Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! What a super fun day yesterday was, I can't wait until next year when I'm actually able to see everything! Daddy had to work yesterday so Mommy took me up to the fire station and we had dinner with dad and his crew and some of their families too. But mom and I stayed really busy yesterday. We visited Niki and Brandon in the morning and I could hear how excited Tristan and Grayson were, which got me really excited too! Then we were able to go visit Aunt Heather and my good buddy Colton who is safely back at home. Mom was really excited to see them both. And we finished up our evening at mom's friend Brandy's (my future buddy Brody is still in his mom's tummy too). So even though we missed daddy, we had plenty to keep us moving yesterday! We were also able to travel to Danville this past week to celebrate Christmas with Grammy and Grandpa Clifton and to see the rest of the family. We stayed with Aunt Patti and Uncle Jeff and my Big cousins Patrick and Christian were both home from that college place. It was a special time to visit not only because of Christmas but also because Daddy and Cousin Christian had their birthday's! So there was lots to celebrate...and lots of cake, which made me happy! While we were visiting Aunt Patti made me something cool for my room too...more pics to come on that :-)

 As for me...36 weeks! Hard to believe I've been in here that long! These days I'm busy making fat (to regulate my body temperature once I'm born) and gaining weight. Mom and dad are getting very anxious to meet me, but of course are waiting for the magic number of 37 weeks before they start encouraging me too hard. I spend most of my days wiggling around in here...not much room to really stretch out so wiggling's all I've got, napping and practicing my breathing. I get hiccups a lot! But that's ok if all my practice pays off ;-) OHHH, I almost forgot! Remember last time I told you dad was working on something cool for my room? Well he's all done so I'll make sure he post a picture for you to see his handy work!

 Looking forward to seeing you all soon!Lots of love
Tiny-T

34 Weeks and counting...

Season's greetings everyone!  I don't know what's going on out there but I like the sound of it...and the bright lights of it...cause I can see that sort of stuff now!  I close my eyes when I sleep and have them open when Im awake...which is most of the time.  This seems to have mom concerned, something about patterns developed in utero.  Don't ask me...I don't understand it either.  Dad's been real busy at work taking some important classes out of town but mom and I have stayed busy by visiting friends and continuing to work on my crib.  Dad spent a lot of his time yesterday working on an awesome surprise for me...but mom wont let me tell/show anyone until its all done...so hang tight on that one.
Visited the Dr. last week and I was measuring exactly where they want me to be...naturally.  Our visits are pretty quick these days.  Just checks on mom's blood pressure and my heart rate.  Happy to report that we are both good patients.   Mom did ask about our travel plans to go see Grammy and Grandpa Clifton for Christmas...she is VERY concerned about me making an early appearance, especially one out of town away from our hospital and our midwives.  I've promised her to be good though, but only if she relaxes about it!  Excited to "see"everyone thought.  In the meantime you can see me below...tight quarters but Im making the room I need...as you can see :)


Love to all~
Tiny-T

This is what Mom sees...

This is what everyone else sees...HEHE

My new digs...

Good morning everyone!  We had a good check-up with Beth our favorite midwife last week.  She did blow my big secret though and after mom ask her to check, confirmed that I was already head down...I was hoping to surprise her...Mom was SO excited that it kind of made up for it though.  She still isn't convinced that Im staying in that position all the time...hey it would be boring not to move around some...but she is still happy to know I can at least get into the proper position.  We have reached the point in our journey that  mom and dad will start going to the Dr's every two weeks and then we move on to weekly visits.   Doesn't bother me though, Im just along for the ride.  
I am still getting bigger and stronger, mom can tell by all the pushing and shoving I do in here.  (But hey I am 225 days old what do you expect?)  Dad thinks its funny to watch how much I shove her belly around...he-he.  Its definitely getting more cramped in here, but I'm still warm and cozy, so no plans to check out of my room just yet.  Although on an exciting note dad has been working really hard and I do have a super cool place to call my own when I finally pop out of here!  I guess there is still more to do (like fixing a place for me to hang my clothes...whatever those are) putting some fun things on the wall for me to look at and finding just the right chair to feed and rock me in.  Im still pretty excited though!  Check out the photos of all the progress and I'll have them update them as soon as its all done.


