July 4, 2010

Happy Birthday, America!!!

This year, like almost every year for the past 5 or so, my parent's had a 4th of July BBQ.  I love family get togethers, and it has been really fun to get both of our families together.  Bless the Copelands for enduring my family. :) lol.  This year was much smaller than usual because my aunt and uncles family did not come, but it was still fun.

This time next year we will have a little 7month old-ish Olivia to join in on the festivities!!

BBQ and all the sides. (My dad seriously makes the best BBQ chicken.)

"The Circle" enjoying Annette's Key Lime cupcakes.

A dip in the pool, of course.

Mom, Uncle Mike, and Jacob.  Mom and Uncle Mike sure do look like siblings!

More Circle times.

Dad can't wait to have a human baby to cuddle.

Dave and I.

Olivia  :).

I love love love Texas summers and this year has been a really great one so far.  We have not had a single day in the 100s and it's already July 6th.  I believe today is suppose to be our first 100, so not too bad.

Dave has been working on our nursery this weekend, too and I'm getting really excited about it.  It only took about 3 trips to Lowes/Home Depot for me to finally pick out the nursery color.  I couldn't help but go back and forth before picking our color.  The problem I was having was trying to decide if I really wanted pink walls versus another color wall.  I love pink, and I have alway wanted such girly things if we were having a girl.  I then realized that everything is pink for girls, and it may bee a little too much pink if we also panted the room pink.  So I decided on a yellow paint, and the bedding and accessories that we get are going to be pink. Plus, loads and loads of pink clothes, bows, shoes, socks, etc.    This is our paint color:

It is Disney's Main Street Lights paint color.  In real life it looks a tad darker, but it may actually come out this color once it is on our walls.

Dave has pulled all of our base and ceiling trim and done all the prepatory taping.  Now, with the humidity gone he will be able to paint sometime this week or weekend.  We have been taking before and progress pictures, and will definitely post after pictures once things are more complete. 

Six Flags Over Texas

Last weekend we went to Six Flags in Arlington, Texas. Hot, crowded, and a blast!  Every summer I forget just how sweltering Texas summers can get.  I love it though, and I love being able to swim any day of the week once May hits, and usually stays that way till about September. 

So anyways, my parents were wonderful and brought Dave and I along with them to Six Flags.  We were busy from about 6am - 10:30pm. 

Friday night after work Dave and I headed to Harker Heights so that we could leave first thing Saturday morning.  My wonderful father-in-law was house sitting for us for the weekend, so Thor had some fresh person to terrorize! 

We were all on the road by about 6:00am Saturday morning, ate breakfast at Dennys and made it to the park by 10:00am.

Group shot taken by Mom so we could remember where we parked.  Sarah is so glamorous. 

Mom and I. Yay!  We were waiting for Sarah and Dave to ride the Batman for the 3rd time.

Dave and I.  This is a horrible picture of me, but you can actually see a baby bump! lol.  All the other pictures I just look like a blob. 

I begged Sarah to take this picture with me.  Thank you Sarah!

Dad and I.  My parents are getting so tan this summer, already!

One of the few rides I actually got to ride!!

Waiting for the Parade right before the parked closed.

I LOVE parades.  Any and all parades. 

One of the best things about going to the Six Flags in Dallas was that my mom and dad got us a hotel close to the park.  We were able to go through the park and tackle a lot of the rides, then go back to the hotel, swam, and ate a big Pancho's dinner, and then return to the park for some more rides and the parade.  It really was nice to get to go take a shower and refresh. 

The next morning my mom and I went for a nice hour long walk before all the other bums woke up.  We then got into our swim suits and took a dip in the pool, showered and ate the nice hot breakfast at the hotel.

We then headed to the Grapevine mall and did a little bit of shopping before we headed home.  What a fun trip!  I love any trip where we are go-go-go, and this one was nice because we even got a little of pool time!

And here I am this morning.  I have been feeling particularly pregnant today so I took one of those classy bathroom pictures in my office's bathroom.  

18weeks4days :)

Sugar & Spice

...and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of!!! :)

We found out today that we are having a little girl!

