The Copelands

Can't watch without a smile

2011-11-21T13:50:00.001-06:00

Update in pictures.

2011-11-21T13:04:00.001-06:00

Riley baking (aka eating the batter)

BYU vs. TCU

Night before Halloween, they found the candy stash. These are Riley's cousins/besties Mason and Gavin

Riley is obsessed with all things Cars, so this was the only costume I had a chance of getting on him.

Pondering the weather.

Zac Brown Band concert. BLAST!

I'm trying to decide if he should get a hair cut...

Sometime summer 2011

Turner Falls in Oklahoma. Summer 2011.

Packing. August 2011.

The new house.

Riley hiding from a diaper change in my closet.

Utah trip in August 2011. We wore him out.

My bff from college, Annie, had just had her first baby! His name is Dallas and he is adorable!Unfortunately, we didn't get a pic with him :(

Riley was excited about the airplane.

Cameron finally got our TV hung! It only took Cameron (mostly), Craig and Shaun a week to get it up.

Watching his new TV.

BYU vs. Texas

Me and Anne, my sis in law here in Dallas.

Napping in the shopping cart. I couldn't get him to wake up, which never happens so I just went with it.

Lazy morning in bed with Dada

This kid LOVES apples.

My good friend growing up, Heather, and her family came to visit from Houston when her hubby had a conference here. She has a 3 year old and 1 year old twins who were sooo good the whole time. Every time Alexis got out of her princess stroller Riley climbed in. Again no pictures of all the kids together.

Mason and Riley love to plain trains at Barnes and Noble.

Riley and Gavins relationship has had it's ups and downs. They are 4 months apart. This happened to be a good day for them!

Costoc samples.

Our little climber.

Loves his Mia cat.

I'm pretty sure there is a gap in Riley's childhood on my blog and our lives in general, but at least this is something!

Update on life

2011-11-18T13:06:00.003-06:00

To say I have been a blog slacker would be an understatement. I created a blog because I wanted to document our lives and hopefully someday print it off into actual books or albums. I've recently remembered how much I wanted to do this and am sad I haven't kept up. The only post I've made in the past 1-2 years have been random and tell very little about what's going on in our lives! So let me summarize the past 1 1/2 years or so and then I'll dump a load of pictures to try and catch up :)
I'll pick up with moving to Texas (since I'm not sure where I left off with life and I don't have time to go back and read)....we moved to Frisco, Texas June 2010. We rented a home, Craig started work as a dentist and I started real life as a stay at home mom. Craig started with All Smiles as an associate. He enjoyed it, but soon after starting he was recruited my another company Smile Magic. He went to meet with them as a courtesy, not intending to actually change jobs. However, he knew pretty quickly Smile Magic was where he needed to be working. So, after being at his job only 2 months he made the switch. Now this was not an easy decision (for me) because it meant "just starting out" again. Without going into all the boring details it meant losing quite a large sum of money for initially less pay. We were just out of school and loans were due soon! Eeeek!
Craig says to this day it was one of the best decisions of his life. He LOVES his job and isn't doing too shabby "providing" for the family. He currently is partnering with Smile Magic to open an office in El Paso, Texas, which will open the first week of December. He's already working on the next "opportunity" and feels this job has opened so many windows for him. He works a TON of hours, which is hard for me, but I'm glad that he has a job he enjoys. I know many can't say the same thing, so I try and keep my complaining to a minimum. :)
Spring 2011 we bought a spec home that was just being started and had a fun time building a house. Craig continued to work a ton so I had a fun hobby of picking everything out and making sure all the details were done. We moved in late August and love it. It's so nice to finally OWN a home and feel like we are settling down somewhere. My hobby will now be getting it decorated!
Craig turned 30 in May and although all the deals weren't technically closed at the time, I was very proud of all that he had accomplished in his 3o years. Husband, father, dentist, homeowner, and business owner. I'm afraid he's going to run out of goals if he doesn't slow down soon! :) I always told Craig from the beginning that one of my favorite things about him was his ambition. (Isn't it funny how the things we love the most about people can sometimes be the things that also drive us nuts?!) I'm so proud of him and grateful for all that he does for our little family.

On a separate note, I've lost my camera charger back when we moved so all pictures are on my iPhone. I'll try to upload the update of our life via the iPhone next. Be prepared it will mostly be Riley.

Are Mormons Christian?

2011-10-11T08:32:00.001-05:00

http://josephantley.com/2011/10/11/are-mormons-christians/

Airplane

2011-08-31T18:22:00.000-05:00

Riley boy has been a little obsessed with airplanes lately and boy was he excited to be on one!

Joey trying to speak French

2011-08-05T11:37:00.001-05:00

No need to watch the whole thing...you'll get the idea.
My life has been reminding me of this episode lately LOL. I ask Riley to repeat something I say and he does.

18 Months

2011-08-02T14:46:00.005-05:00

18 Month Stats:
weight: 26 lbs 3 oz..............50th percentile
height: 33.5 inches..............90th percentile
head: 19.5cm.......................95th percentile!

July 29th Riley turned 18 months! A couple of days later I helped my sister-in-law do some pictures of a 4 week old, it's really made me realize just how grown up my little baby is. He is such a boy now.

Riley is a talker. He gets on the phone with Memaw and chats away. He's getting to the age where he really is talking to you, but you can't always figure out what he's saying so everyone can become very frustrated. He's pretty good at showing you what he wants and I can usually catch a word or two. It's exciting to watch him learn and figure things out. He seems smarter every day.

We finally have the sleep thing under control (although he did throw up last night for the first time in a couple of months). He usually sleeps 10-12 hours at night and has one 1 1/2 hour nap during the day. We've maintained this schedule for a few months now and it's the best we've ever had!
He's a pretty good eater, but still has a bottle before nap and bedtime. I've put off taking it from him while we focused on actually getting him to go to sleep so now I've gotta work on that.

He loves to run and climb and jump and dance- and does ALL day. There is never a dull moment and he never stops moving. He runs up and down the couch, he climbs on top of the kitchen table, he climbs into the bathtubs and turns the water on (and throws anything and everything in), he runs into the streets, he runs down slides...you get the idea. It's a nothing short of a miracle that we haven't had an emergency room trip. Sometimes when I go to bed at night and reflect of the day I almost have an anxiety attack.

He's learned to give KISSES! Riley was very developmentally delayed in this department, but boy was it worth the wait! Just ask him for one sometime...

He loves his Mia cat and often wants to lay his head on her belly and give her kisses. He is very concerned about her and if she gets out will stand at the door calling for her.

He's developed a bit of separation anxiety from his Momma. He often throws a tantrum if I walk into another room. He won't stay in the Kids Club at the gym anymore (he used to be like "see ya mom" and go play), which means since my hubby often works 10-12 hour days I don't go to the gym! If I touch another kid it's guaranteed meltdown. Some say he just needs a sibling...

He's caught on to the "Amen" at the end of prayers. Only problem is he usually thinks the prayer should end before it does and shouts Amen a little too early.

Now that he is a such a big boy, he gets to attend nursery at church and we are pretty excited to hear a Sunday school lesson for the first time in 18 months!

We have had lots of visits with family over the summer and I'll probably never catch up on all that blogging, so here's to a clean start! I'll try to do better with all our upcoming trips and
visitors!
Here are a few pics from our trip to the Dallas World Aquarium last weekend... it was pretty impressive!

Ellen dancing II

2011-05-05T18:33:00.000-05:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo

2011-05-05T11:46:00.000-05:00

Sleeping in= Danger

2011-05-04T21:22:00.002-05:00

This morning my sweet husband let me sleep in a little later while he got up with Riley. When I got up, I came out to thank him and found this.

Craig thought Riley was in the play room playing by himself. Does he even know this kid?? If he's doing something on his own, it's not good. Our little monkey climbed into the office chair (that spins around and has wheels, mind you) and then climbed from that onto the desk. When I walked in he was actually sitting throwing things about. We've been working on some things lately and there was lots of paperwork and such on the desk that was strewn all over the floor!
Anyways, doubt I'll be able to enjoy sleeping in anytime soon...I didn't realize how risky it was!

Another example of my child's desire to be injured. Why does he think the ground is such a bad place?

Riley's 15th month

2011-05-03T21:32:00.004-05:00

a little early Easter egg hunting in Louisiana

His best buddy.

Riley spends as much time as possible with his cousins Mason and Gavin.

getting the candy out. he's no fool.

uncle Trevor came to visit

you may be wondering what Riley's face looks like after most of these pictures. i too wonder that somedays. mostly i just see the back of his head running off to get into something!

15 Months

2011-05-03T21:06:00.003-05:00

Our little bundle of joy recently hit the 15 month mark. Pictures are becoming more rare as it is impossible to catch him still and looking at the camera...but I will post a few.

15 month stats:
24 lbs 50%
32 inches 75-90%
head 19.3 inches 97%!!!

Now, what to say about our Riley boy...

- I would say that he has become an expert walker, but he doesn't really walk. He RUNS everywhere he goes. Of course it's a cute little toddler run. The kid has one speed: FULL speed.

- He climbs on everything and is getting pretty good at actually getting down from the peaks he reaches.

- He's become a little shy when meeting new people and will smile and bury his face in my shoulder. I LOVE this because as many of you know Riley is NOT a cuddler and it's the only time he snuggles up to me besides when he's going to sleep.

- He still does not hug or kiss, but will ocassionally allow me to plant one on him and purse his lips together in a tolerating fashion. He just doesn't have time for the mushy stuff, he's got too much to do.

- He's smart! It's amazing to see the things he can pick up on. For instance, he knows I always wear my glasses in the mornings (because I don't yet have my contacts in) so if Craig gets him out of bed he comes in my room and picks my glasses up next to my bed and hands them to me.

