Goodbye Heart Monitor

Dear Tatum,

We have quite a bit to catch up on since it has now been over a week since I last wrote. We have been busy around the house as well as out having some fun. The high point of the past week would be that you have been officially released from the heart monitor. Yes! I spoke with the doctor on Monday (6/4) and based on the last download, the doc felt you were ready. The technician came to the house on Tuesday and picked up the equipment. I thought I would be nervous without it; surprisingly, I feel more confident. We are all so excited to have you off of it. Congratulations baby girl!

Daddy and I love nothing more than to hear you laugh. It’s not always an easy task, however we have discovered that making monkey sounds can definitely get some laughs. Here is a video of Daddy imitating a monkey while you are in your Jumperoo. We were able to get a couple of laughs out of you.



As for eating solids, you have proven to be a little piggy. You started Sweet Potatoes last week and they are definitely your favorite thus far. You can eat the entire serving and have done so the last five days. I have a hard time keeping up with you, as you are ready for another spoonful as I am pulling the spoon from your mouth. You are always reaching for whatever it is I have on my plate or in my glass. As for breakfast, you have been eating Bananas. They are not exactly winning you over, so I am planning on moving onto something new tomorrow... pears. It has been exciting introducing the new foods. We are having so much fun.

I am posting a picture of your cousin Gracee to go along with a really

cute story that your Aunt Jen emailed me last week...
The other day Gracee asked her Mommy why she named her Gracee. Aunt Jen told her because she thought it was a pretty name. Gracee replied that she did not like it. Aunt Jen asked her what she would like her name to be. Gracee told her that she wanted everybody to start calling her "Tatum," because it is the most beautiful name ever! Aunt Jen explained to her that there would be two Tatum's and it might be difficult to tell which Tatum people are talking to. Gracee's solution was that we would have to call you "Baby Tatum" and she would be "Big Tatum."

So, you are now "Baby Tatum" and we must refer to Gracee from this point on as "Big Tatum." Or at least until she decides she would like her beautiful name back.

Physically you are becoming stronger each day. You have rolled over a couple more times. Last Friday you rolled form your back to your belly, looked around for about a minute and then rolled back. I was laughing so hard at the surprised look on your face. You are also trying to sit up when we have you laying down. Your Jumperoo is still your favorite toy. In fact, you are now jumping in place when we hold you in our laps, or when you are in the walker at Grandma Vicki's house. You think everything is a Jumperoo now. You'll figure it out soon.

Your speaking skills have drastically changed in the past few days. You have gone from making sounds with your voice to sounding as if you now speak your very own language. It really took me by surprise as you suddenly began carrying on a conversation with yourself as opposed to just oohing and aahing. You can go for quite some time if I do not interrupt you. I am going to get some of it on video, it just seems I am never ready when you start.

This past Sunday, June 3rd, was Mommy and Daddy's 2nd anniversary. Daddy came home on Saturday afternoon with two dozen roses in hand. They are so beautiful. Daddy and I decide that we would celebrate on Saturday night with an adult evening out. So we dropped you off at Grandma Vicki's and headed to dinner. We talked about how different our life together is now and how happy we are to have our little family. Afterwards we headed to the "Creamery" for some dessert. As we were enjoying our ice cream we watched a little girl eat her first mini ice cream cone. She was have a great time. We over heard her Mom tell some other onlookers that she just learned to walk a couple of weeks ago. We instantly thought of you and how we cannot wait to take you for your first ice cream cone. As a parent, it is the simple things that are so rewarding. Watching you enjoy your first ice cream cone will definitely be one of those moments.

Above is a picture of some of your new summer shoes. Once again, your Grandma's have been building your 6-9 month wardrobe. You are still wearing 3-6 month and 6 month sizes, but I think you could almost fit in some of the 6-9 month outfits. You are growing so fast, I hardly feel like I can keep up these days. It saddens me to begin packing up your preemie and 3 month outfits. I plan on storing the special outfits separately so you can have them one day.

Well, Mommy should go to bed soon. It is almost midnight and a Tornado Watch for our county was just announced on TV. We have had some crazy weather this summer so far, but today's 35 mph winds were exceptionally strange.

I love you.

Love,
Mommy