April Fools

I've been plotting a year.



In the weeks leading up to April Fools Day last year, I got the idea to play a really mean joke on my poor husband. The tool I needed was a positive pregnancy test that I still had from finding out about Keira.



I'm sure you can guess: I was going to tell Matt we were pregnant with our third. Then, the Karma Police got me first when I found out about two weeks before April Fools that I indeed was pregnant with my third child. HA HA joke's on me.



So, I've been planning for over a year to pull this prank.



After a morning at work, I couldn't wait to get home yesterday and put my plan into action. This was going to be good. But before I could get home I had to run out to his work and trade cars with him.

I'm about to leave the parking lot through a tight and tiny exit ramp when all of a sudden I heard an awful noise -my van was sliding along the concrete wall as I was turning onto the exit ramp. This space is incredibly crazy to imagine getting a van through- so much so that when I started to exit, I had to back up a little and then pull forward again in order to try and make the turn. And that's when I damaged our van.



As I realize that the Karma Police are out to get me again, I start debating whether or not I should continue with my mean joke. Should I even bother with my prank or should I just not bother since I'll be having to tell some difficult news that is REAL! I decided that since there was only cosmetic damage done to the van, I should go ahead and continue with the plan. Besides, I figured he'd be so relieved that we aren't expecting that he'd not mind a few scratches and dents on our new van.



I arrive home and send this email to Matt:


"Hey-
I have to share this with you. I discovered this after you left this morning."
and this picture was attached

He wrote back:

"April Fools."

I write back about how tired I've been lately and tell him about our (fake) appointment in a couple of weeks and how sorry I was that I couldn't be more creative on how I told him the news. (In reality I couldn't tell him to his face because I don't have a poker face).

He writes back, "funny." And I decide to call him.

I've been planning this for a year, he can't know that I'm joking just yet.

I call him and slowly begin to convince him that I am pregnant with our 4th child in three years. I realize this because as our conversation progresses, he keeps saying, "Really?" in a lower and lower tone.

I'm satisfied with how far this joke has gone and I start to worry that he's on the verge of major trauma trying to wrap his brain around the news. I then blurt out "April Fools."

"Really?" he says, in a more up beat tone.

I assured him that we aren't pregnant to which he said, "Good, because my hands were starting to sweat."

And then I told him about the van. He didn't seem too upset.

He soon came home from work and took a look at the van. We sat down together and he said, "Well, the van will be a lot cheaper than another baby."

He's got a point. But at least a baby is a blessing.

Egg hunt- Copeland Style

Here is the what remained of our place settings. The girls had fun smashing the hard-boiled eggs- but they didn't get to these before I was able to snap a photo.

Happy Easter, girls! "Presents for me, mama?" -Kenli

Here is Kenli sporting some of her new Easter gifts.

Kaelyn was just enjoying watching everyone with their Easter baskets.

And the hunt for eggs begins. Keira needed some assistance from Aunt Allie.
She found plenty of eggs for her bucket.

Kenli and Skyler were neck and neck looking for eggs. These two will be leading the egg hunts for many years to come.

"Look what I found, mama." -Kenli

"Keira, what did you find. Can you show me what's in your bucket?" -Lara"It looks like you found lots of eggs, Kenli." -Lara

"Skyler, what's in your egg?" -Lara

And since Kaelyn couldn't go on the hunt, here is her little egg. That's a pig's behind you see holding the egg. The face is in the front, but I couldn't get her name to show by putting it in the front. So you get to see her name and a pig's rear.

Some Firsts

We have been busy experiencing some new events.

Kaelyn started eating solids about a week ago and she is the best eater I've ever seen. Of course she is being compared to her two older sisters, but that's really the only knowledge I have on this subject. Kenli and Keira were both finicky eaters who didn't much care for solids. The majority of the food would end up on their hands, face and high chair and not in their bellies. I can't remember ever reaching the bottom of the jar with either of them. They would much rather drink their bottles.

Kaelyn on the other hand, is a pro. The first time I sat her in her little bumbo seat for a meal she did amazingly well. Her first food was applesauce mixed with rice cereal. She ate the food from a spoon so well, it was like she had been doing it for months. There was no mess all over her face. In fact the following pictures are not what I was expecting her first "solids" experience to look like. Like the other two girls, I thought she'd have food spread from ear to ear and nose to chin.

She also enjoys the overall experience, unlike those silly older sisters. She only fusses when I'm not getting the spoon into her mouth fast enough.

We also experienced Keira's first time feeding the ducks. The other morning all three girls and I ventured out to a pond to feed the ducks. Keira and Kenli were both mesmerized with the creatures. Keira pointed to them while Kenli fed them.

The older two each received a balloon from our previous errand. Definitely the biggest hit of the day.