Gotta run, time for a nap!
Lots of love
Tiny-T

So much excitement!

I am so sorry for being MIA, but Mom has had me on the run lately!  We've been to a wedding in DC where Momma's good friend Vanessa got married.  We've celebrated with her friend Monica who had her baby (and my soon to be girlfriend) Cora a few weeks earlier than planned and this past weekend we had another great party all for me!  On an even more exciting note, Dad has been SUPER busy getting my room all ready.  I obviously can't see it yet but I kept hearing all the oohs and aahs from mom and dad's friends when they saw it.  Ill have her share some photos with you soon.
On to me...can you believe I am 30 weeks old!  I have been growing like a weed and moving like crazy.  I'm probably around 3lbs now and close to 17" tall tip to toe!  In fact Im so big now mom and dad can see me rolling around in here, they poke me sometimes to let me know they see me.  I still haven't spun around like mom wants but its just so comfy right here I'd really like to hold out until the last minute.   I have been working really hard on my practice breathing, so hard in fact I sometimes get the hiccups!  Its back to the doctor this week for a check up and I promise to better about keeping you all posted!


Lots of love
Tiny-T

Sneak Peek

Wow, it's been a busy week so far!  Work has officially begun on my room...my outside room that is, Im still stretching my way through my inside room.  Mom and Dad seem pretty excited and I cant wait to see it.  I'll have them post some photos of the progress soon.  We go back to the Dr. man today for a check up.  We have begun seeing some other ladies called mid-wives, mom and dad seem to like this way better than the Dr. man so I guess this is where we will stay.  Our big news so far this week, as you can see above, was my photo session on Tuesday.  I took another trip to college, this one didn't have my big cousins though, just a lot of people trying to get practice on the special belly camera our normal photo lady Sue uses.  I got to help them and as a treat mom and dad got another look at me and how much I have changed.  
They were relieved to get the news that Im still a boy...Duh...but it made them happy.  The girl we were helping got all my measurements again and everything still looks good, they are guessing I am a bit over 2 lbs. now.  The big excitement was that this was a special belly camera that takes pictures in 3-D!  Despite all the good news they did tell mom and dad that Im "transverse" which is a fancy word that means Im laying crossways in mom's belly....sorry its more comfortable, gives me more room...apparently its mom's new mission to move me in the "right" direction.  Did you know there is even a website called spinningbaby.com!  Not sure how I feel about this new project...Ill keep you posted.  Anyway, because of how I am laying (coupled with the fact that Im also laying face down...hey its bright out there) they had to work a bit to get a decent picture of my face.  I also like to keep my arms and hands near my face...in case I need something to play with...so I kept blocking the camera...hehe.   I FINALY gave them one good shot at the end...they love me, it's the least I could do.
Gotta go, off to grow more hair...oh yea they could see I already had some in the pictures...cool hua?


Lots of love
Tiny-T

                        see my hand in front of my face ;) 

Showered with love...

Hi everybody!  Well its hard to believe but we've made it to our third trimester!  Im 26 weeks old now! What does that mean...lots!  Since we last chatted I have gained lots of weight, I am now about 2lbs, although mommy thinks I feel a lot heavier when I sink down in her belly.  I now have a sense of whether I'm right side up or upside down.  Apparently my inner ear is working now...not sure what that means, but boy do I get super riled up when mom rolls me around at night.  I heard daddy say he though I was going to come right out of her tummy!  Another big change for me...my eyes are open now!  They have been resting for the last few months but now I can see what this place really looks like...its surprising boring in here, but boy I cant wait to get out and see all the people and things I've been hearing.  This coming week my main job is to keep putting on "baby fat" and growing hair, i've got eyelashes and eyebrows now already.
This past weekend my Aunt Niki and Uncle Brandon threw a party for me.  It was really nice and lots of our friends were there.  The cake was yummy!   I also got to go to my best bud Colton's party that some friends threw for his mommy Aunt Heather.  They had good cake too :)  Here are a few photos of all the fun we've been having.


Well gotta go, lots to do!
Love to all
Tiny-T

My mommy is a delinquent...

