Melt My Heart

Best Friends...

P.S.- I'm late writing Norah's 5 month post. We're in the middle of moving to a new house... I took the pictures, just need to find some time to write to her!

Olive watches Bethenny too!

So any time a baby or dog comes on TV, Olive stops dead in her tracks and runs to the TV to watch what's going on. I accidentally erased a clip on TV that she was going nuts over, so this will have to do until I can catch it again with my camera. What a funny little pup we have...!

I have my second dress fitting tonight. Wish me luck! Can wait to try on my dress again! :)
Less than 5 weeks. The countdown has begun!

Perfect

This is perfect.

{from Style Me Pretty}

I'd like a cake just like this at either our rehearsal dinner or reception.

Can you imagine how cute our cake would look...

Love

overdue updates

I don't know where to begin. Before we left for Mexico, I'm sure you could already tell posting was getting less and less as things started getting more crazy and stressful. Once we got home, the craziness continued, and the thought of blogging stressed me out even more! So, I'm back to recap the last couple of months. Especially since many new and exciting things have happened around here!!!! :)

Cabo Trip

It's nearly impossible to try and sum up a week of vacation. We had an amazing time. The room was incredible {upgraded to the Penthouse!}, the weather couldn't have been more perfect, the food was so good, and sharing that with best friends makes it even better. Here are a few pictures from the week:

{The Group}

{The Boys}

{The Girls}

{My Love}

Doggie
After talking about getting another dog for a long time, we finally caved in and bought our second dog. We rescued Olive from Animal Care and Control. We picked her up after her spay on April 1. After a couple days, her and Cooper have become best buddies.




During our first vet appointment {also Cooper's 6 month check-up}, we found out that Olive had kennel cough. They put her on $60 medicine and couldn't give her the shots she needed until she got better. Two weeks later, we took her in to finally get her second round of shots....vet said everything looked good except a rash on her belly {needed more medicine for that}.

That next Saturday {after having her for 3 weeks}, Olive had been up throwing up all night. Her belly looked really misshaped and she couldn't stop shaking. The vet wanted us to come in as soon as possible. After a long day, lots of tests and x-rays, and some confusion, Olive had surgery to remove her spleen. It had twisted over on itself and she almost died because of it. She's practically famous at our vet office now since she is only the third dog in 30 YEARS that this has happened to! It's going to take almost that amount of time for our wallets to recover! :)

She's happy and healthy now. She loves to play with her older brother and snuggle on the couch. Our house appears to be hit by a tornado because she loves playing with every toy we have. She can entertain herself for quite awhile! Every time we put the toys into the basket, she takes them all out and puts them on her bed. I love our new addition to our family...even if she is expensive!

{Here she is with all her toys on her bed...including the 3 she's laying on!!!}

Katie and Kurt, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g, first comes love, then comes MARRIAGE!
Yep, that's right. Kurt and I got engaged last Friday!!! We couldn't be happier to take the next step in our relationship. The engagement was perfect. After taking me to dinner, Kurt planned for us to walk around downtown and take a carriage ride. Because it started to storm, we couldn't do either. I suggested we go get some ice cream and go back home to watch the Blackhawks game. The entire night, Kurt acted totally normal and didn't persist on us doing anything. After ice cream, we went home. By that time, I knew he wasn't going to propose that night. When we got home, there was a card taped on the wall right as you walk in. It basically took me on a little scavenger hunt. The last stop was the dresser where a ring box was with a note that said, "Turn Around." He had mentioned in one of the cards that there was a surprise on the bed. As I am ruffling around the bed, thinking that Cooper has eaten my surprise, Kurt got down on one knee. Finally I turned around and he asked me to marry him....while Olive licked his face and Cooper howled at the door because he wanted in!!! :)

{After he proposed!}

{The ring he designed AND kept a secret from everyone since February. He did ask my dad a week in advance, but before that, NO ONE knew he had bought a ring!!!}

We've started the wedding planning process. We're planning to get married June of 2011. Hopefully this summer, I'll be able to shuffle tutoring, getting a classroom ready, planning a wedding, and blogging!

{One of my best friends, Susanah, got engaged the night before us. Not planned at all!!}

Of course we've had some other exciting things going on, but I wanted to update on the most exciting/important ones. Only two and a half more weeks of school...so I hope to be around more often!

dreaming of...

...getting another puppy. We've been talking about it forever now. It's probably not the smartest time to get one, but I don't really care!! :) We'll see what happens. I can tell you one thing's for sure, if we get another dog, Cooper will be in heaven!

