Just want to say I love our parents!!

Hello everybody! I just wanted to take a few minutes to show my appreciation to all of Oden's grandparents. Without whom, Jess and I would not have ever gotten to this point in our lives. Thank you all for being there for us. Through thick and thin you have stood by us, together and individually. From changing our diapers, to dealing with our teenage years, and our 'rocky' stages, we weren't always the easiest to deal with. Yet through it all you were able to raise two people who feel confident enough to raise a little person of their own. I know that based on our experiences watching all of you, we will do a great job. In addition to the fact that he has great role models. He will look up to you one day and admire all of you like I do. Thank you so much for everything you've done and everything you continue to do. Your love and support means the world!

My First Blog

Hey everyone! This is my first blog to the web page (Finally!), Tiff will be so proud of me. I just want to take a little bit of space to thank everyone for their help the last 10 or so months. Its been a crazy year but crazy in a good way. I would like to start by extending our deepest gratitude's to both of our families for all the amazing contributions each and everyone made getting the house ready for our new arrival. With out the help of people like Tom, Tiff's dad, who was the first one there with crowbar in hand ready and willing to help me rip out that stubborn tile and his generous know-how with our bathroom endeavors. Also Joe, my dad, with his anything you need attitude, who spent many hours tackling blinds, towel bars, toilet seats, you name it. Tiff's sisters Heather, with her Van Gough like work painting Oden's bedroom, Nicole, Stephanie, and Sara for their strong arms and healthy legs getting us moved in. My Step mom Laura for her organizational skills and her great taste. Tiff's Step mom deb for her special attention cleaning our many messes. My brother Alex for taking time to come home from Western for a weekend to get down with a paintbrush. Tiff's Stepfather Mike, for the handy work on the doorknobs, doors, and over-the-range. My mom, for dealing with her "OCD-like" son while he and his lovely lady moved into their house. Tiff's mom for her open-mindedness with the whole situation and her help with the move. My Step dad Scott, for his help getting the laundry room floor in before the washer and dryer came and his carpenter skills with the quarter round. Tiff's brothers Michael and Marshall for their tetris like skills packing and unpacking the vehicles during move in day. My sisters Maggie and Olivia for organizing and opening things up in Oden's room. To my Uncle Dave and his tireless efforts and countless hours he spent putting our beautiful laminate floor in. And to my buddy Jake for spending a whole Saturday busting his tail to help me paint. And to everyone else that I may have forgotten your support and love is so wonderful. Okay, whew! I would also like to give everyone who was with us for the birth of our amazing son Oden Joseph a big high five and a pound it. All the visitors we had in the hospital and our house the following weeks really shows that we are cared for and loved. Thank you to everyone that was there for us in this amazing last year.

With that being said, I want to also take some time to thank my amazing mate Tiff for being the woman she is. A beautiful, supportive, loving, caring, amazing girl. A great mom to her son, who spends hours and hours just watching him and tending to his needs. While always remembering that I'm a big baby too and takes care of making me feel special. Your a great person Tiff and I am lucky to be with someone as brilliant as you. Thanks for being you.

In conclusion, for my first post, this was something I had been dying to do and could find no better forum than our public blog to display my gratefulness for every ones constant support of our new family. So thank you everyone for your time and generosity.

By the way-- I love being a father to our new boy. He's the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me. With the help of Tiffany I think he will have a wonderful, loving home to grow up in. I can't wait to teach him all the wonderful things of life (cough, cough, sports). Everyday gets better and better, so until next time, today was great but tomorrow will be even better!

A Quick Hello!

Hi! Just wanted to post a few nice, new pics before the weekend. The one on top is my new favorite! His eyes are so bright when they're open. The last pic is from the visit to Grammy's house on Sunday. A day filled with chili, football, and family. It doesn't get much better then that!

We had an exciting week!

We had quite an eventful week! Monday we had a doctor appointment. Oden is now 8 lbs and 21.5 inches long! He is growing so fast. The doctor said to keep doing what we're doing now because he looks perfect. Then, Tuesday morning his cord finally came off! Thank goodness! That took forever and it looked all dried up and yucky. Jess was at work when it happened so I put the cord in his drawer to surprise him when he got home. It was so funny! Wednesday Oden had his first babysitter. It was only for an hour or so. I ran to Target and Babies'r'us and my mom came over to watch him. It went good, he just slept the whole time. I don't remember what night it was but, Jess and I had our first glass of wine this week. That was nice to sit and relax with each other and our little one. I love family moments! Then today I gave him his first big boy bath in his tub! Up to this point I was just sponge bathing him. He seemed to like it, and it was a lot quicker for me! So overall, we had a pretty good week. He has his crabby moments and will get fussy with us but I think we're handling everything pretty well.

Time is really flying by! Oden will be 2 weeks old tomorrow! I can't believe how fast it's gone by already! He's doing so good. He is a sleepy little guy. He probably sleeps for about 19 hours a day, so we get to see his beautiful eyes sparingly. He is such a happy baby too. He is smiling all the time. Jess went back to work last week. It was tough, but we got through it. One day we'll win the lottery and never work again! Yeah right, maybe in my dream-land. I go back to work in 2 weeks. That is going to be a hard adjustment, but we'll deal with it when it comes. I hope your enjoying the pictures. I will be posting lots. I have about 300 pictures I could put on here. It's hard not to take pictures of him all the time.

We're home!!

I can't believe it's finally over! Over and beginning at the same time. The arrival of little Oden Joesph was amazing, and continues to be amazing everyday. Jess and I are both overwhelmed with a sense pure happiness. He arrived Sunday night at 11:37pm after about 8 total hours of labor. We arrived at Hinsdale Hospital around 6pm and I was 4 cm dialated, then we waited for my IV to hydrate me and I received my epidural around 8:30pm and I was 8 cm dialated at that point. After the epidural (which was as wonderful as everyone said) I started pushing around 11pm and he entered this world screaming only a short time later. We had a little scare with me after birth, but the doctors got everything figured out and I am fine. Jess is a very concerned father. He was so worried about me after delivery that I think he couldn't truly enjoy holding his son for the first time until he knew I was alright. The hospital stay was nice and comfortable. I don't know if that was due to the hospital staff or all of our families around loving us. Probably a little of both. Everyone was so excited to see him for the first time. We had lots of visitors and lots of love. The whole experience was amazing. The worst part was waiting to leave the hospital the last day, that and the car seat!! GRRR!! I hate car seats. The ride home was scary. The roads were bad from the snow and drifts. I was so worried that he was going to scream the whole ride home, but he slept peacefully like a little angel. The last few days have been crazy. The days are great. We have had lots of visitors, lots of smiles, and even more love. We are having a hard time adjusting to the sleepless nights. Right when you think you have a system or a handle on things, he changes it all. Not one night is the same, and it's a lot to handle when your already functioning with a limited amount of sleep. We'll figure it out. So far everything is going great. Jess is working on setting up the new computer, so I will post more pictures when I can load them from my camera. He is the cutest thing I have ever seen.