Home

I know, I know. It's been FOREVER! Been working on an update to cover the past few months, which have been CAH-RAZY. Will try to post over the weekend. In the meantime, we'd like to give you a quick bit of most excellent news. Team Martz officially has a new place to call home! We are East Bayers, taking up residence in the Redwood Heights neighborhood in Oakland. We'd been searching since last summer and getting to this point has been a daunting experience, but worth it all in the end. The neighborhood is chock full of kiddos, walking distance from a great playground and a stellar elementary school. We've met quite a few neighbors and have heard tales of block parties, Margarita Mondays, playdates and Halloween being a blast for the kids. It's exactly what we wanted for Sam (except for the margaritas ;-) and the reason we weren't very interested in any other neighborhood. Oh, and I failed to mention the BEST part! Our dear friends, our familia, The Hoffers are a short walk away. It was absolutely one of our top reasons for choosing Redwood Heights. Hey Guys! You can't move. EVER. Are we clear on that? Good :)

We look forward to you all visiting us in the near future! A few more photos here... If you don't have flash, click the photo gallery tab to the right.

From Detroit Ave!

Isn't she lovely?!

From Detroit Ave!

From Detroit Ave!

Sam is already feeling at home :)

From Detroit Ave!

Our celebratory bubbly!

Thanksgiving

From SAM I AM

It's Thanksgiving! Seems like a good time to reflect and think about all we're thankful for, right? First and foremost, I (and I'm sure I can speak for Steve) am thankful for the joy that is Sam. He is healthy and happy (except for the current snotty nose). He's turned into this little person with an actual personality. I remember people used to say how serious he always looked (see Team Martz Christmas card 2011). He's now a smiley, funny little character. He is sometimes so sweet. Especially when he puts his little arms around my neck and hugs me tightly. I'm not sure there's any better feeling in the world. I still feel this way when he's driving me insane. His hug (and sometimes some wine) makes all the frustration disappear. Watching him learn new things is equally heartwarming and entertaining. Last night, I was sick and exhausted and he was refusing to eat, but then he tried to say blueberry and I just cracked up! Everything he says sounds so dang cute.

In addition to being super cute, he is also super smart. And I'm not just saying that! Before we went on vacation, Jr. had his check up with the developmental specialist. He was 14 months adjusted age at the time and was expected to test out at that age. Well, he far surpassed that. His language expression skills are that of a 19 1/2 month old. In almost every other area, he was testing closer to his chronological age of 17 1/2 months old. Impressive! There are a couple areas where he's still closer to his adjusted age. For instance, he is not wanting to transition to a sippy cup so much. I think we've bought at least 5 and he doesn't really like any of them. He's more interested in turning them upside down and shaking them. I learned this the hard way after giving him a sippy cup of milk in the car. However, I'm long past stressing about that sort of thing. I know he'll get it down in his own time.

Sam loves to dance. CUTE! He loves to clap his hands. CUTE! He is now an expert at what I call the bashful look. CUTE! He's a huge flirt and is always saying hi to random women wherever we go. He will come to us saying, "Book!", while trying to climb into our laps. Oh yeah, he's climbing like a monkey and likes to do things like jump up and down on the couch like a maniac before I can stop him. He says Dad and Dada all the time and knows Steve is the guy. Though it usually requires some prompting, he says Mama. He knows that's me, but for some reason just doesn't say it much. When he does though, it melts my heart. He knows who his Grandma is. When we were down south, I'd ask him, "Sam, can you say Grandma?" He wouldn't say it, but he'd crane his neck to see her wherever she was.

The not so cute stuff? Well, he's doing that fake whining/crying thing now. He'll sometimes cling to us saying, "Up!", then when we pick him up he wants to get down. He will do this over and over again. He also likes to have spaghetti legs and just fall out on the floor in tantrum mode. He is willful as all get out and gets a huge kick out of testing limits. He sometimes throws food and and likes to make that pbbbbtttttt sound that sends spit flying everywhere. This had me busy with paper towels and a bottle of hand sanitizer cleaning the waiting area at a recent doctors visit.

