Let There Be Light!!!!!!

We made it to the third trimester. Some amazing things are happening to Oda Mae. Apparently, eyes started to appear at around day 22 of Oda Mae's development. Since then she's been working on getting those eyes functional. (So that's what all the commotion has been about lately.) During the 27th week, Oda Mae has been able to get her retina to "receive light and light information, and transmit it to the brain for interpretation--what we know as sight."

She is so smart, already!!!! Can you believe it?

It must be very weird to be able to see what's going on in there. A matter of fact...there was a blurb on the "Roblog" several days ago that discussed something like this. Ah, yes check this out...Click Here. I bet Oda Mae could see my Christmas lights if I were to make Brenda put her belly up to my trees outside. I'll let you know how that experiment goes. :)

Happy Christmas Eve!!!

J.

10,900 Lights this year!! 

Oda Mae will love Christmas!!!! 

Feeling Oda Mae...

Today Brenda and I were in the midst of our new favorite pastime (watching the baby move around) when I put my hand on her belly. Guess what? I got to feel Oda Mae's little head. I was looking at Brenda and noticed a little round knobby thing poking out of her belly, and I said, "What's that?" I proceeded to put my hand on the little round protrusion and pushed a little. There was definitely something there. It was so cute. Imagine a tennis ball trying to get out of your tummy. That's about what it was like. Then it went away.

I think Oda Mae is going to be kind of shy. She tends to stop moving around when people are watching. I'm sure she was a little freaked out when I was touching her head as well. I wonder what she'll be like?

J.

Hmmmmm...

"Anonymous said...
The only way to go is BROADWAY SHOWTUNES!!!"

While the possibility exists that my offspring will indeed have red, curly hair, is it truly necessary to subject myself to prenatal preparations for her starring roll in "ANNIE"?

EVERYBODY NOW!!!!!! "Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I Love Ya!..."

-J.

Congratulations to our friends...

the "Purdmae" who just had their baby a couple of days ago. We just called them and they sound very happy to have a new "Oda Mae" in the house. They were pretty sure it was going to be a boy. They never had an ultrasound so they were just going by the old wives tales. I'm glad we have friends who are going through all of this before we do. I'm hoping for some helpful insight a few months in advance of my little girl. They said that the only thing she new how to do is "poop", and that they would have to teach her everything else. Guess it's time for me to read that chapter on "poop" in the "Dummies Guide to Parenting" that my sister bought me. They also said that she could recognize their voices and the music they played for her while she was in the womb. Which, incidentally, brings us to our next poll...

J.

What kind of music should we play for Allison while she is in the womb?
	Mozart
	Haydn
	Mahler
	Dixie Chicks
	Beatles
	Elvis
	Polkas
	Metalica
	Songs of the Whales
	Canadian Brass
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All is well...

We are at the 25+ week now. We had the doctor's visit on Monday and got to hear Oda Mae's heartbeat again. It's very interesting...since the last time I got to hear the heart beat the speed has slowed down dramatically. That whole thing about how the bigger you are the slower your heartbeat. In reading the book "Your Pregnancy Week by Week"...Brenda's "uterus is about the size of a soccer ball." Wow!!!! Oda Mae is working on being 2 lbs now and moving around quite a bit.

Just the other day I realized something...when we bring Oda Mae home from the hospital there won't be any INSTRUCTIONS!!! When I told Brenda this, she said "Jimmy, you don't read instructions anyway." I suppose she's right. I'm sure we'll manage just as the billions of people before us who have had children.

J.

P.S. We've decided on a "real" name for Oda Mae......ALLISON LEIGH :)

Broccoli, Coke, and Eyebrows

What do these three things have in common? Well, let me tell you!!!! It's been a while since my last post, but with the holidays upon us, life has been a bit hectic. (I know, I know...If I think my life is hectic now...blah, blah, blah...) I have been wondering when the "cravings" would start in. For a while there I thought that Brenda would be one of those ladies who didn't get them...boy was I wrong. It seems that broccoli is the food of choice for the hungry mother. Not only have I seen broccoli in rice-a-roni, but there has been substantial talk about broccoli on pizza with mushrooms, and in the mac and cheese. I suppose that's not too unusual, but it's really about the only thing Brenda talks about eating these days. I have to make sure that any meals that I prepare include a double dose of the leafy green vegetable.

