I know that it has been a long time since we have posted and I know that it drives some of you that check this all the time CRAZY! Well school has started and Erik is gone most of the weekends at work so it is just Tatum and me. Most of the day is reserved for Tatum and then when he goes to bed I find myself cleaning up the house and then going to bed. Sorry but I guess that is life. ANYWAY. Tatum is doing well. He is eating meats. He has tried turkey, beef, and chicken. He has loved all of them and continues to grow so quickly. He is also being more mobile. I believe sometimes that he is trying to stand up because he will have one leg up ready to push but then he just goes into a full on sprint with his crawling. Other than that he is back to daycare full time and is doing great. He has so much hair now that it is starting to curl at the ends. He looks so cute:) Only 2 teeth though. I think that he has some more coming in because he is stuffy in the nose, red bottom, and drooling. Only time will tell. Erik and I have been really good with school starting and getting ready and adjusted to the schedule. It is needed some more energy since we are not use to it but in time it will work. Really nothing going on with us other than just hanging out and we have a babysitter for Thursdays so that we can continue to do our alone time. This is great since we are both always on the go. Anyway... I got a new book to read and I am going to take some time and read it. WE love you all.

Well a lot has happened since our last blog. For one we went out to Seattle for the first time with Tatum. He did really well on the way out there but not so well on the way back. We have not had any ear issues yet so that is good and we have been home for a week. While we were out there we went to the Tacoma Rose Garden, Pike Place Market, HiBachan and HiGichan's house, Seattle dim sum restaurant and hiking. Tatum did really well with everything that we did. He was taking in the surroundings. I had an episode during hiking where I sprained my ankle like 3 to 4 times. One of them was so bad I almost fell and Tatum started to cry because I had woke him up....heaven forbid. There was also a birthday party for Tatum where he got a lot of fun things like clothes, book, and toys. I can't wait for him to see those toys here and then have different stuff to play with besides the same old stuff. While we were out there it was like Tatum was growing in fast forward. He went from crawling slowly at the beginning to cruising. He went from pulling up on things with some trouble to pulling up with ease. He also went from not climbing to climbing into laundry baskets and climbing up stairs. I guess that I have to teach him how to go down the stairs so that he is safe. Its never ending. Oh yeah and he also got another tooth. So he has his two bottom teeth. There should be about 4 more coming in within the next 5 months. GREAT JOY!!! lol. Erik and I are working around the clock to make sure that Tatum does not get into things and also babyproofing the house more than we have. School is about to start and Erik and I are not ready for it to start so we are dreading it:) That is about it from the Hondas! I hope that this meets everyone well.

Well not much has happened since our last post. Erik and I are both out of school. Erik has a part time job at Champps as a bartender and I am staying home with Tatum all summer enjoying the time with him. Tatum is doing very well. He is almost 7 months and is doing well. He is definitely getting teeth because he has been very agitated these days and he just loves to chew on things. WE are getting ready to go out to Seattle to visit Erik's parents and either help do yard work or help with the campaign. So we will be busy. I hope that Tate's teeth come in before then so that we are not fighting them while we are out there. Tatum is rolling over, sitting unassisted for many minutes at a time and is crawling backwards for some reason. I hope that he is right on target for learning. Its really hard to stay on top of his learning and making sure that he is meeting all of his milestone. This parenting is not for the birds and I can see how some parents get behind. I can also see that once you are behind then it will be really hard to catch up. Anyway it has been a long day and I need to go to bed. Take care world!

Well today was Tatum's 6 month appointment. He did really well with the shots and everything. He is 17 pounds and 26 inches long. By height he is in the 50% tile, 70%tile with head circumference, and 45% tile in his weight. The doctor told us that he can start eating more table scraps (Cheerios) and drinking from a sippy cup. Well Tatum was such a champ today because we introduced a lot to him today. When we got home we had cereal and I made it really thick to get him use to more solid food. When we also gave him Cheerios which he did not like at all. We believe that he did not like it because everything that we have given him was wet. So he just needs to get use to it.We also started to give him lunch and along with that we gave him a sippy cup full of breastmilk. He took to the sippy cup right away. He picked it up right away and started to drink he drank half and ounce. Then for a snack I gave him about 2 ounces of water and he drank all of it from his sippy cup. I cannot believe that he is growing up so fast. It seems like just the other day we were having trouble with breastfeeding. We hope that Tatum is teething and that the teeth will be coming out soon. Well school is out for Erik and I and we are just hanging out at home. Erik is going to get another job to help out with the bills. I will be staying home with Tatum. Things are going well for us. This summer is to be a very eventful summer filled with fun with family. There might even be a trip out to Seattle in the plans. That is going to suck with Tatum because he is probably going to be horrible but whatever it is gonna be it. Could not add photos. I will do it another day.