The ultrasound pictures weren't the best quality, and then this picture is just a picture of a picture.

The picture above is our little girls profile view.

And this picture, I'm sure our little one will thank us for later ...is the picture that showed us she was in fact a little girl.  Those are her little feet, legs, and bottom!  How cute already!  I can't wait to fatten everything up :).  Must be the Mexican need to feed that is in me.

Today was a long and exhausting and anxious filled day, but it was well worth it.  Everything in our baby appears to be growing well and like it should.  Olivia was measuring a week ahead which made me happy that she is growing nice and strong.  She is about 8 ounces right now.  The tech said that we will keep the original due date of November 27, 2010 because the very first ultrasound is the most accurate. 

I can't wait to start looking at clothes and fun stuff for her now that we know.  My mom is going shopping for Olivia and I'm SO excited to see what she ends of picking out. 

Father's Day

I've been blessed with a wonderful man who is my father.  Best dad ever, hands down.  Jae, Sarah and I were all so blessed by our dad's dedication to our lives.  He provided for us, he loved us, he showed us the world, he coached us, he protected us, and he is still always there for us.

Anyone who knows my dad, knows that he will take the shirt off of his back for you, if he needs to.  For us kids, Dad would take his shirt, shoes, and pants off for us (mental image, haha!)!  Then he would want to kick somebody's ass for making us upset.

  Our dad was always one of the very first people to come to our defense.  He often felt our pain more than we did, and for that I'm forever grateful.  I'm sorry for any and all of the white hairs I have given him over time, and many many many headaches too, I'm sure.

I would not be the woman I am today if it weren't for my dad.  He taught me to never take anyone's b.s. :). And to never make excuses.

I'm so excited for our baby to have a grandpa like my dad!!! This kid is definitely in for an adventure!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DAD!!!

17 weeks

Week 7

Week 17

17 weeks pregnant today!  Today's picture is definately not one of my most flattering pictures, but this is the "bump".  Usually in the morning when I wake up my tummy has been flatter and gets bigger and harder as the day goes on, just depending on what I've consumed.  This morning I work up and BAM the belly was as big and round as it was when I went to sleep.  I'm still not quite sure I have "popped"  but I'm definitely beginning to look more the part.

It's exciting and makes it feel so much more real!  Dave and I have been taking pictures almost weekly, but I look really rough in most of them, so those will remain our private photos.  :) 

On Wednesday, we will be going to the doctor for our big Anatomy Ultrasound and will also hopefully be finding out the gender.  We are looking forward to seeing a healthy and happy baby, and possibly also being able to put a name to our growing little one!  It will feel really good to know if a little boy or a little girl is growing inside of me.  I will keep this blog posted once we find out!!!

Happy Birthday, Thor!!!

Our baby is 2 years old!!!  Whew, have these past 2 years flown. 

July 2008 - 5 weeks old.  This was the day we brought Thor home.

August 2008 - 2 months old.  Thor's very first time swimming.

September 2008 - 3 months old.

Beginning of October 2008 - 4 months old.

End of October 2008 - 4 months old.

November 2008 - 5 months

April 2009 - 10 months old.  Thor sportin' my sports bra. 

May 2009 - 11 months old at the dog park. 

August 2009 - 13 months old.  In the middle of the move into our old house. 

November 2009 - 17 months old.  Recovering from his foot surgery. 

December 2009 - 18 months old. 

April 2010 - 22 months old. 

May 2010 - 23 months old.  Trying to stay cool. 

Thor Early-Insane Copeland - 2 years old!!!

(This picture was taken just a couple of days ago.) 

I cannot imagine Thor not being in our lives.  He has such a big personality and is a great companion dog.  I was very hesitant about getting a dog of his breed before we got him.  But the minute we met this little 6 pound grizzly bear in Temple, Texas, Dave and I were both in love. 

Thor has had his ups and downs with us so far.  He has damaged many, many, many things due to his large size and love for underwear and socks.  He has also had a series of medical problems such as the infected toenail, the bouts of giardia, and the scuffle with our neighbor's dog.  However, all of these things have just made the adventure of living with him that much more fun. 

