We had a baby, It's a boy

Actually a week ago today. Here are some pictures from the hospital and the days that have followed.

Morris "Jensen" Poole, we call him Jensen
Born April 22nd at 10:54 AM
7 lbs. 15 oz.
Practically perfect in every way

First family photo
Our sweet gift straight from heaven

A very proud papa

One of the very few shots with his eyes open. He is still quite sleepy and maybe a little camera shy

My 4 day old boy with a faux hawk

Birth story and more photos to follow. This mama is still very tired and trying to recover.

We apologize to all of our friends and family who use hotmail, we did attempt to send you an email several times from the hospital with photos attached but hotmail would not accept the attachments.

The Old Days

While Morris was here visiting we wanted to do some of our favorite things in the city we love and miss.


First stop was a pre dinner treat at Diddy Riese. Nothing makes me happier right now than ice cream and cookies. I may have even bought a few extra cookies for dessert.


Enjoyed a walk around Westwood.

Spent time on the temple grounds on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Practiced our Blue Steel faces and modeling poses--totally appropriate on temple grounds, right?

A quick visit to the beach

and walk around Santa Monica

Before meeting up with ULCA friends for a BBQ at the Village. It was a great weekend and wish it could have lasted a bit longer.

It was hard to say good bye to Morris but he had to return to research, thesis writing and teeth straightening.

Bump 2 Bump

A nearly impossible task; trying to please two very pregnant ladies with a good picture of themselves.

Take One: Oh wait, Sara's hair is blowing in her face
Take 9: Laughing at previous takes. And then a location change.

Take 10 or beyond: Husbands are growing weary and impatient, I guess this one will work.

On Saturday afternoon Morris and I snuck up to Bakersfield to have lunch with our friends Steve and Sara. I was really hoping we would have a chance to meet up with them while I was in California, and they were nice enough to meet us half way so we could have lunch together. We enjoyed a long lunch and a longer chat session after.

Sara and I were each others infertility friend and cried for each other over failed attempts at pregnancy and now we get to enjoy this miracle together. We are due only 20 days apart from one another.

We were so glad we got to see them and looking forward to more California reunions when we are back in the west. Can't wait for Baby Ella and Baby Poole to come.

I wasn't the 1st

For those of you who have asked how I put the fabric on the rocking chair. Here are the instructions I followed.

Now, we are Ready

I had planned on taking lots of parenting and birthing classes through our hospital and being overly prepared before this baby arrived. Well when I learned I would be leaving town and not able to attend any of the classes I had signed up for we had to go to Plan B. I found a class called "Boot Camp for New Dads" and so I signed Morris up, I figured one of us needs to know what to do when we bring this baby home. I thought for sure he would shoot down my idea but he actually went and said it was pretty helpful. And they even gave him a T-shirt.

Now, all I have to do is find someone to take care of his patients each day so he can stay home and show me how it is done.

To Rock

Last year we rescued a broken rocking chair from the garbage can that our friends had planned for its future. The chair sat around for a while before we decided to do anything with it. We had a hard time agreeing on a paint color and then I took an even longer time figuring out what I wanted to do with the seat. I looked for a long time before I decided on this fabric to decoupage.

There may still be a few minor adjustments and maybe a cute kelly green pillow will be added. But here is mostly the final product.

Oh and this is what we started with.

Here is a better view of the fabric.

One step closer to Baby Pooles arrival.

My Special Day

I love Birthdays! And today was my special day. I turned 28 today and could not be happier. I think it is going to be a great year for us and I am looking forward to the ride over the next couple months.

I had a birthday lunch with my friend Kim, we had Noodles & Co. We laughed and chatted. Thanks for lunch Kim, it was fun to spend the afternoon with you. Next time I will remember to take a photo.

Then Joy and Amelia came by with a gift. Love these ladies.

Look at that Belly!

Morris came home early from school and we went to dinner at CPK.

I think this is his 6th or 7th Root Beer--he never grows tired of this stuff.

Making a wish--I can't tell, I want it to come true.

Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes. I loved all of the emails, texts and messages; you sure know how to make a girl feel special.

Not so Fast

So maybe more like a Brett Favre kind of retirement. I am headed back to Los Angeles for a month to work for my previous employer. But then it is back home to nest, for real this time.

30; And Never Looking Back

We celebrated Morris's birthday with his family while we were in Utah. We had a nice dinner with most of his siblings and a few friends to complete the night.

During dinner we each took turns talking about the table topics questions left on each plate. Morris's question was: What are you most looking forward to this year? He had a hard time deciding between the birth of our baby, completion of his residency program and starting his first job. Wow, we have a big year ahead of us!

