Team Pope

I judge. Do not judge me.

2012-03-04T02:41:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time, I told myself I wouldn't be one of those mom's that only posts facebook statuses, blogs, and pictures about and of their children. I just figured those mom's were overly obsessed with their kids and they needed to get a life. Well, my view has changed and here is why:

1. Yes, when a mom makes a remark about how their baby is the cutest baby ever, everyone else is thinking... actually, I've seen better (or is that just me?-semi joking) Anyway, the beautiful thing about posting pictures of children is that NO ONE can say, "Wow, what an ugly baby." So, why not post a billion pictures of your kid playing with tampons on the bathroom floor. (Or is that just me again?)

2. Children aren't the only thing in a mother's life but often, they are the most important thing in a mother's life. So, why, when you are telling the world about your life, would you post something other than the most important? I'm proud of a lot of things I do but not quite as proud as I am when J Henry learns a new trick.

3. I'm proud of being a proud mom. I feel like it's very important for people to get an education, have hobbies, and be independent. And I think when people see mom's only posting about their children, they might think the mom isn't living life to her fullest or somehow restrained by the presence of her kids. While in some cases this may be true, there is NO experience like that of being a parent. I have learned how capable I am because of Henry. I've felt feelings of love, fear, anxiety, and gratefulness deeper than I ever have before. My love for my child doesn't make me any less of an individual.

This is probably where I should say sorry to all those moms I judged before I became a mom. Sorry.

Well, this post is way too deep for my liking. Tonight, I was eating rocky road ice cream. I probably had a good 2 cups of ice cream in my bowl. There were only 2 chocolate covered almonds in the whole thing! AND I ate them at the beginning! Man, I was so mad.

I'm glad you all got to read this. Word to your mother.

Madie, Merry thanksgiving, Much too Many pictures

2011-12-04T23:59:00.001-05:00

I just looked at the picture of Henry in the bathtub below and a Brittany Spears song just came to mind and I automatically changed the words in my head, "I'm not boy, not yet man." Sorry, glimpses into my head can be scary.

I did not do this to my son, that was my husband. Just in case someone is going to report us for abuse. I know not to put my kid into a dryer :)

Chilling on campus.

I turned around for 20 seconds tops and he's gotten into the oats. I'm still cleaning it up.

On top of Hoover Tower!!!

Doing a man's work :)

As for the series of next pictures. My sister-in-law, Madie, got home from a 1.5 year long mission to England. She came to visit us for a week and a half. At some point during that time she felt the need to take pictures of herself with my phone. As a result... I will post them here :) Love ya sista.

Madie was here for a week when everyone else came to celebrate Thanksgiving! It was actually a really great time. It was so nice to have Jane, Lyle, Pa, Mimi, and Madie here. Madie had us all make a list of 5 people (alive) that we would like to have lunch with. Mine: Julie Andrews, Denzel Washington, Oprah Winfrey, Julie B. Beck, Chuck Norris. Oh ya.

Papa and Nan gave Henry some cool birthday gifts. He LOVES cars and trucks :)

We made bread and rolls. And they rocked.

The whole gang!

Da food!

Henry with Pa and Mimi :) The hat and Wooly the Wolf were gifts from them.

Woah! Look at that Jedi!

This hiking pack has been AMAZING!

Nan trying to take Henry back to Utah with her.

I love the holidays, I love family, and I love Jesus. My life... is awesome.

Henry Turns 1!!!

2011-12-04T23:31:00.001-05:00

You know how when you're growing up it always seems like the younger sibling gets privileges sooner or better than you did? Like, when I was 10 I went to bed at 8 o'clock but my little sister Emmee who is 10 goes to bed at 10 o'clock (I'm not actually sure how true this is but I'm just illustrating a point). Well, it gets worse when you have your own kids. My son, now at the ripe old age of 1... went to Disneyland for his first birthday. I know, I know it sounds ridiculous. But sometimes the grandparents just can't help it. It's a serious condition I call wowilovemygrandsonsomuchmorethanmyactualchildreniamgoingtogivehimeverythingheneedswantsanddoesntwantjusttomakesureheisasspoiledaspossible syndrom. But to be honest, I'm really ok with it. Because I LOVE DISNEYLAND. I secretly want my husband to be an imagineer just so we can go to Disneyland whenever we want. When I talk about things I would buy if I were rich- an annual pass to Disneyland is probably in the top 2. I would dress up like a princess just to get into Disneyland. I would do just about anything just to go to Disneyland. Lick a toilet bowl, wax a tiger, run until I passed out, walk on hot coals, kiss a fish, run outside in my underwear, eat a mouse, watch a medical show without closing my eyes, sneeze with out closing my eyes... all of these are things I would do just to go to Disneyland. ANYWAY, all in all it was a really really fun trip and Henry enjoyed it too.

We got there at 12:30 at night. He naturally woke up when we got him out of the car. And he naturally ate a birthday cup cake at the same time.

He loves talking on the phone! Great Grandma and Grandpa Rogers called him :)

Some of my family came and MT's sister came too. It was nice with such a big group because while some people went on rides with Henry, others got to go on the "big people" rides.

Peter Pan was Henry's first ride a Disneyland. It got pretty dark at some points and he started to whimper... but liked the rest of it a lot :)

I'm one!!!!!!

Another cupcake before bed of course!

I want to go back. It was so great. I think I'll have another kid soon just so I can go back again. This is a first birthday tradition right Grammy?!? :)

PS. That wasn't an announcement. I'm not pregnant.

I'm sorry... Thanksgiving is NEXT week?!?

2011-11-16T00:42:00.000-05:00

Time... is nuts. Where the heck did Thanksgiving come from? I'm so excited but I swear it was May last month. Anway, lots of pictures for your pleasure :) Also, I've seen blogs where people put captions of pictures on top. I think I usually put captions on the bottom. Which one is right? I think I'll caption on bottom and stick to that. Thanks.

One day, I decided to let J Henry eat yogurt all by himself. Haha. Enough said.

Needless to say, it was pretty messy. I decided the best course of action was to wash him in the sink.

What a man!

For Halloween this year we were planning to dress up as the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Henry being the lion). However, last minute costumes are perfect for last minute disasters and J Henry's lion costume didn't fit. We were going to a party the next day so MT and I dressed up the same as we were last year when J Henry was still in the oven- Mr. Fredrickson and the house from the movie "Up". This year we tacked on Henry as Russell :) We had so much fun going to church parties, friend parties, and neighborhood parties (We even won first place at a costume party! Woot woot). I think J Henry's first Halloween was a success.

Henry learned how to eat frosting off of a cookie. I may or may not have shown him how :)

Man, I still didn't decide on a name for these three. To be continued on that one... I love watching these guys play together. I'm pretty sure they are J Henry's inspiration for everything he does.

My first batch EVER of whole wheat bread. I'm not a huge wheat eater so when I ate it all I thought was, "This tastes like wheat bread." I guess it's better than tasting like something else right? ha.
So... this Saturday. Yes, this very Saturday the 19th day of November 2011 John Henry Pope will be 1 year old!!!!! BAHHHHHHHAAAAHHHH! What is happening?!? I'm so excited. We've got Aunt Madie who we haven't seen in a year and a half coming. We're going on an awesome one day trip for Henry's birthday. And then we've got the rest of Thomas' family coming in for Thanksgiving. Oh boy it's going to be a crazy couple weeks.

Henry got his first present in the mail today!!! Aunt Carlee gave us permission to open it when it arrived.

A toy tool set! He was so interested in it. The drill has a string you pull and it vibrates... He LOVES it.

THANKS AUNT CARLEE!

Henry loves church! :)

Henry and I walked The Dish! Took about an hour and a half...

Henry got tired the last half hour. :)

Henry and I going on a morning bike ride!

Well, I'll report back sometime when life slows down. So many good things happening.

Learning about God...