Despite all that, he is our perfect little boy and we are so very thankful for him. He brings his special brand of happy to our lives and we love him more than we ever could've imagined. I'm regularly astonished by how far he's come.

Baby boy, you are and will always be what we are most thankful for. We love you so much!

Happy Thanksgiving!

From SAM I AM

Fruit didn't fall far

So funny, just had to post. Do they not have the same exact expression on their faces?? Those are my boys!! Lol!

From SAM I AM

And Sam just looks insane in this one:

From SAM I AM

Family Vaca Down South

Just back from visitin' our kin and BOY, did we have a great time!  First off, it was awesome for Steve, the boy and I to have that family time together. Secondly, Steve's family is just awesome and it's always so wonderful to see them.

We stayed with Steve's Aunt Diane and Uncle Dave. Let me tell you, nicest hotel in all of Northern Georgia. The hills of Hiawassee, to be exact. They always make us feel so welcome. Amazingly, of all the places we went, they had the most baby proof house and Sam ran WILD there. No pitter patter of little feet.  Straight up STOMPS.

They have 3 rescue dogs, Annie, Maddy and Sable. Annie and Maddy were all over Sam.  He positively shrieked with delight when they tried to get kisses in. Annie in particular became very attached to Sam. Very protective. If she perceived me being mean to Sam, (saying BOO, or ROWWRR),  she got very upset and barked at me. Scared the crap out of me a couple of times, but it was still sweet. Some nights, when she escaped Dave & Diane's room, I could hear her lay down outside our bedroom door.  True love, I say. Maddy does the funniest thing. She actually smiles! It's so freakin' hilarious! I tried to capture it on film, but it just looks like she's angry and about to eat someone. Anyhoo, that is one happy doggie!

From SAM I AM

As usual there was a whole lotta great food consumed. Uncle Dave was a breakfast makin' fool. French toast and pancakes seem to be his specialty.  One day, when we knew the weather was suppose to be crummy, we stayed in and Steve, his Mom and Aunt D cooked up a Polish feast Mom/Grandma would be  proud of.  There was always plenty of wine flowin' and we never tired of just sitting around chit chattin' and enjoying each other's company.

From SAM I AM

Here's the view from the house, btw, though the picture really doesn't do it justice.

From SAM I AM

Next up, Sam got to meet his Aunt Lynola and Uncle Erik in North Carolina! They have 2 cuties of their own, Lukas (age 6) and Miss Emma (age 3). You'd think the big kids wouldn't be that interested in playing with a little guy like Sam. I was so wrong. They were having a blast together. And Lukas told us, "Don't worry. I'll take really good care of him." Seriously, how cute is that? They tore up the kids' room together and ran amok. We had a great game of hide and seek too! Oh, and it was my first time meeting Steve's brother too. It was both cool and weird to see this whole other adult human that looks so much like Steve.  Sam took to Erik instantly and Erik seemed completely smitten with his nephew, who he always calls Samuel :)

From SAM I AM

I swear, I think Steve's Mom could've just burst with happiness to have her 2 boys and all her grandchildren in the same room. It was a sight to see. Heres's a family shot.

From SAM I AM

From SAM I AM

The kids all got together again at Grandma's house and were all sad to say goodbye. I hope it won't be so long until Sam gets to play with his first cousins again. And yes, this is how they roll at Grandma's. She let's them stand on stuff! Lol!

From SAM I AM

Next stop, Rogersville, Tennessee! Time to see Team Siclari aka Aunt Teeny, Uncle Les and cousins Megan and Derrick! They have a whole bunch of acres in beautiful country. I looked up when we arrived at the house and thought I was in a scene from Little House on the Prairie.

