Courtney's Page
Updated12/8/02
Dictated by Courtney Martinez especially for the Martinez Home Journal - January 2000
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Oh Tree, Oh Tree -- Bells, Bells, All the way
If you don’t know what this says — we will explain. Even though Christmas is over, these are the words to Courtney’s two favorite songs, Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree and Jingle Bells. This child can sing a lot, we just can’t always understand what she says. In church she loudly joins in every singing opportunity making sure everyone knows she can sing! Where she lacks in clarity, she picks up in volume. The child likes to yell her words as if the reason we can’t understand her is because we can’t hear her. The more we don’t understand the louder she becomes. We are happy though that with each passing day, our hearing is getting better or her pronunciation has improved.

Blank, Books and Bitty
All of our kids have had things they love. For Courtney it would be her fleece white blanket with Winnie the Pooh on the corner. Other blankets will do, but this is the most loved. It gets washed often and we are sure it will either get lost or wear out, but for now "Blank" and Courtney usually travel together.

We were worried early on that this child would never find a love for books. We disciplined ourselves to read to her daily, but she would do anything to not listen to books. Now, books are such a part of her day, that she usually sleeps with at least 5 that we have read to her. She will even fight her sisters for her favorites!

In addition, Courtney will make a great mother some day because she will always care for her "Bitty" or Baby. She is always concerned about where her Bitty is. Even at night, Bitty has to be in the baby crib beside her bed with a blanket or else Courtney will yell intensely making sure that Bitty is not just laying on the floor somewhere getting cold.

(Yes, Courtney's bed is very full at night!!!)

The Coordinator
Father Larry appropriately nicknamed Courtney "The Coordinator" (pronounced like Arnold Swarzinagger saying "The Terminator") this past year. The name is perfect because when Courtney hits the room we know she is in control, busy, and will be back if she leaves. The girl is the master gremlin and can keep up with the best of them. This very petite little girl who is only in the 5% for weight, acts like she is 5. She believes naps are only a nuisance that mom requires and putting something up high only distracts her until she can push, pull, or manipulate something to climb up on. It is not uncommon to find The Coordinator carrying her stool around the house so that she can get to what she wants. Some of her strength has to come from the amount of milk this girl drinks. She will bring a new glass with lid to us every hour so she can be refueled. It is not uncommon at the end of the day to have every sippy cup we own in the sink. Keeping up with the Coordinator is a full time job!

Emma
While her older sisters seem to have a social calendar and neighbor friends, Courtney seems to always be the tag along. There are few around with a child the age of Courtney. Early this past fall a good friend needed a specific play date for their youngest one day a week. Courtney was thrilled! Now she has a weekly social engagement with her good friend EMMA! At first this opportunity was a chance to have a lesson in sharing. But now, the two girls enjoy each other's company greatly. Courtney knows that if Mommy says, "Today is a play date day," this means Emma is on her way over. Even more enjoyable are the times when Emma invites her over for a play date because this makes her feel as special as her sisters!

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