Holy cow!  I've been kicking, bumping and nudging mom for WEEKS trying to get her to give you all an update on my progress!  I mean inquiring minds want to know right?  I guess life lessons start early around here...
So what have I been up to for the last few weeks?  A LOT!  Growing, growing growing...they tell me Im around 11 inches from "crown to rump" (which is their fancy way of not including my leg length) and I weigh around a pound to a pound and a half.  Hard to believe I know.  With a few exceptions most of my hard work making organs, neurons and bodily systems is done, so now I can focus on getting big and healthy for my journey out of this place!  The things I'm still working on...my reproductive system for one as well as my production of red blood cells.  I've been developing my sense of touch and taste and my taste buds have started to form.  I can actually tell a difference in what mom is eating now!  She likes spicy stuff and I don't mind it either,  but i get really excited when she has something sweet, especially ice cream!  I give her big bumps to let her know how much I like it.   This touch thing is pretty cool too.  I can feel around my face to find my mouth and I like to play with this cord thingy thats attached to my tummy.
My new focus for this week is my lungs.  Im not going to need them until I blow this pop stand, but a boys gotta practice to get good at anything right?  Mom's still doing all the breathing for the both of us but I'm taking practice breaths to make sure I know what I'm doing when I'm out on my own.
It will be a few more weeks before I get another picture taken but I've convinced mom to get it together and get back to taking those outside photos of me.  She promises me she will be much better.  Here I am at the start of my 23 week.  Can you believe we are in our 6th month!
Love to all,
Tiny T

That's MR. Tiny-T to you...

Well, it's official, the rest of the world knows what I've know all along...I'm a boy!  I would have told you sooner, but i'm just figuring out how to make my mouth move...no sound yet.   So not only did mom and dad get to see me moving and grooving in here but they actually got a video of it that they got to keep!  They were pretty excited about that.  I tried to be a good boy and give our photographer Sue all the pictures she needed, believe it or not the big reveal wasn't the only picture she took that day.  She measured my head and my arms and legs to try and decide how old I am.  They also got a good look at my heart, all four chambers pumping hard, this apparently is very good news!  They also figured out that I weigh 12oz!   I heard them say that's as much as a can of Coke, I'm not sure what that means but no wonder mom can feel me bumping around in here, I'm a big boy.  Although I have to say my spacious digs are getting a bit tighter every day...
Here are some new photos of me.  Hope you like them.
Lots of love,
Tiny-T
P.S. Don't I look just like my Daddy!
Play the video below to see me in action!

Wild Fires and Earthquakes and Hurricanes...OH MY

Greetings everyone!  Sorry it's been so long since I have been in touch but things have been nuts around here! Let me catch you up on what I've been up to:  On the growth front, I am about 6 inches long and weigh a whopping half an ounce!  My bones have been hardening and getting strong and I am making fat (but we'll just call it baby fat) to keep my body warm.  My hair has been growing all over, even above my eyes.  Speaking of eyes, mine are still closed for now but boy have my ears perked up!  I though I was hearing stuff before but I can really hear what's going on now.  My brain has been busy  making all sorts of connections and now my movements are voluntary, which mom can tell you all about because she and dad can finally feel it when I practice my flips and stretches!  They seem to get a real kick out of that ;)...
Otherwise we have certainly been on the move around here.  We had a nice beach vacation with Aunt Patti and Uncle Jeff, even my big cousins Patrick and Christian were there.  That was really nice, I love the beach.  Even though I cant "see", it does get all red and warm in here when mom takes me to the beach...its nice.  After the beach it was time to take Christian to someplace named college.  Mom kept patting me and telling me to pay attention, I guess it's a pretty important place.  So just when I think things are calming down, while I was at work with mom on Tuesday the 23rd I experienced my first...and hopefully last...Earthquake!  It didn't feel like too much to me but since we sit so high up at mom's office it was quite an exciting experience, lots of noise and commotion.   Finally, time to relax right....nuh uh...here comes Hurricane Irene...Mom was worried about me so she and dad took me to Danville to visit mom's family and wait out the storm, something about a Cat 2, whatever that means.  We even brought fur sister Sierra with us...that was interesting, that girl is LOUD!  We finally got home yesterday and thankfully the storm was not as bad as people thought, so we spent a few hours cleaning up the yard and and being grateful for the power being on!  Whew...if you can believe there is more...tomorrow is a big big day...I guess, mom seems very excited anyway.  We are going back to the Dr Man to check me all out...and I do mean all of me...stay tuned.


