Little Liam

Thank You Tanya!

Liam Matthew Cope

Liam has finally arrived! He was born on December 29th weighing in at 9 lbs 4 oz, 21 inches long, and a full head of blondish hair!
Erin went into labor at 5am and Liam was born at 4:26pm. She was amazing and he is perfect! We are all doing well, just trying to rest up. Here is a picture, but will post more pics when we get home from the hospital.
Thanks for all your love and support!

WW39 - waiting for Liam

Erin wanted me to blog as she cleans the base boards, walks stairs and put the sheets back on the bed after washing them, yes she is trying to go into labor. Some people call it "nesting", but I have come to find out "nesting" is a word women made up when they want their baby to be born. I think they are just saying, "ok, I am ready". Either way, Erin is either "nesting" or she is ready for Liam's arrival.

The weather is still pretty bad out, about 10 inches of snow with more forecasted for tomorrow, doesnt get above freezing and very slick out. We had a neighbor take us to get chains, so we have been able to get around the past few days pretty easily, still slick, but drivable. We will be fine when the time comes that we have to head to the hospital.

I wanted to thank everyone for their support and concern, for us, thanks for the texts and calls, we are super anxious for this little man to arrive. I am hoping he comes today, he can share a birthday with Joseph Smith, that would be pretty cool. We will keep you posted...

I also wanted to remind all of you what time of year it is. Sometimes we get caught up in all the festivities, presents, gatherings, etc. Please remember, we are celebrating Christ's birth, the Savior of the world came and lived a perfect life. He suffered for our mistakes, that we can become clean again. He gave his so that we can return to live with Him and our Heavenly Father, I know this is true. Enjoy Christmas, enjoy family, enjoy life, we truly are blessed!

Best wishes and Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!!

Pregnancy Update WW38 written by Matt

Erin made me title this blog "written by Matt" even though it will obviously be funnier because I am funnier than her (Kyle Garvin and Miriam can attest to it).

Erin is doing great, you can still see her ankles although she cannot. She sleeps through the night. I know it is unlikely, but I still hope that Liam does too. Liam is getting pretty big, we are expecting him tomorrow Dec 15th (Erin's birthday), but we will not be surprised if he hangs out in the the warm womb until this cold weather passes. Really though, we expect him to make his grand entrance into the world in the next week, hopefully.

He moves a ton and has quite the little soccer kick; I taught him myself. I am having trouble teaching him to not hit or kick others though, maybe he will listen better when I can talk to him face to face. Right now he is upside down and preoccupied with getting ready for birth, so Erin takes kicks, punches, rolls and any other movement in stride. She is so great! She is the best mom!

Merry Christmas!!!

Church was cancelled today due to snow! I was really trying to not get my hopes up when I heard that it may snow this weekend. But they were actually right! So we decided to go out and take our Christmas picture in the snow! I actually thought about sending out cards this year to everyone but between work, church and baby stuff it didn't happen!

We want our friends and family to know how thankful we are for all that you have done and all that you continue to do for us. We have been so blessed! We are so excited to have Liam arrive and to have his sweet spirit in our house! We are grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for the example that He is to us. And the opportunity we have to focus our thoughts to Him at this time of year. I hope and pray that we can all remember Him throughout the year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Chistmas Tree Adventure!

We drove up to the hills again this year to get our Christmas tree! Thankfully Tanya and Travis came along to help! (apparently I can't lift much these days) The place we went to had a barn filled with lots of Christmas decor and some live animals. We had a fun time and are thankful to Travis and Tanya for being such great friends and helping us out all the time!

Thought I should throw in a pregnant picture for all you who are waiting for baby updates :) Here we are at week 36...

Thanksgiving 2008

This year my family came to our house for Thanksgiving! We were a little worried that the house would be a crammed but everything turned out great! My parents came over and did the cooking and I was in charge of the extremely hard task of appetizers. Mike and Rachel came with a few things for the meal as well and Matt and Brittany. It was super relaxing and nice to be at home with family.