- He has lots to say. Some favorite words are: alright!, uhoh, DaDa (MaMa is becoming more frequent), ball, bird, kitty, eeze (cheese), hot? (always a question), night night, ba ba (bottle), bye, hi, no, thank you, boon (balloon).

- He can signal "touchdown" and "safe" on demand and show you where his nose is.

- He tells everyone we pass when leaving a store "bye".

- He loves mac and cheese and will go in the pantry to get it and bring it to me to fix. He has become a little more picky with his eating, but is still a healthy eater. Fruit and cheese are by far his favorite foods.

- He loves animals and balloons.

- I just bought him some new summer clothes...2T. What has happened to my baby??

Calling all parents- help!

2011-04-11T21:14:00.002-05:00

I have so much blogging to catch up on...our cruise, visiting grandparents, grandparents visiting, visiting more grandparents... you get the idea! BUT in the meantime we need help over here! Many many months ago we did the whole sleep training thing. Eat, play, sleep...put him down awake...let him cry it out...blahblahblah. We quickly had our little guy sleeping through the night. Well a few weeks ago he got a yucky cold/cough/high fever. I, of course, didn't let him "cry it out" while he was sick and he got cuddled and held at night for several nights. Now he's ruined. After we determined he was well enough to get back on schedule, we let him cry. He's been sick in the past and afterwards it always takes a couple nights to get back to normal. After 5-10 minutes he cried until he threw up. So maybe he wasn't all better yet?? (He didn't throw up while he was sick mind you.) A couple more nights went by and he seemed completely recovered we tried again...threw up. Now everynight we put him in his bed awake he cries until he throws up (always only 5-10 minutes after we put him in). What do we do??! He's totally out smarted us, we can't figure out what to do. We can't let him sleep in his throw up...so what does that leave?? We are desperate for any ideas. HELP!

Touchdown

2011-03-09T21:19:00.000-06:00

A post NOT about Riley

2011-03-09T20:56:00.005-06:00

Just kidding. It's entirely about Riley. BUT as soon as I get the pictures that I depended on everyone else to take from our vacation I will post about us! So...while we were vacationing we left Riley boy with George and Laura. I'm pretty sure he had a blast, while I missed him terribly! You can see all about his stay here. Anyways, just wanted to post some new pics of our not- so- baby boy!

Here with Candy, the lady who was so nice to come all the way to Jacksonville from Kentucky to keep our Riley boy while Laura was at work.

George and Laura, the morning we left to come back to Texas. As you can see Riley got to know and LOVE his Grandma and Grandpa!

I think they won him over with the petting zoo. He loves animals! Anytime we see someone walking their dog he chases after it.

After a week of play, play, play and getting up at 5AM to catch a flight home Riley was exhausted! I always say how cute it is when kids fall asleep in their highchair, while playing, or some other random place. Riley has NEVER, he's not big on sleeping. Anyways, he woke up from a nap and I sat down with him and he just plopped over on the couch and went back to sleep.

Riley's learned to slide go down the slide by himself. Of course I have to put him at the top and catch him at the bottom, but he takes off all on his own!

He's walking all over the place and insists on being outside as much as possible. It's hard to snap a picture anymore because he's so fast!

The only time Riley goes in his bedroom is to sleep, have a diaper changed, or when I put laundry away. When he's in there he loves hiding in the drapes. Of course we play peek a boo and he thinks I can't see him when his face is hid and then he'll throw the drapes off.

I just gave him his 2nd haircut. He still doesn't have too much in front, but keeps growing a mullet in the back so it must be trimmed! Business in front, party in back right? (This was after the haircut)

27 Birthdays

2011-02-17T20:35:00.003-06:00

Monday, we celebrated my 27th birthday. My mom was in town visiting for a couple days so Craig and I were able to go out for a Valentine's/Birthday dinner. And had someone to snap a picture!
I must say, there are things I like and dislike about getting older.
I hate just the fact that I'm getting older, those wrinkles forming around my eyes and mouth, those few extra lbs that seem harder to lose, and all that fun stuff. But I sometimes I like saying my age. I always feel a little like I'm not taken seriously because people always think I'm young, even younger than I actually am. And let's be honest, Craig doesn't help my situation- it's not unusal for people to be surprised we are married cause he's not exactly growing grey hairs himself. Just today I was in the front yard with Riley and a lady walked by and said very grandmotherly, "Oh, Hi! Are you babysitting today?" NO I'm not babysitting I actually BIRTHED this child. And I was glad to mention that I am in fact 27. The older I get the more silly I make those people feel! That's the part I like.

The lady tried to recover with, "Well imagine what you'll look like at my age!" I mentioned this when telling my Mom the story, and in her always (NOT) optimistic attitude she says, "Unfortunately that's not always how it works." Thanks Mom.

On a side note, I always thought I'd have 3 kids by 30. HA! I eat those words right now at 27. I'll even eat the words that I was going to have 3!

Riley's 1st Year

2011-02-02T15:17:00.006-06:00

1 Year Stats:

Weight- 21 lbs 12 oz 25-50th %
Height- 30.5 in 75-90th %
Head- 19 cm 97th %

We're so proud of that head :)

Again, again, and again I can't believe my baby is 1. I was a little uncomfortable with a newborn...but I must say I'm loving a 1 year old! I held someone else's newborn recently and it gave me so much anxiety...I think if I order another one I'll take him at 6 months! I must be the only girl in the world that doesn't love the newborn stage!
He's so much fun lately as he's walking around, starting to mimic words, and throw tantrums (!). Speaking of which...I think this blog post is over. We love him!

Newborn

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

12 Months

Riley's 1st Birthday- the fun stuff

2011-01-30T21:08:00.007-06:00

My hopes were high for Riley's Birthday. I was going to make a fancy cake and have friends over and Riley was going to have a ball....well the week of he got sick. I thought it was just a cold and then two days before his birthday found out the kid he was playing with (who had a cold) actually had RSV so we figured so did Riley. He's definitely not himself, but doesn't seem to have more than cold symptoms and I've just waited for his regularly scheduled Dr. appointment this week. Anyways, we didn't want to infect the cousins so we kept his birthday low-key with just the 3 of us. You can see his glossy eyes and runny nose in the pics....poor guy! He was a good sport and fortunately he hasn't lost his appettite.

Riley has always been the smiliest baby, but the past few weeks he has learned lots of expressions and I find myself getting looks like this quite often. What happened to my happy baby?!

Give me the cake!

Previously...

Crazy faces.

Ramblings of Ingratitude

2011-01-25T16:12:00.003-06:00

Craig and I booked a cruise a while back with some great friends. It leaves at the end of February. Craig's family is sweet enough to keep Riley for the WEEK. I'm ungrateful for this time to spend with my husband and a chance to be selfish. I'm ungrateful that George and Laura will keep him for a week. I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE MY LITTLE BOY! Craig has threatened to cancel the cruise...lol. Not that you can do that, you can not show up at this point and lose your money. I've offered that he can just remove half my heart and maybe I won't care. It's a very difficult thing for me. As he's walking around my chair jabbering right now I think I can't possibly leave him.
I've talked to A LOT of people about it at this point. Some who have done it and don't think it's a big deal at all and others who would never. I think I'm a "would never" kind of person and Craig is a it's a "no big deal" kind of person. I'm not sure either is right or wrong, but perhaps a blend of personality and what's typical in your families.
I'm not a super emotional person, but I want to cry whenever I think about it. I WANT to want to go. I hope George and Laura are prepared for helping Craig drag me away kicking and screaming (probably literally!)
I've also heard too many stories of people who have left their little ones and got snubbed upon returning. If Riley is not excited to see me when I get back there will be more tears.
I think having moved to a new place soon after Riley has made me extra attached. We don't do things without each other
I know some people would give anything to have a week away! Why is this so hard for me? I don't think Mom's are bad moms that leave their kids, but I feel like a bad Mom. Sorry for the ramblings...

This is what my life feels like lately...

2011-01-13T21:58:00.001-06:00

I'm exhausted.

Snow!

2011-01-09T23:21:00.003-06:00

There's just something magical about snow- especially when you don't see it often!

Christmas

2011-01-09T23:00:00.005-06:00

I've been dreading this blog. We went to La for Christmas and I forgot my camera. My child's first Christmas and I forgot my camera. We snapped a couple with my brothers but I don't have them yet. And we caught a little bit on video, but I haven't made the effort to learn how to take a clip from the video and post it. Seriously, I'm so mad about this.
But on a happier note, Riley LOVED Christmas. The unwrapping was a little confusing, but the toys were very exciting! Being 11 months on his first Christmas, it was already a fun one. His eyes lit up when Craig brought him in with toys everywhere! I may have overdone it a little, but the kid seriously had NO toys before Christmas. I think it was slowing his development- he seems smarter now :).
However, when we arrived back to Texas New Year's Eve we had a Christmas package waiting from Grandma Laura and Grandpa George and I took pictures!! So since they didn't get to be there in person, at least they get a picture!This was way past bedtime after a very long day so he's not exactly "cleanest" or "best-dressed" here.Riley with Uncle Trevor. I believe there's some family resemblance...

I wonder what I said that my parents both had the exact same reaction towards me?
Needless to say when got back home, Riley was a mess. He wanted the constant attention he'd had at my parents. He think that he is really funny and that you should always be laughing at him and gets very offended if you aren't.

And New Year's?? First year as parents! We went to bed at 10:30.