We are in about the 24th week now and some fun things are starting to happen. Every night we watch Brenda's belly for entertaining movement. Last night we saw a pretty good jab. We laughed!!!! Sometimes, Oda Mae will (according to Brenda) kick her bladder. You can only guess how often she has to make a run for the potty. I can only imagine how much of a pain in the rear this must be to Brenda, but it does provide some much appreciated entertainment for the expectant father :)

Little Oda Mae is a little over one pound by now. You know that Coke your drinking right now...before you drank any, it was one pound. (Yes I put a Coke on the scales this morning to check it out.) Her crown to rump length is about 8.5 inches. A couple of weeks ago the eyelids and eyebrows were "well developed", and she has fingernails. SHE IS SO CUTE!!!!

J.

The Thanksgiving Feast...

is nearly upon us. Brenda and I are cleaning the house, Oda Mae is cleaning her womb, and the Christmas Lights are just about ready. I am truly thankful this year for my good fortune. I have a family cooking! I have house where me other families can come for Thanksgiving. I'm working a lot, and most important...My wife is the cutest pregnant woman I have ever seen!!!!! Pic to come soon. :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVE!!!!

J.

Proud Parents

You know that you are becoming a parent when the Friday night (Date Night) that used to be spent going out to eat, going to a movie, a concert, or hanging out with friends turns into two hours of looking at your wife's belly hoping to see it move.

Oda Mae has been moving around for a couple of weeks now and just this last week I've been able to see her move myself. I actually felt her push my hand from the inside just yesterday. Fascinating!

J.

The Room

Okay, Brenda and I are in disagreement on the decor of Oda Mae's room. I think Oda Mae would like all kinds of bright colors including the yellow on the walls. Brenda thinks we should go with something more subdued like a pastels with green on the walls. Maybe you all could help us decide.

What colors would Oda Mae like best?
	Bright and Cheery Solids
	Subdued Pastels
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IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, the Chinese calendar was right! I don't know what to do with a girl!!!!! First we have to come up with a name. We were going to name a boy Elliot (like from E.T.). But now, we have to come up with something else. Elliot's sister's name in the movie was "Gertie". I don't think that's going to fly with the family.

Everyone is very excited to be able to dress a little girl up in frilly clothes. I'm going to put bows on it's bright RED hair. How fun!

The Dr. said that all the organs looked alright and that she was being pushed around a little by Brenda's bladder. So here's the story. Brenda was told that at 20 weeks she was supposed to drink this 32oz cup of water one hour before the appointment. So, this morning, what does she do...she forces down 32oz of water at 8am. We're setting in the waiting room and Brenda is understandably a little squirmy. (I would be too if I had drank half a gallon of water this morning.) We went in and the Dr. started checking around looking for the baby and said "Wow, your bladder is really full." Brenda says, "Yes, it is." Dr, "Would you like to go empty it?" Brenda, "Yes, please." After a short while Brenda comes back in and we get started again. The Dr. said that she didn't know why they kept telling patients to come in with a full bladder. I figure it's supposed to be a funny joke so that the nurses can have a good laugh once in a while. The Dr. asked us if we wanted to know what it was; we said yes. She said that it was a little girl. I said, "Are you sure about that? I wore my blue shirt today and everything." The Dr. takes a second look and says "I'd be willing to put money on it. Girls can wear blue too." Me, "Oh, well, alright."

We go back in two weeks for another general check up. Oda Mae was .8 pounds today. You can look at the pics below. Don't be too frightened by the first pic that looks quite a bit like the alien we saw on TV last night. I'm sure that will change.

J.

Here is Oda Mae's Face. I'm hoping it looks a little less "Alien" like when she get's here. 

Here is Oda Mae's Elbow 

Here is Oda Mae's Profile 

BOO!!!

So I'm talking to Brenda the other day and I asked how the baby was able to breath in there, and she says that pre-born baby's at some point in their pre-lives have gills. (Hence the Halloween post today.)
And I'm like "no way".
And she's like "yes way".
I say, "Like a fish?".
"Yes, like a fish.", she says.
"How wierd is that?!!!"
"Very wierd."