From SAM I AM

Such a great, old house. Here Sam got to sit on a horse AND tractor! The sheep (which he calls baaaaas),wouldn't have anything to do with him, but that didn't stop him from chasing them. Curiously, we were initially listening to Led Zeppelin and classic rock in the kitchen while we broke out more wine and had another feast. Cousin Derrick came over with his new wife, Jordan. And Cousin Megan, who I've gotten to know on Facebook, arrived later. It was a great night of laughin' and talkin'.

From SAM I AM

The next day we made it over to Derrick and Jordan's for lunch and ATV ridin'!! Wooooo hooooo! So, yeah....Sam got to sit on a horse, a wagon, a tractor AND an ATV. LOL!!!! We were definitely doing it country style! Steve persuaded me to get on. I mostly just drove in a circle. I finally got up the courage to go down a hill on their land by the main road. Some people drove by and probably thought they were imagining things seeing me riding an ATV. LOL! Pretty funny.

From SAM I AM

From SAM I AM

Sam go to play in a big ol' pile of leaves and loved it! I was sure he'd be so bored when he got home. No dogs, no horses, no piles of leaves. Just a lazy, yowling cat. Poor kid. Anyway, he enjoyed it while it lasted.

From SAM I AM

Derrick is 20 years Steve's Jr. and just got married a few months ago. Check out their wedding rings:

From SAM I AM

Crazy coincidence, huh?? And yet another family photo

From SAM I AM

After our whirlwind visit to Tennessee, it was back to the house on the hill. We did so many things during our visit. True to form, we hit a winery in Hayesville, NC. We visited Mercier Orchards, http://mercier-orchards.com/ . Lucky for us, they'd just opened up a tasting room where we could sample their hard cider. Seriously, wherever we go, we always find the booze! The week went by way too fast. We were exhausted but happy when we arrived home (traveling with a toddler and all his crap on a plane is a story for another blog). Wonderful connections and memories made. Martzes, Siclaris and Baggetts, we love you so much! Can't wait to see you again!!!

We're Baaackkk!

Hey there! It's been awhile, hasn't it? I cannot BELIEVE what a slacker I have been in maintaining this blog.  As you can see, it's been moved from it's original location.  That took awhile. I obviously haven't moved all the previous posts, but I'll get to that.  For now, I'm going to focus on doing a quick catch up titled What Team Martz Did This Summer.  And Fall.

A couple of major happenings. First, Sam is on the run!  He started taking steps around 11 months adjusted after a month or so of solid cruising.  Check him out:


It's so funny to see him go from those tentative steps to this:

So, there's that.

The 2nd major happening....Sam was transitioned from nanny to daycare on August 1st! He had the best nanny on the face of the planet, but it became clear he was needing some socialization. He was always so curious with other kids and had great fun hanging out with them.  I gotta tell you, the first few weeks were BRUTAL.  Sam always does so well in social situations. He's always happy to be held by just about anyone for long periods of time.  But I guess it's different knowing we're not near by.  Steve drops off and I pick up.  As soon as Sam spotted me in the afternoon, he'd burst into tears, walking toward me with outstretched arms. It was absolutely heart wrenching.  His eyes were red, so it was evident he was crying and unhappy during the day. I felt like crap for doing it to him. He settled in after about 3 weeks.  I would show up and peek through the window to see what he was up to.  You know what he was up to? Playing his arse off! He was having a blast! Great for him to be in an enviroment where he can just rage, run, jump and climb stuff.  Occasionally, he'll still cry if he sees me and I don't get to him quickly enough, but now I think it's because he doesn't want me to know just how much fun he's having.

Other fun things this summer..Team Martz went camping! Yes, you read correctly.  Steve was quite the camper before me. I hadn't been in ages. I was tentative about taking Sam, being so little and all, but our friends totally talked us into it. I'm glad they did. We had such a great time! Sam loved getting in the lake to float around.  The boat wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. He also had alot of fun romping in the tent too. Good times! We also got up to Chalet Sommerfield in Arnold for more boating adventures. My favorite part of the day was late afternoon when we were just cruising around the lake. Sam fell asleep in my arms and we just snuggled for a good, long stretch.  Normally, I'm trying to get so much done while he sleeps.  Having that time with him was so sweet.