December 29- Riley 11 months

2010-12-22T17:46:00.005-06:00

I CANNOT believe that my little baby will be a year old next month. There must be some mistake. Fastest year of my life.
Riley at 11 months:

favorite foods: cheese, honey oat bread, blueberries, pineapple, strawberries, pizza and chicken.
Sleeps about 11 hours a night, 2 short naps a day
Took his first steps
Appropriately uses Ma Ma and Da (occasionally)
Loves: throwing things, when Da is home, shopping carts that he can drive like a car, diet coke, Yo Gabba Gabba, dancing, UNfolding laundry, eating, smiling, getting thrown on the bed, Christmas balls, cousins, fires, vacuuming, the dishwasher
Hates: bubble machines, having a door close him out of a room (laundry room with kitty litter, bathroom), diaper changes, going to bed, sitting on Santa's lap, having his nose wiped,

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-18T15:07:00.002-06:00

We spent Thanksgiving here in Dallas this year with Cameron and Anne, some of their friends, and Jeff and Amy who drove out from Florida..here's the only picture I have- a blurry one from my iphone.

George and Laura had been in Utah for Thanksgiving and on their way home they had a layover in Dallas and we were able to meet them at the airport for a few minutes. It was way too short, but it was great to see them and I know they cherished those few minutes with their grandsons!

One thing that I randomly was thinking of this year that I was especially grateful for are Sisters-in-law. I've been very blessed to have a wonderful family and to marry into a wonderful family. I love them all so much. I have a great father-in-law, mother-in-law, and even brothers-in-law :). I guess it's something that comes to my mind around the holidays when couples are making plans and I hear the disappointment of having to go to "the in-laws" and I feel so sad for them! How did I get so lucky?!
Anyways, I was especially thinking of these girls. I grew up with 4 brothers and no sisters. I never wanted a sister though- I was a total tomboy as a kid and a sister probably would have brought me down! I mean who wants to have to share? You don't share by the way as an only girl, and you run the show!
However, as I've gotten older I see the special relationship between sisters and I have to admit I began to wonder what it would be like. So this Thanksgiving (yes I know it's over, but I was thinking it then) I am grateful for Sisters-in-law. These girls have become like sisters to me. I'm so thankful for their relationships, their support, their humor, and for taking me in as the last addition! I've been able to live near all of them now, except Allison (that's why I'm sure she's going to move to Dallas when she returns to the States), and I'm inspired by their examples as mothers and wives.
The funny thing about this pictures is I barely knew them then (except Kim and Angie- and let's be honest that wedding might not have happened without them!) and now they have become some of my favorite people in the world!
Another funny thing- they are all now like half the size they are in this picture and I'm twice the size. Hmmm...maybe they should share their secret.

Random stuff from my Camera

2010-12-12T20:54:00.002-06:00

My attempt at decorating the Christmas tree resulted in Mia dragging Riley around with the ribbon.

Rachel and I had a cooking day and made homemade chicken pot pie. I'm not exactly Ms. Domestic Wife so I was proud!
Craig and I at the Jazz vs Mavericks game. Not sure why I always have crazy eyes in pictures.

Gingerbread house 2010

2010-12-12T12:24:00.000-06:00

This weekend we had the annual Tobler Gingerbread House Party. Minus the Tobler's :( The Tobler's hosted this party the past few years while we were in Florida and we decided to continue the tradition. (And by the way THANK YOU AMY. I realize now how much work you put into it!) The Greenhalgh's and White's joined us.

Sterling and K.C.

Sterling and K.C. are Texas A&M fans, who will be playing LSU in a bowl game so notice the sign on their front lawn. This was their first year and we forgot to warn them ahead of time that building gingerbread houses as a couple will test your marriage. They finally put their marriage first and went with an easy flat roof. Craig and I have come a long way over the years. We didn't get into a fight this year!

Del and Rachel

Del and Rachel had an impressive igloo with a snow machine out front. We were giving them a hard time at first cause we didn't know what the heck they were building, but it turned out pretty awesome!

Craig and I

We were all happy by the end! It was a really fun night and helped us start feeling a little "at home" here in Texas after 6 months (I can't believe we've been here that long!). Thanks for the fun guys!

Riley dancing with Ellen

2010-12-09T14:35:00.000-06:00

Riley playing Catch

2010-12-07T13:00:00.001-06:00

November 20th

Santa Baby!

2010-12-07T12:39:00.002-06:00

As we waited in the Santa line and every kid in front us cried on Santa's lap I just knew my Riley boy wouldn't. I walked towards Santa and Riley grinned at him as he does everyone...until I placed him on his lap. He got the saddest face and started bawling! Fortunately, it didn't take much coaxing to get a grin through the tears...he just can't keep a smile off!

November photoshoot

2010-12-07T12:22:00.003-06:00

My talented sister-in-law (www.creativelychicphotography.com) took these pictures for us last month...these are favorites (which was EVERY one of Riley!)

My little helper

2010-11-16T21:35:00.000-06:00

Yes, he is EVERYWHERE.

Halloween

2010-11-16T21:15:00.005-06:00

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of Craig and me dressed up... I'm going to have to try and find one that someone else took. But lucky for you I have ones of Riley!
Our little monkey...

Trick or Treating was really fun for me because I have never lived somewhere that I could walk up and down the street trick or treating. Where I grew up we had to drive in our car because there weren't many close neighbors. So I lugged this kid up and down the street while Craig stayed home and gave out candy. Some would say I only did it so I could have the candy, and I would have to admit that's partly true. But don't worry...yes, I shared the candy with my 9 month old.

Here he is asking my why I've kept chocolate a secret for 9 whole months?
He's totally on board with this whole Halloween thing.

You would think from the following face he'd had enough...but no he cried when I wouldn't give him anymore.

9 Months correction

2010-11-16T21:11:00.003-06:00

I've been meaning to post this for my own records... A few days after Riley's cardio appointment we had his normal checkup and the stats were a little different so I wanted to correct it for myself!

20 lbs 2 oz 50th percentile
29.3 inches 90th percentile
18.3 inches (head) 90th percentile

9 Months

2010-10-29T18:03:00.005-05:00

Our little bundle of joy is 9 MONTHS old today, I can't believe it. He weighs 20 lbs, and is 28 inches tall. These statistics are not quite what his Daddy wants for his developing quarterback, but I'm sure he'll get there!
What's he's up to at 9 months:
Riley was born with a heart murmur, which is quite common and since it hasn't gone away he had an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist this week. After some test and examinations he narrowed it down to one of two things neither of which are too concerning and said he'd see him back in a year.
Riley is all over the place this month. He pulls up on everything and walks around as long as he is against something. I'm sure he'll be walking in no time.
When he's in a hurry he still does his army crawl.
He's liked his car seat lately and takes daily naps in it.
He loves to eat things he can feed himself.
When he's tired he will actually sit somewhat calmly on my lap (he's never been much on being still so this is pretty amazing).
He often smiles at me even if I'm not smiling to get me to smile back. It's fun to see his personality developing.
He's fearless. Sometimes he forgets he can't walk and will let go and totally eat it. He chases the cat, the vacuum cleaner and anything else that should scare him.
He ate cat food. (On Craig's watch)
He took his first shower.
He hates getting dressed.
He has 7 teeth.
My list has to end here because he's chewing on the computer cord.
I posted a couple of pictures of him NOT smiling.

He spilled formula all over and started crying. I think he thought if he cried he wouldn't be in trouble.

This is his "Mom stop taking pictures" face.

One of those days

2010-10-22T20:22:00.003-05:00

I blogged how my day began in the previous post, little did I know how much better it was going to get.
At 2:30 PM my little angel had yet to take a nap. Enough said about the morning. So I finally put him in his car seat and headed to happy hour hoping he'd fall asleep. Thank goodness he did for a little while. I went back home and moved him to his crib. When he woke up from his nap I could hear him in there talking and playing so I waited a little bit to go in and get him (just in case he decided to go back to sleep. yeah right.). When I heard him pounding on wood of the crib I decided to go get him. I noticed brown stuff all around his mouth and couldn't figure out what it was until I looked down at the crib. That little rascal had about chewed his way out of the crib! UGGHHH. Should have gone with the cheap crib.
4:30 PM I decide that it's time I get dressed and do something with myself before Craig gets home. It's very hard to get ready now a days because you can't look away from this kid for one second before disaster will strike. I should've just stayed in my gym clothes. I'm looking in my bathroom mirror finishing up my hair and Riley is playing on the floor RIGHT beside me. I finish look down and...there sits Riley in a pool of nail polish and glass. Completely covered in nail polish! And we're not talking pastel pink polish, it was a dark brownish shade. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I quickly take the glass from his hands and throw him in the tub simply to contain the mess. Fortunately it hadn't made it to his mouth, there were no cuts, and it wasn't on carpet. As I cleaned up the floor Riley crawls around in the tub (getting polish everywhere), pulls up and proceeds to turn the water on and stand under it. So now he's covered in polish AND soaking wet. (patience, patience, patience) I get him stripped down and run a bath for him and began to use polish remover to try and get most of it off his skin. I finally decide it's reached a point that I shouldn't scrub him anymore with the harsh chemical and leave the remainder of polish to hopefully someday wash away.
As I'm sitting there thinking what a long stressful day it's been I can't help but think of the people in my life I love so much who long for, hope for, and would give anything for a day like this. I shed a tear for them and I am grateful for my day.

2010-10-22T11:14:00.001-05:00

I went to pick Riley up from child care at the gym and the girl said he's so compact and muscular! She gave me a quick once over and asked, is his dad that way??

Sent from my iPhone

Riley swinging

2010-10-20T22:23:00.000-05:00

Recent Happenings

2010-10-20T14:56:00.012-05:00

Mia has become a couch potato.

