Tatum's First Christmas Eve

Here's the family Christmas Eve.  Tatum's wearing my Christmas dress that mom smocked for me.  Surprisingly, it fit her!

Shalane and Ally

Philip and Maw Maw

Nonnie and Tatum

All of the grandkids....Tatum was pretty fussy at this point!

 The Sikes

Best Friends!

The grandchildren minus Tatum since she was screaming at this point

Ally with her pillow pet

Kaity got in Ally's box

Mr. Tommy and Philip

Christmas Eve was fun!   We went to the Christmas Eve Service and there was snow!  Then ate our traditional potatoes with cheesy broccoli sauce.  YUM!  Tatum was very fussy.  I'm not sure if her having formula once a day is causing it or what...we shall see! 

Christmas day Tatum got up about 7:40 and we opened presents.  She received a pair of heels and an LSU onesie that says "working on my roar."  She also got diapers from Mama Jo and an ornament.  We ate lunch with Mama Jo.  Still to come is Christmas with JuJu and Tuffy as well as the O'Dell Christmas!

December

So this month Tatum has been laughing and smiling!  Her laughing is the cutest thing EVER!  It's like a "belly laugh."  That first person she laughed at was her Papa!  Then for Philip and I soon after.  She has gotten to wear all of her Christmas dresses, including the one that Mom made for me for my first Christmas.

Today we went to the opthamologist and they seem to think that Tatum will need glasses next month if her vision doesn't improve.  Her left eye goes in a bit trying to focus.  In this picture her eyes are still dilated!

Tatum went to her first wedding this weekend in New Orleans.  Aunt Lauren got married in New Orleans and the service lasted as long as it took for Tatum to take her bottle.  ;)

We are going to see Santa soon so I will post a pic of that visit too.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was especially special since Tatum was here for it as well as Matt, Jessica, and Reed.  They were in town for that week and we enjoyed spending time together.  We hosted the O'Dell Thanksgiving lunch at our house and really enjoyed having all of the cousins over.

Here's a family picture of Matt, Jessica, and Reed.  Reed thought that taking pictures was HILARIOUS apparently.

The night before Thanksgiving we all hung out at Stephen and Rachel's house.  The girls thought it would be funny to put Reed in a cheerleader outfit.  He played along and yelled GO tigers!  Much to his father's dismay.  We're keeping this picture for sure to show him one day!  As continue to joke with Noah about wearing a lingerie piece when he was a little boy in a beauty contest ;)

Emily and Tatum

Tatum and I on Thanksgiving Day

Here are all of the O'Dell great grandchildren that were able to be there Thanksgiving.  Not all the kids were wanting to cooperate.  ;)

This year we have plenty to be thankful for.  First of all the health of both Tatum and I since we were both so sick when she came into this world.  Also having our family be able to be together this Thanksgiving.  And playing cranium with cousins.....which was fun ;)

Baptism

Our smiling Tatum!

Last week Tatum was baptized at First Methodist Minden by her Tuffy.  She wore the dress that I wore when I was baptized which happened to be hand made by my grandmother.  When I was pregnant with Tatum, I thought that she wouldn't be able to wear it if we didn't baptize her immediately since I wore the dress when I was 17 days old...well Tatum wore it at 3 months and it was plenty big for our dainty little girl.  Matt, Jes, and Reed were in town for the event and we had the family and some close friends come as well.  Afterwards we all ate in the fellowship hall.  We took a few pictures at the end.

Matt and April.  Matt was very proud of her and her decision ;)

Reed was goofing around while Mama Jo was trying to get a nice picture of her great grandchildren

Aunt Taryn loving on little T

Aunt Ashley was feeding our little one.

Tatum did very well during the baptism.  She did cry a bit when the water hit her head.  Tuffy did a great job holding her so that everyone could see her beautiful dress.  It was so sweet for Philip and I to remember our commitment to the Lord and to promise to uphold it and raise Tatum in His ways.

Tatum went to church for the first time last week in Baton Rouge.  Her first sermon was one from Tuffy!  She did so well and did not make a peep the whole time and even went up for communion.  Philip, Jeremy, and Abram went to the LSU vs. Bama game which they enjoyed thoroughly since LSU won!