Tatum is growing up so fast. He has learned to roll over in both directions and now does not like sleeping on his back at all. He rolls over to his tummy to sleep. The doctors said that is ok as long as he knows how to roll over to the other side when he needs to. I just go to bed praying that he know how to do that. It worries me but the doctors would know if he is able to do it. He is also really talking a lot. He just has a lot of stories to tell us and he will not stop until he has told us everything. The is growing up so fast that we are on to foods. He has tried squash, peas, sweet potatoes, green beans, apples, pears, and bananas. He has not hated anything. He is also doing such a great job at eating with a spoons also. We have carrots and peaches left to try and we will see what happens with that. So for dinner Tatum is starting to have an actual meal with a veggie and fruit for dinner. He will eat a whole package also. We took him to the doctor today for an illness and found out he is 16 pounds and 13 oz. All that food is going to his belly. Tate actually has an ear infection and is just congested from his previous sickness. He is on medication again. I do not know how I feel about that. Erik and I are doing well also. We can not wait until school is over. There are only 3 more days left. There is not much to do this summer. I think that Tatum and I are going to hang out together. Erik is going to be getting a job to make some extra money for us to cover some bills. That is all that is to report for the Honda family! I hope that this meets you well. We love you!

Sorry for the late update. Things get a little crazy as school comes to an end. There is a lot of stuff that needs to be done. Things are going really well. There are 10 days left of school and Erik and I cannot wait until we get time to be with our friends and family. Tatum has hit a lot of milestones this month. He has been doing rice cereal and he loves it with the breast milk but not the formula. He also has started veggies. He wanted to start with squash. We did that for 4 days so that we could see if he was allergic to it and he is not. Thank GOD! Then Tate decided that he wanted to move on to peas. We will start that tomorrow (5-19) I do not like peas so I hope that he does. Erik also does not like peas. We will see if we can continue the family tradition or not. Tatum has also been a "chatty Kathy" most of the days. He loves to talk and play. Most of the time he just is talking to himself but he does respond more to you when you do talk to him. He also has found his voice for screaming so that should be really exciting when people hear that with our windows open and they think this kid is getting killed. It is going to be an exciting time with all of us home this summer. It will also be interesting to see what we all get to do.

Side walk chalk with the family Meet the Honda family Tatum's first talk with Great Grandpa Ike. Telling Tatum all about his great Grandpa Ike.

Look what I can do! A lot has happened since my last post. Tatum is growing up so fast. He has started to eat rice cereal at least once a day for dinner. He has rolled over from the tummy to his back and is very close to rolling over from his back to his belly. He has been drooling a lot and has also been pretty congested. It started out being a flu but now we just think that he is starting to get some teeth. We do not feel anything coming through but it will take forever to get out so he could be congested a long time. He is really coming into his own and just a big boy now. He has also learned some new noises that he has been making. One is like he is blowing air out but he is jsut spitting a lot. haha Another is that he is making his lips smack. He does his lip smacking when he is eating cereal. I guess that means that he likes it. Who knows. Only a few more days and he will be 5 months. Time is flying by. Soon he will be half of a year! What a big boy. Summer is coming soon and we are hoping to do a lot of family stuff together. Erik and I are getting a lot of housework done during our Spring Break so that we can relax a bit more this summer. We repainted Tatum's room and it makes it look a lot more flashy if you ask me. Then we have rearragned the living room and painted the porch, cleaned the garage. and many other things. I will be putting another post with more pictures of Tatum.