 

Don't you think he'd be such a GREAT big {doggie} brother?

Dog Bed

I'm outnumbered in our house. Guys-2/Girls-1. Typically, this isn't a problem. But, when Cooper didn't like the first {stylish} dog bed we bought, Kurt insisted that we just hurry up and buy one from Pet Smart. Of course, they didn't have any that look great {I suppose they aren't horrible}. We ended up buying one a couple weekends ago. I left the tag on with secret hopes that Cooper wouldn't like it and we'd still be in the market for a cute AND comfy dog bed. My plan didn't work. He L.O.V.E.S. it. I guess we're keeping it....

I didn't even have to bribe him to get on it {like I tried last time}!

The first night we had it, Kurt had a late hockey game so I was in bed before he was home. Normally Cooper comes up and sleeps upstairs once I'm up there. I kept calling for him to come up, but he wouldn't get off his new bed!!!

Oh well, boys win this time... :)

sad

As you know from the many dog posts, my family loves our doggies. Today we had to make a tough decision. Tonight will be the last night that Belle will sleep at my parent's house. Remember in June how I told you that we've had Belle for 16 years? We got her the summer before I went into second grade...and now I teach second graders! She's had a wonderful life, but we'll sure miss her! My family has never had to do this before....

Today after school, I went to my parent's house to spend the afternoon with Belle and Bailey. Belle laid on my chest like a little baby. We took a long nap together and just hung out.

I don't know what tomorrow's gonna be like. I don't know how it's going to feel going to my parent's house for the first time in 16 years without Belle there. But one thing is for sure, I know I'm gonna miss her a ton.

cooper said 'no thanks'

Welp, Cooper made his decision quickly. He did not like his dog bed...one bit. He wouldn't even get on it while I bribed him with a treat!! Any ideas of comfy/somewhat inexpensive/cute dog beds? We're in need!! I'm really ready to get rid of this ugly blanket!

Cooper says 'Woof' aka thanks in advance!

You like that rug underneath him? He does! We do, too!

P.S.- Check out that lamb he dismembered!!

one hundred

I can't believe it...this is my 100th post! Thanks to those of you who read. I always love to hear from you as well! It's been great to share all the things going on in our crazy lives. Hopefully the next hundred posts are even better than the first hundred!

I had every intention of sharing another project we completed. But, I'm not....

When I got home {after working out and dinner with my mom}, I turned the alarm on. Kurt's not home yet and Cooper is still at Kurt's parents house {we took him there after the bug fiasco}. After putting away some things and such, I remembered I needed to get the mail. As soon as I opened the door, I saw this--

Waahooo! I was so excited! You know what it is?!? Coop's bed! I set the box inside the door and continued getting the mail out of the mailbox. All the sudden, the alarm went off! AHH! I started freaking out, then realized that I 'set if off' by opening the door! OOPS! My hearts still beating a little fast after that....

After I sprinted to the back door to turn it off, I hurried to open the box. Thanks to your help, we decided to order the 'funky circle' pattern. Here's what it looked like at first glance.

They sure didn't hesitate to smash that bed in the box! I was lovin' the pattern from the beginning. The fabric is really comfy and soft...I'm sure Cooper will approve!

The plan was to wash it really quick before Kurt and Coop get home. That way, he'd be able to enjoy his new bed right away. Once I pulled it out of the box, I realized that it's a lot smaller than I thought. I'm not too sure if Coop will even be able to fit on it!! So, no tags will be taken off just yet!

              Here's the before --         

                                                                      

And, the after --

If you look really close, you might notice something different {other than the dog bed} on the floor! That's right, we did finally find a rug. More on that another time.....

So, we'll wait until Cooper comes back home. See what he thinks or if he'll even fit. And we'll go from there. Thanks for the advice! We hope it works!!

OH, by the way...I think I've found a new way to make some money....

This is the tag from the dog bed. First of all, it says "Designer Dog Bed" on the back. Spoiled doggie... Anyways, look at that dog! I know another {CUTE} dog, that loves sleeping on his bed, and looks SO cute doing it. Could Coop have any dog modeling in the future? Ha. If you have any advice on how to go about doing this, let me know!! :)

P.S.- We FINALLY found a TV Stand. We're picking it up tomorrow. Can't wait to show you!!!

our yard

Since I've been posting a lot this week about Cooper {it's his birthday week, anyways!}, I thought I share with you a little bit about his favorite part about our house.