Morris was really happy to spend some time with is good friend Sam.

And we were so happy that Ben and Heidi were able to make it from Las Vegas. We love spending time with them.

Boys will always be boys.

I had big plans for my ice cream cakes but as you can see in the pic above they didn't turn out like I had hoped. There is always next year.

Thank you to everyone for coming to the party and for celebrating Morris with me.

Retirement

Just before Morris and I left for Utah I retired. We went out to dinner to celebrate. Morris said it was funny we were spending money to celebrate me not making any more money.

I was working as a nanny for the last 6 months for a baby boy (a little hands on training) but now I am looking forward to spending my days with my baby boy. Just under 10 weeks from now!

2009 in Pics

I wasn't much of a blogger last year so maybe a quick glimpse into last year will make up for months of absence.

January

We rang in the New Year in the big apple! We saw as much as many Christmas trees as we could and as many sites as our cold bodies would allow.

February

Took a quick trip down to Orlando, Morris attended a conference and we enjoyed seeing our friends the Craguns.

Was surprised by a surprise birthday breakfast with good friends.

March

Spent a weekend in Charleston, SC. Loved it there.

Had a chance to visit with the Henriods before they headed back to California.

Ran the Monument Ave. 10K with friends. Morris showed his support but volunteering and cheering me on along the course.

Met up with UCLA friends in DC for the Cherry Blossom festival.

Convinced the Shamos to spend a few more days with us in Richmond.

April

More time with UCLA friends, this year the AAO meeting was in Boston and we had fun seeing these faces.

We were lucky enough to see the Shamos again in Boston.

Janae and I at the library.

Boston Public Gardens

May

Had to go see what all the OBX fuss was all about. Spent the weekend in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and loved every second of it, even the brutal sun burn I returned home with.
And the friends who made it possible, thank you Hendrys for letting us crash your family vacation. We will happily invite ourselves on any future trips.

June

Had a visit from Papa Morris. We spent a Sunday afternoon visiting Civil War battlefields.

Morris had a conference at the Greenbrier in West Virginia. One of the most memorable "vacations" we have ever had. I know who knew in West Virginia?

We played many games of shuffle board and decided we will be putting a court in our backyard--one day.

In front of the Greenbrier. I want to go back.

July

Made it to Utah for the festivities. All of my sissies + Mamma came to the celebration at the Pooles.

And the Hendrys.

We were able to sneak up to Bear Lake for a few days to spend some time with the Pooles

And then up to Park City for some r & r with my side of the family.

I was also able to spend a girls weekend with some old roomies.

Celebrated our anniversary with a night at Coldplay.

August

Headed up to Hershey, PA to spend the weekend with Ben and Heidi. Went to Chocolate World

Learned about the Amish and took in some sites in Lancaster County, ate too many cider donuts and drank too much Amish Root Beer and not enough Hershey ice cream.

September

Spent another weekend in the city I love, New York City.

We helped the Lees move into a new place to get ready for Baby Boy and Baby Girl and enjoyed spending time in the city with good friends.

I got back in the chair and let Morris put braces on me. He put lingual braces on me (on the backside of my teeth) so I can avoid being called "brace face" for the next two years.

October

Went to Lake Gaston, NC for the weekend. It was unusually warm and on Sunday we weren't ready to come home so the girls decided to stay an extra day. Thanks again Joy and Ted.

It took a few seasons but he finally got it and has the T-shirt to prove it. At UCLA they always managed to get to the championship but just couldn't get the W. This year the VCU residents were able to take the all school championship in intermural football.

Dressed as Mary Poppins and Bert for our ward Halloween party.

November

We took advantage a warm day in November and visited the home of George Washington; Mount Vernon.

We attended a wedding near Pittsburgh, PA. I was really more interested in spending the weekend with Tiffany, a friend from high school who lives near Pburgh. The weekend went way too fast but it was so great to see Tiffany and her cute family.

December

We hosted a mustache and ugly sweater party for the ortho residents. There was a few classic outfits (and a few completely wrong) that will certainly not be forgotten.

My brother Ben had an interview at VCU for residency and he brought Heidi and Max along with him. We were so happy to have visitors and to see family at Christmas.

A huge snow storm hit while they were here so we were stuck inside for a few days and Ben couldn't get out of town so he missed an interview in Boston. I had no complaints about the extended stay and more cuddle time with this cute guy.

Our last Christmas spent away from family, thank goodness we have the Hendrys who invited us over for Christmas dinner and made us feel right at home.

And now a frest start for 2010!