2011-11-15T23:34:00.000-05:00

Tonight was one of those nights when I picked up J Henry and rocked him instead of letting him cry (I could go on about this issue but I'll save that for another time). As opposed to the other nights when he goes to sleep fine, then wakes up screaming at intervals throughout the night, and I lay awake and listen and pray that he'll calm down and go to sleep soon.

I picked him up and he lay on my chest while I rocked him and a flood of thoughts went through me. The way he immediately calmed down and embraced me was incredibly mesmerizing and humbling. He needs me. All the other things he experiences right now he may be unsure of but one thing I know that he knows is that mom will always be there. Which led me to my next thought about God. When was the last time I felt the embrace of his arms encircle me? I do not doubt that he is there for me or that he loves me. But when, or should I say, why have I not let Him see how completely dependent on Him I am? I was so deeply touched tonight because Henry let me hold him and let me know how much he needs me. So, just as I feel for Henry, does not God feel the same for me? God already knows I need him but the feeling that comes when a child SHOWS you they need you is indescribable. I can't believe I've been depriving my Heavenly Father of that feeling. I now have this incredible desire to fall at His feet and praise and worship and thank Him.

Tonight I learned that I want to be a little bit more like my son. Tonight I learned a little bit more about God.

2011-10-16T12:52:00.000-04:00

Life is good. Really. Sometimes, it feels like we actually have friends. Sometimes, it feels like I'm almost on top of things. Sometimes, MT is ahead in school. Sometimes, Henry goes to bed without a binky. Sometimes, it feels like we're actually right where God wants us... and I love it!

Henry is so grown up now. I can't even stand it. He loves to be around older kids and laugh at what they do. He's learning how to climb, say words (mostly sounds but "ball" and "bye bye" he gets pretty well), and walk even faster than he already is. He finally figured out how to go down the stairs. And as mentioned before we've taken the binky away. It takes him a lot longer to fall asleep but he slept through the night last night and the night before so I'm hoping it's working (we went with the cold turkey method). Here are some pictures :)

Sometimes I look at him and feel like he's not a baby anymore. He's just so grown up sometimes.

Disney store fun :)

I don't have any pictures but Nana came to visit not too long ago. It was a crazy busy week and she helped us out soooooo much. We went out to eat, went on walks, made bread and cinnamon rolls- the whole shebang. Henry loves his grandma's like crazy. It's sad to think that no matter where we end up we're never going to live close to both sides of the family :(

I had just finished cleaning the whole house and I walked in the kitchen and saw this... nothing is safe anymore ;)

I was showing him how to make pizza crust and he found a tomato- He does what he wants!

It was my birthday last week- the big 22. MT surprised me by having my mom come visit for a day! It was so awesome. I was completely surprised and was really glad to see my mommy :) She took me shopping and watched Henry while MT and I went out to eat (which is a whole other story that isn't that funny). We also played some serious idiots delight (card game). All in all, it was a wonderful day and I got some great thoughtful gifts. Thanks everyone!

Here's the trio. I've got to think of of good name for the 3 of them. Off the top of my head we've got tricky trio, dynamic duo plus one, 3 peas in a pod, tres amigos... I don't know. I'll collaborate with their parents and get the final word. It's so much fun to watch these kids (especially because they are more excited to see me than Henry ever is). More importantly though I think Henry really looks up to them. Kids his age don't really "play" with each other unless it's like peek-a-boo or something but he watches Johnny and Eden and I think really grows from being around them. Maybe if I keep him from social contact he won't grow up! yeah! Diabolical mother plan :)

haha. The toy car was very popular that day :)

Henry woke up looking like this one morning. Just thought it was a funny picture.

Daddy dressed him this day...

Here's us at our first Stanford Women's volleyball game. Man, that was fun to watch. Reminds me of the ol' high school volleyball days. I miss it a lot.

I think of things every day and say "Oh, I'm gonna write that on my blog." But then I forget. oops. I can't find the charger to my camera so I'm still using my iPhone for all my pictures. That's the Pope update for today. There's a possibility I'll be in Arizona next week. Can't wait!!!!

This is love.

2011-09-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

I'm making MT write the post today. I don't know why. Just feel like it. It's our family night activity :) So, here it goes!

Hi everybody. Sadi uploaded all the pictures, so all I have to do is write about them. This is important, because frankly I had no idea what parts of my life have happened in the last two weeks. I think the California weather is messing with my internal clock, because it feels like no time has passed since we got here. There are no cues! The weather is the same! It could be June!

Anyway, this is Henry reading. We're concerned because we feel like he spends too much time focusing on books that only have nouns in them - "boy", "girl", "apple", "airport fire engine", "mongolian ostrich", etc. I mean, he's almost ten months old! Where are the adjectives? The adverbs? The participles? Anyway.

About this next picture - I know what you're thinking: "Why have Sadi and Morgan planted a garden in their living room?" Well, dear friends, you won't believe your eyes when I tell you that it is not a garden, but rather two new couches cleverly disguised as flower patches! This is our strategy to attract bees and prevent people from staying too long in our house. The couches were gifted to us from our new Bishop and his wife in exchange for a lifetime supply of cinnamon rolls. We definitely got the better end of the deal - the couches are fantastic, deep, clean, and not used in the slightest. And they can blend in when we go on our commando raids.

Has this picture been on here before? I feel like it should have been. My son is ... well, he's growing up fast. A little bit too fast for Eden's mom! This is a very forward moment, but considering that she's the one who pushes him around in the fire truck, I don't think it was all his idea :).

Sadi and I have recently joined a squad of elite commandos tasked with defending the earth from aliens and denizens of the underworld. This is us during our first night on the job, patrolling in our Subaru! If you look closely, you can see a velociraptor in the rear window. It's been a lot of fun, and we feel like it makes our marriage that much stronger to work together against gremlins, hobgoblins, and people who wear loafers with no socks. Sadi is, as always, absolutely beautiful when she's in action, especially when she's deploying troops or using morse code. We have a good time.

With some encouragement from Sadi and some free wood from the remains of someone's desk, I have created counterspace! It's pretty simple, but it gives Sadi a place for her Bosch, which is where the magic happens. Sadi is so cool about loving it when I do projects - it makes me all that more excited to play with my power tools. She kind of rocks that way.

Aunt Ali came to visit Henry! (and us?) She was here for the long weekend and I think they both had an awesome time. We went to San Francisco and ate Italian food and saw the Golden Gate Bridge and played four dozen hours of Super Mario 3 and it was so much fun that Henry decided he simply had to go back with her for a couple of days. I had a minor aneurysm when I learned that Sadi was all for the idea, since she generally gets a little nervous when he's alone with me for more than twenty minutes ;). But it turned out really well! Henry got to stay up late, we got to run out of the house whenever we felt like it, and we had a sweet reunion when he came back. I didn't realize how much having a kid impacts every single minute of my day until he was gone for a little bit - it's crazy! We forgot what it was like to just both go do something and not have to worry about getting a sitter and getting back soon - and going to the temple together was really nice. But we missed our little chubby kid.

Speaking of crazy things to do when your kids gone - we decided to take up Tennis! If it goes well, we'll think about yachting and polo - in the meantime we bought rackets and had a blast even though we both have a few accuracy issues.

Henry looks good in hats. For the three seconds he'll let them stay on his head. You know, if I were him, I'd be curious about what was up there too.

Sadi made cinnamon rolls again. And bread. My life ... is really good.

Henry can stand up without holding on to things for a few seconds at a time now, which we are super excited about and he is completely oblivious to. He only does it when he needs both hands to chew on something and he just forgets to hold on to something solid. So, we're super excited, but he thinks we're just getting into how good he is at chewing on Dad's iPhone. Yep ... but that doesn't stop us from being SUPER PROUD! Our kid is awesome!!! Now if only he was a little fatter ....