Matt's family came over later in the evening for dessert! We were able to sit and visit along with a few hands of cards.

"Prettiest turkey I have even seen!" He was a proud man.

It was a great day and a great opportunity for us to remember all the things we have to be thankful for.



The day after thanksgiving was full of shopping, pedicures, Christmas lights, rook, and more shopping! Matt was excited he beat the lines at circuit city and get the video camera and printer he was hoping for. The poor guy was up at 4 to get there in time!

I came home from a dr.s appointment with my mom and our house was glowing in Christmas lights! Matt decided to surprise me and get the lights up while I was out! He knows how to make me smile!

35 week update

Our life continues to be surrounded by baby talk. Everything is going well. We have 5 weeks to go, or less. We had an appointment on Thursday Liam is as large as ever, measuring in at 37 weeks. We have an ultrasound a week from Thursday to see how big he really is. Our OB says he may be here before Christmas. I think he is right. We hope he is right.

Today in Relief Society at church he was kicking me so hard that the ladies ACROSS the room could see my belly jump! They got a kick out of it. So did I, literally. I was starting to sweat and had to take off my sweater. One of the ladies is 20 weeks along, I think it scared her.

Friday night I went to Twilight with Tanya and some other ladies from church. The movie was good but the highlight was the all the 12 year old girls screaming for Edward when he came onto the screen. It was too funny. Two girls even brought the books with them. Tanya, you should have taken a picture!

After sleeping in until 10 yesterday morning I went into nesting mode and we got the rest of Liam's room put together. Felt good to clean it up! Now I have to wait patiently for the arrival.

We were able to spend some time last night with some friends we hadn't seen in awhile. (Thanks Mandy and Dave) It was fun to play games and catch up! Crazy to think that the next time we see them we will be bringing along a baby!

Not much else is going on...Thanksgiving at our house this week! Black Friday shopping! Matt has been searching for deals on every gadget available. Hopefully he doesn't have to stand in line too long.

Pictures....

Things are continuing to go well with the pregnancy. Crazy to think that the last baby shower is tomorrow and Thanksgiving will be here before we know it!

Here are a few pictures from Halloween...(32 weeks)

NO, I didn't eat any of the candy bars!
Tonight Matt and I started organizing the baby's room. This week Tanya and I went and picked out the curtain rod, ribbon and picture frames for the "decor" over the crib. Matt put the curtain rod up tonight and I tried to take pictures of myself :)

For those of you who would like a baby update...we had our 32 week appointment this week. I heard the usual "Well, he isn't going to be a little baby!" Great! His growth has slowed down the past few weeks. The baby was measuring 32 weeks at my 28 week appointment. Now is he is measuring 34 at 32. Hopefully he stays on track and isn't a 12 pounder or does me a favor and comes early!

Shower Season

3 down 1 to go... baby showers started a few weeks ago! The first one was in the Tri-Cities. My sister in law Kate and my mom threw a fabulous shower with a great spread of food. They decided to serve a collection of the food I have been craving. Needless to say it wasn't the healthiest lunch :) But it was tasty!

My good friends from church threw a shower for me last weekend. We had a great time eating lunch and visiting with each other! We are so blessed to have such great and loving friends.

Tanya made the CUTEST onesies with sewn on ties! I am so excited to see him in them!

On Wednesday my co-workers threw me a surprise shower. It was a great afternoon with no work and lots of adorable baby items! Here is a picture of the diaper cake that was made! They are all betting that he comes before Christmas. Can you tell?

30 down 10 to go

Here we are at 30 weeks. Starting to feel pregnant :) His movements are starting to feel a little awkward (painful) and I am wondering how he is going fit as he continues to grow.

Still busy...

We are still busy! Nothing too exciting has been going on. My cousin Megan came to visit from Utah at the end of September. It was fun to have her here for a visit. Unfortunately I took zero pictures. I will have to get some from her.


I am finally posting pictures of the babies room. It isn't done yet but here are the pictures of the crib, changing table and wall color. Our latest project is putting a fresh coat of white paint on the dressers.





