The Martin Family Blog

Jacob is 1 year old!

HAWKROD — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:54:00 GMT

It's been a while since our last blog entry and since our baby boy is becoming a big boy, we decided it was time. Jacob is doing lots of big boy stuff now - eating real food, trying to walk on his own, and he has 4 teeth! He also took his first trip to Kinnick Stadium, so make sure you check out the pictures. He also got pictures taken for his birthday so check those out too.

Jacob turns 1-year-old on Saturday and we're so excited (so is he, we think). We're looking forward to seeing all of our family back in Clarion to celebrate. Please send us a note and let us know how you're doing - we love getting updates from everybody!

Jacob is 9 and a half months old

HAWKROD — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 02:45:00 GMT

Hey everybody - Just thought I should send out an email since it's been a while since I've done that. Hope this finds you and yours well, and please let us know how you're doing - I rarely get replies (the grandmas don't count) and we like to keep in touch with our friends and family so please write back when you can.

It's been a busy start to the summer for the Martins - we've been in Clarion the last two weekends for parties and weddings (check the website for pics from Memorial Weekend - last weekend pics coming soon). The next few weekends we'll be home, and that's good because Rod's been busy with softball and Jacob and I start our swimming classes next week so we need the weekends to recover and clean house.

Jacob is doing great - he's nine months, 2 weeks old now and too active for mom and dad to keep up. He's pulling himself up and walking with lots of help - still hasn't quite figured out how to crawl forward (just scoots), but who says you have to crawl before you can walk? No teeth yet, but he wants to eat like he has a mouth full of them - Dr. Thoma says he's right on track (and really cute - we agree)!

Hope to hear from you soon and I hope that we'll get to see everybody at some point this summer. Love - Tara

Spring (?) Update

HAWKROD — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:36:00 GMT

Sorry it's been so long since our last update...
We've discovered that life with a 7 1/2 month old can be very crazy and we can't believe how the time has gone by. Between visits to and from friends and family, play dates, and illnesses passed on from daycare (and our first real bump on the head - check out the pictures) the past two months have flown by. Jacob is doing great - no colds right now, eating lots of solid food and acting like his teeth are coming in, but no teeth yet. He loves to be standing up and acts like he wants to walk before he crawls - he loves to play sitting up on his own as you can see from the pictures.
We are looking forward to Spring and spending more time outside - taking walks with the stroller or the wagon (if it ever stops snowing)! We are making lots of trips to Clarion this summer so if you haven't seen us yet - you probably will. We'll be spending lots of time in Iowa City too - looking forward to the Spring Game this weekend and seeing everybody there - hopefully the weather will be nice enough to take Jacob too.
If you want to come visit us, just give us a call. Jacob has had lots of new friends that have been born in the last few months that he can't wait to meet. Hopefully this summer we'll run into you! Love - Rod, Tara & Jacob

Starting 2007 as the Martin family

HAWKROD — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 14:59:00 GMT

Well January has been an interesting month for the Martin family. We've all been sick with colds and coughs which have kept us pretty much confined to the house for the past month, but we're starting to get better now. Jacob has been making some big leaps this months toward becoming a big boy. He started eating rice cereal and is getting much better with his coordination. He likes to stand up (with help) and is getting better at sitting up on his own. He reaches and pulls everything he can get close too - like his cereal bowl and mommy's hair. He's doing lots of baby talk and laughs out loud - he's a real riot at daycare, at least when he's not being picked on by Tate. Just kidding - little inside joke there. Finally, we want to say a BIG THANK YOU to Jeff and Carey for babysitting Jacob so that mom and dad could go on their first real date since Jacob was born. Thanks guys! Be sure to check out the newest pics and Rod hopes to even have video on the website real soon. Keep in touch!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

HAWKROD — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 04:20:00 GMT

We hope everybody had a happy holiday, although nobody got as many presents as Jacob did! Thank you to everybody for the wonderful gifts. Jacob turned 4 months old on Christmas Day. It was a low key day since the Martin family was suffering from the stomach flu, but it was still a great first Christmas for Jacob. It was great to get to see all of our family and friends while we were in Clarion.

As soon as we got back to Iowa City, we had a nice get together with some friends - it was nice to see our buddies from Arizona (you know who you are) and the old couple from Marion (you also know who you are) even came over for our visit.

Jacob also had his 4 month doctor appointment last week. His shots were a little rough, but he is growing a lot - over 12 pounds now.

Check out the latest pictures and please post a comment or email us - we love hearing from you!

Jacob is 3 months old

HAWKROD — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 04:15:00 GMT

Well Jacob turned 3 months old on Thanksgiving and he probably weighs about 12 pounds. He has started to laugh and giggle and he likes to talk to us in his own little language. He really liked his first Thanksgiving and he is looking forward to turning 4 months old on Christmas Day. We've added a bunch of new pictures so definately check out http://picasaweb.google.com/hawkrod/ for the latest. We love hearing from everybody so make sure to send us email or leave us some comments.
-Rod and Tara

Halloween and Other things

HAWKROD — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 02:26:00 GMT

Well Jacob is officially over 10 lbs. He had a doctor's appointment on Thursday, October 26th and he weighed in at just over 10 lbs. He is definately growing and getting bigger. His personality is really starting to show.
We dressed him up as a duck for Halloween and I will say he was pretty darn cute. Check out some of those pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/hawkrod/Halloween2006
Well that's about it for an update for now. Keep checking back for more.
-Rod and Tara

Jacob is Two Months Old Today!!!!