From SAM I AM

From SAM I AM

Next up, Halloween! Here's our little guy at Webb Ranch Pumpkin Patch and dressed as the scariest monster ever!!

From SAM I AM

From SAM I AM

He had his choice to be a monkey, pirate or monster and he chose monster, so there you go.

Oh! We also went to the NICU graduation party! How could I forget that! That was an awesome day. We got to see the amazing Dr. William Benitz. He was the first doctor we had contact with in those first few critical days. He told us Sam was doing remarkably well, all things considered. He asked a couple times if we were sure about the date of conception. Um, yeah. After all the orchestration, we were sure. But I digress. He tried to assure us the frail little creature we were hovering over was a fighter. He was right.

From SAM I AM

This is our favoritest nurse, Cara. She was Sam's guardian angel. Some people are just meant to do what they do. Cara has this deep love for these little beings that is just otherwordly. We love her dearly.

From SAM I AM

And this is Patty! When Sam made it to the step down nursery, Patty was his primary. Boy, do we love us some Patty. She was so good to Sam and so kind to us. She really showed us the ropes as far as learning to do the basic things we'd need to know at home. Patty had to work the day of the party, so we brought Sam to her.

From SAM I AM

From SAM I AM

It was the first time I'd been at LPCH and didn't have that feeling. I don't know how to describe it so well. I guess it feels kinda like someone has my heart in their hand and is squeezing it. I feel anxious and a little short of breath. And on the verge of tears. Hopefully, that means I made it to the other side of sadness and grief that wracked me for so long. It wasn't an easy road, but with some help, I just may have made it there :)

From SAM I AM

From SAM I AM

Took a quick trip to the coast to meet up with friends in town from the UK. This is quite possibly one of the most beautiful pictures I've ever taken.

From SAM I AM

They look like they're the only 2 people in the world, don't they? I could see and feel the love between them so strongly in that moment.

There are many more things to cover, but unfortunately, most of them have fallen out of my brain :-/ Proof positive why I need to keep this blog up. When my toddler-addled brain is failing me, I can always refer back here. So, I'll see you again soon! No more slacking! Oh, hey!  Forgot to mention....Our new email addresses have been up and running for a few months now, which most of you know.  We can now be reached at stacey@teammartz.com , sam@team...you get the picture. Sam loves to receive email, by the way.  He broke the R on my laptop keyboard in excitment over an email from his Auntie Ann.

Okay, that is all.  Til next time.

Catching Up

From blog photos

As usual, it's been a crazy time since my last post. It just goes by so fast! I really need to stop saying that. It's just a given.

So, what's new (now old)? Oh! One thing I forgot to mention in my last post was having to kick the co-sleeper to the curb awhile ago. Here's what happened...I put Jr. down for a nap and went to the living room to make a phone call. Just as I finished up, his monitor beeped (we have an Angel Care), which indicates there's no movement in the co-sleeper. As I swiftly walked toward the bedroom, it started beeping furiously (Hey!! There's no movement in here!! Your kid may not be breathing!!), so I ran the short distance there. I looked in the co-sleeper. It was empty. WTF?? I glanced over and Sam had crawled 2/3 of the way across the bed. He apparently was trying to make a break for it through the bedroom window. He looked at me almost sheepishly, as if to say, "What I do??!" So, we're done with the co-sleeper. I dreaded the day coming. I loved having my little guy right next to me. But the head-cracking potential is too great, so sadly, we said goodbye and put him in a maximum security facility. Also, Jr. has decided he likes sleeping on his stomach now, which initially TERRIFIED me. I tried rolling him over in the middle of the night. All that did was piss him off and he'd eventually end up on his stomach again after falling back asleep. I learned to turn his head without waking him so he wasn't face planting. Now, he is finally sleeping in acceptable positions and I'm not worried he's going to suffocate himself.