He. Loves. Our. Yard.

Sunday, I snuck up on Cooper in the yard to show you what he does, very often.

He has discovered squirrels.

Both the squirrels and Cooper like to play the 'Who Can Stay Still Longest' Game.
I don't know who wins, but Cooper has fun. I'm not sure what the squirrels think...

And, if you noticed, our tree hasn't changed colors yet. I'm anxious to see what color it's going to be. Hopefully, it'll be pretty!

Celebrations

Today is a day full of celebrations! On this day many years ago {I'll leave out the exact number}, my mom and dad got married! On this day three years ago, Patrick and Allison got married! And, on this day four years ago, Cooper was born!

Congrats Mom & Dad --

and cheers to many more years together!

Congrats Patrick and Allison --

and, I'm really ready for my next niece/nephew!! :)

Happy Birthday, Cooper --

even though you drive us nuts sometimes!

Dog Bed Decisions

Cooper is spoiled...and, we love spoiling him! We'll admit, he's allowed on our furniture. BUT, he sleeps on his bed in our room at night {he likes to jump into bed and snuggle in the mornings sometimes!}. When we moved in, we folded up an old {and v.e.r.y. nasty blanket} from Kurt's house for him to use in the living room. Sometimes he sleeps on the couch/chair, but most of the time he'll lie on his 'bed'. He's begging us to buy him something more comfortable, and we're not disagreeing because the blanket is so ugly.

We headed on over to All Modern Pet to find a new cozy and stylish bed for our little Coop. Problem is, we like two, a lot. So, we need your help. I've put up a poll on the left side of the blog where you can vote on the one you like most. Please let us know what you think...we're dying to know. Maybe you hate both....that's fine for you to tell us, too! Here are the options:

#1: Funky Circles

{Sorry about the large picture, you wouldn't be able to see the circles if it wasn't big.} I'm bad at mixing patterns together, but I thought since this has a mixture of blues, yellows, and greens in funky circle patterns, it'd go with lots of things....

#2: Multicolored X's

 

This one has about the same color scheme, but the pattern is more distinct...if that makes sense?!? I'm just hoping that either one would look okay in our room. And, Cooper is wanting us to hurry up and make a decision so he can be more comfy!!

I hope you had a great weekend. We have LOTS of things to share that happened this weekend in our new little house!! :)

someday

Doggies & Kids

What more could anyone ask for? 

I hope to one day be able to display some of my very own pictures just like these....

Perfect. 

happy birthday, belle!

Today is Belle's birthday. She is my family's bichon that we got the summer before I went into 2nd grade. You do the math as to how old she is now!! Belle is still kickin' it, but things continue to get harder for her. :( She adores Bailey {the big black lab} and that's the reason she's stayed with us for this long.

Belle and I-Christmas 2005

Here's to a happy, fun, and l o n g doggie-life that Belle has survived. And of course, to many more great days!

Love you, Bubsie.

smitten for...doggies

I L.O.V.E dogs!

If there is one thing in this world that I obsess over, it would have to be dogs. If you could hear me right now, you'd laugh as I sit here talking to the dogs in what many people refer to as my "Doggie Voice." I can't imagine living without a dog {in fact I doubt this will ever happen!} Kurt and I have joked with each other that if our kids our allergic to dogs that they will have to deal with getting the shot because we won't give up the doggies!! {I'm sure if the allergies were sever enough, we'd make new plans... I'm not an awful person!} When everyone {in my immediate family} gets together with the dogs, we have 10 people and 7 dogs!!!

I wish our furry friends were better around the camera, but unfortunately they aren't. I'm sure you'll be seeing plenty of pictures of the doggies around here!! So without further adieu, here they are...

(Harry - Andy, Quinn, and Julia's Cocker Spaniel)

(Maddie {black} and Morgan {yellow}, Patrick and Allison's crazy Labs)


(Bailey {she's "my" girl}, my parents Black Lab}


(Morrie {front} and Bailey {back}, Morrie is Christopher's mutt}


(It's My Coopter!!! Kurt and I rescued Cooper {a lab/beagle mix} while in college.)

(Of course I couldn't forget the "Elder Doggie," Belle. She's the family dog that we got when I was in 2nd grade...she's a trooper! Belle is on the left. This picture was taken before we added Morgan and Cooper to the list of dogs!!!)

(And of course, I couldn't leave you without a cute picture! Julia and Cooper gazing out the window...)

Have a wonderful afternoon!