Other news? I'm wrapping up summer research and starting school in a couple of weeks. Sadi graduated from spin class, which means she's now qualified to ride bicycles that actually go places. Henry and I went for a long walk on Saturday and he skinned his toe but doesn't seem to mind - he was just happy about the adventure. I think I hold the world efficiency record in the obscure field of remote-controlled model airplane jump-gliding as a result of my summer research. I still confuse people when I use "Harvard" and "engineering" in the same sentence. Stanford's football team is apparently playing games now and scoring a bunch of those goal-point-units. Sadi just aced another paper and is moving through Western Governor's university like the Highland girls basketball team tearing up some sissy school. Like Teddy Roosevelt once said, "life is a great big state championship." Being a dad is great, being married to Sadi is a dream come true, and sometimes it makes you want to sing and dance. And sometimes I do. :)

Pope Happenings.

2011-08-29T13:07:00.002-04:00

I was talking with a new friend the other day. She has a son that is about a year now. We were talking about how when your pregnant and you gain 50 pounds people say, "You're growing and feeding another life! Don't worry about the weight." Then 2 months after birth and you have your jello stomach hanging over your jeans people say, "You had a baby 2 months ago! Take it easy." Then at 5 months when the jello is still there they say, "You're breastfeeding! You have to have enough for both of you." But then you get to the point when you're not breastfeeding, it's been 10 months, sure it's a lot to take care of a kid, but that jello is still hanging over those jeans and there's no "justifying" it anymore. I won't admit that I'm at that point... but I am. ha.

Which leads me to my next story about this morning. I slept through my alarm to get up and go work out. When I woke up at 7:30 and realized this I woke up MT telling him how mad I was that I slept through the alarm. My thoughtful husband said, "I can go into work whenever I want. Go workout now." Then, I was so mad at him for saying that. I wanted to tell him to be up all night with a baby and then go workout. Anyway, in my anger I got up and went to work out and realized that I wasn't mad that I had slept through my alarm. I was in fact glad that I did so I got more sleep and was pretending like I was mad that I didn't get to work out. Wow, I'm reading this over and I'm really confused by the whole story. I think I'm crazy. Anyway, I ended up thanking MT for being helpful and making me work out. I'm not sure why I wrote this last paragraph. Oh well.

Henry has had his first cold. I can brag about pretty much everything he does- except for how he handles being sick. To say the least, he's being a big baby. ha. But I feel really bad for him. It's hard when you can't suck on your binky and breath through a runny nose. I think we're over the worst part though. I only had to get up 3 times last night. I feel bad for me too if you you can't tell ;) Despite being up in the middle of the night this past week I was able to pull off 13 loaves of bread and 120 cinnamon rolls on Saturday! It all went really well. Thanks to all those who ordered! I'm really excited to do it again.

Alright, alright, I'll get to the pictures already. Here are some videos and things from the past little bit. Enjoy!

He likes potatoes :)

I'm a little embarrassed to admit how forward Henry is with his relationships. He's been all over Eden and she had to start setting some boundaries for him. She's 13 months I think (he likes older women).

Henry loves water, anything that produces water, anything that is wet ect.

This is the Oakland LDS temple (the closest one to us) and it's about an hour away. It's so pretty.

I'm pretty mad at my iPhone for uploading all of my videos sideways... And I don't know how to fix it. Wait, did it upload the right way? That would be really cool if it did. I'm hoping to get a date night with the hubby this week! And aunt Ali is coming for a visit!!! So excited.

This one is lame.

2011-08-23T16:48:00.000-04:00

I'm just posting this to make me feel like I'm on top of things. Sorry for it's lameness. First, let's talk about some things on my mind lately.

1. Why do I shave my legs. Seriously, I only did it in high school because I played volleyball and people made me. I do it now because it's a social norm but seriously it's so annoying.

2. The cycle of making new friends. Most of us do it over and over again. From elementary to middle school, to high school, to college, to marriage, to graduate school... It's just a lot, and it's hard. I really like the new friends we're making but sometimes I just wish I could keep all my old ones.

3. Space. I talked to Morgan (Thomas) the other day. I think we decided if there was ever a mission to be the first people to live in space, we'd want to be part of it.

4. Money. Why is it that the one thing that's supposed to not matter actually does. I wish it didn't. Then I could go to Disneyland all the times I want. Then I could go see family whenever I want. Then I could buy all of our food pre-made. Too good to be true. I know.

Ok, I won't trouble everyone with my deep thoughts any longer. It's been a while and I don't have any of my pictures because I left my camera in Wyoming. I do have some from my phone though. MT (new Morgan Thomas reference) really enjoys the lab he works in. He builds miniature airplanes and is figuring the best way to make them "jump", land vertically on walls, and once on the wall reposition itself. So my husband plays for a living basically. School doesn't start until 9/26 so that rocks.

3 weeks ago we went on a big road trip from here to Logan, UT then a mini trip to Wyoming. Then down to AZ and now we're back here in the beautiful city of Palo Alto. We drove through the night so J Henry didn't have to sit in the car all day. It was actually a really fun trip and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Here are some pics:

Man, I really don't have the desire to write everything that we did. But it really was awesome. Thanks to all the family for making so nice. Sorry for the lack of info but you're here to see the pictures anyway.

Henry LOVES cars. Here he is just sitting on a picnic table just watching cars. Aunt Emmee has come out a few times to visit- and babysit- score!

He loves the playground in our back yard. Believe it or not AZ folks but it does get kind of chilly at night. It's pretty crazy. And so nice. Have I mentioned that this place is amazing?!!!! The weather, people, playgrounds, swimming pools- just awesome.

Henry is very good at making friends :) Eden and Johnny are 3 months older than him so he tries to keep up. They're really fun to have around!

I think I have my head above water now.

2011-07-06T03:07:00.000-04:00

Well, maybe it's more like my nose but we're getting there. This past month has been really eventful... I'll try to only pick 1 or 2 pictures of each event and keep descriptions short because we all know everyone is just here to see pictures of Henry anyway. Here it goes-

Morgan graduated!!!! Who could have known you could start college in 2005, go on a 2-year mission, date a girl (briefly), get married, have a kid, and graduate with a Bachelors of Science in Engineering with honors in 2011. Man, this guy I call my husband- he rocks. Word.

A big big big thanks to everyone that came out to watch it all happen and to help with the move. I really would have gone crazy if I didn't have all the help. Love you guys!

Also, a thanks to mom for taking 9 bags to Az with her. Man, ya gotta love flight benefits.

And so, we left Boston. I miss it. I really do. But there's a lot here for us in California. It's like, your first boyfriend. Nope. Bad example. It's like, leaving the place where you met, married, started a family and heading somewhere new and full of opportunity. Exactly like that actually.

Morgan and Lyle drove the car and trailer (can you guess what the homemade frame is made out of? Morgan really used his engineering skills :)) across country.

Meanwhile, J Henry, Jane and I made a trip up to Jackson Hole to visit everyone. Henry loved it and everyone there. We had SUCH a good time. I can't wait to go again. It was soooooo beautiful.

Then we stopped back in Logan. We got to spend a little time with grandma and grandpa Pope! Henry sure does miss these guys!

Gotta have some quality time with Jack.

Next stop was Carlsbad, CA with my family (Henry's first time to the beach). It was a big hit.

That is... the sand was a big hit.

Until it became a little bit too much :)

We stopped in Az for a little while and then... dun da dnaaa. Welcome home to San Fransisco!

The area is so nice. Stanford is beautiful and we have a big playground in our backyard. We're still getting settled here and there but we're here. And it feels good. And Henry is happy.

And learning new tricks. Like trying to stand, clapping, crawling without his belly on the ground, and having 1 and a half teeth! So exciting.

For the Fourth of July we went to the beach and had a really great time. Hence, Morgan and J Henry pondering life overlooking the ocean.

