Just some pictures

In late September we took a trip to Dallas to see Papa Doc & Mary.  The highlights were that we got to see a LOT of family, TE had a stomach virus (which led to many wardrobe changes), and he slept for an entire 3 hours Saturday night.  

This is our version of "Where's Waldo", except that you should be looking for Mason & Thomas.  Here's a hint: TE is busy spreading his viral cooties on Mason's toys. 

Ahhh, Late Afternoon, Day 1 of the trip.  Total nap time: Zero hours, minutes or seconds.  Even with baggy eyes he's still cute though. 

Papa Doc, Addy, TR and TE (minus cute outfit that he arrived in).

Papa Doc, Nana, TR, TE and TE's belly.  It's hard to tell, but his Nana is pretty happy to be with him.  In case you're wondering why everyone is looking in different directions, it's because there are about 15 people taking pictures.  It's a Copeland tradition to take at least 100 pictures/hour.  

Papa diagnosed TE with Flintstone-atitis in both feet.

Uncle Scot, Papa Doc, TR, Mason, Tyson and TE.  Talk about a wild bunch.

This is just a random blurry picture in the bunch.  TE's expression is great.  Somebody must have said "Wubba wubba".  For some reason he laughs when we say that to him.  It must mean something in babyese.

The long ride home from Dallas.  TE is tired of the paparazzi (see Copeland Tradition above).  You can see all of the bags under his eyes.  Even though nobody got any sleep on Saturday night, we all slept like rocks on Sunday. 

 

Another random bath-time picture in his new tub.  It was working fine for everyone until he started standing.  Now it's practically impossible to keep him in the water.  Every piece of baby gear we have has a ridiculous harness system.  However, the bathtub that is wet, soapy and incredibly slippery, seems to have slipped through the harness installation department.  On the bright side, my arms get a great workout every bath night.  Trying to hold on to a soapy wiggly creature isn't easy. 

No, we haven't started baby proofing yet.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Life of Riley

Well, it is most of the time, unless TE is being beaten up by a GIRL.

Look mom, no black eyes.  We were just playing.

It's just another day at the Kiddie Corral.  I would get one of these for our house, but if TE doesn't scoot around all day on the floors, how else are they going to get clean?  He's our little Roomba.

So many toys, so little time.  

TE is smiling because he has successfully licked every thing in this picture.  

The other morning when I was getting ready for work, TE was in our room on the floor by the bathroom door. When I looked over (he was being suspiciously quiet), he was laying on his stomach, mouth wide open, tongue out, licking the bathroom door. 

Yet another proud moment at the Copeland house.

Thomas' BFF

You've all heard me talk about her, and I finally have evidence that TE really does have a girrrrrllllfriend.  

Her name is Caitlyn, and she's Candice's youngest daughter.  TR and I refer to her as The Older Woman because she was born 19 days before TE.

Caitlyn wears cute outfits and has lots of teeth.  She also sits up like a pro and I bet there's some crawling going on there, too.

Thomas, on the other hand, has been subjected to bulk-buy onesies, is constantly drooling and doesn't have any teeth.  I figure that's because he's working really hard on developing a full head of hair.  Oh, and his primary mode of transportation is rolling.  As far as crawling goes, he obviously thinks that's for girls.

Here's the lovely couple having some quality tummy time. Notice Caitlyn's cute ensemble, and how she puts on a cute face for her portrait.  Thomas is...well...I'm not quite sure.  We have a lot of pictures of him looking this way - straight into the camera with his poker face.  hmmmm....

Caitlyn is admiring TEs luxurious head of hair.  Either that or she's discovered some formula crust in one of TEs neck rolls.  TE doesn't mind...or even notice.  He is very focused on having his picture taken, as you can tell by that poker face.  Really, why does he do that?

Too bad there aren't any teeth for Caitlyn to see.  But, she manages to keep a polite smile as not to offend.  Yes, a polite, TOOTHY smile!  TE is probably sizing up her hand and wondering if he can fit her entire fist in his maw.  His won't fit, and it's not for lack of trying, but this little girl hand may be the perfect size.  

Here's Caitlyn trying to teach TE the Hokey Pokey.  Too bad that he doesn't understand that 'right arm' isn't 'left leg'.  Then again who cares - TE thinks it's fun - especially the whole roll yourself around part.  

Candice picked a perfect day to take pictures.  First off, Caitlyn is in pink and TE is in blue.  And TE isn't wearing a onesie.  He's actually in a little boy outfit, which, incidentally, happens to be a one piece deal.  Yes, I like them.  They are easy.  The are comfortable for TE.  They can be purchased in bulk, usually on sale, at Kohl's.  When he starts to outgrow them I buy another batch of five.  No, they do NOT have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday written on the rear end.  But if they did, I'd still make the purchase.

Here's another picture of TE kickin' it old school at Candice's.   When I saw this picture I finally understood why TE was completely unimpressed with the bouncer we have at home.  The chair he's sitting in (in the picture) rotates around that center pod of doo-dads & noisemakers.  The chair also spins so he can face in or out.  