This weekend we played dress up with Tatum and bought a car as well.  Here's Tatum in her cute little outfit

She and Philip were having a little photo shoot ;)

2 Months

So you are now 2 months old.  Here lately, I'm back at work and we are all adjusting.  MeeMee, PaPa, JuJu, and Mama Jo have all pitched in to help keep you at home a little longer.  You went to day care at 9 weeks.  All they do is talk about how pretty you are, how alert you are, and how tiny you are.  You have sweet little ladies that take great care of you at Calvary.

Your first halloween was fun.  You were a ballerina because that's about the only thing that would fit you.  You were only 7lbs.  We had a few trick or treaters but not as many as we thought.  Needless to say there's a ton of candy still!

This sunday was your first time to go to church. Your first sermon to hear was from Tuffy.  Dad made us come to the front of the church for all to see you.  You didn't make a peep the whole time and we went down for communion.  You got an A+.  We hung out with Aunt Shea and Ally this weekend in Baton Rouge as well.  Here's a pic of you and Tuffy this weekend at church.

That's what has been going on in your life lately...

JuJu's visit

JuJu came up this Thursday to help me out a bit.  Tuffy is in Cambodia for 2 weeks.  Lately at night Tatum has only been sleeping while being held and waking up at 3 or so every night.  Well since JuJu has been here the little one has been sleeping by herself a lot longer in between feedings and then...last night...October 23rd....Tatum slept from 10-7:30!!!  By herself!!!  We are so excited about the progress!!!

Tatum has had a big weekend.  Friday night Eric and Holly had a photo shoot with Eric's new fancy camera.  I'll post some pics of that soon once he is through editing them.  After that Tatum met her Aunt Lauren for the first time.  Lauren's in town for her couples shower.  Then Saturday as usual, Tatum laid with Philip and watched football while mom and I redid flower beds.  I am so thankful she has been here to help me out in the yard and around the house.  Saturday night while Philip and I went to Lauren's party, mom took Tatum to Minden to visit with the grandparents.  That's her first road trip with JuJu.  

That's just a bit of what's been going on lately with Tatum....will have some pics soon.s

Currently....

I was telling Tuffy about the blog and how I wanted to start it as a way of "scrapbooking." One thing that Tuffy was wishing he did was keep track of things that happened in the world while we were growing up. So here are a few things going on currently in the world.

~33 miners were stuck in a mine in Chile for 2 months.  The whole world watched on TV as they were rescued

~the most popular singers right now are...Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Bruno Marz, Nelly, Beyonce and of course your mom and dad's favorite....Dave Matthews.  We get music off of itunes.  Everyone has ipods or iphones.

~The Saints won the Super Bowl the year you were born and your dad wasn't very excited about it although the rest of Louisiana was!

~The Lakers won the NBA playoffs

~Popular TV shows are mostly reality shows like Keeping up with the Kardashians, American Idol, Bachelor, and Jersey Shore.

Other popular shows are Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Glee, Modern Family, Gossip Girl, 90210

~the president is Barack Obama and Congress is also a majority of Democrats.  Health Care is a big issue these days along with immigration.  

The NICU and Your Homecoming

Here are a few pictures of you when you were first born in the NICU.  Notice how big he soothie pacifier looks next to you.

Daddy and Papa checking you out.

Your daddy is in love!

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MeeMee holding your hand which was huge in comparison to the rest of your body.

Mom and Dad getting ready to take you home.  This was your last bottle in the NICU.

We got you all dressed up in a dress from Sara Margaret and your headband had a pearl in the middle and a feather coming out the top.  We had to tie a knot in the elastic so that it would fit your head.

You were ready to go home!

Walking in the door at HOME

My last day at home with you

Well Tatum...today is our last day at home together before I go back to work.  While I was at home we had a fun time together.  You slept a lot.  You would do well in your bouncy or your swing.  Sometimes you did well in your bed too. ;)

We had lots of visitors at lunch time.  Rachel and Lainey were good to us and brought us Cush's and Newk's frequently.  Daddy would come home for lunch from time to time too.  Lola did well with you throughout the day and only would lick your hair (which made your hair a mess) or sniff your diaper.  I have however gotten a little stir crazy not being able to take you anywhere. Every day we watched Regis & Kelly along with whatever show I had on DVR from the night before.  When you read this later in life I'm sure we'll laugh at DVR because there will be something better than that then.  We also watched a season of Dexter.  I wanted to catch up on LOST but couldn't find it anywhere to watch.