Sam has been partying in his pack n play. It's a nice place to plop him when he needs to be contained while I get stuff done around the house. We'll see how long this lasts. Lately, he loves to hang off the side rail and try to climb out. His feet will literally be off the bottom and on the side of the pack n play Spiderman style. Sam is standing up on his own quite a bit and balances pretty well. He'll crawl over to me and grab my legs, then shirt to pull himself up. Then he stands and lets go. He looks at me like, "Mom! Can't you even believe I just did that?!" It's neat to see him so excited about it! I think he's going to take off running any day now. He's already climbing on/over stuff and has made it over the back of the couch. The kid is fearless. Maybe he needs to wear a helmet. Here he is demonstrating his new skills:

On the topic of skills, Sam is becoming quite the chatty Cathy these days. He very clearly said dada the other day (not even close on mama). However, he said it to me, so he obviously doesn't get what it means yet. He will soon though! One thing he says very consistently is Bob. We don't know who Bob is. Maybe an imaginary friend? :-P Or I do play alot of Bob Marley during bath time. In any event, it's his favorite word at the moment.

The mystery that is Sam's hair took a new twist, literally. He has exactly 1 curl! A tiny tendril just behind his left ear. It is so freakin' cute. He still has blonde hair growing in, but combined with his darker hair, it all looks kinda sandy.

Sam broke the control button on my laptop. I think he's trying to tell me something....

Craptacular 4.0 was in full effect this week. It was epic. Unfortunately, Aunt Maggie was Sam's victim. She kept an eye on him the other day while I ran errands. Sam was standing up holding onto the couch and Maggie could hear him lettin' loose. In a split second, he managed to get both of his hands down in his diaper and they came up poopy. Maggie grabbed his arms to keep him from getting it everywhere. Well, where he did manage to get it was all over her. There was sh*t EVERYWHERE. She got him to the changing table, destroyed that. Clothes destroyed. Oh, and here's the fun part..He grabbed her hair with his sh*tty little hands. DOH!!!!!! She stripped him down and bathed him. Then it was into the pack n play with him while she showered and shampooed the crap out of her hair. Awesome, right? It's actually kinda hilarious, but in the moment, not so much :-P Sorry, Maggie! When I arrived home, there was a pile of crappy clothes and stuff on the back patio. Um, sorry I missed the fun? Meh. Maybe not!

Sam had a brief funny period where he'd give me raspberries on my legs. We both thought it was hilarious. Then one day I felt his teeth and that was done. By the way, he is growing teeth like a champ. He has FOUR all growing in at once on the top. Maybe 5. He seems to still be pretty good-natured about it all, then he was a monster a couple of days ago and whined alot, so they may have been bothering him. I gave him a little dose of ibuprofen to ease the pain and help him sleep better. He definitely slept more soundly that he had the past few nights.

And now, on to a controversial subject - SLEEP TRAINING!! Sam's sleeping through the night hit the skids when he got his first cold. He also wasn't eating or drinking well. He briefly got another short cold not too long after. He was waking up every 90 mins to 2 hours for weeks and we were BEAT. One particularly bad night, when I heard him getting started at 2am, I literally started to cry, I was so exhausted. I was worried I was going to drop him. Some nights, a shorty was the only thing that would calm him, but that made us feel like we were taking a step in the wrong direction and establishing a bad habit, a crutch. After consulting with his pediatrician, we initiated sleep training once he was well. The routine we established was putting him down at his usual time around 7:30-8 after his last bottle of the night. He generally goes down well. Then he'd wake up 1-2 hours later screaming. I'd go in, give him the remainder of his bottle if he wanted it, cuddled him, then put him back down and let him cry it out. It was horrible. Steve and I sat on the couch feeling like crap. Exhausted pieces of crap. But guess what? After 3 nights, it got way better and he really hit his stride on the 4th night. After his first wake up, he'd whimper for a couple minutes then was out for the night. Now, he's not waking up at all until morning. I've even been able to dial back his bedtime to 7. He generally sleeps through until 6, though this week, he's been pulling shenanigans around 5:30 just for kicks. I'm trying to counter that by going to bed earlier. Over all though, he's a smart little dude and he has this program down. Even through his last cold, when he had a majorly snotty nose, he ate, drank and slept, well, like a baby. Last weekend, I struck up a conversation with a mom at Whole Foods whose daughter just started sleeping through the night at 14 months. I can't even imagine.

