12 months

How is my baby boy already a year old?!?!?!?!?!  This month he:

• Is eating solids on his own.  He wants to eat whatever we're eating and he wants to do it himself.
• Wants to be involved in everything we do.  And I mean everything...but who needs bathroom privacy anyway?
• Walking a few steps unassisted and all over the place when assisted.
• Says "Mama", "Dada", "Uh oh", and a couple other words we can't quite figure out yet.  Of these, his favorite is "Dada"
• Can reach counter tops.
• Loves to feed the dogs from the dinner table.
• On a related note, he still does not seem to understand (I fear he understands and just doesn't care) the word "no".
• Getting much better about gentle touches.
• Displays a bit of a temper.  He comes by that honestly so no shocker there.  Sorry son.  Yikes.
• Is drinking cow's milk.  He had breast milk exclusively for his first year but took immediately to Vitamin D cow's milk.
• Went to Niagara Falls and Toronto.
• Is 19 lbs and 30.5 inches.

We love this little guy so much!  Happy 1st birthday Copeland!!!

1st birthday!

Copeland turned a year old on September 10th.  For his birthday, Ryan and I both took off work and had a big breakfast, went by Ryan's office since Copeland and I had never been, went out for lunch, and went to the zoo.

I think his favorite parts of the day were getting to walk and riding on Daddy's shoulders.

It was a gorgeous day and we had a lovely time even if Copeland didn't seem terribly interested in the animals.

That night we gave him non-pureed spaghetti for the first time.  As expected, it was a huge mess and completely adorable.

We finished dinner with a cupcake!  This was the first time Copeland had ever experienced sweets.

What is this magical thing?

Maybe I should lick it.

Goodness this is delicious.  I need to stuff as much in my mouth as possible!

What does she think is so funny?  

All gone!

The very next day we (appropriately) had Copeland's first dentist appointment.  He made it through the entire cleaning and exam and the dentist said everything looks great!

The Real Deal

One year ago today my water broke in bed in the wee hours of the morning around 3:45 am.  I just woke up giggling and told Ryan that this time I was pretty sure this was the real deal.  Because it was so early and I wasn't experiencing labor pains, I told Ryan to go ahead and teach his spin class and we could gather our stuff together and call the doctor when the offices opened.  I didn't see any need to go to the hospital immediately and all the books and moms I know said it was best to labor at home for the first few hours.  So we got around to calling the doctor and went in and she confirmed I was indeed in labor and I needed to be admitted to the hospital.  So we carted all our stuff over to the hospital building and I got hooked up and checked.  

They were concerned I wasn't progressing quickly enough but I asked them to let me roam around for awhile before they tried to stick any pitocin in me because I really, really wanted a drug-free experience.  Ryan and I walked all around the halls and the campus and I started to progress enough that my contractions started to make me have to stop and catch my breath.  I will never forget walking around outside because it was overcast and beautiful (I thought) but we were forced back inside when it started raining...and it didn't stop raining for the next several days. Unfortunately the rains caused severe flooding in Colorado but I remember absolutely loving the peaceful, calm feeling the rain gave me as we welcomed our child into the world.  Now whenever we get the rare rainy day I think back to that time.

I continued to labor until 3:26 the next morning when we finally got to meet our little love:  Copeland.  What a truly amazing, miraculous, magical moment that was.

False Alarm

A year ago today, I thought I was in the beginning stages of labor.  I woke up in the morning and told Ryan there was a possibility I was in labor and we should probably call the doctor.  I wasn't due until September 29th but I just knew I was going to have my baby early.  I believe my prediction had been that I would have Baby Copeland on September 19th or 20th.  Anyway, because it was a Sunday and my ob/gyn didn't have office hours, I had to be admitted to the hospital.  I was put into the gown and hooked up to all the monitoring devices and everything.  Turns out I wasn't in labor.  Now don't laugh about that!  It happens!  In fact, because I felt so sheepish about not knowing whether I was in labor or not I looked it up and it happens A LOT.  I won't share the gory details with you because, let's be honest, a lot about childbirth is gory, but I was justified in thinking something strange was going on with my body.  And considering I truly went into labor the very next day...I think my body was telling me something!  Here are the pictures Ryan captured from the false alarm.  