HAWKROD — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 02:54:00 GMT

Jacob is officially two months old today. He is definately growing and is up to 10 lbs. It's amazing how much he is changing and how responsive he is. He loves to smile and giggle, especially when his Hawkeye mobile plays the Hawkeye fight song.
We had his baptism on the 14th. Rev Curt did a great job and our families enjoyed it. A lot of our family finally got to meet Jacob for the first time, so that was exciting.
We have another Dr. appointment on Thursday and Jacob has to get some more shots. That will probably be harder on us then it is on Jacob. He won't remember it, but we will.
Well that's about it for now.
-Rod and Tara

9/23/06 - Jacob Update

HAWKROD — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 01:46:00 GMT

Jacob is now 4 weeks old. It's kind of crazy how fast those first 4 weeks have gone by. He now weighs almost 8 lbs, so he is definitely a growing boy. We're still taking a lot of pictures and posting them to our website so keep checking those out. We plan on coming to Clarion the weekend of October 13th, so Jacob will be taking his first extended road trip.
On a little different note, the Hawkeyes are now 4-0 since Jacob was born. Coincidence? I think not.

9/09/06 Baby Jacob Update

HAWKROD — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 19:43:00 GMT

Baby Jacob turned 2 weeks old on Friday, and mommy and daddy survived our first week on our own. Big thanks to Grandma Donna for staying that first week and helping us out so much - we couldn't have done it without her. His first doctor's appointment was yesterday also and he is up to 7 pounds so now you can call him Big Jake. Jacob is really enjoying his first Hawkeye football season and getting to see Grandpa Ed and Grandma Jane. Thanks to everybody that has emailed, called, or sent gifts - Tara is working on getting out birth announcements and thank yous. Keep checking back for new pictures and blog entries. Love to everyone.

It's a boy - Jacob Leighton Martin

HAWKROD — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 17:16:00 GMT

Well we are very excited to have a new addition to our family. Jacob Leighton Martin was born at 7:14 pm on August 25th. He weighed 6 lbs 5 ozs and he was just over 20 inches long. He is the most beautiful boy we have ever seen. We know he's already a huge Hawkeye fan (I mean our labor and delivery room overlooked Kinnick). Check www.hawks4life.com for some pictures.
Love,
Rod and Tara

2001 Alamo Bowl, Hawks beat Texas Tech

HAWKROD — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 20:56:00 GMT

Somebody has been talking a little smack lately (I won't name names, but you know who you are) about Texas Tech football. I thought I would take this time to remind a few people about the 2001 Alamo Bowl. Who won that game between Iowa and Texas Tech???? Oh, that's right the Hawks one that game 19-16. You can read a nice recap on ESPN's page http://espn.go.com/ncf/bowls01/alamo.html

Let's talk this football season, unfortunately we won't get a chance to play Texas Tech b/c we'll actually be playing in a respectable bowl game in January when Tech will probably end up in something like the Texas Bowl or the Independence bowl.

Let the smack talk continue.
Rod

8/18/06 No Baby Yet

HAWKROD — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 03:19:00 GMT

38 Weeks Now - We had another doctor appointment today. Doctor says everything looks good and it won't be too much longer. She doesn't think we'll make it to our August 30th due date, but you never know what can happen. We thought he might have been coming last Friday, but just a false alarm. Sounds like everyone is excited to hear what we're going to name baby boy, but you'll just have to wait until he gets here to find out. Keep checking back, we promise to have pictures as soon as he arrives. Thanks for all of your comments and emails!!!

8/02/06 Baby Bump Update

HAWKROD — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 02:24:00 GMT

9 months today - Just 4 weeks to go. Make sure you check out the pictures - we'll be putting up pics of the nursery and some new pictures of the baby bump real soon. The doctor says the baby can come anytime after 37 weeks - it's crazy to think that he could be here in a week if he comes early. We need to get the bag packed for the hospital and do a couple of other final preparations, but we're pretty much ready for baby boy to arrive. Our next appointment is August 9th, we'll put up an update after that.

7/25/06 Pregnancy Update

HAWKROD — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 01:36:00 GMT

Had our doctor's appointment today - 35 weeks tomorrow. Doctor says everything looks good - gained another 4 pounds that makes 22 total. Baby boy can come anytime after 37 weeks so we are really counting down now. Graduated from our Childbirth/Lamaze class on Saturday which completes our parent preparation classes. Promise to put up some pictures of the nursery and some new baby bump pictures when I hit 9 months next week. Keep checking back for updates!

7/21/06 Pregnancy News

HAWKROD — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 01:31:00 GMT

Tara hit 34 weeks on Wednesday.

Doctor's appointment coming up on July 25th.

Our Air Conditioner went out on Monday night. Not the best thing for someone 34 weeks pregnant. Luckily we were able to get it repaired on Tuesday morning, of course for a nice price.

Finally got the border up in the nursery. It's almost complete and ready for Baby Boy Martin to arrive.

July 22nd we have our all-day Child Birth/Lamaze class. 8 hours of probably some very interesting videos.

My First Blog Entry

HAWKROD — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 21:41:00 GMT

This is my first post on my blog. I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to use this blog for, but I hope it will be worthwhile for at least one person besides myself. There will be funny/random entries, serious news related entries, and a lot of sports/Hawkeye entries.
Thanks for stopping by.