Don't worry, all the sand that went in his mouth made it out today. I know this for a fact.

Now that I'm up to speed I'm ready to blog regularly again... I hope because I hate doing the whole "catch up" thing. Just to make it quick we'll do 10 updates on the Pope's.

1. Morgan is now going by his middle name Thomas (this is really hard for me to get used to)

2. I'm still wondering when the "mature mother" phase is going to happen (someone told me I look like a teenager. wow.)

3. Panda Express, Jack in the Box, and Chipotle are minutes from my house. Score!

4. Henry only crawls for food, electronics, or his binky.

5. Thomas just got a bike.

6. I'm taking a spin class.

7. J Henry has lots of friends here.

8. J Henry's parents are working on having lots of friends here

9. We've met Israeli, Russian, Hispanic, Chinese, and Korean families that live around us.

10. I know I'm young but a teenager. Really? That was so 2 years ago! :)

Team Pope is back.

The end.

So many good things...

2011-05-14T19:28:00.001-04:00

Wow, so much has happened since the last time I blogged. We had Morgan's birthday, Henry met Uncle Jack and Aunt Stacy and cousins for the first time, and Morgan took me out on a super special secret surprise for our anniversary (It's not until the 26th but that's when Morgan graduates so we wanted to do it a different day).

First, Morgan's birthday- it was so much fun! We had eggs, sausage, and hash browns for breakfast. mmmmm

Afterwords we headed out to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It's a big house with a huge courtyard right in the middle. And in each room are famous and beautiful works of art, furniture, and accessories. This is one thing I love about Morgan. He's always so appreciative of the arts. Most men aren't... heck... I don't even appreciate them that much. But it's really refreshing and I'm so glad Morgan is there to remind me to stop and smell the roses. A nice picture as we were walking to the museum (You like the photography? I do too. The sense of being in nature and look out on the buildings and industries of men... deep. haha). Man, I'm going to miss this place.

We were going to have a picnic afterwords but it ended up raining and our car was almost towed so we decided to have it at home :)

And then I brought out Aunt Ella's cake! Oh ya, that's right. The frosting totally rocked. I'm pretty pleased at the result... this was my first attempt.

And then after we lounged around for a while, we went out to dinner on our own! Yes, we left Henry at home with our first babysitter that was not a family member.... And it turned out great. I'm going to be finding a babysitter every night if it always goes that smoothly ;) jk. Big thanks to Brenna for being such a trooper and taking care of Henry! We first went to Barnes and Noble and got a couple of books. Then we went to the Cheesecake Factory! So good. Overall it was an awesome day and I'm so glad we had the chance to really celebrate Morgan. He's such a hard-working and loving husband/father. I'm so grateful for all he does. Happy Birthday Morgan!

A couple days later we got to go over and babysit the Shumway's... we watched Tangled- everyone was very into the movie :)

What? There aren't enough pictures of Henry? :) Here they are.

John Henry meeting his uncle John for the first time! It was really fun to see the whole Thorkildsen family while they were here. They took us to Legal Seafood and to breakfast the morning before they left. It was really nice to see them all ohhh and ahhh over Henry. I love family!

And for the finale... our anniversary. Morgan had made these plans without me knowing. So all I knew was that we were going out and I needed to dress nice. I'm not going to lie. I was a little nervous just because I wasn't in the loop and I didn't know what was going on. Anyway, we dropped Henry at the Benson's house and we took the T into State street. We're walking around and then he turns the corner and I see this:

He took me on an elegant dinner cruise on the Boston Harbor!!!!! IT.WAS.AWESOME! Seriously, everything was perfect and nice and soooooo special. Dinner was awesome. After I was starting to feel a little queasy and a little tired from the boat rocking and we still had an hour and a half left but... that's when the band started playing. They announced all the couples having anniversaries and then we got up and slow danced. So romantic- honestly, I've forgotten how fun it is to be romantic. I mean, Morgan and I make sure we get our time together to go eat and go on dates but this felt like we were dating again and I loved it! It's been a while since I've had so much fun and it was GREAT! We danced the night away.

And to top it all off, after we got back Morgan walked me a couple blocks down and we walked across the bridge where we first held hands. Did I mention I'm going to miss this place? Everything was really just amazing. Morgan really outdid himself on this one. I had better stop writing before I get too mushy. I'm in love, I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!

Just can't get enough

2011-05-01T23:19:00.001-04:00

Guess what!?! It's actually warm outside and it has been for a couple days! Yay! Seriously... I feel like Henry has been cooped up all winter and we can finally take him out without having to put a billion layers on. It's so fun to see people outside planting, reading, walking, and all that. Henry and I actually met Morgan for a picnic in Harvard Yard on Friday. This kind of weather/life is what made me come to Boston. I love the grassy areas in the middle of old brick buildings. I love the cool breeze that cools you down from the warm sun (As opposed to the hot breezes you get in Arizona). I love laid back feeling of people sitting under trees reading and studying. I love the flowers in bloom and the smell of fresh air. I love it ALL!!!! But I'm hoping to get a similar experience at Stanford- maybe better because it will only be 2 months of semi-cold weather instead of 6 long dreary dreadful ones.

Just to be clear... Morgan HATES it when I put his hair in a mohawk. I think it's cute but it's not my favorite hairstyle. The thing is, I want to "do" his hair but it's so fine and thin you can't do anything too awesome. Mostly I just part it, but I need him to grow some more hair so I can play with it :)

***Note: This does not mean I know/want to do girls hair- that's way out of my league. Boy hair is the extent of my hair doing hobbies.

Henry has been eating a lot lately! Probably about 34oz of formula plus 2-3 quarter cup size servings of baby food. He literally eats every two hours. The formula is always around every 4 hours. And the baby food in between those. I'm not sure he really needs the baby food but he loves eating it. He loves eating in general. No, he wasn't eating the apple, just sucking on it. But it's a pretty cute picture right?

Are you talking to me?

Just to illustrate just how much he likes to eat here are a few examples of his chewing abilities (and by few I mean maybe 2% of all that he chews)

I'm not sure what I did to deserve this face but it must have been something traumatizing.

He stood up in his crib for a minute (with my help in getting him there)

And this is what came after....

I needed to take a big grocery trip last week and I had Henry with me so I took the car instead of walking. Therefore, for the first time since Henry was born I was able to put him in a grocery cart and push him around (my sister Carlee made the baby cover and it totally ROCKS!)

Remember how I said he likes food? Well, I think he decided the grocery store is heaven. He was such a good boy! Smiling and talking, getting compliments from everyone we walked by... it was incredible. I just might take him on my next trip.

He's almost to the crawling stage. Man, it's all just so fun! I loved him from the beginning but I'm so glad he's not staying a newborn. He learns so fast I can't even handle it. At least one new thing a week.

***Note#2: Don't judge the messy bed.

I know that was a lot of pictures with Henry. I'm one of those crazy mom's that thinks that their kid is the center of the universe. Not really, but kind of...just sometimes. Comes and goes ya know? I'm still working through school and finding a little time to pack here and there. Morgan's birthday is this week... I'm still trying to work out plans but I really want to give him a good day. He's accomplished so much this past year!

Cars, Easter, and Parties!

2011-04-25T20:18:00.000-04:00

Man, I just can get enough of this kid! He's so sweet. This is his ring of pillows so he can sit up by himself.

And then a couple days later he just didn't need the pillows anymore! It's crazy how fast he learns!

And for the big announcement... we officially have a car. That's right, it's ours! :) Henry likes it almost as much as his dad. I love it too. This is the biggest purchase we've ever made so it's kind of a big deal.

