our lia

So this is a couple of days late...but I wanted to do a little post of our Lia. She turned 3 this week! I can't believe it! We love her so much! She is smart, funny, crazy (with a capital "C") and kind. She loves to share (most of the time) and is so sweet with other children. In her pre-school class, her teacher tells me that Lia is the first one to go and comfort any child that might be sad. Lia is full of life and with that she is also full of drama...she is my drama queen. She is very particular...yes, OCD. She doesn't take to change very well...not many of us do. She has been my most challenging child yet...however, she is the first one to say, "I love you, mom." And she can't go to bed unless she has kissed all of us and given hugs. She says the most amazing prayers and gets herself dressed every day. She may make me tired, but I wouldn't change her for the world! We love that little girl and will be forever grateful that God brought to her into our family!

Here are some of my favorite pictures of our little Lia.

Love you, Lia!

We hope that 3 is a wonderful year for you!

Love,

Mom and Dad

Giving back

Go to this link to see how you can help stop children going hungry in Utah County!

http://www.nikimartins.com/general/making-a-difference-even-at-the-age-of-5/

Lots of love!

niki

October

So, I am going to try a new system for my blogging. I am having a hard time keeping up, so I will be blogging once or twice a month, each month...that way I don't feel overwhelmed and for anyone who wants to see what the Martins' are up to can :) I am not going to backtrack...I am just starting a new....

So here goes the first month: OCTOBER!

We love October, we have two birthdays and Halloween! Not to mention, it is the best time of year: Fall!

Here is what we have been up to this month (and a little of last month):

Hannah and Lia started school! They both love school and they both do very well. Hannah is pretty shy, which is strange for both me and her dad, as we were both known as class disrupters! :)

Our girls LOVE Family Home Evening...we read from the childrens' Book of Mormon and sing primary songs...

Lia and Hannah were able to go to a fun fairy festival with their dad...they had a lot of fun!

Hannah lost her first tooth!

Lia, Eva and I go walking almost every day together, while Hannah is in school...they make great walking buddies :)

Flavio, Eva and I were able to go to a fun spa retreat with Flavio's work in Midway. It was a lot of fun and I was able to get a great massage!

My mom, the girls and I went up to Sundance to see all the amazing colors this year. I didn't do anything to these images...they look fake, I know. :)

My mom and dad came to celebrate both Flavio and Lia's b-days. The girls LOVE when their grandparents come! So do Flavio and I, as we usually get a well deserved date night.

Here are the girls with Flavio on his REAL birthday...he turned 30! He looks so happy!

Last, but not least, we have been enjoying this:

Eva has brought so much joy into our lives and we all just adore her! She is 19 pounds of fun, cuddly goodness!

I am way behind...

But, I will post this anyway...more to come. I will have to go backwards. Having 3 kids, staying busy with photography and dealing with regular life has kept me from blogging as much as I would like.

Here is a little bit of what we have done this past Summer! :)

in no particular order ;)

I still have so much to blog...but this is a start.

We have loved you Summer!

Hannah's Birthday Party!

We had a fun Princess Party with many of her friends! Here is a pic of all of the cute little princesses together!

Miss Hannah

Yesterday marked 5 years in my Hannah's life. I can't believe how fast that went! Hannah was our first In-Vitro miracle. I honestly can say that I longed for her. We had to go through two heartbreaking negative results before we found out we were pregnant with Hannah. I was very wary when we went through our third trial. I feel like I just went through the motions. I wasn't expecting anything different from the first two times. When it came time for us to find out whether this one worked or not, I was preparing myself the whole morning for another disappointment. I know this seems like a major lack in faith, but I couldn't set my self up once again for the type of loss I felt with the other two. So when they called and it was our doctor, rather than our nurse, I knew something was different. He didn't waste any time. All he said was, "It worked. You are pregnant!". I started to cry right away. I was by myself. Flavio was at work. I was overwhelmed. I called Flavio, but no answer. I tried again and again. I was consumed by this joy and couldn't share it with anyone! So I called my parents and Flavio parents. They were all, of course, so excited. I then tried Flavio once again, finally he answered and I was able to tell him he was going to be a daddy. He cried too.

Hannah was born 8 days late! Weighing 9 lbs.

We finally had our baby.

We love you Hannah.

You have given us 5 amazing years!

You are kind and sensitive. Your love for your sisters is amazing. I know you are a special daughter of our Father in Heaven. He loves you. I can feel it.

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

We love you!

Yes, that says 9 pounds!

They grow up too fast!

Cuter than cute

I love my girls.