I was really wanting polka dots and stripes for the baby's bedding and couldn't find anything without spending way too much on it. When I was in Boise last month Seri and I found this set at Target. I was so excited. It was a great deal and exactly what I was looking for...No animals! It has lots of different colors in it as well. I love it!




Lauren was the big helper while we put the crib together!




I was really excited that I was going to beat Matt in a game of Sequence and I was way ahead! I told him I was going to take a picture when I won and blog about it. Matt somehow beat me and decided he should take a picture because HE won. Nice.




What we have been up to....


Matt is still working hard and continues to be the best husband ever!


I am still getting big. Liam is continuing to grow and kick me in the most awkward spots. He likes to play games with me and Matt thinks I should stop bugging him. He is afraid that he is going to get back at us later. Pregnancy is an amazing experience and before I know it will be over! Baby showers start next week and then Thanksgiving! December is just around the corner!


Speaking of baby showers... My 3 best friends from high school threw me a shower at the beginning of August. Lisa and Emily won't be here for Liam's arrival so they decided to surprise me with a shower. It was so fun to hang out and stay up way too late catching up with each other. We had lots of food and shopped for lots of cute clothes for Little Liam! I can't wait to dress him up!

Thanks again Lisa, Ems, and Amy! Love you and miss you!

Spouse Tag....

1. Where did we meet?Tanasbourne Ward Family Home Evening. It works!

2. How long did we date before we married?
9 months

3. How long have we been married?
1 year 3 months :)

4. He surprises me by....
Cleaning the house

5. My favorite feature of him is....
calves. that is sort of an awkward question

6. His nicknames for me are...
Ernie

7. His favorite food...
mexican anything

8. His favorite sport ....
Soccer

9. Where was our first kiss?
The living room of his house

10. Our favorite thing to do?
Just spending time at home.

11. Any children?
1 on the way!!!

12. Any hidden talents?
hmmmm.....

13. How old is he?
26

14. Who said I love you first?
I would like to say that he did but he would say that he said "you know that I love you" NOT i love you. But neither of us said it until we were engaged.

15. Favorite type of music?
Country

16. I admire him most for....
Making and completing goals.

17. Do I think he'll read this?
I have no idea.....

Tagged

Thanks for tagging me Kate. Now everyone gets to know 7 random/weird things about me.

Now that I am typing this I can't think of anything...

1. I really like to watch "The wheel of Fortune"

2. I love being pregnant

3. My hair is naturally blonde. ( no surprise to most!)

4. I only went to 3 years of High School

5. I hate cats. (Lets get real... I really loathe all animals unless they are babies but as soon as they are grown all bets are off)

6. I am OBSESSED with Christmas and really hope Liam is born on Christmas day.

7. I am addicted to sugar but extremely afraid of being overweight.

Not sure if these are weird or random but at least I did it!

I am tagging Miriam, Crystal and Jodi. Oh- And I Seri! I just saw that you tagged me!

Change

While Matt and I were planning our wedding I would say to him " I can't wait until this is all over and life settles down!" He just laughed and kindly informed me that life is not going to settle down and it is only going to get busier.

He was right....again.

This week was another busy one. I am so grateful for the second trimester burst of energy. I feel great and have no complaints. I am more grateful to a husband who loves me and our little bundle so much! He is always doing something to make my day easier, less stressful, less busy. He helps me physically, spiritually and emotionally. He is amazing and I need to remember to be more grateful and not annoyed that he doesn't like it when I lift something heavy or stand at the top of a ladder.

This week we painted the babies room. It looks great and I just can't believe that in 3 months we will have a little one to occupying it! Matt did a great job reaching the tall spots! He is not the biggest fan of painting and I am so grateful he did this for me and Liam.

