Our first baby... Cooper

I've always had a dog for as long as I can remember. I personally don't feel a home is complete without a four-legged furry creature running around the house. When Adam and I got married, it was written in the rules that I require a dog in our home. Yes, a dog. I'm not much of a cat person. I don't mind them, and I'll love on them, too.. but dogs really are like fluffy humans that can't talk. Cats are too independent for me. After being married for 4 months, I began the begging process. How could he resist the pleads of his new wife?! He couldn't! I had seen a picture of some new lab-mix puppies at Little Victories Animal Shelter (a no-kill shelter) that I just had to go check out. I first went with my friend, Jessi, and after falling in love with the little fellas I knew I had to tell Adam I had gone to see them. We were out to dinner and I turned on the begging. Now, Adam and I have been together for 9 years so I know how to get through to him when I really want something. You can't be forceful with him. You have to turn it to where he thinks he is making the final decision but in reality I already knew what the decision was going to be. I'm screwed now that he will be reading this so I need to think of a new strategy, but for the purpose of my blog I have to share it all. He finally agreed to go check out the pups the next morning and I'm sure in the back of his mind he knew that a pup would keep my mind off babies for a little while! I woke up relatively early due to the excitement of possibly bringing home a puppy. We hopped in the car and away we went. Once we got into the building that housed the puppies, the lady let a couple out of their cage. One was black and the other was blond. We sat in the floor and played with the pups. We hadn't 100% decided at that point if we were actually going to pick one out and take it home with us, but at that moment when that little blond pup couldn't stay off of Adam's lap, I knew he was the winner. Adam kept taking him off his lap and that little booger kept running right back to him and jumping right up. He melted our hearts. I wish I could have taken all of those dogs with me. At one point in our dating career I bargained children for pups. I've always wanted a big family.. 3 or 4 kids. But I've told Adam if we only have 1 or 2 kids I want at least 2 or 3 dogs. Back to the cute little pup... Adam told the lady working that we would take the blond lab. She told us we could pick him up the next morning because they wanted to clean him up and get everything together for him. Excited is an understatement! We were on cloud nine! I think at this point, Adam was more excited than I was and I couldn't believe it! That evening we went and got all the things we would need for a new dog in our house; toys, food, a cage, bones... anything the little fella could ever need (and it was expensive!). We woke up Sunday morning and headed out to get our dog. On the way there we were driving behind a car that had the name "Cooper" on the licence plate. I told Adam I thought we should name him Cooper. We said it a few times and it stuck. I was so excited to be able to take him home with us. We couldn't get out of the shelter quick enough. We called our family and told them what we had done and of course their reactions were along the lines of, 'I hope you know what you're doing'.. We didn't know what we were doing but we sure are enjoying the ride! That first day he peed all over our house! We took him out every single time he popped a squat. It only took us about a week or two to completely house train him. Cooper is our pride and joy and literally we chose to stay home on most weekends because we hate to leave him alone. He has his daddy wrapped around his finger. I can only imagine how Adam is going to be with our human child! It was definitely a good idea for us to get a dog first because we've learned a lot about each other. I'm definitely going to be the "bad guy" more times than not. He will be the pushover and give Hudson anything and everything. But, we make a good team and I wouldn't have chosen another teammate! I can't wait for Cooper to meet Hudson because I just know they will be the best of friends =)

My growing belly... and huge belly button

I'm officially in love with my growing belly. It seems that currently it's just my belly and tata's that are growing, and I'm ok with that. Hopefully those are the only two (well, three) things that keep expanding for the next 18 weeks. People are so quick to give you advice when you're pregnant but, no one ever informed me that my belly button would pop out like a pimple on a middle school boys face. When it was beginning its adventure out of the hole it's lived in for 25 years, it hurt! It was painful to touch and frankly, it was kind of dirty! People tell you about the joys of pregnancy including hearing the hearbeat for the first time, seeing this human being that two people created (with the help of the man upstairs) move around all over the place, and watching what was once a skinny belly buldge out to make room for your son to grow. But, they neglect to tell you the nasty stuff. I don't find it appropriate to share all of those nasty things on my blog but those who are pregnant should definitely read Jenny McCarthy's book, Belly Laughs. She tells it like it is and leaves little to the imagination. She has been the one to prepare me for the real deal of pregnancy. Despite the nasty things that are taking place in and out of my body, I couldn't imagine not going through it for my son. It's strange that all your life your parents tell you how much they love you and they say, "You won't understand until you have kids of your own". It's so true. I haven't even experienced all of being a mom yet and I'd already die for this little man growing inside of me, whom is currently kicking me as I type this.. I bet he knows I'm talking about him. I already have a new respect for my parents. A respect that doesn't come until you experience it yourself. I know the love my parents have for me will only be understood more as I experience it with my son. So, as far as I'm concerned, bring on the nastyness! My husband took a vow to love me through the pretty and the nasty (well, maybe not those exact vows but, close enough!). I'll be posting some belly pictures and family pictures soon. Thanks for tuning in! Until next time...

My husband and I found out we were expecting our first child July 21, 2012. I always knew I'd enjoy being a stay at home mom. In fact, when I was younger and someone would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up I would say, "I want to be a mom". Having children was never a question for me nor for my husband. We just weren't expecting it to happen so soon. We are high school sweethearts and have been together for 9 years. We got married December of 2010 and found out we were pregnant November of 2011 (your math was correct, not even a year of newlywed bliss). For a lot of couples, this may have been a dagger to the heart, but we are full believers that things happen for a reason. It was clearly God's time for us to have a child, which is the best gift he can give anyone and I'm still amazed he chose us. These past 5 months my husband and I have thrown around the idea of me staying at home and puting my teaching career aside. In my mind, there's no question that being a stay at home mom would be my dream "job". Being able to raise my children is truly a gift from above. My husband, Adam, works for the family insurance business. He is 25 and is the boss (sorry, I love saying that). He has accomplished so much in his life and I am so proud to call him my husband. He provides for our growing family, never complains, and most importantly, is a follower of Jesus Christ. God, yet again, blessed me with Adam. Now, back to the stay at home business. My family has always had the motto of working hard for everything you want/need in life. You provide for yourself. Sharing with them that we had decided I'd stay at home was rather difficult because I had worked so hard to get my teaching degree. I've taught for 3 years and now I'm essentially giving that up (in their mind). They are coming to terms with it and frankly, it doesn't matter what they think any more. We trust we are making the right decision. Now, why am I writing a blog, you may wonder? I know that being a mommy is a full time job and I will quickly experience this in the next few months. I just hate not being able to help my family financially. I did some research and saw that blogging is a fun way to create some cash flow and be able to do it on your own time. I love to write, and I love to share things going on in my life, things that I know are bound to get a lot more interesting as the days, weeks, and months go on. I'm hoping this blog can help support other stay at home moms and give you a good insite that you, we, aren't alone! There will be many other blogs regarding mommyhood, family time, juggling your social life, cooking (I love to cook, but I'm still learning there as well) and cleaning. Stay tuned for more of The Growing Family!