We had some help car shopping from Morgan's extended family, the Kernan's. They are actually Morgan's Grandma's cousins but because all of our closer family is on the west coast they are our east coast family and we're soooooooo glad to have them. Seriously, they are incredibly thoughtful. Just picture the most down to earth classy New Engand family you can think of- that's them. And even more, they LOVE Henry. When they see him it's like he's their kid! And I love it. People at church and neighbors think he's cute and comment on it... But the Kernan's ADORE him just like family is supposed to. I'm really grateful to have that especially since Henry hasn't been around family too much. Recently they have taken us to and from the car dealership (I think three times!), they had us over for dessert on Susan's bday, and had us over again for Easter. We're really going to miss this family!!!!

So Easter morning went like this- Me: Henry look! A bright colored basket with candy in it. (He looks at it and dumps it over). Morgan: Is that a kit-kat??? (Starts eating all the candy ;)) It's still early to start the whole candy thing so I won't tell you how I know that Henry likes chocolate.

He got a really cute Easter outfit and he just looked so adorable. Boston decided to be warm that morning too! So we got to go out and take pictures on a bench that I've wanted to take pictures on for a really long time. I didn't realize how dirty it was until we got down there. Oops.

My Boys!!!!

Look at those blue eyes!!!

We had MASH over a couple weeks ago- we're going to miss this group so much!!!!

I promise I don't torture my kid...Sometimes things just happen ya know?

Update: I have my husband back now that his thesis is done and he's all caught up in his other classes. We'll for sure be at Stanford for the summer term and he'll be working for a professor there. He's been really helpful in letting me get my school work done! It's been so nice. I passed a teacher's licensure test the other day which was a big relief. It is the first of many tests I have to take so starting off on the right foot is always encouraging. Henry is drooling, rolling over, and sitting up like crazy. He's learned how to buzz his lips and he loves it.

Busy. Busy. Busy

2011-04-14T13:49:00.000-04:00

It's been pretty crazy here lately. Mostly because Morgan had to present his thesis. Today he's turning in the 60 page document! Woot woot! For those of you that don't know, he made a personal shopping cart. For people like us, who don't have a car, we use personal carts to take our stuff home in. Morgan would get really frustrated with it's manuverablity and saw how many people use them here in Boston and decided to design a new one. Here is the old and new cart. He did so great and we're very proud of him!!!!! (And a cute picture of Henry.... Can't forget that!

Henry went candlepin bowling for the first time! We went for our monthly MASH meeting :) I'm not really sure if he liked it or not, he was sleeping half the time.

Henry has officially learned how to roll over (back to front) and has gotten pretty good at it. So lately when he cries while sleeping it's because he's rolled onto his stomach and doesn't know how to roll back over. I often see him sleeping on his side as well.

Here's Henry helping me with the dishes.

The other day it was REALLY nice outside. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to take Henry to the park down the street for the first time. I think he likes the outside! And he should after being cooped up all winter long. I can't wait to be able to play outside more often!!! Point California!!!

We're trying to get in a lot of things before we leave. There's so much in Boston we are going to miss. Here we are at the Harvard Natural History Museum. Pretty cool stuff!

Here are some cute Henry pictures. I know... I take way too many.

Here's a shout out to my Grandma and Grandpa Rogers! Grandpa has been in the hospital but is doing better. They are such a sweet couple and I'm so happy to have them to look up to!

Remember those pictures we got taken a while ago? Well I FINALLY did somethigng with them. Here's how it turned out. Not too bad for my artistic skills! ha.

We have decided to buy a car. Yes, you read it right. We're finally getting a car. We're pretty sure we'll be getting a Subaru. I'll post pictures when it happens though.

Today, I can't find my house keys but Morgan and I were leaving at the same time so I told him I'd just take his since I'd be home first. He was on his was to school and Henry and I were going to the store. We walk as far as we can together and then say our goodbyes. So I go to the store, smash everything I need into the stroller, carry some, and even put some things next to Henry. (Don't judge, I haven't been to the store in a while). I get home... and guess what. No keys. I forgot to get them from Morgan. Long story short, I put the groceries in the shade to keep cool and I push Henry around for an hour and a half waiting for Morgan to catch a bus back so we can get in. Epic Fail.

Oh man- I forgot these!

2011-03-25T13:20:00.000-04:00

Forgot to mention he started eating food! (If you can even call baby food food)- don't listen to my voice

last one

Catch up!

2011-03-24T23:15:00.000-04:00

Well, here I am playing catch up with the blog. So much has happened in the past month... I don't know how long it's been. Anyway, Morgan has decided to go to Stanford. And I fully support him :) ha. He received a Stanford Graduate Fellowship- which is the most prestigious fellowship they give at the university. Only 100 people get it and Morgan was on of them. So, at the end of May- right after graduation, we are off to California!

I realized how much Henry dislikes being on the ground and laying on his back. I could be sitting right next to him and he would wail. As soon as I stood him up he would be fine. so I decided it was time to get a new toy. He's a little small for it but he definitely likes it and I think it will last for a while :)

Grammy and Grandpa Rogers came for a visit a couple weeks ago. Henry was so happy to have other people around the house. Grandpa was/still is making sure the word "football" is in his vocabulary.

While they were here we went to Bartley's- my mouth just started watering. mmmmm. Anyway, that's where Morgan told me he got the fellowship. We were really excited. And it was REALLY cold that day. Don't let the sun deceive you!

Henry has gotten into a routine lately and it's been really nice. He gets up around 8. Takes an hour nap in the morning and a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. Then another hour nap in the evening. Around 8 we bathe him, feed him, and them put him to bed. He was a really good sleeper for a while... but about a week ago he started waking up several times in the middle of the night. I guess that's normal for a 4 month old... man I can't wait for this to pass!

Celeste was reading Henry a bedtime story... It's a tactic to get her and Alex to move out west with us :)

So I look back at all my posts since Henry was born... and I think was I really that happy or was I lying to myself? haha. But really, when I think back on that first month- woah that was hard. Hardly getting any sleep. Not knowing how to soothe my son. Breast-feeding. Emotional. Trying to remember how many times he pooped and peed and ate and sneezed (scratch that last one). It was just hard. And the second month- things got better. He slept more but still cried a ton. I had aching arms from trying to soothe him. But around the third month- that's where things really started to come into place. He smiled a lot, was more content, started realizing that his limbs belonged to him. Just fun stuff. And it keeps getting better; we've connected. You know, that mother-son bond. That's the thing I've realized about love. Any kind of love. If it's real, it gets better with time. That's how it's been with my parents, my husband, and now my son.

Sometimes Henry gets banned from clothes. Either he poops through 5 sets of clothes in 4 hours or he soaks through everything with his drool.

A while ago Henry has his friend McKenna over. They really hit it off I think. I just set them next to each other and Henry grabbed her hand so fast I didn't even have time to tell him girls have cooties!

I'm really going to miss Boston. A lot. This is where Morgan and I began our life together and started a family. We are still trying to figure out a solution where we can move to California without leaving Boston. I'll let you know what we come up with.

PS- the greatest thing for Sadi about moving to California???? DISNEYLAND!!!!! Oh my goodness I want to go soooooooooooo bad! Seriously, I'm thinking up some scheme to get year passes. Maybe I'll bake bread, idk. I just want Disneyland!

Family Fun

2011-02-22T13:51:00.001-05:00

When Morgan got back, I got to go out for a girls night with ladies in my ward. I don't really prefer the term "ladies". It sounds old and adult like. But that's the word I used. Oh well. First we went to Pizzaria Regina's. Amazing! Then after we went and had cake and ice cream and talked about everything from the ward we're in to our husbands weird habits. Good times. It was nice to get out and enjoy an evening and still know Henry was in good hands at home :)

We ran out of church pants for Henry on Sunday... So he wore jeans. But he's just so cute it doesn't even matter!

On President's day we decided to have a family outing and take Henry outside for the sole purpose of playing in the snow. I think maybe Morgan and I enjoyed it more than Henry but it was pretty fun family event :)

My boys!