 I know I would enjoy it more if we were able to make a little Target run or Hobby Lobby visit throughout our day.  I will miss this special little time of us hanging out.  I know it will make me appreciate our nights and weekends even more.

Baby Shower

So this past weekend I had a shower for Tatum.  This shower was originally planned to be Sept 11th but....she came early so we had to reschedule it since we weren't sure when she or I would be home.  We had a great time and Tatum got a ton of good stuff!  Lots of cute clothes, stroller, bottles, sheets, and the biggest hit at the shower....Hooter Hider.  That really was a hit with the older ladies who hadn't heard of such.  Here are a few pictures from the event.

Here are a few of the hostesses.  Aunt Shea couldn't make it so she's not in the picture and Gretchen wasn't in the pic. The cake was DELICIOUS!  So was the punch.  The flowers were beautiful too!   Overall it was a GREAT shower!

Ellie thought that the shower was for "her baby."  Tatum will probably be really good friends with Ellie's brother or sister...we will find out soon!  

Aunt Janie made the shower and was looking cute in her pink.

Here are a few people who came.

A quick family pic.

a few pics from the hospital

One day while you were in the NICU your bilirubin was high so they had to place you under the lights to help get it down.  You got to wear these shades ;)

This is you the day you got to come home from the hospital.  

Today is your due date

So today is the day that you were due.  It is so weird that you have already been in our lives for over a month.  Here are some highlights from the first month.
The first 9 days of your life you were in the NICU.  When you were first born, you didn't have enough fat to keep your body the temperature it was supposed to be so you had to be in an isolette.  Your dad was the "milk man" and brought your milk to you every 3 hours.  8-11-2-5 both am and pm.  I didn't get to come see you in the NICU for a day because I was still on medication.
After a few days, you had absolutely no trouble eating.  In fact the nurses bragged on you being the easiest baby to feed.  Once you were home you stayed on the schedule of every 3 hours.  You love your bouncy seat.  The swing is starting to grow on you a bit.  You hate having your diaper changed or changing clothes.  Anything where you are naked....you are not happy.
You loooove having your hands by your face or spread out in front of you.  The longest you have slept is 6 hours which I really appreciated.  Your first road trip to Baton Rouge was very successful.  You didn't make a peep.  That's your first month of life in a nutshell.

In the Beginning...

So this is my first post...obviously.  I thought I would start with how we first found out that Tatum was going to be a part of our life.  I had thought that I might be pregnant a few days and actually took a pregnancy test.  The test showed two negative signs so I thought that the test was negative, threw it away and went about my business for a week.  Then I decide to take another test.  Same kind.  Two negative lines.  I then start worrying that something is wrong with me.  I go to throw away the box and then see that two negative lines is a positive pregnancy test.  All I do at that point is laugh laugh laugh laugh.  You would think that the PA who has delivered babies and passed board exams in OBGYN could read a pregnancy test.  But no....I am the 1 out of the 1 in 4 women who cannot read a pregnancy test.....

So I then call Philip and tell him in between laughing that I cannot read a pregnancy test and once he realizes that I am pregnant I could tell he was smiling from ear to ear by the way he was talking.  I vividly remember sitting on the ledge of our tub in the bathroom talking with him and just laughing.

That night we made a slide show of the family over the last few years and the last picture said "More to come in 9 months."  We went over to Philip's parents house to show them the slide show and some girls were over watching the Bachelor.  Everyone was thrilled and crying and laughing.  So then we headed over to Shalane's house to tell them.  By this time it was 10:30 and they were all asleep.  We woke them all up to show them a video.  Jeremy thought someone had died or we were pregnant.  Thankfully it was the latter.

I couldn't wait to show my parents the video so they just got to hear it over the phone.  And that Tatum is how we found out and told everyone about you.  ;)