Mother's Day this year was fantastic! So much better than last year's! Steve and Sam really did right by me. I got some cute cards (one with an outline of Sam's hand), an enlarged framed photo of the boy and me. Also Steve managed to get me a pair of shoes that match some that Sam has, so we can be twinsies! Very cute. We will model them for you below. We also had a great brunch at the Empire Tap Room in Palo Alto, my old stomping grounds. It's funny that I spent much of my 20s at the bar there and am now returning for Mother's Day Brunch. And I'm the Mother!! I ran into the owner, Josie, and we talked about the good (?) ol' days. I've decided Bloody Marys are the Mother's Day drink of choice and the Tap Room's are only 2nd to the Zuni Cafe's.

From blog photos

The best gift of all though was Steve's parents being in town! Yipppiiieee! We had SUCH a good time hanging out. I love watching them love on Sam aka Puddin' according to Grandma. We did some fun stuff. Headed up to Napa for the day for winetasting and a classic car show (right up Grandpa's alley). Grandma and Grandpa got to visit a couple joints seen on Diners, Drive Ins & Dives. Other than that, we just relaxed on the patio and played with Jr. Steve's Dad asked, "So, what was your Dad like?" He was truly interested and asked alot of questions about him. It was so nice for me to have the opportunity to talk about my Pop. It meant alot to me. Seeing Sam with his Grandpa was wonderful, but also made me wistful, missing my Dad, imagining how he would interact with Jr. ::sigh:::

From blog photos

I was super sad to see the folks go, but will look forward to seeing them in the Fall. Sam will get to meet his Uncle Erik and Aunt Lynola, his first cousins, Lukas and Emma and a whole bunch more folks that have been cheering for him from afar this last year. I absolutely can't wait.

Next up, Father's Day! Hopefully I won't be writing about it a month later! I have a couple up things up my sleeve and hope Daddy will be pleased.

When I logged on to the blog this morning, I learned we welcomed our 10,000th visitor sometime in the past month! That's just amazing to me! Thanks for popping in. It means the world to us that you check in to see how Jr. is gettin' along. We love ya!

I leave you with this treat....

From blog photos

Super Sam is 1!

From blog photos

Hey there! Team Martz has reached a major milestone. Our little dude turned ONE last week! I can hardly believe this is the case, but it’s true. This year has flown by with a swiftness I never could’ve imagined.

Last week was very emotional. Lots of happy tears, lots of sad ones. I often wanted to just hug the stuffing out of that boy. On his actual birthday, I was on the floor playing with him. He’s super active and squirmy these days and doesn’t sit still for long. I started getting choked up and told him, “Mommy needs a cuddle.” I held him close. He was still and just relaxed into me. It’s like he just knew exactly what I needed. I breathed in his baby smell, stroked his hair and rocked him. We stayed that way for a couple of minutes. Then it was back to business as usual for him – crawling around shoving everything in his mouth.

That night, Daddy and I had a little cupcake for him, which he promptly smashed to bits, flinging crumbs everywhere. I couldn’t get through the Happy Birthday song without crying. Later, after he went down for the night, we toasted him with a little Dom at exactly at 9:08, the time of his birth, then couldn’t help but take a stroll down memory lane. We remembered Steve’s terrifying ride from Marin to the hospital in Burlingame after my water broke. He thought it was game over and dreaded what would be waiting for him. We remembered watching American Idol 2 nights later waiting for our favorite contestant to perform, but discovering my cord had prolapsed and all hell broke loose.