When we got inside Henry clung to my shoulder and wouldn't let go... I think he was a little traumatized.

Today we had Magnus come over and play while his mom packed. He is moving to Vermont on Saturday so it was fun to play for a little while. It'll be really sad to see them leave :(

Henry really loves his baths. Hopefully that will continue into toddler hood ;) ha.

Yes, I am procrastinating on my homework. Blogging about Henry is so much more fun! Loving it!

Good times :)

2011-02-19T14:21:00.000-05:00

So last Sunday we had a MASH (Married and Students at Harvard) dinner. It was valentine themed and it was a lot of fun. We played games and ate lots of food. I made dessert- cake balls- and then left them at home. Lame. I'm still mad about it. Anyway, one of the games was which couple could open a candy bar without using their hands the fastest...

We lost but it was really funny. So Henry has a new friend in MASH- McKenna. She's 2 weeks younger than him and soooo cute. Naturally they make a great couple ;) We held them close to each other and they just stared for a couple minutes with out blinking. Henry eventually started crying so we figure he's not ready to handle the whole girl scene yet. ha.

Wednesday through Friday Morgan went to Stanford to check it out... He LOVED it. We are 99.999 percent sure we'll be going there. We're not sure if we'll go at the beginning or at the end of the summer but we'll see. I'm so excited! Henry is excited too!

While Morgan was gone Grammy got to visit! It was really nice to have her here but it was so short of a visit we miss her already. While she was here we made jalapeno jelly- recipe from Jane. I got to run some errands and Grammy gave Henry a fohawk... It's actually pretty cute! She got some really good pictures of him too!

I love his little outfits! He's such a man!!! :)

So... in this video I forget the words, switch up the verses, and mess up... however, I am posting it to show how awesome Henry is. If he's crying, I'll get out my guitar and start playing. He immediately stops and watches me. Sometimes he'll start singing with me- other times he'll just sit and listen. He's so sweet! I wish I could convey all the wonderful moments that we have during the day. I never knew being a mom could be this awesome.

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-02-12T08:27:00.000-05:00

Oh man! I feel like I haven't blogged in forever... mostly because I wouldn't let myself blog until I got my PowerPoint done for school. That was really painful. But I just submitted it so lets hope it passes and I don't have to look at it ever again! On a brighter note I am now done with my general courses and now I start all the cool classes about teaching and special education. Woot! I feel like so much has happened since my last post so here we go! Every Friday we go to institute. Luckily everyone is baby friendly and luckily we have such a good kid! Here's daddy and Henry listening intently... I was too but I couldn't pass up this picture ;)

On the T... My boys are tired!

I have to take Henry around like this because with the snow piles everywhere there's no way to get a stroller through it all. It's really kind of nice though. Hands free... and I think Henry likes it too. He instantly falls asleep when he's in there- probably feels like the womb again :)

Last weekend we went on the Harvard Latter-Day Saint Student Association retreat (basically all the Mormons at Harvard). We really had a blast. It was fun to get to know all the people that go to school with Morgan and just have fun. We played games, ate food, watched movies, had a devotional, did improv, played more games, and slept a little bit. We stayed in a HUGE house with like, 20 beds and two kitchens. Of course I only got one picture right before we left and guess who it is???

So, Henry's name is actually John Henry Pope. This is because his uncles name is John. And his uncle John has an uncle John and uncle John's uncle John has an uncle John as well. And all of these uncle John's actually go by Uncle Jack. Henry's Uncle Jack is one with really great style and has gotten Henry some really awesome outfits and I just couldn't wait to put him in them. Too cute!

Uncle Jack knows how to crochet and this, I have to say, is an amazing work of art!

It's been a really big week for Henry! We usually have to put at blanket in the bumbo so he can sit up... But he can do it all by himself now!!! Also, he found out he has feet! We got a cute picture of the moment too. With that, he's really learning how to interact with toys! I mean, more than just look at them. He'll give his best attempt at grabbing and chewing. Sometimes he can even get his hands right to hold his bottle. It's so fun to watch!!!

This is our living room on most days. Henry loves to just hang out. By the way, the swing is like... a life saver.

This is Morgan's work station when we're not eating food :) He's been really enjoying his classes and he's learning a lot. And..... drum roll please.... we found out last night that he got accepted to MIT!!! l;aksdvoiaedfjkaskjgh;aher;agnkr. Holy cow who did I marry????? The top two engineering schools want my husband! Man, it's just crazy. He was really excited and he's always so sweet about it. Ali called me last night and these are her words, "What the hell? Does he even know how smart he is???" She always knows how to pick the best words :) So ya, he/we have a big decision to make. There are so many good things that come with both schools. We'll wait and find out about funding and then decide. Oh man... SO CRAZY!!!!

Ok, so here are the kids I babysat before Henry came along. I was going to babysit again but they are moving! To HAWAII! I got to babysit them on Tuesday. Morgan was there so it was good to have the help :) These kids are soooooooo awesome. Really, I'm going to miss them and their parents so much. They've been like a second family here always giving us rides, inviting us over, feeding us food, and really being great friends. Here we are... I went from 1 kid to 4!

This is Pearl. 3 weeks younger than Henry. No, it's not a wig. That is really her hair! She's such a cute baby. And I still can't get over all that hair!

The boys watching Toy Story :)

I love this little smile. Brightens my day every time.

Man bonding time :)

These little hands are sooooo cute. It's amazing how when those little fingers wrap around mine I feel like a million dollars. How great is it that I get to raise such a sweet sweet boy! Ah, I love it.

So... I'm speculating that Henry will be left handed. Not just because he could make an awesome baseball, basketball, and volleyball player. But because when he's playing with things it's usually his left hand that's doing all the work! I'm not gonna lie, it's a little weird to be left-handed. But with his father's promising height genes and my outstanding athletic genes- combine that with a left hander... Oh man. unstoppable.

No, not potty training just yet ;) He was watching mom do her hair. Gotta love those overalls!

So we got this on Amazon.com... yeah! Julie Andrews is the Man! We sing Edelweiss to Henry all the time.

Woah, that was a lot. Good to get it all out there. I can't wait to see what new things Henry learns this week!

So Flippin Cute!!!!

2011-02-03T20:00:00.000-05:00

This just happened. And a video like this can not be contained :)

Home again!

2011-02-01T16:22:00.001-05:00

We sure do miss family but it is so great to be back home and into routine again. Morgan has started up school. He's got a lot lighter load than last semester but his classes are a lot harder so he's staying focused. And speaking of school (Here is where I brag about how amazing my husband is)... He got accepted to Stanford's Graduate Mechanical Engineering program!!!!!!!! They actually called him- two months earlier than we expected- and told him that he was very high on their applicant list and they would love to have him come out and meet professors and look at the campus!!!!!! ;aklsdvnjioadhnvkajsdnkfjawoIefnsdb vjkbdnfkvjnlavnkjdbvfkjvn... that's my excitement!!!!!!! Seriously, a billion exclamation marks don't even begin to express my joy. He's flying out there in a couple weeks to interview for a fellowship (funding). If he gets it we are FOR SURE going. We're still waiting to here from other places but Stanford is pretty much top pick. And to show just how awesome he is, he sent me this picture the other day while he was at school- his pen broke. haha

Henry is growing so much everyday! The best is right when he wakes up. He's so smiley and sweet.

He's really strong too. Just a little bit more core muscle and he's going to be sitting up all by himself!

He's got some really cute outfits and I've been loving dressing him up :) Here he is talking to Morgan one day before church.

We have been getting a LOT of snow here. There are piles of it everywhere! Right now it's snowing some more... I don't know where they're gonna put it all. Here's the view last week from our window.

Morgan and I have started going to institute on Fridays at Boston University. Our good friend Alex teaches the class. This last Friday Morgan went straight from Harvard so Henry and I travelled over there alone. There's so much snow that it's almost impossible to get around with a stroller so I took him in the baby Bjorn... Can you say The Christmas Story?????