Riley likes to dunk his face in the bathwater and drink it.
We now find this sight all over the house pulled up on everything. Just when we thought he couldn't get cuter!
Yes, Riley is in there. We recently had a fun trip to Florida and Riley had lots of fun with cousins.

Skeleton Jammies.
Trying on a Halloween costume.
He's alot happier in his car seat lately...I can't figure it out.
LSU vs Florida

Grandma Laura and Grandpa George
Apparently I have a thing for Gator boys!

Gotta stay hydrated.
It was SOOOOOO fun to be in Gainesville and see our friends!! I miss them so much!
Sometimes Riley crawls into closets, laundry baskets, etc to find a quiet place.
We also went to Louisiana to visit Grandparents a few weeks ago.

Yesterday Craig had the day off so he went golfing with our friend Todd and Abby and I took the boys to the zoo in Fort Worth.
Caleb and Riley are just 2 months apart, aren't they too cute? Caleb has major surgery coming up this Wednesday so remember him in your prayers!! He's the sweetest little boy.
Laura- white Tiger.

Oh look Laura- another Tiger. :)
The lions were really pretty!
Riley's favorite part was this giant bird cage. There were tons of birds that you could feed and he loved that they got so close. He was constantly jumping out of my arms trying to touch them.

Tanner with the Iguana, I had no idea they were this big!

2010-10-04T18:20:00.000-05:00

Watching Daddy and Uncle Cameron play softball.

Help! (and) We're going down!

2010-10-02T15:57:00.002-05:00

I'm sucking up my pride and asking for HELP. Riley turned 8 months September 29th. He still gets up twice a night during the 12 hours he's in bed for a bottle. I want my nights back! After 8 months, I am becoming very exhausted. Most people tell me that I need to let him cry it out, but I just don't know if I can. Not if there's another way. We've recently changed his bed time, which is working great, but it threw what little nap schedule he had off so that's a battle too.
Someone should have mentioned that when you are pregnant you should read the pregnancy books AND the after pregnancy books because you aren't going to have time to read them after the baby comes.
That's why I need yalls advice. How did you get your babies to sleep through the night and take naps? I know they say don't rock them, let them fall asleep on you, with a bottle...blah blah blah. So let's start with I do ALL of those things. Why is rocking so bad? Isn't that how we were all put to sleep? And why does every baby store sell rockers and gliders if you aren't supposed to use them? I dunno...obviously my child isn't sleeping through the night so what do I know? I'm sure you all have different experiences and opinions so SHARE, maybe someone will have something that I feel like I can do and will work for us!

On a side note, Riley's big 8 monthish mile stone happened last night. I told Craig about a week ago we should lower Riley's crib before he starts pulling up because I think it's going to happen soon. Craig usually gets home after Riley's already in bed though so it hadn't happened and I've been so worried about it. Last night I had put him down and was on the phone with Craig complaining about my failures as a parent and Riley not sleeping and I could hear him whining in the background so I said I'd better go. (Cause as you've learned I don't let him cry!) I walked into his room and he was standing in his crib leaned over the side, I about had a heart attack. It was one of those moments where I wanted to yell at him (which would have been pointless) and cry at the same time. I'm sure babies have fallen out of cribs, but that's quite a fall and it would have been very traumatic for at least me if not him. Needless to say he got to stay up late last night until Craig got home and we got it adjusted.

Sometimes I look at this kid and I just want to say SLOW DOWN, he's just growing up too fast.

Riley jumping

2010-09-28T16:58:00.000-05:00

Rileys crawl

2010-09-28T15:04:00.000-05:00

Riley's trying to start crawling normal so I had to capture a little video of how he's been getting around. Sorry Amy still no pants.

Riley in his walker

2010-09-26T17:27:00.000-05:00

Just some more Riley

2010-09-24T23:12:00.005-05:00

Has it really been a whole month since I blogged? My mother in law called and chastised me today...so my goal this weekend is to film some high quality video of our Riley boy. So much has been going on, I've neglected the blog- I'll try to catch up at some point. In the meantime, here are some pictures of Riley over the last month or so. Craig calls me daily and asks me to send pictures of what Riley's doing RIGHT then. So these are all cell phone pics.

(Laura, this was taken when I told you about things being a little out of control)

Chubby legs!

Me?!

Del and Rachel make me happy

2010-08-24T22:58:00.006-05:00

So...they haven't posted it on their blog, but...THEY MOVED TO TEXAS! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am they are here. Del got here yesterday and Rachel arrived tonight. For those of you who don't know them, we became great friends in Dental School and parted ways after graduation- not knowing when we'd ever see each other again. Us to Texas, them to New York. Del was in a residency there, but wasn't loving it so we helped convince them Texas was the place to be and they came. Their cool like that, they just do crazy stuff! We're so happy we get to continue having adventures with them and making memories together.

over the years...

Reflection on Marriage #6

2010-08-18T16:39:00.003-05:00

I haven't done one of these in a very long time, not because I haven't had AHA moments with my dear husband, we've just been busy.

Last night, I put my sleeping little boy in his own crib in his own bedroom for the first time. Yes, he is almost 7 months old, but with the move, ordering a crib, teething, blah blah I've just never done it. He started his life in a pack n play bassinet next to my bed in Gainesville, Florida. As we were somewhat of nomads staying with parents and friends as we prepared to move he moved to a pack n play or crib at the foot of the bed and by the time we got to Texas he was sleeping all the way across the room from me!

It was time.

I sat on the couch not wanting to go to bed and leave him across the house (it's not THAT big of a house) all alone. Finally, I climbed into bed next to my husband who was playing a game of scrabble on his iPhone.

I began sobbing.
He looked at me perplexed and questioning.
Through my tears, "I don't want him so far away!" I stared at his empty pack n play and sobbed harder.
Craig, "Are you serious?" He then turns his attention back to his game. A few moments pass and again he looks up, "Are you serious? He didn't leave for college." Back to scrabble.
I try to put things into perspective.
Craig, "What's a word that ends in x?"

I'm not sure there was a lesson learned here from my wisdom rich husband. Perhaps, ignore crazy people and eventually they'll stop being crazy? Just a reflection...

6 Months

2010-08-13T22:24:00.002-05:00

July 29th was Riley's Half Birthday. My mom came to visit from Louisiana (now that we are only 5 hours away!). Riley got lots of new clothes, because he has outgrown everything, and a big boy high chair. I don't have his 6 months stats, what with moving I haven't found him a new doctor yet :(...I know, I've got to get on that.

All about Riley:
- he's such a happy boy, he returns anyone's smile and loves attention (as if he doesn't get enough)
- he can't quite sit up, but thinks it's funny when he topples over
- he's started to spastically squirm across the floor. I'm not sure it's a crawl, but he's definitely mobile and gets where he wants to go..i'll have to get a video of that
- he has a walker with wheels and flies around the house in it. Most of the house is wood floors so he has a blast
- he LOVES our cat Mia. He chases her everywhere and always laughs when she looks at him. Sometimes she's nice and lets him get close enough for a quick touch, which just makes his day
- Mia secretly loves Riley. She pretends he bugs her, but whenever he cries she's the first one to his side. It's so cute.
- everything goes to his mouth, especially paper
- he says da-da-da-da all the time, but doesn't really know what it means
- his first tooth has broken skin, and is the cutest little tooth nub i've ever seen (although it's been a hellish week to get it here!)
- he is full of energy and hasn't stopped moving since i was about 20 weeks pregnant. the kid NEVER stops. I'm excited to see his cute little self walking around, but i know i'll never be able to keep up with him. he already is into anything and everything before i even notice.

He's my guy. We go everywhere together and I love him more than I ever knew I would. It sounds cliche, but I do. I honestly don't know that I could live without him now. He's just so stinkin' adorable. I love that kid.

Picture OVERLOAD

2010-08-13T22:01:00.005-05:00

Some Summer 2010...

Riley FC Dallas vs. Inter Milan

Who doesn't love naked naps?

Rascall Flatts Concert

Zoo with the Fam in Louisiana

Like that Tiger Grandma Laura??

The Hippo could get scary close to you!

Some of the family! This summer was the first time we had all been together in like 11 years, unfortunately I don't have a pic of all of us together!

Rita's

2010-08-13T17:23:00.002-05:00

Del and Rachel told us about this great place called Rita's that they tried in NY. There was one about a half hour from us here in Texas so we decided to check it out last weekend. It was delicious and Riley loved it!

d

Happy 4 Years

2010-08-04T22:22:00.004-05:00

Today is our 4th Anniversary. Having a baby changes everything. I was sooo exhausted today! We don't know anyone here in Texas yet that we could have babysit- even if we did I hate leaving the kid. So we debated, go out to dinner and take the kid, get take out, or do nothing. I was leaning towards nothing- like I said I was so exhausted. Craig was almost home and I remembered a shoebox in my room with terribly uncomfortable stilletos that had yet to be worn. Hmm... I decided to do it! So, I put the tired baby on the closet floor (which he finds very entertaining) and got out the curling iron I wasn't sure I still had and got myself ready. I was going on a date. I'm glad I did, Riley was very well behaved and we had a yummy dinner at one of my favorites- Olive Garden.

He had no idea he was a third wheel.

I do my best thinking in the car

2010-07-15T18:24:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately it's rarely about what I'm doing at that moment, like driving. Craig has my GPS which means I shouldn't leave my house. But I did. I like to think I have a good sense of where I am and which way I should go. Sometimes that works out for me, but rarely. Today it did not. As I was driving down a dirt road through a pasture, I could tell the horses were confused by my presence. However, I just knew my house was in that direction. There wasn't a dead end sign. Shouldn't there be a dead end sign if it was a dead end? I continued on my way, the bumpy road was giving Riley a good nap. Turns out it was in the direction of my house and I actually found pavement within a short 10 minutes. Today I learned I can get around in this new place. Efficiently? No. Safely? Probably not. But I will make it eventually.

