firsts

I'm sitting in my kitchen eating a vanilla ice cream cone while everyone else in my house is sleeping. Ahhhhhhh...a quiet house. This has been a week of several firsts. Will's first day at Mayo was Monday. He had orientation Monday through Friday and then Saturday was his first day of real work at the hospital - Dr. Copeland, Will Copeland M.D., McDreamy. I really do think he's pretty freakin' awesome. I got up early with him on Monday morning so I could take a picture of him all dressed and ready for his first day. All this picture needs is a jansport backpack and a spiderman lunch box. His week of orientation went well and he found out that he will be spending his first three months with the chairman of the neurosurgery department, meaning he will round on the chairman's patients in the morning, go to clinic with the chairman, assist him with his surgeries and other stuff that I don't really know about. All that to say, it's a pretty nerve racking place to start, definitely jumping in with both feet. He seemed nervous at first, but on Friday night when he was getting ready for the next morning he seemed really excited and confident. I still can't believe that he's going to be cutting on people's brains for a living. Pretty amazing. On Monday night we got a babysitter for the kids for the first time and went to our first neuro surgery event.

Dr. and Mrs. Copeland dressed to go out :)

There is another couple from UAMS that moved to Rochester, B.J. and Shea Deimel. We have gotten to be friends with them and really enjoy hanging out with them. They came over to watch the kids and we went to a dinner that was in honor of the graduating neuro surgery residents. It was the first event that the new residents got to attend so Will and the other three newbies were introduced along with their significant others. Let's just say...there's something a little intimidating about walking into a room filled with a bunch of neuro surgeons. Especially when neither Will or I really knew anyone to chit chat with. But we ended up sitting at a table with a couple of residents and their wives that were really friendly. We exchanged numbers and have already had a play date this week. SO great!

I also had my first crazy experience out and about alone with the kids. On Monday morning we went to the park. It was actually in the 80s and we were sweatin' like crazy. So we headed to Wal-Mart to buy a plastic pool. After I bought it, I realized that it wasn't going to fit into the back of my hot little mini-van so there was a Wal-Mart dude who said he would just tie it on top of my van for me. That sounded like a good idea...until I pulled out on the main road and it flew off! So I pulled over to the shoulder (with my two screaming kids in the car because it was lunch time by now and I had stayed out way too long), grabbed the pool, heaved it back on top of my car, rolled my window down and held the pool on top of my car the rest of the way home. I'm sure I looked like a redneck. "Hay ya'll! Just gihtin' my baebies a pool for the backyard." But it was worth it because the pool has been a great source of entertainment this week. Here's a few pics out in the yard.

Hayden had a first this week too - first tooth! I spotted it on Monday morning, bottom middle right. I keep trying to get a picture but can't quite get her to cooperate yet.

My greatest challenge right now is keeping Liam occupied during the day. He asks to watch television ALL DAY LONG! He's just kinda started that. Really loves Barney, Clifford, and Sesame Street. But I don't want him to sit in front of the tv all day! I try to stick to an hour a day, but it seems like lately we've been pushing two hours. I feel like a bad mom when I let him watch that much tv. So one thing we've been doing that he likes is putting on music and dancing around the house. His favorite tunes right now are Hickory Dickory Doc and Muffin Man. Liam is hilarious! When he realizes that I'm putting music on, he runs to his closet to get a hat because he MUST wear a hat while he dances.

bustin' a move

posing for a quick pic before bustin' another move

dancin' and lovin' life

hanging out in Hayden's room

floor time with daddy after work

Will actually had most of the weekend off, only had to work Saturday morning. So we took the kids to Soldiers Field Park to one of the community pools on Saturday afternoon. And Hayden had her first swim! She didn't care for it too much. Minnesota pool waters are chilly willy!

Liam got his first bad haircut this weekend. Will cut it and let me tell you it is SHORT. He's been buzzing Liam's head for the past couple of months but this time he decided to use the shortest blade on his clippers. Now Liam looks like a little sick kid from the clinic.

whoa

told you it was short!

still a babe

There are a couple of churches here that have Saturday night services and last night we tried one out for the first time. 5:30 in the evening is definitely an easy time for the kids. We fed them an early dinner then went to church. We picked up a pizza for ourselves on our way home and got home in time for bedtime. It was kinda weird though, doing church on Saturday and then not getting up and going on Sunday. I don't know what our routine will end up being, but it's nice to have the option of Saturday night if Will has to work on a Sunday. Today we just took it easy. Liam and I played in the sprinkler in the back yard and Will busted out the new grill he got for Father's day.

Life in Rochester is good. However, I am on the countdown til my mom and dad come to visit! 11 more days!

liam's loves

liam has two great loves these days. #1 above all else is lawn mowers. he wakes up talking about lawn mowers and he goes to bed talking about lawn mowers. he and his daddy mowed the grass all day today. front yard in the morning, backyard in the afternoon - liam's dream day. we have a monster hill in our backyard and he will push his lawn mower up and down that hill like he's on a mission. and when will mows, liam is right behind him every step of the way. you'd think it would wear him totally out but when they're done he's ready to do it all over again. he likes to show his lawn mower off to the neighbors too. there are 3 little girls whose backyard backs up to ours - iya, yasmine and miriam. liam and the girls like to talk across the fence. i'm not sure what they talk about but i'm guessing that liam's talking about his lawn mower. when i put liam to bed tonight i asked him what he did today. he said "mow grass." then i said, "and did you weed eat?" and he sad, "yes, i dih-yed" in his little raspy southern voice. by the way, he's doing much better about sleeping in his new bed...or at least sleeping near it. sometimes i check on him before i go to bed and he's sprawled out sound asleep in the middle of his floor. at least he's asleep!