After institute we went to a dinning hall and had dinner. Henry decided he wanted to sleep...

On Sunday night we had some friends over for dinner and games. Now that I'm home more I have this weird desire to cook a lot. Super weird. Anyway, I made rolls in the morning and put pork chops with ranch dressing seasoning and a can of cream of chicken soup in the crock pot. When we got home from church I made mashed potatoes and for dessert-better than anything cake. :) My mom has a habit of injuring herself when she's making big meals. While mine was merely a little scratch, I had to document my first cooking battle wound. Not a bad record for being married almost 2 years.

I should have gotten a picture of everyone and all the food but I'm just not that on top of it yet. After dinner we played Settlers of Catan- Cities and Knights version. This game is usually a big hit with this group of people but for some reason everyone decided it kinda sucked this time around. So we quit early. It was a great night and good to see everyone again.

So I passed a test for school the other day... but I have to revise the powerpoint I was working on. That and trying to keep my husband and son alive occupy my time these days. I'm not sure if I'm just relieved that I don't have to work at Target anymore or if I'm really feeling this way but I have never been happier. I really feel like this is me. I'm a mom and I LOVE it!

Part 2!

2011-01-27T16:02:00.000-05:00

So after Arizona we headed straight for Utah! Talk about a change in temperature. Lyle came and picked us up from the airport... Henry was talking, smiling, and drooling all over him :)

We did so much while we were there. Jane had probably a billion people over to the house at different times... and she made sooooooo much good food! We had Morgan's friends over one night for dinner and games. It was good to see everyone and have some fun :) Henry apparently had a lot of fun

Henry slept in this cute bassinet next to our bed. HE'S SO CUTE!!! AHHH!

Morgan spent a lot of time playing with kinex :) I'm sure he would justify it as prototyping for his final project but I know the truth.

This is Morgan's 8th grade picture... enough said.

The second night we were in Utah we went over to Vicky and Marcus' place for their son Tanner's birthday. It was really fun to meet all of Morgan's step siblings and let Grandma and Grandpa Pope meet their first grandson :) Vicky's daughter Taryl is a photographer and offered to do our family pictures! They turned out GREAT! Here is her blog: http://takenbytaryl.blogspot.com/ and here are just a few of the pictures she took. I'm getting the rest of them in the mail on Saturday! Can't wait!

Three generations :) Marcus was pretty reluctant to be called "grandpa" because he thinks he's too young... ha. But after seeing Henry in person he publicly stated he was more than happy to be Grandpa Pope. The first night Henry wouldn't take his eyes off Marcus. It was so cute.

Henry got to meet a lot of people including his Greats: Mimi, Pa, Granny Great, Carlos, Gary, Maurine and Dorothy!

Here he is with Nana. Jane was sooooo good with him. She's got all the voices and noises down to get his attention :) He would smile at her all the time. So cute.

Henry has been doing a lot of smiling lately. It's so much fun. He also started recognizing toys and gets really excited when he sees them.

We went over to Pa and Mimi's for dinner and did the annual pickle hunt. John and Madie are usually there but they are on missions. And for the first time in Morgan's LIFE- he found the pickle first. I am ashamed of myself. I am currently asking for forgiveness from Madie and John but I'm not sure I deserve it. Ugh.

Man this kid is so cute. I stare at him all day and never get sick of it. I'm in love I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!!!!

Here he is with papa :)

I went skiing for the first time in my life! Wooooooo!! It was a lot of fun. Lyle was my teacher. The first thing we practiced was getting up after falling down... I'm sure he was worried when I couldn't manage to do that. But he stuck with me and successfully taught me how to snowplow :) I had a couple good crashes where I lost both skis, but nothing too crazy. It was really fun and I hope I get to do it again. Big props to Lyle for being patient with me and pretty much skiing backwards down the whole mountain. More big props to Pa and Morgan who are awesome skiers!!!

Granny Great and Carlos came down for a couple hours to meet Henry. It was really good to see them again!

The last two days of being in Utah my mom and Emmee came up to say goodbye to Henry. Emmee loved the snow and built some wicked snow men. I nailed her with a huge snowball- she wasn't very happy about that. Here we are... the last day with Nana. So sad to leave :(

Oh man, there a probably a million things that I left out from that trip. We did so much and had a lot of fun. Well, next post will be from home sweet home :)

Part 1 of the break!

2011-01-23T18:20:00.001-05:00

Holy cow... we've been gone for over a month! Our baby is twice what I last posted. Ahhh. I've got a lot of pictures and stories :) Here we go!

We went to Arizona to visit my family. Henry and I went on Dec 15th and Morgan came on the 19th- he had do finish finals :(. He got really good grades last semester so I guess it's a good thing he stayed behind for a couple of days. The day after Morgan got there we went shooting with everyone... I'm not a gun person but it was a lot of fun. Props to David for being mister safety and props to my husband for having really good aim! I was surprised by how well he did. I'm speculating he works for the government as a secret agent.

Henry stayed in the car for most of it so he didn't hurt his ears. We took shifts sitting in the car with him :) He did so good!

Morgan did a lot of sleeping over the break. He's kind of like a bear... winter break is when he catches up on sleep. Speaking of sleep- Morgan sleeps through EVERYTHING! It's actually pretty hilarious. At my parents house he decided to sleep by the bassinet so he could hand Henry to me when he was hungry. The first night I had to get up and go get Henry because he wouldn't budge for the crying or for me hitting him. The next night he succussfully handed Henry to me and then I asked him for the binky that was in the bassinet. He starts looking for it then mumbles I don't know what you're asking me. And laid down back to sleep. And one night I had just finished feeding Henry, I put him back in the bassinet, and he started crying. I was really tired so I asked Morgan if he would take Henry this time. He said ok- picked Henry up- and handed him right to me! After seeing my face he quickly took Henry back :) Oh, so many funny times.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this picture...

My mom was soooo good with Henry. He had been pretty fussy the first month but once we got to Az everything changed. My mom invented the hold that could settle him down and get him to sleep so fast. She even got Daisy to like him :) He was so good and cute for her.

Courtesy of Sean and Shari Tate Morgan and I got to go see the Suns!!! They played 76ers and lost! So lame... but it was REALLY fun and we were sitting in the 17th row! Boosh! (Gulliver's Travel reference). Henry stayed at home with gramy and grandpa.

Here isn't even a quarter of the people that held Henry... These are all the pics I have though

We had an awesome Christmas loaded with movies, wii, sweet gifts and laughter.

We also were able to bless Henry in my parent's ward. My mom has all the pictures of everyone there but here's him in his blessing outfit.

Oh man it was just so fun being back to the hometown and seeing everyone. Here is Henry exhausted from all the fun of Arizona and heading to Utah!

Adventures!

2010-12-10T11:45:00.001-05:00

Well, in case you were wondering, I still have the cutest little boy EVER! It's been a lot of fun to have Nana Jane here. She's helped out a lot because Morgan has has paper after project after paper after classes after paper. But today is his first day when he doesn't have anything! Woohoo.

Last night he had a project presentation for his engineering class. This is the class with most of his friends so we decided to take Henry so he could meet daddy's friends. Henry and Morgan both did so good! It was freezing out so we had to bundle up a lot. On the way back we were walking through Harvard Yard and Henry started screaming! I couldn't take him out because it was so cold but he was clearly in distress. Luckily, Nana was able to find his binky and hold it in his mouth just long enough to make it to the science center. There we found an empty classroom so I could feed him (he already ate the bottle I had prepared for the trip- not enough I guess!).

Man, it's crazy all the baggage that comes with taking a baby out. If I would have made the trip by myself all I would have taken was my wallet and phone. With Henry we had the stroller, car seat, blankets, diaper bag, diapers, wipes, extra clothes, burp rags, bottle, ect.