Hello Life.

2010-07-13T23:38:00.002-05:00

Don't worry I still have plenty to catch up on, but I'm jumping ahead to RIGHT NOW. Monday Craig finally received the much anticipated letter that he was licensed and could officially begin practicing as a dentist. No time was wasted and he starts work tomorrow!
I feel that we are definitely putting two feet into the world of "grown-ups" tomorrow. Craig is basically beginning his first job after 9 years of college. (Yes, it's about time.) And me, well I've enjoyed having Craig around every day for the past couple of months and I feel as though I'm really beginning my life as a stay at home mom. Just me and the kid. All day. 5+ days a week. :)
So wish us luck- I'm not sure who needs it more!

Riley just over 5 months.
Here's a recent picture of our little family. Riley is blurry because he can't be still enough for a camera to capture him very well. I must tell you more about him soon.

Things we like about Texas:

2010-06-29T21:33:00.004-05:00

#1 Lots of Sonics!

A little something to tide everyone over while you wait for more of my blog catching up...

Route 44 diet coke with vanilla is our favorite.

Happy 29th Craig!

2010-06-26T23:22:00.003-05:00

May 20th was Craig's birthday. Of course we had a celebratory dinner at Sonny's!

I attempted a cookie cake this year. It turned out pretty well, except I had spelling/drawing issues.

Orlando Fun

2010-06-26T23:14:00.003-05:00

Kent and Natalie and their family came to visit from Washington and to be at Craig's graduation. They invited us to spend a few days in Orlando and we enjoyed some relaxing by the pool.

Riley rolls over!

2010-06-26T23:07:00.002-05:00

May 17th, Riley rolled over for the first time! He rolled back to belly and it was quite some time before he learned to roll belly to back and still rarely does that.

"Momma, I'm not sure what just happened..."

"..but it was awesome!"

Riley's baby blessing

2010-06-26T22:47:00.006-05:00

May 2, 2010 we had Riley's blessing in church given by his Daddy. We're so glad we got to share this special day with friends and family- sorry we don't have pictures of everyone as people had to get to their classes to teach, play piano, etc, but we're so glad you were there!

Riley was obviously very excited about things. Typically babies are blessed much younger than Riley, but we had trouble getting a date with everyone in town. We joked Riley would be old enough to turn and wave to the congregation after his blessing.

The Rodgers. These are the parents of Craig's friend Chet who passed away in college and who Riley's middle name is after. We were so happy to have them there!

George and Laura.

The Harrells.

The Toblers.

Val and Christian.

The Barlows.

Hello out there??

2010-06-25T22:52:00.002-05:00

I have SO much blogging to catch up on so be prepared over the next week for lots of posts! I have been without internet, tv, and a washing machine for some time now. I probably should have announced we were moving... but FYI we now live in Frisco, Texas, just north of Dallas. We're waiting on Craig's license and then he will be beginning work! I just wanted to let everyone know that we are still alive...you'll hear from us soon.

Lovin Louisiana!

2010-05-04T14:53:00.009-05:00

On my recent trip to Louisiana I decided to take some pictures for my blog to share with so many of my readers who have NO IDEA where I come from and will probably never visit there... I brought some of my hometown to you! I didn't get a lot of things I wanted to, maybe another time, but here's a start.
This was at the beginning of the trip.I'm pretty sure Riley's expression says "Where the heck am I and why can't I understand anyone?"

This is one of my favorite spots. I used to lay out on this swing while I chatted on the phone. I spent MANY hours here growing up!
My Momma loves flowers and her yard is always full of them!

This picture is to prove that although I live in the middle of the WOODS I do have neighbors! (you can see those houses in the distance, right?)
This was my playhouse growing up. It's two story. The upstairs was the nursery where my dolls slept. Downstairs was the living area and kitchen with a full set of appliances of course.
The front yard.
This the only home I lived in until I moved away to college. It's somewhere behind those trees.
This is Lake Darbonne. I took this picture because Craig always thinks it's weird that there are trees growing in it. I just thought it was normal.
The Darbonne. (Bayou) Yes, we used to swim in this. My mother was actually baptized here.
This is my cemetery. Don't ask. Sometimes you can't help what you inherit.
We spent many many summers jumping off the end of this dock. So many memories!
In the distance you can see the Spillway Dam. My friend growing lived a couple miles on one side and I on the other so we would meet and walk across to hang out. Otherwise it took about 25 minutes to drive around the lake to each others homes.
Riley boy relaxing.
This is my nephew Hunter. I thought it was so cute, he was watching an airplane fly over.
My little brother and me.
My niece Taylor. She's a natural blonde and this time I went home and she had her hair this color...go figure.
It was impossible to get these guys to look at a camera...but at least they are happy!
This picture cost me a dollar to get Hunter to take it.
This swing broke with me while I was on it...thank goodness I wasn't holding Riley.
I'm not sure they wanted to take this picture. What's with the hair over one eye? Must be the style there.
Riley loved his Uncle Todd!
Some fun signs I saw. I'm not sure what a pig sandwich is.
These I know.Before.

After.
These were the best crawfish I've ever had! I ate 5 lbs and could have eaten more. (not my bud light)
Some high school friends.
The street I live on.

The Creek. My cousins and I used to drag an aluminum boat to this creak and paddle down it. We also did lots of fishing in it. Who knows what lives in it.

The back steps I used to sneak out of...j/k!

Hope you like this little bit of my life pre- Craig.

It seems we have a thumbsucker!

2010-04-10T11:19:00.002-05:00

Our Riley boy has been obsessed with sucking on his fist for awhile and we knew this day was inevitable...and yesterday it happened...he finally found his thumb! With a dentist as a dad this is a problem, Craig tried to take his thumb out and our chill little boy LOUDLY let him know he was not okay with that. So the battle begins...but isn't it so cute??

10 Weeks

Easter

2010-04-05T17:06:00.003-05:00

Riley dying eggs

At the park

9 weeks 2 days.

I never wanted to only blog about my kid, but here I am. The problem is I have no other human interaction plus my brain doesn't work as well anymore. I'm gonna work on it

Grandpa Rigby comes to visit

2010-04-03T13:24:00.005-05:00

Riley's only living Great Grandparent came to visit this past week from Idaho. Ray Rigby is Craig's maternal Grandfather and we just love him! I loved hearing him tell stories of how he and his wife Lola met many years ago- he absolutely adored her and it's so fun to hear him talk about her since I never had the pleasure of meeting her. He also shared stories of his many years of service in the Church. He is a man I know the entire family looks to as an example and Riley and I are so happy to have been able to spend time with him and get to know him better.

I think Craig looks a lot like his Grandpa, especially in pictures of him near Craig's age.

Four Generations

Unfortunately Laura has the pictures of just Grandpa and Riley on her camera so I will have to steal those later! Hope you all have fun on your cruise!

Riley's First Date

2010-04-01T10:47:00.006-05:00

Riley had his first date with Jane yesterday. They spent a romantic (chaperoned) afternoon at the park. Isn't she so dang cute?? Jane was born just 4 days before Riley. She's so tall and thin, but I think Riley still has her on weight! He's turning into a little chunk! I couldn't decide which pictures I liked best so I posted a bunch!

They were so serious here.

And they decided they were done.

6 week pics, 2 month stats

2010-03-30T15:16:00.002-05:00

Riley had his 2 month appointment today....

12 lbs 1 oz.
23 inches

It's funny because everyone keeps commenting on how strong he is and how muscular he looks. Even the nurse today thought his arms were so cute because you can see the little definition of his biceps. I'll have to take a picture of them.

These pictures are from a couple of weeks ago when he was 6 weeks. I'll post newer ones soon!

BYU vs Florida

2010-03-18T14:02:00.002-05:00

Today was a day Craig hoped would never come, BYU vs Florida. However, Riley and I were not torn and as you can see Riley was very excited for BYU's win. GO COUGS!

A night in my life.

2010-03-16T11:47:00.004-05:00

11:00 PM Put baby down for second or third time. Straighten up house. Finish workout I started 3 hours before.
12:00 AM Bathe for the first time today, if it's 12:00AM does it count for both days?
12:30 AM Get in bed. Husband can't sleep.
1:00 AM Husband falls asleep. Baby is still awake in his bed and is no longer content. Feed baby. Change diaper.
1:30 AM Lie down. Cat needs love and attention. Pet cat for 10 minutes. Cat goes to sleep.
3:45 AM Baby wakes up. Baby sprung a leak. Find the last clean pair of jammies. Change baby. Baby screams because he's hungry and doesn't want to be changed. Feed baby. Baby's sheet is damp from leak...change sheet or put a blanket down and change in the morning? Put a blanket down. Burp baby. Baby spits up on me. Put baby down. Change my clothes. Get in bed.
6:30 AM Husband's alarm goes off. Too tired to ask why husband is getting up so early. Husband leaves. Baby wakes up. Feed baby. Burp Baby. Baby spits up on himself. Change baby. Put baby down. I lie down.
9:00 AM Baby wakes up. Feed baby. Burp Baby. Change Baby. Put baby down. I think of what I need to do today. I go back to sleep instead.
11:30 AM Baby wakes up. Get dressed. Feed cat. Feed baby. Burp Baby. Change baby.
12:30 PM Baby is tired. Baby agrees to go back to sleep. I blog.

