happened upon 3 bears (two mamas and one cub). That was probably the coolest thing even though we were quite a bit closer than the 150 feet they advise you to stay away from them!

Smile you're on camera!

2008-06-16T15:34:00.001-07:00

We went to the doctor again last week and got a new ultrasound pic! It definitely looks more like a baby now! We were able to see it "jumping" around and flipping over- apparently it's a pretty active one- not sure if that's good or bad!

Here's our first official pic!

2008-06-01T16:26:00.001-07:00

This ultrasound pic was taken about a month ago, but supposedly it really is a little tiny baby! Cute huh?

Our beautiful SB!

2008-06-01T15:51:00.000-07:00

We just wanted to share a few pics from the beautiful community we are lucky enough to be spending 8 months in!

Mission Santa Barbara

Looking back toward East Beach and the city from Stearns Wharf

SB Courthouse

View looking down at the city from high up on the Riviera in Franciscan Park

Memorial Day Weekend on the Central Coast

2008-05-27T09:31:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night we loaded the doggies in the car and headed up to Cambria for 2 nights. Cambria is a cute little town on the water about 10 minutes south of Hearst Castle. We shopped in town, ate out at some good restaurants and watched the sun set over the water. Saturday morning we drove to Hearst Castle for a tour. My favorite part was actually getting to sit in the movie theater where Hearst showed so many movie premieres to the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Cary Grant! Kurt liked the indoor pool, which was similar to a greek bathhouse. We stopped to see Elephant Seal Beach, where thousands of the animals come to bask in the sun. Then we continued up the Big Sur Coast to Carmel, where we hiked Point Lobos State Park and just enjoyed the town until we had to leave on Monday. It was a great relaxing weekend and it was so fun to have the doggies along with us!

Big Sur coastline in all it's glory!

On the beach in Cambria!

Elephant Seal Beach

Watching the sunset in Cambria

Hearst Castle outdoor pool

Our little family along the Big Sur coastline

Walt & Bettye come to town

2008-05-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

Kazzye's parents came to visit us for the first time on May 1. We were so excited to share our big news with them that we could hardly stand it! Needless to say they were totally taken by surprise! We went out to dinner at Fishhouse by East Beach to celebrate that night. Also visited the Channel Islands and the wine country while they were in town. We really enjoyed having them around for a while and sharing beautiful SB with them!

Outside Fishhouse

At Rusack Vineyards in the Santa Ynez Valley

On Anacapa Island, Channel Islands Nat'l Park

Inspiration Point, Anacapa Island

We Love LA!

2008-04-13T18:00:00.000-07:00

We got to visit Tracy and her boyfriend Ben in LA for the weekend! We checked out Disneyland since Kurt had never been and Tracy gave us the grand tour of all the tourist attractions! We were so lucky to have such great tour guides! We only wish we lived closer to these two so we could hang out every weekend- they are the coolest!

At Disneyland

We are SO into politics...

Outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre