Happy 3 Month Birthday Tatum!

That's right, today is Tatum's 3 month birthday!! I can't believe she is already 3 months old!! Antonio and I have enjoyed every minute of watching her grow and develope her own little personality! I never thought I would be one of those moms running to call my husband because Tatum smiled for the first time, or calling my mom to tell her that Tatum slept 6 whole hours during the night, or blogging because Tatum rolled over for the first time! Yet, here I am!

The first 3 months didn't go as expected. I had originally planned on breastfeeding Tatum for at least 6 months, but I had to stop because I wasn't producing enough milk to keep up. I also didn't think that Tatum would honestly be sleeping at least 10 hours at night. Probably the biggest surprise is I thought I would be so ready to go back to work after staying home for so long, yet here I am wishing I could strike it rich so I never had to go back. I just can't stand the thought of missing her taking her first steps or hearing her first giggling spell or anything else. I am comforted that she will be in loving, caring, and safe arms, but they just won't be MY arms. I know she will be okay and I just need to get over it, but I am going to enjoy these last 3 weeks of being home.

It is still so weird to look at her and know that she is MINE and ANTONIO's baby. That WE made her and she is OURS forever!! I am filled with such pride just looking at her and I pray that we never fail her as parents. Happy Birthday Baby Tatum!





Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDY!! Brandy and I have been friends since high school and have remained friends through college. She is a great friend and has seen me thru getting married, being pregnant, and now being a mommy. I am so thankful that she lives so close too so we can hang out whenever we find time! We share a love for Britney, N'SYNC, and Justin Timberlake that no one will ever understand but us. Thanks for so many years of being a great friend and I look forward to many more! Can we say Bahama Breeze please?

Busy Day

Today, Tatum and I started our morning by going to visit with the lady that might keep Tatum. Tatum was in such a great mood. She was smiling and talking to Ms. Gayle and was just a perfect angel(trust me, she is great most of the time, but she also has her moments!) I was just so nervous she would throw a fit or something and Ms. Gayle would tell me that she didn't want to keep her because she might be too much of a handful. After visiting with her for over an hour, I felt like that was exactly where Tatum needs to be for now, so we committed to her that when I go back to work in a few weeks she will be keeping Tatum. Let me tell you, this lifted so much stress off of my shoulders because I was getting nervous that we would not be able to find anyone! AND, she is going to be saving us LOTS of money!!

Next, we went to Cintas to see my co-workers and let them see how much Tatum has grown. Tatum was tired, so she fell asleep after about 10 minutes of being there, so we cut our visit short. It was good to see everyone and I look forward to getting back into the swing of working.

Then we came home for about 45 minutes so that Tatum could eat. After she finished eating, we called Daddy-O(Antonio) so he could meet us up at the hospital. We went to see Courtney and Alec's beautiful new baby girl! She arrived yesterday(a day before Courtney was set up to be induced!). Maddison weighed the same as Tatum did when she was born, 6 lbs and 13 ounces. I got to hold her and she felt SOOO TINY!!! I can't wait to see her grow! I can see it now...Maddison and Tatum playing on a soccer team together with Daddy Alec and Daddy Antonio coaching their little girls and Courtney and I cheering them on from the sidelines!! Courtney looked awesome and Aunt Jessica was glowing with pride!

After the hospital Tatum, Antonio, and I went to lunch. Tatum has been in the BEST mood today. She was just smiling and talking to Antonio at lunch and you know he was loving it!! The funniest/cutest thing happened last night...as I previously posted, Tatum rolled over for the first time a few weeks ago. Well, last night, Antonio was trying to put her to bed and I was already in bed because I was SOOO tired. Anyway, all the sudden Antonio turns around and shouts "SHE ROLLED OVER!! Hey April, she rolled over!" I told him that she did that a few weeks ago and he said I know, but this is the first time that I have seen it! It was just so cute because if you know Antonio you know that he doesn't get REALLY excited very often. Anyway, he was definitely the PROUD PAPA last night!

If you are an Oprah watcher, she had the best story on today about the guy that is blind and very talented. I loved that his dad is so dedicated in helping his son. If you didn't see it, this guy is in the marching band at Louisville and he "marches" by having his dad roll him around on the field while he plays the trumpet. It was so sweet and made me cry. I don't really know why I was crying. Was it because of the story alone? or the fact that the boy played the trumpet like I did? or was it that he was in the marching band like I used to be? Who knows...

Anyway, I will be posting another blog tomorrow, so stay tuned....

Pictures and Old Friends

As I promised in the previous post, here are some pics from this weekend...




Tatum with Gran at Gran's house after a wonderful homemade meal!



Here are the two dogs that my mom adopted on their ride home in the front seat of my car...












Tonight I got to go out to eat with some old friends. Kimberly, Misty, and I haven't all seen each other in like 2 years I guess. These two ladies were 2 of my role models and friends when they were at Cintas. They always made it look so easy, but I guess that is why they are so successful now. Kimberly and I have been in close communication over the past year or so because we were pregnant together and now have babies that are about 6 weeks apart. It is nice to have someone to call to compare notes with. Kimberly, thanks for all the advice on baby things as well as back in the day with all the Cintas questions you would freely answer even though I asked a MILLION!

Here is Adalie (Kimberly's little girl), Misty, Me, and Tatum.


Next is Kimberly, Adalie, Tatum, and Me. Adalie was tired, but she was still flashing a smile every once in a while. It was so good to get to FINALLY meet her after looking at pictures of her for like 4 months!





Going to eat really made the girls tired. I can't wait until they get a little older so they can get together to play. They even have matching car seats!


James (Misty's little boy) was so good and he was wonderful with the girls too! He is going to be an awesome big brother.

Sickness

Tatum and I went to my parent's house this weekend to spend some time with my mom. Friday night Tatum, Laurie, Mckayla, Mya, and I all went to my grandmother's house and ate an AWESOME homemade meal. It was so good to have something that wasn't fastfood or a sandwich.

After we got done we all headed to my parent's house. While we were talking to my mom she told us that our dog had passed away last week. She found him on the side of the road when she got back from New Orleans. She wasn't sure if it was old age or if someone hit him, but she paid someone to bury(sp) him properly. My mom then told us that there was going to be a pet adoption going on in Jackson on Saturday and she would like to go get a new dog. I told her we should go look and see if she liked any of the dogs.

Saturday we all got ready and Laurie and the girls had to head out, but Tatum, my mom, and I headed to Jackson to see the dogs. We got there and there were 4 dogs left. Two of the dogs were brother and sister and they didn't want to split them up and it didn't seem like they wanted to adopt them out. They put them up when we got there and took them home back to their foster house. So now there were just 2 dogs left. My mom and I immediately liked one of the dogs. She was cute, playful, and friendly. When Tatum would cry she would raise her ears, turn her head, and come over to check on her. The other dog was VERY timid and scared and wouldn't let you pet her, so needless to say it was a no brainer. We would get the brown one. Well, when we told them that, they wanted us to take BOTH dogs. They said they were 2 for 1 and they got along great. Long story short we FINALLY agreed, but were very hesitant about it. On the way home we got 2 stakes, leads, collars, leashes, dog bowls, treats, etc. When we got home we walked the dogs around the yard. While my mom walked them around, I put the stakes in the ground. When I finished that, I took the brown dog(the one we wanted) and attached her to the lead. All the sudden I hear my mom saying, "Oh NO!". When I turned around, Michelle(the timid one) was on the run. She had wiggled out of her collar(the one that the humane society put on her) and she was off. I chased her around the yard for about 30 minutes. I was FROZEN and tired, so I just gave up. My mom and I had somewhere else to be, so we left and decided if she was there when we got back, great, and if not, then oh well. We came back and there she was. So to recap...The brown one was tied up and the black one was still there, but not tied up. Sunday they were there all day and pretty much the same situation. Michelle still wouldnt come close enough to get a collar on her. Monday, my mom went to school and Tatum and I slept in. I finally got up and packed our bags to come back home. When I started loading the car I saw that Michelle(the black dog) was on the steps crying. I went to see the other dog and, well, SHE was GONE!! Her collar was sitting in the yard, but no dog. So now, I had to call my mom to break the news to her. She took it pretty well and when she got home I told her that the brown one would be back I was sure. Tatum and I left and I got a call later that night that the brown dog was back. So, both dogs are free to roam on their own, but they always come home. I guess that is the most important thing. Of course, if I were a dog and I was getting fed all of the yummy things my mom is feeding them, I would come home too! I will have to post pics of the dogs when I get a chance.

Also, this weekend, I officially invested in a new business(with the help of my MOMMY! Thanks MOM). I got an embroidery machine!! Tobie, one of my great friends at work, and I are going to start a side business making burp cloths, bibs, diaper bags, blankets, etc. Also, another girl named April too is going to be doing some paintings. We will be setting up a website soon, so I will keep everyone posted when I get it up and going in a couple of weeks. We finally came up with a name for our business. It will be Diva Designers!! If you are in need of any baby items, let me know so we can do them for you!

Tatum and I got back home Monday night and Tatum had been a little stuffy all day Monday and had a little cough, but she was still acting fine and slept great. Well, today she woke up and was burning up and her nose was crusty with stuff. I had to change her because she was sweating so much. I gave her some medicine and she pretty much slept all day. When she wasn't sleeping she just wanted me to hold her. You could just tell that she didn't feel well. Tonight she was a little better and not nearly as hot. Hopefully she will get to feeling better by tomorrow. I have also not been feeling great, but I will be fine as long as Tatum doesn't get too sick.

Finally, I got some good news tonight. I think I have a place for Tatum to go for daycare AND we will save about $50-$85 from what we were planning to pay. I need to call tomorrow to make sure, but I was told today that the lady would have an opening after this Friday.YAY!!

Please keep us in your prayers that Tatum doesn't get any sicker and also that this daycare will work out so that I can go back to work!

I will post pics later, I am too lazy to right now. Warning, I also did not proof read this, so excuse the errors please. Until next time....

A few Pics from Today

Tatum and I met Tobie today for lunch and I just had to take a couple of pics of Tatum. Kimberly, notice the bow in her hair!! hehe....Thanks to Clif and Jennifer, we have a little precious bows to put in Tatum's hair!



Tatum has a hat to match her sweater, but it is a little too big to wear. However, I thought this pic was just too cute not to post. I guess I should have gotten the sweater and the hat TOGETHER in a pic....silly me!

Future Soccer Star

Here is a video of Tatum from today. I had just finished changing her diaper(hadn't gotten her back dressed yet) and she started kicking for some reason. I thought I should capture it on the camera. She loves to kick her leg(the left one). Here is a preview of our Future Soccer Star!

"http://www.onetruemedia.com/share_view_player?p=1f68525b18310b53604e08"

New Pictures

So the big debate and is "WHO DOES TATUM LOOK LIKE?" Well, I FINALLY uploaded a baby picture of me and you can compare if she looks like me or not. I have been asking for a baby pic of Antonio since about Sept and I have never gotten it, but here is mine with Tatum... That crazy hair of hers? Yep, she got that from her Momma. Also, notice that my hands are balled up in fists just like hers. She ALWAYS has her hands balled up like that. I am not sure if I did that when I was little too, but in this pic, I was doing it.



This next pic was taken a while back, but I wasn't sure if I posted it yet or not. She loves to sit up like a big girl.



Tatum got an Exersaucer for Christmas from her Grandmommy and Graddaddy. She likes it, but she is really too small for it, so I had to put a blanket all the way around her so she wouldn't fall into the toys.



Her feet also don't touch the bottom.


But she loves the toys on there.(especially the one that makes noises.)




We have also discovered that Tatum LOVES to be naked. We were changing her one day and decided to take some pics of her having fun.



As I said earlier, I went to someone's house to scrapbook this weekend and LOVED it. We all brought food and ate supper during one of our breaks. Anyway, Tobie wanted to take some chicken, so I went to KFC for her and picked it up. When we started eating we had an extra little surprise...Tobie found a feather still attached to one of the pieces of chicken. I know it is gross, but I thought it was SOOO funny too! See for yourself...


This next pic is for you guys, Kimberly, Adam, Adalie, Tobie, Tony, Brady P., Kaden, and all you other people from Arkansas. Antonio and I are NOT Arkansas fans. We are huge Memphis fans, but when I saw this onesie, I had to get it(It was $0.75). Anyway, here is a tribute to you guys!








A new lesson I learned today...Even though Tatum is happiest just after she eats, it is probably not a good idea to have a photo shoot with her right after she eats if she has to be on her tummy. At least I really captured the moment?


Look, Tatum really LOVES her shirt...


Just kidding, she didn't.


Below is one of Tatum's favorite things to do. She loves to stand up in my lap. If she is fussy and I pull her up a little bit, usually all will be better.




For some reason, I decided to see what she would do if I gave her ice today. She just licked it and slobbered.


After the photo shoot in her Arkansas shirt, she had a poopy diaper and I had to change her into her princess outfit. She was so worn out, she had to nap.


And when we get bored of taking pics of just Tatum, I take pics of both of us. Here is one.


Antonio finished the bar tops in the kitchen and they look awesome. I know I have told you guys how much we did to the kitchen, but I found some before pics to SHOW you everything that Antonio really did. I tried to match them up so the before pic and the after pic are the same area of the kitchen.















Look at my beautiful bar tops!!!



Well that is all my pics for now. Sorry I didn't post pics for a while. Hopefully this makes up for it a little bit.