Georgetown to Idaho Springs

I didn't really bounce back into shape after having Copeland like I had hoped I would so I set a goal to run the Georgetown to Idaho Springs half marathon to force me to focus on exercising.  I was actually doing great with running and cross training until I came down with bronchitis.  "Ain't nobody got time for bronchitis!"  I still had enough training miles under my belt to feel as though I could at least finish the race.

Anyway, we decided to make it a family affair and Ryan signed up too and pushed Copeland in his running stroller the whole way!  Apparently Copeland slept for a large portion of the race and for the times he was awake he was loudly alerting other runners that he was directly behind them.  So many people came up to Ryan after the race to either congratulate him or tell him how hilarious they thought it was that Copeland was yelling at them.  He is a vocal little guy (yes - I am worried but he comes by it honestly).

The boys beat me by leaps and bounds BUT I FINISHED and I was proud of that.  It was by far the ugliest, slowest, and most painful half marathon I have ever ran BUT I FINISHED.  And it was really cool that our whole little family was able to do it together.

We spent the rest of the weekend up at the condo and enjoyed the beautiful weather and some relaxation.  Goodness, do I love being up in Breckenridge.  

Date Night!

Ryan and I very rarely do anything without Copeland but three weeks ago (Yikes!  3 weeks already!), my Mommy was in town for an entire week!  So, in addition to being spoiled with Mommy's cooking for almost every meal, we were able to do some things alone as a couple.

On Saturday, we ran the Warrior Dash in Copper Mountain with a group from Ryan's work.  I failed to get any pictures of that but we weren't nearly as muddy as the last time we did it because they didn't have barbed wire over the mud pit this time (Ryan still dove in while I gingerly stepped through) and they added a slide into a pool of (muddy) water as the last obstacle.  I somehow fully submerged myself in the yuck when no one else seemed to but perhaps that was karma for waltzing through the mud pit. 

Then, that night we went to a friend's "Prom of 1992" birthday party.  What a riot!  We were lame and didn't buy costumes but Ryan was able to concoct a pretty good one out of old stuff he still had in the closet.  I couldn't take him seriously with that 90s hairdo he had going on.  I just threw a jean jacket over a dress and decided that was as early 90s as I was going to get.  The party was so much fun!  There were seahorse decorations everywhere, prom party favors just like the real deal, and plenty of voluminous 90s style gowns.  We got the cheesy picture under a balloon arch and everything.  (Seriously, look at Ryan's hair!  Hahahaha, I'm dying!)

Sunday was kind of a painful day because Copeland apparently took offense to us enjoying ourselves without him and decided that no one needed to sleep on Saturday night.  We still made it to church, the farmer's market, dim sum, and the Asian market.  Then...I did something I haven't done in approximately a year...took a NAP!  It was so glorious!  Ryan (like Copeland) doesn't nap so he did all kinds of work around the house while I was napping and Grandma was playing with Copeland. 

Goodness, it was such a treat for all of us to have Grandma in town.  We all miss her!

11 months

This month Copeland:

• has SIX teeth!  (exciting but also slightly scary for a still breastfeeding mother)
• Can walk with a toy walker!
• has pretty much grown out of all 9 month clothes.
• crossed the finish line of his first half marathon.  Daddy pushed him the whole way and they both still beat me.
• Loves to play with his alphabet train.
• Continues to be the loudest/most talkative kid I have ever known and continues to get reports from school about his "ahem" vocalizations.
• Seems to know how to say a few words (dada, mama, and uh oh) and definitely seems to understand us, even though he still thinks "no" is just something to laugh at.
• is fairly uninterested in drinking milk.  He eats his solids like a champ and loves to chew on crackers.  I think it might be pretty easy to wean him.  (crossing my fingers)

We can't believe that Copeland is almost a year old!!!  We were just recalling how this time last year we were at our baby shower and a few short weeks later we got to meet Copeland!  We feel so blessed and love that little guy more than words could ever express.  

Updated to add that Copeland blows kisses, dances by moving his booty up and down, and waves good-bye.  Sooooo cute.