Tatum's 4 month pictures

Tatum at 10 weeks gestational:)

Well it has been a long time again since we have posted. Well last weekend I was in no condition to type anything. My college roommates/ friends came into town and we went out and painted the town. I really enjoyed myself and really needed that girls time. There are not to many of my girlfriends in town so it is few and far between when I can get out and have sometime with the girls. The girls met Tatum and gave him the new nickname of "Little Egg Roll" They really enjoyed Tate and he was so good for them. On Tatum news he is doing well up to 14 lbs and continuing to grow. He is getting stronger by the day and we are expecting him to roll over any time now. We are working on him to get his arms as strong as his little legs are. Its so crazy that one year ago today I was told that we were pregnant with Tatum. It is so crazy how time flies when you are busy and having fun. We got to hear Tate giggle this week when we played with him. It was so cute and melted our hearts. We are also excited that there are 44 days of school left and that summer is quickly approaching. The time when we get to all be together and do all the family stuff that we want to, sleep late, and go to the zoo:) Well that is it for now this momma is tired and going to bed. Take care to all of you out there. The Honda's are doing well and look forward to actual spring weather.

Well...Posting every Sunday worked for awhile then we got busy and I totally put this on the back burner. I apologize for that. A lot has happened since February 6th. Tatum got baptized on Feb.13th. It was down in Muscatine at High Prairie United Methodist Church. He did such a good job that he was asleep for the whole thing and even woke up right as we were done. He was awake for the cake and drink afterward. That is the perfect way to go. haha We want to thank all the people that were able to make it to the ceremony and the party. It would not have been the same without all of you. Even if we dont think so Tate really appreciated you all there also. He has been really trying to talk these days. We hear a lot more cooing and gurgling from him. He is at the stage where he can prop him up with pillows and he can sit. We are getting closer and closer to the time when he can sit up on his own and be more independent. He is getting to the point where he wants to do more things but his body is just not fully ready. Well Erik and I are doing well. Both are getting a little frustrated with work and ready for summer for sure. Conferences are coming up in 2 weeks so we are getting things ready to go with that. There are not many more break after conferences until the end of school. Somethings to look forward to are a bunch of my girlfriends from college are coming into town for St. Patricks day and we are going to ruin the town. It will be so nice to see all of us back together. All of us have not been together since Homecoming. I also saw them at the beginning of my pregnancy when we went to Vegas well now I can have some fun and let loose. I have attached some photos of the family recently. I will try and get back onto posting this weekly. Stay tuned to what will be happening. Love K,E,R,H,T

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! We have been laying around the house for the whole weekend. Saturday night we had some friends over to watch the UFC fights and we had our own party for the Super Bowl. Erik had a great idea of putting up a bed sheet and using the projector from school to watch the fights and the Super Bowl. So needless to say we have been watching t.v. all weekend on a bed sheet. Tatum has really enjoyed the light that the projector gives off. He has been looking up and seeing it. Of course he is not looking right into the light DUH!!! He is just wondering where the extra light is coming from. Tatum has had a big week. On Wed. he got his 2 month shots and did not do to bad. Yes he cried and then was just really tired after the shots. It was the day after that way the worst. He was irritable and had a slight temp. The day care lady said that if he had reactions to this get ready for them to be the same and maybe even worse with the other shots to come. Tate is allowing us to really see his smile. He is a very happy boy and loves when we point out where his nose is. We had gotten a few more photos of his growth and a day in the life of Tatum. Next weekend Tatum gets baptised and we will post photos of that later on so that you may see his beautiful growth.

Well it is the end of January and the Honda family is doing well. Tatum is almost 2 months old and he is starting to do a lot of new and fun things. He is a lot more active and likes to talk (coos and gurgles). He also is starting to really look at the details of things and it just amazes us how much he has grown. This morning we walked into see if he was awake and he was laying there watching his mobile. It was just amazing how he was calming himself and also wide awake and not waking us up. He also started daycare this week. He is with a lovely woman and doing really well. As a matter of fact he actually had a 6 oz bottle on Friday. He jumped from 4 oz to 6 oz. It was great see but also had a tummy ache and a hard time pooping after that day also. Besides the fact he is growing up quickly. Next month he will be getting baptized and Grandma and Grandpa Honda will be coming back to see him. I also started work this week and well it was rough going back to the same old stuff just different days. I did miss my kids but I actually enjoyed staying home but I was happy to go back to work and have some adult interaction. I finally am all caught up with the school work that I had to get done from coming back but as you all know there is always something that needs to be done. So the battle begins.