I didn't have to change the sheets on MY bed. Baby didn't throw up an entire bottle. I didn't have to shower in the middle of the night. Everyone survived.
SUCCESSFUL NIGHT.

5 Weeks

2010-03-12T21:28:00.001-06:00

Grandma Copeland took Riley to get his pictures taken last weekend. He was such a good sport! Thanks Laura!!

7 hours of heaven

2010-03-08T22:29:00.003-06:00

Last night Riley baby set a new record sleeping for 7 hours straight- meaning I only had to get up once during the night!! However, when he did wake up I thought he was going to gnaw my arm off before I could get the bottle in his mouth. Wish me luck tonight, I'm expecting the worst after such a great night last night!

I just had to add this...

2010-03-08T22:21:00.002-06:00

I've been asked who I think new little Cannon looks like, and honestly, I have no idea because I always go to this picture and I can only look at Ella. I find myself everyday since I first saw this picture coming back to look at it because her expression here is so funny to me! Ella was just a baby when Kent and Natalie moved from Florida but we still feel like we know her and Ethan so well and we just love them!
Anyways, knowing her personality, this picture just keeps making me smile day after day! Ella you are too funny and adorable!

Babies, Babies and more Babies!

2010-03-07T20:54:00.002-06:00

This weekend was our niece Lola's 1st Birthday! I cannot believe she is a year old, it's flown by and she just gets cuter and cuter by the day.
Also, on March 1 our newest nephew Cannon Rigby Copeland was born- so Riley is no longer the baby in the family. We are so excited for Riley to have another boy in the family so close to his age. We have high hopes of them being the best of friends! Congrats to Kent and Natalie on their little miracle! We can't wait to meet him in May.

And then of course a few pictures of Riley!
At his 1 month appointment he has chunked up to 10 lbs 10 oz and is now 21.5 inches. I'm not sure where he's putting it because he is not nearly chubby enough...bring on the rolls! The Dr. was surprised at how much he is eating- which is constantly, but I think he's just burning it right off. If you've had the privilege of holding Riley you know what I mean. He never stops moving. He's constantly flailing about, jumping around, and kicking with arms flying. He's like holding a wild animal, he definitely behaves the same as when I was pregnant with him. He DOES NOT act like a 5 week old- he even thinks he can hold his head up and does a pretty good job of it.

His favorite part of the day is tubby time.

His Daddy has him practicing his throwing technique already.

We loved surprising Craig for lunch in Riley's cute little LSU outfit. This was snapped during a very brief period that he was still and sleeping. Did I mention he prefers to NOT take naps during the day? The only way to get him to sleep is to go for a ride and I think it's because that's the only time he is still is when he's strapped down.

Symposium Summary

2010-03-04T13:08:00.003-06:00

You can read a summary of Trevor's paper in the Church News. (His name is listed as Joseph T. Antley)

I pledge...

2010-03-01T16:32:00.004-06:00

To lose my baby weight.

I'm putting this in writing. So when you see me in a few months if I'm not on track you can all say "Wow, she really let herself go after having a baby. She'll never lose that weight" behind my back. (Don't say it to my face). I've decided the "easy weight loss" has had it's chance and now it's time to work for it!
Today I went out and bought a baby carrier as I was having a dilemma getting a workout in. Riley loved it and went to sleep as soon as I got on the eliptical. So I've officially started working out as we mark his 1 month birthday (I'll post more pictures soon, but in the mean time you can see some here). And I've officially finished this 30.4 oz bag of these
That would be 22 Servings of 21 pieces, or 462 little sour men. Thanks George and Laura for that great birthday present- this isn't including the bag they brought me during labor.

Anyways, so I'm serious. This is it. Now or never.
To all my clothes: we will be together again soon.

Congratulations Trevor!

2010-02-23T14:55:00.002-06:00

Last Friday my brother, Trevor, presented a paper at the BYU Religious Symposium, won a cash prize, and will be published! He put a lot of work into it and was the only winner who is an undergraduate. We're so proud of you Trev!

I don't know why I like this terrible picture of us, but I do!

I can finally say I'm dating the Quarterback

2010-02-22T17:20:00.006-06:00

These boys take their football league VERY seriously. Craig isn't much for conversation on game day, he has to stay focused, so the morning and ride to the game are very quiet. On the way home from the game we have to review everything that happened and I have to critique him. Then he and his teammates will often call each other and discuss what they should have done differently and what they'll do next game. Their plays are drawn up and should be laminated by next game thank goodness.
Week before last someone on the opposing team asked Craig if he played in college. I often worry a scout is going to see him and grab him right up and we'll have gone to dental school for nothing- he's that good.

Riley has spent the first 3 weeks of his life attending 2 of Craig's Intramural basketball games, 3 of Craig's football games, and 2 Gator basketball games. He hasn't been to a baseball game yet, but he's dressed and ready!

Riley Weeks 1-2

2010-02-17T21:48:00.003-06:00

Take that Dust!

2010-02-15T19:32:00.002-06:00

You always hear stories about awful mother-in-laws, well any of my sisters-in-law will tell you we have an AMAZING mother-in-law. I mean who could dislike someone who spends their day off cleaning your house and taking care of your baby? That's exactly what mine did today. Let's just say I was a little behind on some cleaning. After doing laundry, vacuuming, mopping, cleaning the nursery, feeding the baby, etc Laura was kind enough to dust the ENTIRE house. However, I noticed something just as she finished:

Yes, Laura, Pledge has a yellow lid as well, but it doesn't have dead roaches on the can. At least we know our furniture will be free of rodents.
Seriously...thanks Laura for cleaning my house!!!

Riley's Debut

2010-02-04T13:15:00.006-06:00

WARNING.
This is going to a VERY long blog post. This is probably the only place I will ever record Riley's story so don't feel you need to read the entire blog. I'll try to keep it organized so you can read the parts you'd like.

How it began.

After waiting 41 weeks and 1 day we finally had everything scheduled for Riley's stubborn arrival. Of course he was not going to have that- we already knew no one was going to tell him when to come! At 2:30 AM Thursday January 28 my water broke. It was a bit like a TV moment except not as cool- I hope my water never breaks again because it doesn't stop until he arrives! I contemplated for about 10 minutes what I should do. Craig and my mom were sleeping and I was trying to decide if I should wake them or hold out a bit longer. I finally decided I should call my midwife and wake Craig.

We arrived at the hospital around 4:00AM and I was examined etc and a room was arranged. I was still only dilated a mere 1 cm.

Labor.

After no progress around 9AM I was given Cervidil which is used for about 12 hours before beginning Pitocin. It was a slower route to labor that's a little more natural for your body and we opted for this since there was some concern about his size and the ease of a vaginal delivery.
After about 10-11 hours I was 100% effaced although still only 2-3cm. The Cervidil causes contractions to begin but slowly so I was never in too much pain until the end and I was becoming fairly uncomfortable. Around 9-10PM I was started on Pitocin and Antibiotics due to my water haven been ruptured for so many hours. They started the Pitocin slowly while I waited my turn for my epidural. (My nurses and midwife were awesome!) It was a crazy night- I think 11 babies were born. I heard it was b/c the moon was full. I got my epidural- which was actually more painful that I thought it would be and it spread really fast. I was having some heaviness in my chest and throat and had to take oxygen for a little while but was soon okay.

Delivery.

Around 4AM Friday January 29 it was time to push. They allowed his head to drop really low in hopes of pushing being shorter. I was completely numb, but amazingly able to push which seems odd. However, Riley was stretching himself out and causing me a great deal of pain in the upper abdomen, making it very painful to lean forward and push. Everyone was so encouraging, but I became very frustrated about halfway through and stopped and declared I wasn't even doing anything. I tried to think of some ways out of this situation, but it seemed pushing was the only route- so I was back at it. 45 minutes of pushing and about 26 1/2 hours since my water broke Riley was here!

Stats.

Riley Chet Copeland
8 lbs 9 oz
20 inches
4:59AM January 29th

Postpartum.

The Grandmas were waiting anxiously in the waiting area because Craig and I had decided we wanted it to be just us for the delivery. It was a pretty special experience.

Later that evening we were moved to a knew room to rest up and recover. Del, Rachel and Michael came by to meet Riley and bring us some decent food and we played the oh so proud parents! While they were there Riley started spitting up and neon greenish/yellow fluid. I thought it was odd since he spit up more than he had even eaten at this point, but we didn't think too much of it. Our friends left and Riley continued to spit up...Alot and we knew that something wasn't right. When the nurses came they too knew something was wrong and Riley was suddenly whisked away from us.

The turn of events.

We went from showing off our perfect little baby to being scared out of our minds. we quickly followed Riley to the special care nursery where they began inserting a tube down his throat. It's amazing how fast you fall in love because my heart was breaking as he screamed. I couldn't watch and began pacing the nursery and crying while Craig had to stay by his side and help hold him for the tube and IV. I knew it wasn't any easier for Craig and I felt so guilty that I couldn't pull it together for Riley. It was just the saddest sight.

They were concerned the substance could be bile or perhaps an infection. No one really knew, but of course I could only imagine the worst. He was started on antibiotics that would take 48 hours during which he could not eat. They did xrays to check for blockages and problems internally and blood work. As the next 48 hours went on we patiently waited for each result- each one indicating no problems. I sat in the nursery for hours into the night holding him and trying to comfort him. I don't think I've ever gone so many days without sleep.

The results.

Everything seems fine. All the test looked good and after draining more of the substance from his tummy he didn't spit up any more. They think if it wasn't some sort of infection it was just amniotic fluid or something he swallowed that had to come out. Also, by the time we left they couldn't hear his heart murmur anymore...I forgot to mention he was born with a murmur. So Monday evening we got to bring our baby home!

