We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Blog...

Growth and Development posts can wait,  

We want to wish you all a 

Merry Christmas!

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
(Isaiah 9:6-7 ESV)

We wish all of you the merriest of Christmases, and the joy that comes from knowing our Savior has come and will come again!  

Love, The Martin Family

Two Months

The past two months with Asher in our home have been so sweet!  We are blessed to have such an easy going baby and family and friends who love us so much!

At around 6 weeks old, we noticed that Asher had a lump under one of his arms.  We took him to see the pediatrician and left his office with orders for an ultrasound and an appointment with the surgeon.  So, it goes without saying that Anders and I were incredibly scared and anxious concerning our little one's health.  We ended up having to have a sedated MRI and stay 1 night in the hospital to recover from the sedation.  Thankfully with the help of many friends and family, we were able to determine that his lump was nothing dangerous, and would hopefully disappear on its own as Asher grows.

During this whole experience,  Anders and I truly came to realize that while Asher is our child he ultimately belongs to the Lord, and that our love for Asher does not even compare to the love his Heavenly Father has for him.  Trusting God with our little guy's life is something that should be on our minds daily, but so often it is only during difficult times we realize how powerless we actual are in protecting him from harm.  We are so thankful for a loving God who hears our prayers, and works his good and perfect will for our lives.  We are also so grateful for a supportive and loving community of believers who prayed with and for us during this time.  

Despite having several weeks of multiple doctors' appointment and procedures, Asher is just as happy as he can be.  He is truly the one of the happiest little guys and he brightens our days immensely!

Here are some pictures and his growth stats

Weight - 11 lbs. 15.5oz. (50%)

Height - 25 1/4 in. (~99%)

Head Circumference - 16 in. (90%)

Ready to cheer on the Auburn Tigers, despite the lackluster season.  

My little cutie pie

Just chillin working on my laptop like Daddy and wearing a shirt from Mommy's work.  We were about to head to the local AHA Heart Walk.

Late night photo shoot in my PJs

I love bath time!  

One Month

Asher is just the sweetest little guy!  We have had a great first month getting to know him.  He is really an easy going little guy.  He only cries when he is hungry or wet.  He is sleeping 4-5 hour stretches, which is just wonderful!  Just recently he has started to track us with his eyes and we have even seen a few smiles!

One month

                                                           Weight: 10 lbs. 9 oz. (50%)

Height:  23.5 in. (99%)

Head Circumference:  15 1/4 in. (90%)

Anders and I are so thankful for this little blessing!  We are so spoiled by what an easy baby he is.  Any more children that may come along have a lot to live up to!

I'll leave you with a few pictures. 

Our first trip to church (1week old)

Meeting my Uncle Kyle (1 week)

Trying on my beach outfit

War Eagle (4weeks)

Hanging out at the beach.  My parents we sweet enough to take us to the beach over Labor Day.  We had a great trip.  Asher was a wonderful travel companion!

Snoozing on my 1 month birthday

So this one is funny.  He looks like he is puckering up for a kiss, but ironically this is his poop face.

As you all probably know...

Asher Aron Martin is here!

 He arrived a day after his due date via C-section.  I was induced that morning, and had a great labor that thanks to a wonderful epidural.  After pushing to no avail for 2 hours, the decision was made to have a c-section.  Although that is not what we had planned we are beyond thankful for a healthy baby.

Asher was born at 6:28PM and weighted a whopping 9lbs 0.6oz and was 21.5in long.  This was a picture of us meeting for the first time.

It was definitely love at first site.  How could you not fall in love with those chubby cheeks?

After 3 nights in the hospital we were ready to go home as a family of 3! 

Asher is just a dream!  He has been a great sleeper from the start.  We cannot imagine not having him in our lives.  He love snuggles and has really been the text book newborn.  We are so in love!

Hello Friends,

It has certainly been a hot and busy start to the summer.  Anders and I have had a wonderful time preparing for Baby Asher!  It has also been a busy time of starting school and seeing friends and family.

In May, my dear friends from high school along with their sweet moms threw a shower to celebrate Baby Asher.  Anders and I were overwhelmed at the generosity of our family and friends.  Asher received many lovely and thoughtful gifts.

We also celebrated Mother's Day by having Anders' family in town.  They were able to come for the shower and then stay through Sunday.  We had a nice lunch at our place and enjoyed hosting everyone.  Anders and Baby Asher gave me a sweet gift!

In June we were able to take a trip with my family to our place down in Panama City.  Despite getting a lot of rain during our time there, we had a great time!  We had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the beach.  Also, we had the opportunity to eat some really yummy seafood at some of our favorite places, The Red Bar, The Great Southern, Bayou Bill's , and The Old Florida Fish House.  

My co-workers also hosted a great lunch shower for us.  We were thrilled to receive one of our car seats!  We are so blessed to have such wonderful co-workers and friends! 

So far July has been HOT!  With temperatures well over 100 degrees, we have been staying inside as much as possible and getting the house ready for little Asher.  Anders has also been very busy working on his masters courses.  He is taking 2 classes this summer that will both wrap up around the beginning of August, which happens to be Mr. Asher's due date.  Anders is really hoping that Asher waits until his due date to arrive, but Mama is hoping that he may come a little sooner.

The pregnancy has been going really well.  We continue to have good check-ups at the doctor, and I continue to feel pretty good (other than being extra sleepy and a little slow-moving).

35 weeks

We cannot wait to meet our little man.  Only a few more weeks!  

Catching Up

Hello Friends!

Anders and I have been busy bees over the last few weeks.  Anders is finishing up a couple of classes at Macon State College so that he can receive tuition assistance to start his masters at Auburn University.  He will either be getting his masters in computer science or software engineering.  Either way we are super excited that he will be getting and advanced degree, and we think that it will open a lot of doors for him professionally.  

I have been busy trying some new recipes.  Anders having class 3 nights a week has given me a little extra time to try out some new things and work on my minimal culinary skills.  Also, we have been busy getting the nursery ready for little Asher.  We are super excited about how things are shaping up, and cannot wait for it to be all set for the little guy to come home.   

Speaking of Little Asher Bug, he is growing and growing, as am I.  He is moving up a storm these days, and I am loving knowing some of what he is up to in there.  We go next week for our next doctor's visit, and we will have another peak at him because he didn't want to show off last time, which means we didn't get all the pictures that we needed.  I'll also have my glucose tolerance test.  So, we are excited to enter the 3rd trimester!

We traveled to St. Augustine this past weekend for my dear friend, Marie's, wedding.  Here are some new pictures of our trip and the baby bump.  

So We Were Wrong...

The last time I blogged I told you guys that we were probably expecting a little girl.  Yep, we were wrong!  We went for our official ultrasound, and we are pretty certain that we are having a little BOY!  Anders and I are thrilled, and the little guy was not shy about showing off his goods.  So without further ado, here is "Asher Aron Martin!"

The little guy was measuring just right for his gestational age and looked good.  We are going to have another ultrasound in 8 weeks because they couldn't see everything they wanted.  So, I guess we get to peek at him again soon.

The name Asher means "happy and blessed" and that is just how Anders and I feel!  It is also the name that I (Carlie) was going to have if I had been a boy.  Aron is Anders' middle name.  We like that little Asher will have his Daddy's initials, and it's a little bit of both of us.  We are so thankful for this blessing and cannot wait to meet him in August!