5 weeks

IMG_7750
Originally uploaded by tonyaodell

Here is the most recent picture of Emma. She is 5 weeks old here (11.14.2010) She has lost some of her hair and has been dealing with baby acne for the past week. It looks awful but it doesn't seem to bother her.

At this point she sleeps A LOT! She has also started to smile and will give us a big mouth open smile when we talk baby talk to her. She is also tracking with her eyes and loves to watch when someone is talking to her.

Here's Emma

10-11
Originally uploaded by tonyaodell

October 9th at 7 am we checked into the hospital to be induced. At 8 am they started the IV drip and after a long day and night Emma arrived!

I won't lie and say it was a bike ride labor. It was very scary at the end and I'm very lucky that Emma and I both are here and healthy!

Emma was born at 5:32am on October 10th, she was 9 lbs. 6 oz. and a little over 20 inches long.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Last January Justin and I found out I was pregnant. 18 weeks later we found out we were going to have a baby girl. In the picture above you have Emma Jean O'Dell's first photo and an afghan, towel, and bib that my mother had bought when Justin and I married 7 years earlier because she just knew we were going to have a girl!

The months past and I grew and grew. I also spent most of time worrying about the health of our baby to be. I had lost two babies during our parental journey (One in March 2008 and the other in October 2009) The days would drag by and I would constantly be concerned with what could be wrong. I was afraid to post or even take pictures for fear of putting a jinx on everything. I daily had to tell God it was in his hands and it took all my will to put it all in his hands and trust his guidance during the journey.
Here I am a tiny thing in July. Little did I know that by my due date I would be much larger than what I was already feeling.
Here I am with two of my nephews a few weeks before Emma arrived!
Here I am just days before Emma arrived. I can't believe I was so big!

Thanksgiving

I'm getting ready for the marathon day ahead. I will shower soon and then watch the parade as I make some goodies for Mom's house. We well enjoy lunch there and then come home quick enough to relax for a few minutes and then off to Justin's mom's for dinner. The contrast of the two places is so different it is almost hilarious!

Yesterday, Bryce got his first deer. He was so proud. He called the house and I dropped what I was doing and grabbed my camera and got a few pictures.

Friends

When I reflect over the years of friends, I must say I am truly blessed.

Childhood friends that no matter how many years apart we can pick back up and carry on like old times.
High school friends who are just an email away and know the right, witty thing to say to lift your spirits. We may not talk on the daily or even monthly but when we do you can tell there is no strain just a friendship that has endured years of change and maturing!
College friends that are like family, that know what each sigh really means and have that dead on instinct when they are needed.
New friends that accept you for what you have become and make a new little spot in their lives to share some good and bad times with. I am so lucky to have met some true honest people and I'm thankful to have them no matter when they entered my life!

Halloween 2009

You know that girl.
Originally uploaded by tonyaodell

I can't believe that it is already November. I have had another turn your life upside down past few months and I feel that I'm stuck in some weird time warp!

Here I am with two of the joys of my life. G and B came by to show me their costumes. It was pretty neat because I went shopping with them to get their costumes this year. Something little that I may never get to do if I don't now. I think B's mobster is awesome. We tried to talk G into being Elvis but maybe next year. Ninja's are still pretty cool!

31

31
Originally uploaded by tonyaodell

Last year the last thing I wanted was to turn 30. I remember crying on my way to work. It seems so silly now!

This year I can say I welcomed 31 with open arms. 30 by no means was a good year for me. My grandmother's death the day after my birthday was a precursor of the loss I would face. I can honestly say that I feel my heart has been ripped out my chest and squashed a few times this year. From the physical things I have been through to actions of others around me. I know we are given challenges for a reason. But to feel like a failure over and over has been a hard pill to swallow.

I don't expect anyone to ever understand how I have felt.