We're just about getting a routine down. Henry now sleeps most of the night and usually only gets up to feed. Around 6 he'll be awake for an hour or so and then take another nap. During the day it's whatever he feels like.

I think subconsciously I knew about all the things that come with new babies but I never really thought about them so much. For example, not sleeping through the night. I knew it was going to happen but didn't really think about what that meant :) Or the fact that milk is everywhere... man, I've got to do a lot to keep my ladies under control! ha. It's all really fun to figure out.

These are a couple pictures Melissa Faustino took of Henry. She also took some family ones that turned out great too. I'm saving most of them for the Christmas card but I thought I could post a couple.

The Joys of Parenthood!

2010-11-30T12:12:00.000-05:00

Whenever I think of being a mother, I think about cooking dinner, going to school activities, making bumps and bruises feel better ect. But I've quickly learned the first couple of weeks/months will be nothing close to that. In the past couple of days I've gotten minimal sleep, been peed on twice, spit up on, stopped in the middle of a shower and so forth. No, not because of Morgan... it's my son, Henry. THE CUTEST THING IN THE WORLD! He's been a little fussy lately and it's so hard! I'd do anything for this guy. If he could talk and told me he wanted a car and cried that sad little cry... I'd go buy him one. Seriously. His cry is cute but I'd do anything to see those big eyes look up at me for 10 minutes longer with satisfaction.

Last night he finally let me sleep some. It meant me having him in my arms all night but I don't mind that so much. I'm worried that I might mind it in a couple of weeks though... It's kind of fun being on someone else's schedule. When he naps I either nap too or get something around the house done. Not a bad life. Morgan is SWAMPED with his last week of school. But he always tries to get home as soon as possible so he can see his male heir :) Hopefully today will be a better day than yesterday. Christmas music here I come!

PS. Nana Jane comes tomorrow!!!

Already a good day :)

2010-11-27T11:17:00.001-05:00

Isn't crazy how Christmas music can put you in the best mood ever? In addition to Christmas music I have an awesome husband working on graduate school applications and and the CUTEST little boy ever sleeping sweetly :) Also, I had trouble picking out an outfit for today... amazing! You wanna know why I had trouble picking something out? Because I can fit into soooooo many more clothes than I could a week ago! Pregnancy was great, I loved having Henry wiggle around and make me have to pee every 2 seconds... but it feels sooooooo good to have my body back. Well, most of it. He still owns my ladies if you know what I mean... and I have a stomach that looks like jello but it's better than looking like a basketball.

I've uploaded some more random pictures from my camera. It's such a good day already! Henry slept from 10:30pm to 2am! Then from 3 to 6! And then from 7 to 8. He woke up and daddy read him books while I took a shower. Then I got to read books and feed him while daddy took a shower. Now he's sleeping again. Wow, just so grateful for a wonderful morning :)

Morgan and Henry at the Hospital

Leaving the hospital!

Henry has inherited some traits from his aunt Halee. First, he sticks his tongue out all the time. Second, Halee has started a trend of lifting up her shirt at random times for no exact reason... Here is Henry doing the same.

Morgan reading Henry his favorite book so far (the only book we've read him so far)

First bath... this one wasn't very fun for him. We had to sponge bathe him because of his circumcision. But now that it is healed he loves being submerged in the warm water.

Getting dressed after the bath!

This is from the hospital. Grammy loves his little feet :)

Grammy has already bought a bib for Henry. It says, "If Mommy says no, than ask grandma."

The Start of Something New!!!

2010-11-26T11:43:00.001-05:00

Alright... today my sweet little boy is ONE WEEK OLD! Ah, it's crazy how fast everything is going already. This is most likely going to be an extreemly long post so you may want to grab some popcorn or take a nap before you start.

My mom came on the 5th of November to help me get ready and be here to help when Henry was born. It was great to have her out here to get things set up and finalized before he arrived. I went a week past my due date and got induced. Morgan has actually written a very detailed narrative of the labor and delivery story. So I'm not going to say anything about that. If you'd like to read about it go here: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=1ZGL05JWWjhfJga9tEKfvKTl3qh5ZeFewKnwwxi_G-y4ZZm0XO3-fwBTO218v&hl=en&authkey=CK7x-78C

So I think I'll write about what has happened since delivery and post some pictures in between! Just after he was born we were deciding on an official name. I asked him if he wanted to be named Peter Jeffrey... He very clearly shook his head no. My mom also asked him and he made a grumpy face. The several times we asked him about John Henry there was no objection so we went with that ;) It is sort of a family name and one that we really like.

It was 4 am when I had him and we got moved out of the delivery room at 6. We were all pretty tired from a near sleepless night. Mom was awesome and held Henry while Morgan and I slept. After an hour or so my mom left to sleep back at our place and I learned how to go to the bathroom after having an 8lbs. 3oz. baby come out of me. Not the easiest thing I've ever done.

We actually had to share a room for the first half of the day but then got our own huge room with two beds :) The day went well. The first night was a little rough. Henry was great at latching on and eating but every once and a while he'd just scream so much he wouldn't be able to calm down enough to eat. It was hard to see him cry so much and know what he wanted but not be able to make him understand he just needed to stay latched on! I had a couple of breakdowns but I am happy to report that he is now eating non stop with no hesitation whatsoever. I'm actually pretty sure he'll be 20lbs. by next week ;) jk.

Morgan has been so amazing through all of this. He's a pro at getting little Henry to calm down. When Henry gets fussy and he's not hungry I always divert to dad and he gets the job done. Morgan has already started reading him books and has become very good at swaddling.

My mom had to leave back for Arizona on the 20th. Flights were starting to get really full with Thanksgiving coming up and she had to be home by Tuesday... So Grammy left. And Morgan and I were parents all on our own. After she left, Morgan looked at me really concerned and asked if we were going to be able to do it without her here. It was pretty funny.

Henry got all his shots and check ups in the hospital and did great. He got circumcised the day we left. I was fine until they wheeled him out the door and I broke down a bit. After the procedure was done I went into the nursery because he was so fussy. After a while he finally settled down. We got him dressed in his first outfit, put him in his car seat, and headed for home. When we walked out of the hospital we were a little surprised that they just let us keep him. I mean... we're pretty young... and we pretty much have no idea what we're doing... and they just let us leave. But he's made it a week so hopefully we're doing something right. Morgan was very careful driving home. He focused on the road while I threatened people that got too close to our car :) (We were borrowing a car from some people in our ward... super nice).

And now we are home! Trying to adjust to the feedings, nap times, and scream times. Usually after he eats his eyes will be wide open and you can just see him taking in so much. He loves it when Morgan reads to him. He also likes to watch me count with my fingers. Sometimes he takes 3 hour naps and other times he takes 20 minute naps. He's gotten really good at holding his head up. We've given him 2 baths since he's been home. The first time he screamed through the whole thing. The second time he was pretty content though :)

I guess if you just read about what we do with Henry you'd think all of this is pretty monotonous. There's so much more to it though... I look into those grey/blue eyes and I get lost. Right in my lap lays the most beautiful, incredible, and the most real thing I've ever seen. Every movement, facial expression, or sound just makes my heart... I don't know. It's a mix between melting, exploding, leaping and any other dramatic thing a heart can do. He is AMAZING! And to think that I helped to create him blows my mind.

I'm getting mushy but I just can't help it when it comes to this miracle. I don't know what is going to happen in the future but I do know that this is what I want, this is what I'm supposed to be. My life has changed so much in the last couple of years and it has changed so that I could get to this point. So that I could feel this kind of love. My capacity of loving has reached a new level that I can't explain. I'm so grateful for this experience and responsibility. I just hope that I can do an ok job.

I should be posting more now that I have a really cute kid to show off so make sure you look back for updates.

Thanks to everyone who has congratulated us and done so many great things for us.

-Team Pope