Well this is the last week of my maternity leave and I am not ready to go back to work. I don't want to deal with the bull crap that has been going on there. I would rather stay at home with Tatum and deal with his bull crap. Well we gotta make money so I must go back. I feel really good about the daycare that Tatum will be going to. We had a visit with her today and got her to meet Tate and then also we got some of the initial paperwork and supplies in order so that we can spend more time with him on Thursday when we drop him off. The Honda family visited the dentist this week. It actually turned out a lot better than we thought. Erik and I both have to have a tooth pulled but that is it. No cavities and Tatum did a great job sleeping in the lobby. I am going to get my tooth pulled tomorrow (1-24) and then Erik is going to get his done in February. Tatum has grown so much. He is still in 0-3 month clothes but he filling out a lot. I do not have a recent photo because I do not know how to upload the photos and we are waiting for Erik to do that. He is probably about 12 pounds. He has been losing hair since he was born and well there is actually some more hair growing in. Its brown so far but some of his other hair is brown with a red tint to it. Tatum's baptism is set for February 13th at High Prairie Church ( the same one we were married at) it begins at 9am. Invites will be sent out when I get them from Shutterfly. So as soon as I get them you will get them. That is all for this week. Take care everyone and have a great rest of January. love the Hondas!

Well things are going pretty slow here at at the Honda household. Tatum is eating about 4 ounces now and at least every 2 and a half hours. I have been told that he has chubby cheeks now. Well he is just eating well. I have also met my goal for pumping. We now have 111 ounces that are frozen and ready to go to the daycare. I know that it will not last that long at the daycare so that is a little depressing but at least I have a heads start on the game. So my reward for reaching this goal is 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I think that this might be the best gift of all. I have about 2 more weeks until I need to return back to work. These two weeks are going to go really fast. I am going to spend as much time as I can with Tate and tummy time. He is becoming more alert during the day time now. We also had a great night on the 13th of January because Tatum slept 6 hours. It was great but I think I was more tired than normally. I guess my body was built around his schedule. Those of you that have talked to Erik and I on a daily basis know that my gma fell earlier this week and had to have her hip replaced. This was something that hit our family hard because 2 yrs ago on the 14th Gpa Ike passed away and we were not ready for another to go. She was not necessarily going to pass away from the surgery but it was the way that she came out of the surgery that we were worried about. She is going to have trouble rehabilitating it so I hope that she pulls through and works hard for it. That is it for the Hondas today. I hope that you all have a great rest of the week and keep in touch next week.

Well this week has been GREAT! Tatum has grown so much from a month ago. We are now breastfeeding without the shield which is a time saver and also makes us more mobile. I compare this to the feeling you would get if you won about 6 gold medals in a State swim meet. I mean I love a challenge and this journey has been a challenge. I am proud of Tatum for all of his hard work for sticking through it with his slow mom:)! Also this week on Wednesday (1-6) Tatum officially is 10 pounds so we have double digits. I guess our milk monster is growing so quickly. It seems that every morning when I change his diaper I swear that he grows over night. Other than that he is going to the bathroom a lot more and sleeping about 4 hours at a time at night. We thank him a lot for the sleep that we get at night. I will be at home for another 3 weeks so I will enjoy all the time that I can since I won't get to hang out with our little boy all day long. Mommas gotta go make money. I hope that this reaches everyone well and we want to let you know that we love you all.

opps here are some photos of when Tatum and Aidan met each other on New Years Day!

Well I am trying to spend my Sundays on writing on the Blog page so that we can stay up to date with everything. The Honda's had a great Christmas. We actually stayed at home and relaxed and actually packed up Christmas early due to way to much crap from Tatum and Christmas. It was a very nice and relaxing holiday. New Years was not any different. We stayed at home and had one beer each and then just hung out. Erik had to make his first daddy run to Wal-Mart to get some more formula because we were going to run out overnight. Lucky he made it back in time to spend New Years with Tate and I. We were reading Stuart Little when the year switched and stopped to kiss him for the first time in 2011. Today (Jan.2,2011) Tatum Michael is 1 month old I cannot believe that it has been one month already since Tatum was born. It seems like just yesterday we were having a heck of a time with breastfeeding and his dehydration. Anyway we look forward to the adventures of the future with our little milk monster.

Well an update. Tatum is doing very well and it seems that we are going into a schedule. He is sleeping for about 4 to 4 and a half hours at a time. Tatum is about 3 weeks old and filling out well. He is about 8 and a half pounds and loves to eat. He also has a lot of gas which makes for him to definitely be our kid. Umm other than that Tatum loves tummy time and has been lifting his head up and taking it from one side to another. He also does a lot of scooting which we find very AMAZING! He can also hold his own binky and we are working on his trying to help out with his bottle. I believe that we are pushing him just a little too hard but we have high expectations for this little one.