Everything happened so fast after my cord prolapsed (10 minutes from discovery to delivery). My room filled up with doctors and nurses as we heard calls for stat this and that over the loudspeaker. A nurse hopped on my bed, shoved her hand all the way up in me to hold Jr. up so he wouldn’t compress the cord and cut off his oxygen supply. I winced in pain. I remember still not being clear on what exactly was about to take place and asked a nurse in a trembling voice, “Are you going to deliver him??” She gravely replied, “Oh yes.” I looked at Steve and the fear we both felt was palpable. I told him, “It’s just too soon.” Then everyone took off running for the O.R. (nurse’s hand still up my hoo ha) where they prepped me for an emergency c-section. There was no time for Steve to gown up and get in there, so he stood at the door and just kept saying, “I’m right here. I’m right here.” One thing I never knew until recently is Steve was standing there in his socks. There was zero time to think about putting on shoes. It would almost be funny if it weren’t so tragic.

I remember a really nice black woman, a nurse, with some kind of head scarf on having me drink something she said would neutralize the acid in my stomach. She told me I was doing great. Her voice was very steady and calm. I don’t remember the faces of anyone else in there, including the doctor who delivered Sam. Soon, the doors closed and Steve stood there wondering if his son would come out alive or if he’d be called in to say goodbye. In his socks.

I remember coming to and being so out of it, but asking if our son was alive. Eventually, my entire bed was rolled into the NICU so I could meet our son. He was so tiny, it seemed impossible that he had survived. That was the beginning of Sam’s 110 day stay.

We were there at his bedside day in and day out. We sat there and talked to him, read to him, sang to him, prayed for him and feared for his life. We were glued to the monitors displaying his vital stats. We’d see his oxygen saturation levels drop, he’d stop breathing and we’d have to rub his back and shake him a little to get him to breathe again. Every single day. Many times a day. He had so many setbacks and close calls, it’s astonishing he came through it. He kicked ass. To look at him now is to see a true Miracle. Our sweet boy who is so strong, so beautiful. There are still telltale signs of his battle. He’s got so many little scars on his hands and feet from the countless IVs, the delicate scar on his back from his PDA surgery. Though he is doing great, I will always see those scars and my heart will break a little.

We so looked forward to Sam’s birthday party. It was so humbling and so wonderful to see so many of the faces of those that supported us during the darkest time of our lives. Though there were tears, it was a day full of joy. And tacos. As many of you know, we came *this* close to having a crazy taco truck wedding complete with a mariachi band and buckets of Corona for centerpieces. Clearly, we went in a different direction, but the fun idea always remained in the back of our minds. And hey, it sure was an easy way to feed a HUNDRED people. You read correctly. There were more people at Sam’s party than at our wedding! LOL! Anyhoo, we couldn’t have ordered up a more perfect day. The weather was great, the food was great and we totally felt the love. We felt deeply satisfied and blessed. Btw, a very special thanks to Lamya & Scott for making Sam’s awesome Superman cake! It was absolutely perfect! Sam enjoyed destroying it. The way it smooshed between his fingers was quite fascinating to him.

I realize this post is all over the place, but that’s pretty much how we felt the last week. We would like to thank each and every one of you for the endless supply of love and support we received this past year. There were days that your texts, emails and phone messages lifted us up when we were struggling. We will FOREVER be grateful. We will never forget the blessing of your friendship.

Finally, to Sam…We know you will one day read this. Know that your Mommy and Daddy love you beyond measure. We are so very proud you are our son. The night you were born you filled our hearts to bursting. You make Team Martz complete. Happy Birthday, sweetheart!

From blog photos