Mushy stuff.

We feel so blessed that he is healthy and everything is okay. Looking back it doesn't seem like too big of a deal especially since it ended so well, but at the time there was nothing bigger in the world. It made us realize very quickly how precious this little boy is and how only hours after birth we couldn't live without him.

Of course I've attached some pictures for your viewing pleasure!

On our way to the hospital

One night while Riley was still in the Special Care Nursery I came back to the room around 2AM and this is what I found.

The Copeland wrist- the Sister-In-Laws know what I'm talking about.

The last pregnancy update (hopefully)

2010-01-27T12:20:00.002-06:00

I went to the Dr. today and had another ultrasound determining this kid is healthy, the placenta is healthy, there is plenty of fluid and NOT a lot of progress. However, he is estimated at a whopping 9 lbs so that got my providers moving!
We were given the option to go ahead and have a c section because of the concern of his size or try a vaginal birth with induction and c section as backup. We decided to go with getting induced and hope for the best (Nicole, all I can think about is your labor story!)
I check in to the hospital tomorrow (Thursday) night and I will be induced Friday morning. So, it seems this kid will be here Friday one way or another!
During the ultrasound she was able to get some great views of his face and she determined he was going to be a great kisser because his lips looked huge! The thought of those lips will be what gets me through the next couple of days!!

Dear Blog Readers

2010-01-24T16:45:00.003-06:00

You know that day the big news is supposed to come? Your college acceptance? If you got the job? Well our big day has come and gone and now we've moved on. Leading up to my due date we were frustrated, impatient and just waiting hour after hour. Now that is has passed we've accepted our fate: this will just be a way of life for us. I will be pregnant forever- never to see this baby. And now we must move on, but to what? Should I go buy the new wardrobe I will need for forever pregnant? Start applying for jobs? Return all the baby stuff? Perhaps begin doing all those things I was going to do after I had the baby? So many things to think about.
We're grateful for everyone's thoughts and concerns. I believe there are many out there who are more anxious than even us. I hope that yall are able to move on as we have.
Hopefully any day now, but we've prepared ourselves for forever pregnant.

Sincerely,
Forever Pregnant

Nothing.

2010-01-18T22:24:00.001-06:00

Two people asked me today if I am having twins. This has gotta end.

Christmas and New Years 2009

2010-01-12T20:15:00.006-06:00

Christmas was very different this year. It was our first Christmas with just us. Craig's parents were cruising around New Zealand and Australia and we decided b/c I was 8 months pregnant not to travel too far away. I was a little sad not going home since it was my very first Christmas not at my parents house (I'm not quite sure how I've pulled that off after 3 married Christmas's). But as you can see my Mom made sure we had plenty of presents from Santa! It was fun to just be together and to have some quiet time before our lives so drastically change...at least for a couple of days. Craig and I aren't very good at doing "nothing" and grew bored very fast, but somehow kept each other entertained with movies and games and getting things ready for Baby Boy.

At one point we had a lot of decorations on our tree, but Mia took care of that.

Of course Momma didn't forget to send Mia a present.

Even a homemade present...

and she loved it!

I made my first Holiday dinner, but I think I overdid it a bit. After 3 days of eating we threw out so much food!

We spent New Year's at the Perry's...the boys somehow managed to beat us at Cranium.

It looks like I fell on the floor and couldn't get up...I don't think I fell, but I probably couldn't get up.

This would have been at about 37 weeks. I swear some of the puffiness is swelling!! At least that's what I tell myself every day.

Graduation

2010-01-12T16:37:00.004-06:00

I thought I'd better do a little "nesting" and catch up on some blogging! I graduated from UF in December with my Masters of Science in Management. I can't believe it's come and gone already! It didn't feel like as big of a deal as I thought it would, perhaps because much bigger things are pending. However, I worked really hard this past year and am so grateful for everything to have gone so smoothly with the pregnancy, work, and school. I was so fortunate to be able to balance it all with the help of good bosses, great friends at school, and an amazing husband! They all put up with a lot- especially Craig as he was often neglected while my school, job, and church calling received all the attention. I'm excited to now focus on being a wife and mother for awhile! I couldn't have done this all without Craig and I'm so thankful to be married to the kind of person who has supported me no matter what I've wanted to do, even when it adds to his own busy life.

The gang.

A little (or not so little) update

2010-01-07T17:57:00.002-06:00

I'm just over 38 weeks today and we went in for an ultrasound b/c of some uncertainty about the baby's position. Turns out he's in the go position- so no worries there! He wouldn't let us see his face, but we could tell he has hair which throws me off a little b/c I thought he might be bald. And at 38 weeks he's weighing in at 7lbs, so some of you may want to rethink your weight guesses. We knew he wouldn't be small and are actually pretty happy he's ONLY 7 lbs! Now back to waiting...

You Know You're Pregnant When....

2010-01-06T12:15:00.002-06:00

1. Your husband finds your appearance FUNNY.
2. Your husband no longer tells people you are getting bigger by the minute, but by the second (Is that even possible?!)
3. You get asked at least 10 times a day "How much longer?"
4. When you walk in to a room people chuckle and attempt to say "you look so cute" *snicker snicker*
5. When you are on the phone the other person asks, "Why are you panting?"
6. People at work are making bets on when he's coming (most all predicting before the due date b/c it couldn't be humanly possible to get that much bigger) and how much he weighs (which is also a concern of breaking human records)
7. You find it difficult to sit, stand, walk, or lie down. Oh wait what does that leave? NOTHING.
8. Someone passes you in the hallway and says, "YOU'RE still walking around here?"
9. People shake their head and say, "Better you than me"
10. The bus driver LOWERS the bus for you to get on, I kid you not, like they might do for a person in a wheel chair

Forgive me if I'm a little preoccupied with this whole pregnancy thing right now...I do plan to post about graduation and Christmas at least, I just need to upload some pics.

Baby Shower

2009-12-06T19:03:00.004-06:00

This past Thursday, some great friends threw me a baby shower here in Gainesville. It was a lot of fun and we got some way cute stuff for baby boy. My mother-in-law took tons of pics, they are on her blog if you'd like to see more. I'm feeling a little lazy and didn't want to copy them all to mine.

Amy, Rachel, me, and Irene.

These are the party throwers themselves. They did a really good job and really went out of their way to make this a special event, I'm so grateful for such good friends!
Thanks everyone who came to the shower and for the darling gifts!

I have finals this week (along with the a terrible cold!) and then my attention turns to getting everything ready for this boy, perhaps he'll even get a name. Anyways, hopefully I'll have nursery pics soon and I'll definitely get some cute ones of the darling crib bedding Craig's mom made.

Bragging Rights

2009-12-02T22:11:00.002-06:00

I don't generally brag, but that's what I'm about to do.
I received good grades in high school, but let's just say I haven't been a straight A student since then. HOWEVER, I received an exam back last week with a perfect score. I was quite excited because this has NEVER happened in my college career(s).
It gets better.
The professor then announces that whoever receives a perfect score on her exams gets $10! Now, my new business education tells me this is not a very good return on my investment considering the course cost $800. Fortunately, I had many more years of psychology than business classes, so I can still feel great about it!

32 Weeks 2 Days and Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T20:32:00.006-06:00

I am doing this VERY RELUCTANTLY. Don't expect another one. If you can imagine, this is the last of 15 attempts at a picture and this is as good as it got. My lower half is deliberately cut off, my arms are strategically placed away from body to look as thin as possible (I told Craig not to cut off my elbow, that's my best feature right now), my hands are covering my love handles, and a face can only look so chubby from the side,right?! The unhappiness on my face is no act.

On a lighter note, Happy Thanksgiving! This is our Thanksgiving picture, I'm not sure what happened. I think someone said, "Craig, how do you feel about having a baby in a few weeks?"

In all seriousness, we have so much to be grateful for. We have been so blessed throughout our marriage, and in our lives, that I'm a little paranoid of something going wrong. Life cannot go this well! Of course we've had our trials and struggles, but nothing that can overshadow all the blessings. We are so thankful for our families and I for my husband and we cannot wait for this little guy to get here. I'm pretty sure we have no idea what we're doing or what we're getting ourselves into, but yet we can't wait!

I was thinking to myself...

2009-11-18T21:43:00.003-06:00

How am I supposed to concentrate during exams when someone keeps punching me in the stomach? Then I saw this picture of what a baby should look like at 31 weeks, and I knew in fact he was punching me. Does he really have his arms in a boxing position??

Sorry if fetus pictures gross you out...they kinda do me too.

Do have a simply marvelous day!