PS:  Happy Birthday to my cousin Joey, he's 3 today!


Love to all
Tiny-T

Whoa baby!

Well here I am 16 weeks down and having to start stretching my way out of this place.  I am about 5 inches long and weight 3-4 oz.  I  know that doesn't seem like much, but as you can see I demand good wiggle room!
I have certainly been busy for the last few weeks, building my bones and muscles.   The most important of these is my heart, I'm pumping 25 quarts of blood every day! This is one exercise I know I've got to get down!  I've also been practicing my breathing.  My lungs are growing bigger and learning how to work and as a result I have lots of hiccups!  But I don't mind, I don't think mom does either, I'm not even sure she can tell yet.  I'm also forming my taste buds.  Don't know what I will need these for but my tongue is pretty cool to move around and suck with so Im excited to find out.  We go back to the Dr. Man  later this week to check out my progress and then its just a few more weeks until the big reveal!
Until then, sending love and hugs~
Tiny-T

Caio

Hi everyone!  Can you believe Im 14.5 weeks old already...crazy.  Mom has decided to take her outside pictures monthly now but I can tell you...she knows Im here now!  Im almost 4 inches long, about the size of a lemon, and Im still growing.  My body is catching up with my big head now and I can finally reach my mouth with my hand, which gives me something to suck on to pass the time.  I am a squirmy wormy in here, moving all around and testing out my happy and sad faces.  I understand I will have a better shot of getting what I want when I get out of the place if I can make good faces.
Mom and I took a fun road trip to DC this weekend to see her Italy girls (also called Dante's Angels, whatever that means) and to celebrate Vanessa's wedding.  There were a lot of people at the shower, I could hear them all, & they were very excited to "see" me.  I also got to meet all of the the other "Angel" babies.  Apparently the big question is whether I will be another "Angel" or the first "Dante" for the group...a few more weeks and I guess we will finally know :)
Gotta go make some more red blood cells!  Talk to you soon!

Tiny-T

Hello out there...can you hear me?

This weeks project, vocal chords!  Im making all kinds of noise in here to let you guys know I'm here but I'm not getting much of  a response...You just wait, i'll keep practicing until I get really good at making noise!  
So today was a big day, mom and dad went back to the Dr. man to get another look at me today.  Today was my 12 week check-up, or first trimester screening...but I don't know what that means.  I do know that their  favorite picture taking lady Sue got some really good photos of me today and said I was a very good baby because she got the measurement pictures she needed right away which gave her more time to play and get a bunch of good photos of me.  Mom and dad finally got to see me move around and i was opening my mouth and "drinking"...now they can see how cute I am!   Another "big" today...my feet apparently...I keep kicking those around too, must not be too big if mom's not feeling them.  We actually saw a new Dr. woman today and mom and dad really liked her.  She said everything looked good on my pictures and that they would call mom Friday to let her know the results of the blood test.  Glad I didn't have to give blood today...sounded like it hurt.  Oh yea, did I mention I can hear what's going on out there now?  Its pretty cool to hear mom and dad and my fur-sister Sierra...she is really loud though! Ok gotta go practice my screaming.  Holler at you soon!


Love Tiny-T

Graduation day

How could I forget to tell you that I have hit my first real milestone!  I am now (and have been for a week) officially a fetus!  Did you also know that word actually translates to mean "little one" which is pretty accurate.  Although I have more than doubled in size in the last three weeks I am still only as big as a large plum, (see my photo below) and weigh approximately half an ounce!  I can swallow and kick and have lots of room in here to do somersaults...which are especially easy considering my head is half of my body size right now! (gives me good forward momentum) :)  Mom says it just means I have more room for all the brain cells I've been making.  For the most part all my major systems are in place and now I just have to focus on developing them and getting bigger and stronger...which means momma gets bigger too..hehe.  Ok peeps, its a holiday weekend and apparently we are headed to the beach, I like that place, its nice and warm.  I go back to the Dr. man in a week so stay tuned and I'll let you in on what he has to say.
Love and kisses
Tiny-T

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes...