After duck-feeding, we went to mommy's work where the girls played in the discovery area. Here is Kenli getting the dishes ready to feed everyone on the (pretend) train.

And my KP had her first shot at dying Easter eggs. This was the first year since I've had children that we were able to dye eggs. I thought that Kenli was old enough to maybe get some fun out of the experience. And of course Keira gave it a shot, but really could've cared less. She likes the plastic eggs that have chocolate inside them. Who can blame her?

Here is the finished product.

We hope your Easter was as blessed as ours!

In a month

I have been MIA from the blog world for about a month now. Not by choice of course, however, I have been completely overwhelmed with "stuff."

Since the end of January we have bought a new mini-van (well, new to us).

Bought a house.

Put our house on the market- and had open houses and private showings only a bagillion times.

Tried to maintain a clean and orderly house every second of everyday in case somebody wants to pop in and see it on a moment's notice.

Took an eight hour trip- each way- to Illinois with my mom and three babies to see my sister for a long weekend.

I've been working about 3-4 days a week on average.

Moved most of the small stuff from old house to new house.

Scraped wallpaper (a ridiculous amount of time spent here).

Painted Kaelyn's new bedroom.

And now 2/5ths of the Copelands have caught some nasty little puke bug.

I HATE THIS TIME OF YEAR!!!! There is nothing worse than seeing the ones you love suffer with the poop/pukes. Then worrying about what to do if they aren't completely healed by the time you think you might get it. Although really you are praying, crossing your fingers and begging the universe to let this virus just skip you for now. I keep telling myself that since I eat immune-boosting yogurt I won't get this one. Will keep you posted on that one.

Oh, and the other reason I haven't posted is because of computer/Internet issues.

But here are some of my fav pictures over the past month.

Two of my valentines sporting their mommy-made onzies

My other babe in her Valentine onzie

Too much bath cuteness

First bath picture with all three girls in the tub

Some time to pose before she rolls over. She really is the clown!

I took this picture so I'd always be able to remember one of my favorite rooms in my old house at my favorite time of day. I will miss the sun shining in the dining room as I'm setting the girls' dinner on the table. After a crazy day, I get to serve them their meal with this peaceful setting behind them. The calm after the storm of my day.

And here are the older girls in their new dining room. We put them to work. Actually, they put themselves to work "peeling" wallpaper and I happened to capture them at work.

I hope to post some pictures of the new house for you all to see. I am excited about all the space we'll have here. It'll be a nice home for the girls to grow up in and where we all can make some memories.

One last thing-

Here is my favorite quote of the week from my mom:

"I can see it now-- when I'm in the nursing home, Kenli will be checking to make sure the staff is doing their job and I'm being taken care of, Keira will be busy checking out all of the machines I'm hooked up to, and Kaelyn will be telling jokes." Really this is pretty true. I call Kenli our tiny controller (she's constantly correcting us and telling us what we can and can't say to her). Keira is a busy gal and she's also the ornriest of them all. What a tease. And Kaelyn is seriously always laughing and smiling. Out of all three girls, she is the one who can entertain herself the best. Even compared to the older two when they were4.5 months old.

Our Afternoon

Can I ever...

get a decent...

picture of all three girls????

Well, probably not for a few years.

Yep, that was my attempt to take a cute little-Copeland-girl family photo. And down the crapper that plan went.


So on to other things


The Copeland girls (me included) got to stay in this afternoon and hang out. Too cold to go anywhere or play outside. Our house is clean (due to the fact that I might have to vacate the premises with three babies in tow with a 15 minute notice)- so I don't have to spend every free minute picking it up. No work today. TV off. What are we to do????



Make cookies of course. Actually, I told the girls that if they took a good nap that we'd make cookies for daddy to have when he got home. Well, Kenli reminded me of my bribe when she awoke from her slumber. So off to the kitchen to bake the goods.

The girls couldn't wait to share their creation with dad. I decided to capture the excitment, but only one of the girls was really in a mood to cooperate. Can you guess which one?

Nope! She was too busy licking cookie dough batter.

Oh, heck no!!!! She was too busy carrying on in her post-nap blues!

Yep, that's right. The sweet little gal who didn't even understand that we were making cookies. But I like to think she picked up on the "fun" sound in all of our voices. These smiles make my day!

Some messages from the Copeland Trio

I think I want my hands in my mouth.

Mmmm... almost in there. Wait, I'm not done. Where did my hands go?I'm so maaaadddd!!!!
Oh, there they are. I love to suck on my hands.I just got my hands figured out mom. Please don't tease me with my feet!

Hey mom, don't leave me out. I am cute too!!!

So cranky!

Nah, I'm just kidding.

Hey...Never mind, I'm just going to eat now.

And don't forget me too, mom.

She can model.

She can cook!

She can even do Tae-Kwan-Do.

Winter cutie!