2009-11-17T17:47:00.004-06:00

When I go to school and work I park at the commuter lot at UF then take the bus to where I need to go. (For our nonFlorida friends...UF's campus is quite large.) I frequently have the same bus driver and every time someone requests a stop she says, "Please gather all your belongings and exit through the rear door and do have a simply marvelous day. And all that good stuff" Without fail, every day, every stop she says this and in such a chipper voice! However, I ride the bus enough to know her dark side. There are three things that quickly change her friendly mood: 1) eating on the bus, 2) putting your feet on the seats, and 3) trying to exit through the front door. These things make her very angry and she will call you out over the microphone. If you try to exit through the front door (even if no one is getting on the bus and you are sitting right beside it) she will yell at you, hold out her arms to block you, and refuse to open the door. I don't like to get in trouble so I always follow her rules. I even sit in the back of the bus so I don't forget to use the rear exit.
Tonight I was getting off the bus and she yells, "Miss, Miss! Please come to the front of the bus." I was sooo scared! As I slowly walked to the front I kept wondering what I could have done wrong and I couldn't think of anything. Everyone else was off the bus by this point. Our conversation went like this:
Me: Yes mam?
Bus Driver Lady: I don't mean to be nosy, but I noticed you rubbing your belly. Does it itch?
Me: Yes, a little. (My belly didn't itch, I think I was just rubbing it- he probably kicked or something, but I was scared so I went along with her)
Bus Driver Lady: Do you put lotion on?
Me: Yes, I've just been at school all day and haven't since I've been here.
Bus Driver Lady: Crisco. Put crisco on your belly.
Me: Oh! Well, I have this belly butter that basically is the same consistency.
Bus Driver Lady: Yep, use that and you won't have no stretch marks. I don't have a one. Is this your first?
Me: Yes.
Bus Driver Lady: Well, have a good night.
Me: Thanks, keep the tips coming! (sucking up)
I then turn to go to the rear exit as I am well trained.
Bus Driver Lady: Go ahead and get off right here.
Now this may not sound like a big deal, but I see this lady fight with kids every day sending them to the rear exit and she told me to use the front exit!! There was no greater privilege she could give me.
I can think of a lot of things to complain about right now and I'll never put Crisco on my belly, but you know what? At the end of the day I got to exit from the front of the bus. And it was a simply marvelous day.

Happy Birthday George!

2009-11-03T09:20:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was my father-in-laws birthday. I'm not sure how old he is, he wouldn't say, but I would guess around 70. :) I've included a few of my favorite pictures of him.

In all seriousness, we have a great father and father-in-law and are so blessed! We are assured to always have a good time when we are with him. Quiet- no, safe- possibly not, but fun- always!

Louisiana/Texas Roadtrip

2009-11-02T18:21:00.011-06:00

3 or so weeks ago Craig and I made the journey to Texas to check out some dental opportunities and we made a few stops along the way...

While driving in Louisiana we saw some cotton growing on the side of the road and Craig had never seen real cotton before. He thought it grew on trees so I was driving and stopped to make him go pick some cotton! (This is what it looks like for the rest of you who have never seen cotton- it just looks like cotton balls growing on a plant!)

Conveniently, the time we were able to go out to Texas happened to be the same weekend as the Florida/LSU game so of course we had to stop for that. Our friends Trent and Amelia came too, we were sad we had to ride in separate cars since we wouldn't be headed back to Florida for another week, but we still had fun!

Sometimes things get heated during this game.

But we managed to pretend we liked each other for the camera.

We left Florida Friday evening after work and school and drove to Baton Rouge, getting there around 3 AM, we got up around 6 or so to make it to College Game Day.

I'm smiling in this picture, but the reality was 8 hrs in the car, 3 hrs of sleep, standing for 3 hrs in a crowd, 26 weeks pregnant, not to mention LA humidity! I was not doing well by this point! I spent some time that morning crouched over trying to breathe and not pass out!

I tried to get a picture of Mike the Tiger, but I couldn't get a good angle.

Amelia took this picture, but I thought it looked really cool!

After Baton Rouge, we headed north 3 1/2 hrs to my parents. This was our stop off point between destinations. These pictures are all mixed up, but when we stopped on our way back to Florida my mom and other family threw a baby shower for me.

They played a game where everyone wrote down how many inches they thought I was around. I'm posting this picture since it shows how big I really am!

I have to include this story...it's an inside joke kind of but I don't want to forget it! Amber, the girl in the bottom left corner, was (is) my best friend growing up. We were inseperable from kindegarten on. So somehow we came up with this game of sorts. We both had really long hair when we were younger and we would collect the hair from our hairbrushes and roll them into hairballs (if this is completely grossing you out- skip ahead). So once we made the hairballs we would hide them throughout her house for her mom to find. We put them places like the bathroom faucets so when she turned the water on a hairball would come out. Other times just in drawers and stuff. We thought it was SO FUNNY. I don't even know how many months/years we did this. So, when I opened the gift from her mom out falls two hairballs! Amber happened to be sitting next to me and saw it and we were dying!! We hadn't thought about that for sooo long and it was so funny her mom thought to do that. I could NOT stop laughing and it was so awkward because it wasn't really something you could share with all the other people watching me open gifts.

Green and brown are the colors we're doing the nursury so everything at the shower was green!

My mom made this diaper cake and I thought she did an amazing job! Super cute!

Somehow I didn't get any pictures with my mom or anyone else for that matter. I have pictures of everyone else and pictures of just me, but no groups! :(

During our few days in Dallas we crammed in a lot. Craig had an interview and several dentists he was meeting with and talking to. Overall it was a very successful trip and we've pretty much decided Dallas is our next home and probably forever home! We're really excited, but REALLY sad at the thought of leaving Gainesville.

While there we did cram in some fun things, like a U2 concert in the new Dallas Stadium. The stadium might have been more impressive than U2.

Also, while we were there a dentist friend of Craig's took us out to this resturaunt. The reason I post about this is because it was the most amazing food we have ever eaten. EVER. Of course we won't be able to pay for a meal there for several years...but WOW.

We also got to spend some time with Cameron (Craig's brother) and wife Anne and their family. As well as Todd and Abby and their little boy. Abby is pregnant right now too and we took some pictures together, but I don't have those yet. I'll have to do another post later of all the things I forgot!

Baby Craig and Cassie

2009-10-25T19:14:00.003-05:00

I just thought it would be fun to post a baby picture of Craig and me. This is what we have to work with... I think the only given attribute is that this little boy will be a chunk.

H&M

2009-10-24T20:54:00.001-05:00

For those of you who haven't heard and are H&M fans, there is now a store in Orlando!

Dear Son,

2009-10-22T17:24:00.004-05:00

*Disclaimer: This letter is based on actual events and experiences true to my life; however, they may not and will not apply to all pregnant women. Also, this may not be G rated, if this is a problem do not proceed.

Dear Son,

There are many things you have taught me so far:
(aka- Things no one tells you about pregnancy:)

1. It's possible to become so forgetful that when giving a urine sample you forget to use the cup and have to stop mid-pee and get one.

2. Other people whose babies are due at the same time will always be smaller than you. Feel free to justify this any way you'd like.

3. People secretly joy in watching you get fat.

4. You will think you are only getting a belly and haven't gained weight anywhere else...it's not true.

5. Emitting gases from you body was once unacceptable; however, when pregnant it becomes much welcomed as any extra room you can create is worth it- you may even look forward to it. You'll do anything to be more comfortable. I would still suggest this in private.

6. Strangers now feel like you must have something in common. Everyone has had a baby or knows someone who has had a baby. Anyone and everyone will talk to you, even in elevators where usually no one speaks.

7. If you are in school, people will stare, whisper, and feel sorry for your unfortunate situation. They will also be wondering if you're going to keep the baby.

8. Indigestion. You will be so alarmed you'll probably wake your husband in the middle of the night because you have no idea what is happening.

9. The most delicious foods can become painful to eat, probably your favorite. For me, chocolate.

10. Occasionally your belly will be touched and rubbed. I don't know how or when this possibly could have become acceptable.

11. It's possible to not recognize yourself in the mirror.

12. Upon reaching a certain size you can actually set things on your belly, just like a shelf.

13. If you secretly wished that when you got pregnant for the first time in your life you'd be well endowed, there is a small percentage of the population that do not get this perk.

14. People will say, "Sleep while you can", these people forgot or do not know what it's like to be pregnant.

15. When your belly starts to grow, it can hurt. Sort of like being sore from an ab work out except exactly the opposite is happening: any abs you had or hoped for are merely being destroyed.

Thank you, Son, for these valuable lessons.
__________
I'm sure as the days and weeks go on I will gain more knowledge and I'll be sure to share my wealth with you.

The Gainesville Sun

2009-10-05T10:37:00.002-05:00

After an uplifting weekend of conference, I was pleasantly surprised to see this article in the Gainesville Sun:

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20091005/ARTICLES/910059960/1034?Title=Mormons-told-to-exemplify-Christian-values-daily

I just thought it was neat that President Monson's message made it all the way to our local newspaper here in Florida!

Three things on my mind:

2009-10-02T15:11:00.004-05:00

First, Yesterday I had my usual Dr. appointment and she says, "You're weight is good, but you probably don't want to gain that much EVERY month". (crap)
Today, A lady I work with says, "Yesterday this pregnant girl crossed the street in front of me and I was like WOW she's REALLY pregnant. Then I realized it was you Cassie. You looked really big in the outfit you had on yesterday." (Thank you.)

Second, Chandler Whitt told me about White Hot Chocolate at Dunkin Donuts. It's delicious if you haven't tried it. I think I'm addicted.

Third, I saw a girl wearing denim overalls today at UF. Are overalls back? I sure hope not, that was a mistake to begin with.

And you thought Minnie Mouse was cute?

2009-09-29T21:55:00.002-05:00

I stole these pictures of my nieces, but I wanted them handy to just look and how darn cute they are!

Oh the bright lights

2009-09-23T10:24:00.002-05:00

Mia has a blanket at the end of our bed where she sleeps.
This is what she looks like if you walk in and turn the light on during a nap.
And if you don't turn the light back off it will be followed by a glare.

23 Weeks

2009-09-22T17:21:00.003-05:00

I always thought I would be one of those people who posted a picture every week of my pregnancy...and then the time came and I realized why people DO NOT want to post pictures. However, due to some people's relentless requests here they are.
When I looked at the pictures I said, "These don't do me justice, I look way bigger than this in real life" as Craig said, "Really? I was going to say you look bigger in the pictures." Go figure.
Please understand these are taken after a LONG day of work and school!

Ultrasound

2009-09-12T15:10:00.002-05:00

For those who would like a sneak peak. Check out that noggin.