Well we're working on the knees this week but as for the rest: check, check, check!  I'm a little over 10 weeks old now and so much has happened in the last week!  I have grown to the size of a prune...and I have to admit I feel a little like a prune floating around in here.  I can bend my arms now and my fingers move all on their own!  No more webbed hands for me :)  Actually all of me moves around on my own, I've got so much room in this place to kick around, its great!  My big job this week is to grow my bones and teeth!  I don't know what I will use those for yet, but I'm making a lot of them so it must be important.
I'm being really good to mom, not making her sick or anything.  I do wake her up a few times a night but that's for her own good, I'm trying to get her ready for when I blow this pop stand.  So I had mom take another picture of me...still kind of hard to see.  I think I will give her another week or two and then really make my presence known :)

Lots to catch up on...

Wow, sorry for the delay folks, but mom and dad have been dragging me all over creation for the past few days.  Quite a bit has happened though.  This past Tuesday mom and dad went back to that Dr. man (mom was pretty worked up about the "date" issue the week before so they checked me out again).  This time we saw an ultrasound tech...whoever that it...but apparently she is WAY better at this job than the Dr. man because she told mom she was right...and I think we all know how happy that makes mom...So I am back up to speed (actually a little ahed of it-I'm now in my 9th week!) and we are on for our party date of January 20, 2012!
In addition to our Dr. visit, we went on our first road trip as a family, dad is a very good driver!  We stopped first at my Aunt Mina and Uncle Peppi's and mom and dad got to play with my cousin Joey.  They were all very excited to hear of my impending arrival.  From there we were on to Danville to see mom's family.  We got to tell Grandma and Grandpa Clifton ( I think they were quite surprised), Aunt Patti and Uncle Jeff and my big cousins Patrick and Christian.   We were visiting for his high school graduation.  I dont know what that is yet but it seems to be a very big deal!  We were able to tell Grandma and Grandpa Tamayo on Skype.  They were very excited and said something about telling all of Ecuador!
As a special side note, today is my very first Father's Day!  I had mom sign the card for me...the whole webbed paddle hand thing makes it very hard to write, but Im working on it!  Attached are some updated photos of me, both from the inside and outside

Im still a blueberry?...

Well its been an eventfully couple of days!  I went to see that Dr. person on Wednesday.  I wasn't really sure what to expect,  I don't think Dad was either!  Over all it was pretty ok, I got poked around a little but Mom and Dad got to see a very fuzzy picture of me...see I TOLD you I was really here...did all the trips to the potty not give it away?  Anyway they also got to hear my heartbeat.  A very strong 147 beats a minute, which seemed to make everyone happy.  The only small surprise was...well me.  Apparently I'm measuring a little smaller than Mom's math...which seemed to bum her out, but its just 5 days!  I'll be here soon enough people.  So to make her feel better they are going to take my picture one more time next week...that perked her up a little :)
Ok if i'm having another photo shoot I've gotta clean things up around here.  Talk to you all soon!
Tiny-T

You're turning violet Violet!

Greetings!  
This week I am a blueberry...not really of course, but the size of one.  I have had a very busy week!  Not only have I been making a ton of brain cells but I'm starting to sprout what they tell me will be arms and legs.  Not sure what to do with these yet, but it seems like i'll have some time to figure it out.
As for mom, she seems awfully sleepy, which is fine with me cause I really like naps.   I'm also excited because this week for the first time I will go to the Doctor! (I don't know who that is, but Mom & Dad seem very excited about it, so he must be ok).  Ill be sure to give you all a play by play, so until then back to my busy work of growing.
Love
Tiny-T

No one even knows Im here...

Surprise! 

Mom and Dad are having a tough time holding on to this one!  You don't even know I'm here yet, but they tell me I'm the size of a lentil...whatever that is.  Mom's been busy splitting cells and I've been growing some pretty important parts!  I'm a whopping 6 weeks old today!  This will be a busy week for me as I have to work on my eyes, nose and ears this week.  It'll be nice when that's done, then I can get a better look at my crib. Since I cant get you a picture of me just yet...no hands...or camera...i'll have mom share one from the outside.  You gotta look REAL hard!
Gotta get back to work, lots of growing to do!  Love to all
Tiny-T