I get home from Abilene this week and Brenda has found an article about the whole "gill slit" thing. Here it is...GILLS.


I was really hoping they would disappear before the baby was born. I wonder If any humans HAVE been born with "Gills"?

Poll of the day...

Next year, the baby will have it's 1st Halloween. What should he/she go as?
	Pumpkin
	Scary Fish Gill Person
	Scary Three Eyed Baby
	Frankenstein
	Astronaut
	Bumble Bee
	A Grown Up
	Vampire
	Prince/Princess
	Frog
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Happy Halloween!!!!! Don't forget, tomorrow we find out..."BOY or GIRL"!!!!!

J.

Week 18...

has finally arrived. On Monday we went to the doctor and got to listen to the baby's heartbeat. It was kind of a swooshy sound. Like swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh,... Take a glass bigger than your ear, and move it back and forth on and off your ear at about 160 beats per minute. (check your metronome) That's pretty much what it sounded like. On November 1 we will get to find out if it is a Bubba or a Oda Mae!
The Dr. pushed real hard on Brenda's belly and said "That's your uterus. Can you feel that?" And she proceeded to push Brenda's hand into her stomach. I was like...What???!!!! Then I pushed real hard on Brenda's stomach when we got home and all I felt was a punch in the arm.
The baby is supposed to be about the size of Brenda's spread out hand. That's pretty big for something growing inside you. About the size of a small grapefruit on the baby fruitometer.
Some of you may have heard that the Osteopathic Medical Center of Texas here in Fort Worth closed. That's where the baby was supposed to be born. I figure we'll just have it here at the house now. We have hot water. Anyone want to help????? Actually, the baby will now be born at Baylor All Saints Hospital south of downtown. All saints...I guess that's better than picking just one saint. Anyway, I'll have a poll next time for all you pollsters out there.

J.

A Note From BRENDA

I think I felt the baby move around for a few seconds this morning. It was awfully weird, which is why it think it might be the baby instead of gas or hunger pains or something.

It felt like a little part of my stomach did a back flip. Then I read on the internet someone describing it as feeling like a little goldfish swimming around, and that describes what I felt pretty well.

Maybe the baby, maybe not, but let's say it was. I knew you would all want to know ;)

-BT

P.S. Jacob, I know I owe you some cookies. I'll send them soon, I promise!

It's going to be a.....

GIRL!!! So says the "Chinese Calendar". At least two people have told Brenda to look up the birth prediction on the Chinese calendar, so we did. She had a Chinese friend look it up for her. She said it was going to be a girl. Another friend had asked if we had looked it up on the Chinese calendar. This friend said that the Chinese calendar was 99% accurate. I did my own search on the internet and what came up?...a girl. Of course my search on the internet also said that the Chinese calendar was only 50% accurate. I SHOULD HOPE SO! It's not like there's much more of a choice than a boy or a girl. You do the math. So, according to our Asian friends, we need to concentrate on girl names. We are NOT going to name it Jessica!!!! That has already been decided by the overly protective father.

On the other hand...not many girls have been born into the Tullos family. My sister was the first since Francis C. Tullos born in 1910. See, I knew that my genealogy hobby would come in handy some day. My dad...one of 3 boys...my sister...3 boys...Brenda and Jimmy....we'll have to wait and see.

What will Bubba or Oda Mae do?

Sometimes it's fun to think about all of the different things that Bubba or Oda Mae could do with their lives. I'm sure all parents go through this (I hope...or are we just delusional?). I don't want our child to be president of the US. I do want our child to be an astronaut. First, you have to be really smart. Then you have to do something really cool like fly those awesome jet fighter planes that fly around over at the Naval Reserve Base. Then you get really good and are selected to fly the space shuttle to Mars or someplace cool like that.

Yes, I want Bubba or Oda Mae to be an astronaut. Surely, they make good money. Anybody know someone who's an astronaut? Just think, Baby Tullos will write home from Space Camp to tell us that he's homesick. Then she will send us photos from space some day with a planet in the background. I'll frame it an put it on the fridge. :)

The poll for today...

What do you think Bubba or Oda Mae will grow up to be?
	Astronaut
	Musician
	Doctor
	Lawyer
	Fireman
	Politician
	Teacher
	Computer Guru
	Chef
	CEO of someplace BIG
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