Our bouncer goes up.  And then down.  And I think that's only because Newton says there's a law about things that go up have to come down.  It has some toys stuck to it, too.  Most of them are placed at a level that is designed to poke out eyes when he gets the bounce going.

Here's another angle where you can see TE in action.  Notice all of the other fun stuff in the background awaiting his drool.

TE loves Six Flags...I mean Candice's house.  First of all, Caitlyn is there, and of course there are a ton of toys to play with, AND, Candice runs a tight ship.  Translation: she has TE on a SCHEDULE.  (you should hear angels singing here) This has made life for TR and I a lot easier, to say the least, and TE thrives on consistency.  

Yes, finding Candice spared TE from baby jail (day care center).  The more I reflect on how this all came to be, the more I believe that we have yet another blessing to count.  I had looked at several baby jails before calling Candice.  I had just assumed that she would not have room for TE.  Four jails into the process, I called her because I realized that it was at least worth a phone call to confirm my suspicions.  Fortunately, suspicions are nothing but that, and timing is everything. One of her charges was moving, and she had an opening.  She was also taking off some time in December after having Caitlyn, and was planning on being back around late January/early February....the exact time that I would need to return to work.  

I think the pictures above tell the rest of the story...and maybe show a little of what lies ahead for TE.

And Candice, just in case you're reading this, I believe etiquette dictates that the bride's family pays for the wedding.  And I always did picture my sweet pea having a big wedding followed by a fancy reception complete with ice sculptures.....

:)

Father's Day, Surprise Visitors, Motel Hell

For Father's Day we packed up the family truckster and headed to Fort Worth. Unknown to Dad, Kim & Tony flew in on Friday from New York as a surprise.  TE saw this as a golden opportunity to add new members to his fan club.  TR & I saw this as an opportunity to give other, sweet, loving people the 'opportunity' to hold the baby.  

Aunt Kim & Uncle Michael are racing to see who can complete their Sudoku puzzles first.  I'm not quite sure who won or even if anyone won.  We did a lot of eating, so there wasn't much time for Sudoku folly.

Here's O'ma in her usual mode - cooking.

Uncle Tony & Aunt Kim - one of the many pictures of us sitting at a table full of food.  

Uncle Tony & O'pa even found a little time to cuddle after breakfast.  


Let them eat cake...or icing...you make the call.  All I have to say is that when pieces of cake were handed out, any piece that had an icing rose on it managed to make a full circle & ended up sitting by the cake.  Fortunately, the cake part was delicious, and I sure didn't mind scraping off those 4lb. roses to get to it.

I would like to say that this picture must have been taken at breakfast, seeing at Great O'ma is in her PJ's, but it could just as well been lunch or dinner.  Ferguson's are strong believers in staying in your jimjams as long as possible.  Who knows when you might be suddenly overtaken by a rogue nap?  

I'm really impressed that both Thomas and Tony are feigning the EXACT same look of interest.  I get this same look from TR when I talk about work.

Is there anything more special about Father's Day than getting to grill everyone's dinner...with several Chefs blabbing to you about how to properly cook their steaks?  

This picture was taken just before we left. TE is just heartbroken that he's leaving everyone. He always has a lot of fun with the family.  Then again, he could be crying because he just remembered where he spent the night. 

Some call it Motel 6, I call it Motel Hell.  TR thought that since the Schierloh B&B was going to be pretty full (O'ma, O'pa, Great O'ma, Uncle Tony & Aunt Kim) that we should stay at a motel. 

Now, this is where the commitment part of marriage comes into play.  Because I wasn't feeling much love when we drove to our doom.

I don't even know where to begin with this one.  It's hard to decide which part of our stay was the worst.  Was it the large, uninterested desk attendant who did me the favor of checking us in? Was it the part where I was given a TV remote control along with the credit-card style room key, and told to turn in both when we checked out?  

Was it the vending machine full of toiletries, lighters, cards and yes, generic condoms (bottom left, in discreet box) for $1.05?

Was it that our room was #242? (Unfortunately, we found it in spite of the bad signage).

Was it the fancy carpet - that also doubled as a baseboard?

Was it when my son tried to run away for the first time?

By the next morning I was tired.  I was hungry.  I was sick of being kicked all night long by TE.  (He had to sleep in the bed with us since the room was almost as warm as a meat locker, and I stupidly forgot to bring his snow pants - which we so often need in Texas, in JUNE).  But most importantly, I was ready to turn in my remote control and leave some tread in the parking lot.  

Ugh.  Never, EVER again!!  Ugh.    

What's for dinner?

This is by far the most asked, and most unanswered, question in the Copeland household.  The last time I checked Betty Crocker hadn't moved in, so dinner is a DIY thing as far as I'm concerned. 

Sadly, TE is learning at an early age that it's usually best to fend for oneself.  

If not, he may get stuck eating some gross puree from a jar.

Oops, too late.  Mmmm, a bowl of orange - it could be carrots, it could be sweet potatoes, who knows.  But it's mixed with cereal and it's pretty caustic.

If you think that's a sour face, you have seen his reaction to green...I mean peas.