Yesterday we bought the babies crib! (thanks to Craiglists and a sweet old lady, Grandma Gloria, for supplying the Cope children with an adorable crib to dream sweet dreams in!) It is just what I was hoping for and looks amazing! Thanks to Rachel for picking up the bed and helping me tonight with putting it together. Matt is out camping with the young men from church so we had a girls night with Rachel and Lauren. We ate at sonic and put together the crib. Then we had ice cream sundaes and watched "Nim Island". Lauren was so excited all night and kept asking when we could start our slumber party and reminded me that we had to have the lights OUT when we watched the movie. It has been fun to have them over with no boys and be able to catch up.

Tonight when we were putting the crib together it hit me that we are going to be a family of 3 soon. How amazing!?!? I have taken care of so many babies and children but this one will be mine! I don't have to give him back! He is ours and I am so grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who has trusted us with this sweet little man inside of me. Though it is an ovewhelming thought at times I am so ready for this experience and so excited to start life with 3 of us. The responsibility is great but the joy and happiness will be even greater!

I can't believe we have hit the 100 day count down... Time flies when you're having fun?
We had an appointment this week with the OB. All is continuing to look good. We are still measuring at 26.5 weeks. I am 25.5..... Matt says he is going to be a big boy.....I say he will be little and just come early. I would just love that he comes before the 20th or after the 25th. (I can wish right? ) Although I am sure once December gets here I will be done and ready. I just want the 3 of us to be happy, healthy and sane.

Time for bed.... I'll post pictures after Matt see's the room.

Ps...Matt if you read this....It is 12:25 and motorcycle man just left his house. What does he do? And why does he have to have a loud motorcycle??? I love you

We're Back

We were able to go on vacation this past week to visit family and friends in Idaho and Utah. We had a jammed packed week of driving, eating, playing cards, and lots of great family! I am going to list out all that we did...this may not be too interesting to read but I am slowly losing my memory...


We were able to break up the drive and have dinner with my parents in Pendleton before heading to see Matt's brother and wife Seri in Boise. It was so nice to break the drive up and not feel so rushed to get everywhere.


Sunday we were able to be at Bryan and Ashley's ward for Caden's baby blessing. He looked so adorable in his white outfit! (can't wait for Liam's!!!) After the blessing we were invited with their families to a lunch up the canyon.

It rained and rained on Monday and we were able to spend Labor day at the Church playing indoor soccer and baseball with Rob and Crystal's family. I'm sure I looked rediculous running around kicking the mini soccer ball while I looked like I stuffed another in my shirt! After buring a few calories we were able to meet up with the Fromm's and Phipps for dinner at Red Robin! Yum!

Tuesday Becky took me to get a pedicure for her birthday....Doesn't make sense....but thanks Beck! We BBQ'd at the Rob Sautter household with Becky's fam, Mir, and my good friend Tyler from Scappoose and his wife.
We didn't take any pictures on our camera Tuesday night....but these are from Friday night! Thanks for entertaining us all week Crystal!





Wednesday we were able to go to a the Salt Lake Temple with Matt cousin Mike and his wife Tina. It was a great experience although we missed the ten o'clock session by 4 minutes. We were able to meet up with Miriam for lunch and she gave us the grand tour of her cube. Very fancy Mir!

Thursday morning we went to Provo so Matt could show us where he reigned for 4 years :) It was fun to see where he lived and spent his time before I came along.

The best part of Thursday were the delicious peaches we bought on the side of the road and the chance we had to go visit Grandma and Grandpa in Vernon. It is great to be able to sit and visit with them about everything and anything. Matt was able to go out and feed the cattle with Grandpa and pull some veggies out of the garden. We were so happy to be able to spend the evening with them and can't wait to take Liam to meet them next year. The best story we heard was that Grandma and Grandpa's first date was a blind date that he hitch hiked to! They met up at a Wahlgreens in SLC but they had no planned time. Just when he and his cousin made it there. Can you even imagine?!?

My mom lived in this house until she was 4. (i think) NO ELECTRICITY!

The Goods......

I hit the 24 week mark on Monday. Liam and I are both continuing to grow and doing great. He likes to snuggle up really low. Which can be painful! I think he had the hiccups for the first time this week. It was either that or he has really good rythm and doesn't get that from me!