I'm very grateful to our families who have come to except Thor despite his drooling, shedding, tendancy to step on their toes, and tendancy to snatch napkins and other items off of their tables and counters.   He loves you all, maybe a little too much even!!! 

Happy Birthday, big boy!!! ( I know, I know, he can't log onto the internet, but he can read really well). You are going to make the best friend for our baby, as you have been such a good friend to us.

New Tenant

We are currently TEMPORARILY housing a new tenant at la Casa de los Copelands.  Meet Storm:

Storm entered our lives on Wednesday morning, June 9, 2010.  We had left our garage door open overnight, unintentionally of course, and there was a pretty big thunderstorm all night.  When I woke up in the morning to take Thor for a walk in the rain, Storm was hanging out in the garage hiding from the thunder and lightening.  I fell in love with him immediately.  I let Thor and Storm play for a little bit, and then fed them both.

We left Storm in our garage for the day.  We have good ventilation in the garage and because of the weather it was not going to get very hot.  I spent sometime at work on Wednesday calling vets in the area to see if anyone had reported a missing dog, posted a "found" ad on craigslist and on petfinders.com, and called a couple of no-kill shelters to put Storm on their waiting lists.  I didn't want to have the shelter or animal control pick him up because I felt I could be more successful in finding his home, or a home for him.   We are pretty sure he had a home at one time, but is a stray now.   He will sit and stay on command, and is pretty good with the words "no" and "come".

When we returned from work in the evening, Dave opened the garage door and Storm took off, just bolted out of the garage and ran away.  It was a pretty funny joke because my mom was kidding that I was imprisoning him against his will.  Thor and I took a walk around the neighborhood looking for him, but nothing.  No Storm Thursday morning, but low and behold, Storm returned this morning.

Silly silly silly us, we left the garage open, again.  Thor and I walked into the garage and were happily greeted by Storm.  We took our walk like normal, and Storm followed us the whole way.   So I got back to the house, fed & watered both dogs, and talked it over with Dave.  

We decided to put Storm in the backyard for the day and schedule a vet appointment for him in the morning to see what his health is like.  Dave seems to think the dog has mange, I sort of agree except I really don't know what mange looks like.  He has splotchy patterns of hair on his upper body, but there isn't any exposed skin or scratching.  If he does it's the very early stages and we should know tomorrow.  I do know that mange is easily cured if treated.  Hopefully he doesn't have it.  Maybe he is just older than he looks?  Or that is just his natural hair pattern?  I think he looks good, other than a tad skinny.  He can't weigh more than 50lbs.  He's tiny compared to our big boy, Thor.

So Dave put Storm in the backyard, with some water, and with the dog igloo from my father-in-law that we have been keeping in the garage.  Storm seemed to settle in quite nicely, but Thor was going crazy.  Thor is having a hard time not humping Storm right now.  On our walk he was fine because he was on the leash and I was able to control him.  Once I took him off the leash he would immediately try and mount poor Storm.  I tried to explain the birds and the bees, and that Storm is a boy dog, but Thor could not control his emotions. 

We split the two dogs up because of Thor's, um, issues.

Thor cried and cried, too. 

Look at that face!!!  (Remember, he is looking for a forever home!)

I think that Dave is afraid that I will want to keep him if he is around too long.  I really think he has the potential to be a wonderful pet, and I think that he deserves a good home.  However, I'm not prepared for another dog yet; especially with a baby on the way. 

It is already hard and expensive to board our one dog if we ever want to go out of town, or hard to manage when we take Thor with us to our family's houses.  I would really like to find him a good home.  I think he will make a family very happy if they can open their home to him.  We will take care of him as long as we can, and pending a relatively clean bill of healthy, and we will just go from there.  Kinda like foster parents.

So, on that note, if anyone knows of a family in the Central Texas area that would consider adopting this sweet sweet dog, let me know!!! Also, please spread the word if you can. 

Please comment here, shoot me a message on Facebook, or email me at amcopeland2010@yahoo.com