mowing the hill with daddy

sweaty little head after a hard day of mowing

#2 on liam's love list is hayden. it's so fun to watch him come into his role as a big brother. he is just starting to be interested in playing with her. and surprisingly he's not too rough. liam's famous for his "hands" on approach to playing. he went through a phase where he would narrate his moves as he did them. "HIT!" "KICK!" "PUSH!" he hasn't pulled his signature wrestling move on hayden yet either. he lays down on his belly and then flops over on his back right on top of his opponent. pretty sweet move. i'm sure it's just a matter of time. but right now he's really just interested in her, wants to touch her and talk to her like mommy does. he'll get down next to her and say "awwwwww" and "hi hayd." here's a little video of them playing:

(having trouble getting it to upload...will try again later)

it won't be long before hayden's up and moving with some signature moves of her own.

she's getting close to sitting up! oh i love this girl! sometimes i look at my kids and i think, "i can't believe that they're mine." God has blessed me so much through them and i'm so thankful for them. they bring so much joy to my life and my heart is SO full of love for them. and i'm so proud of them, not because of anything they've done but just because they are who they are. they are a precious gift.

naps

oh my son. we decided that when we moved to rochester we would start putting liam in a big boy bed. we had borrowed an extra crib from mom when hayden was born and wanted to just leave it when we moved. liam's new bed is really a pretty adorable toddler bed that we ordered from wal-mart.

and liam must think it's pretty adorable too because he rarely closes his eyes when he's near it! that boy hasn't taken a nap in 4 days. and if you have a two year old you know that naptime is a PRECIOUS time of day. plus he's been waking up at the crack of dawn, usually 5:45. part of the prob i think is that there is an abundance of daylight hours here in minnesota. the sun doesn't even set until 9 and it rises at like 4:45. so until i can get some heavy duty shades for his window we hung a quilt over his window...but i'm not really sure it's helping. (by the way, the cute little toddler quilt with his name on it is courtesy of will's grandma, jo ann. thanks momma jo!) fortunately will doesn't start work for another couple of weeks so i've been giving him the joy of spending those early morning hours with his son. i keep telling him, "you're gonna miss this. you're gonna want this back. you're gonna wish these days (pause) hadn't gone by so fah-ast."

hayden is sleeping like a pro these days. (i will post some pics of her room and the rest of the house later.) she's taking 3 good naps a day (about an 1.5-2 hours), then goes to bed at 7 and only gets up once around 4 am to nurse and sleeps til 7/7:30. love my life. she and i both took a big honkin' nap after church today. can't beat a sunday afternoon nap.

hayden and i feeling very well rested

liam prefers playing outside with lucy over naps

here's a little precious moment from today:

love my kids. and miss my mom and dad...

journey to the north

helloh there from rochester minnesohta. i say that with the best northern accent i can muster...actually that's not true...i'm going to hold on to my southern drawl with all that i have for the next 7 years. so let me start over...

HEY Y'ALL! this is a little blogspot that i'm dedicatin' to my momma. she told me i should do one so here it is. for momma, daddy, and all my besties that won't forget where i live now, here's a copeland story.

me and will. the short story. high school sweethearts. i kinda gave will the run around, but he somehow put up with dating me for 5 years. now we've been married for 5 years and have two awesome kids. together we've been through highschool, college, medical school and now our journey to the north for will's residency. this picture is a perfect example

of us. here's what we're both thinking.

alisa: woo hoo! yeah will!

you're my husband!! you graduated from medical school and now you're gonna be a big fat neuro surgeon! i have to kiss you right here and now to demonstrate my extreme pride and joy!

will: "oh no, everyone's watching. i really love alisa but she's breaking the perimeter. i will tense every muscle in my body to make sure this does not go any further. i don't want anyone to know that i'm a doctor. just call me will."

so after this momentous graduation day, we moved our little family all the way to rochester, minnesota. let me say it again: ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA. i'm paranoid that no one will ever remember what happened to us.

this is the pic we took in front of our house the day we FINALLY arrived in rochester, june 1st 2009. we had to stop so much i think we would have been faster on foot. the 12 hour drive from little rock to rochester took us 16 hours. together, with the help of will's family (dear Lord, thank you for billy, sandy and ellis! amen), we brought a honkin' moving truck, a mini-van, a sweet hatchback, 2 kids, 2 cats, and a dog. somehow we all made it. a few pics of our first days...

eating pizza in our new drive way (hayden, 4 mon., liam 2 yrs.)

liam's saying "CHEESEBURGER!", hayden's not saying much yet.

sandy and pops with the kiddos, one final pic before the tearful goodbye

see the scab on top of liam's head? he ran into the corner of the moving truck.

anyone surprised? my sweet little wild boy.

hayden (4 months old) eating rice cereal for the first time

mmmmm...she likey

hayden loves the exersaucer

today we took a picnic to one of the many awesome public parks in rochester. they're beautiful, so clean and well kept. we've been wearing long sleeves because it's been in the 50s here this week! the 50s in june! not a good sign for the winter to come...

will munchin' some cheetos, enjoying his last days of freedom

liam's really into juice boxes these days. can't go wrong with motts for tots apple juice.

sweet little pink tights

umm...seriously? so cute.

so this is my first blog post. feeling pretty good about it. more to come...