Patton Update

Since I just typed an entire post dedicated to technology (ha), I thought I probably need to update everyone on the pregnancy.

~Currently 25 weeks and feeling great (have LOVED the 2nd trimester)

~Still no weird cravings or intense hunger, which I'm thankful, my last appointment on 12/15 I had gained a total of 11 lbs. I'd love to keep it around 25...we will see how that goes

~Trying to make it to gym a few days a week and doing 30 min of cardio (treadmill and eliptical). Trying to do something w/out overdoing it.

~Measuring about one week ahead....however, due date won't change, still April 11th

~Looking forward to our 4D sonogram in mid-Jan

~According to all my books, Patton is around 9 inches long and more than 1.5 lbs in weight

~His heartbeats have been very strong

~I really started feeling him move around week 23 and is most active around bed time and when I get to work in the morning??

~He already has a closet full of clothes, imagine that :)

~Most of our nursery furniture is here (still waiting on glider) and Jason plans to start painting after the nursery bathroom is completed (hopefully end of month)

~He will be here before you know it and we can't wait :) What a BLESSING he will be!!!

Tech Couple

Most of my friends and family know I was probably the last person on earth to still have a regular cell phone with no internet, music, etc. I just didn't think I needed one and people drive me crazy that stay on their phones all day...you know in restaurants, meetings, parties, etc. Jason has had a smart phone for quite sometime, so if I ever needed anything I just used his.

Well, it all started when my Dad got a smart phone this fall...then Jason converted to the newest IPhone, then two weeks ago my mom (who not too long ago learned to attach a file to an email) got an IPhone as well. We were also at an AU game this fall and most of the people that sit around us (my parents friends in their early 60s) all had their smart phones out taking pictures. I finally told Jason in December when my contract was up, that I was ready to make the move...it was time to jump on the bandwagon (even if I am 4 years late). So now I'm an Iphone user and I LOVE it.....not sure why I waited so long???

It doesn't stop there either. If you know my dad, you know he loves technology and usually has the best TV, camera, computer, etc. I love all those things too, but I rather spend my $$ on a new piece of furniture, art for the house, etc. My parents recently got a tablet in the spring and every time we go home we both love playing on it. Jason then used a IPAD borrowed from work on a business trip and fell in love :) We kept wanting to buy one, but didn't think it was very smart to buy one with all the nursery items recently purchased....so we kept convincing ourself we didn't need one.

Well, we both got a BIG surprise Christmas Day. My sweet parents bought us an IPAD2. I really had no clue. I thought we may get a Kindle Fire since my mom was getting one, but had no idea an IPAD was under the tree. I'm addicted and once again I'm wondering what I did without one?? So, it has been a big week for me and technology....I have come a long way in a short amount of time. And I almost forgot...Jason got me a Sony Bloggie camcorder and my parents got me a more "high tech" camera. There should be no excuses not to have Patton's life documented in every way.

However, I will do my best not to become the annoying person that stays on their phone all day, keeps everyone posted on their daily life from what they are eating to when they are going to the bathroom. We will see??

Jason and his new toy :)

Merry Christmas!!! - better late than never

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Jason, Gena, Radley and Harper!!

Hope all of my friends had a wonderful Christmas!! I wanted to apologize to everyone for not sending any Christmas cards this year. I've been too busy to blog and apparently too busy to send out any cards. I usually make an effort around Thanksgiving to get a decent picture of Jason, myself and the dogs and before I knew it, it was the week of Christmas and still no pictures. Most of November I was in that weird stage of pregnancy where you don't quite look pregnant, but just a little thicker around the middle. I think that is one reason I wasn't too keen on picture taking. Well now, there is no doubting I'm pregnant. I will try to post a picture soon.


We had a wonderful December and Christmas. After being on the go most of fall due to AU football, we've been here in MS except for our 4 day trip to AL Christmas weekend. It was nice not to be on the road as much, but we kept very busy with Christmas parties, had a fun chili dinner w/ our supper club, got together with our game night group, parents came to town one weekend, Christmas shopping in Jackson and to make it even more chaotic we started on some remodeling in the house the week before Christmas....not the best planning on my part, but I do love my new countertops!! Bathroom and nursery are next!!


Since we didn't get cards out, I thought I'd post a picture from Christmas Day. I promise next year cards will be mailed :) Hope everyone's Christmas was wonderful and Happy New Year to all :)

Who says boys clothes aren't cute...

I'll admit I'm a clothes horse and always have been since a young child. Although I really had no preference in whether we had a boy or girl, I have always gravitated toward girls baby clothes when I'm in speciality shops or shopping for baby shower gifts. Let's face it....they're too cute! However, having lots of friends who have boys, I've realized that there are plenty of precious baby boy outfits too!!! Jason and I have agreed that little Patton can look like a baby for a few years. I'm know bubble suits, day gowns and john johns won't be in his wardrobe forever, but I'll enjoy it while I can. Patton has his whole life to wear "grown up" clothes and we're already having a blast shopping for his precious baby clothes....

The first outfit we bought Patton.... We plan to carry him home from the hospital in this day gown. We bought it at Helen's Young Ages in Jackson. We feel in love with it b/c it has embroidered puppies on it....in honor of his big brothers, Harper and Radley!!

The 2nd outfit, also in honor of our puppies....we found this precious sleeper at Old Tyme Commissary in Highland Village. I have a feeling Patton and I will be making lots of trips there!!



The bargain shopper came out in me today!! My friend, Whitney, called to tell me that the Central MS Flea Market had some precious consignment Feltman Brothers in a booth today. I love Feltman Brothers, and was thrilled to find this precious FB outfit for $12!!!! It was in great condition; looked as if it was never worn.

Also found this precious bubble there for $12 :)

Looks like I'll be making more stops by the Central MS Flea Market






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Baby Pope has name...

For the longest time Jason and I always thought we would wait until the birth of our child to tell the name. I'm not sure what or why we changed our minds, but we aren't waiting. We've know for quite some time what we would name a boy.

So it is official, the name has been decided.....Thomas "Patton" Pope

Thomas is my father's name, was my grandfather's middle name, and the 1st name of my mom's deceased brother. Jason and his dad both have the first names, Tommy, which are very close to Thomas. I not only love the name Thomas, but felt it fitting since so many special in my lives have held that name.

Patton....well, we just like it!! I knew I wanted a "P" name and we like a few "P" names, but Patton was our favorite. Jason loves history and of course General George S. Patton, was a well know General during WW II. Not really who we named him after, but hopefully our little Patton will be strong and courageous like General Patton :)

4 Years...time flies when you're having fun!!

Jason and I celebrated our 4 yr. anniversary this past Thursday, Nov 17th!!! I'm so thankful that God chose me as Jason's wife. I couldn't think of a better person to spend my life with. He has all that I have ever wanted in a soulmate. When thinking over the past four years, I can only think of good times. Of course our life and marriage are not perfect, but all in all the past four years have been wonderful!!!

We had an extra special anniversary gift this year....it just happened to work out that we found out the gender of baby Pope. It's a boy and we could not be more excited!! We are looking forward to embarking on this new chapter of our lives, parenthood. I know there will be nothing more rewarding than being a mom. However, I'm very thankful that Jason and I had four wonderful years of just us. We have been able to travel to lots of fun places, we've enjoyed adopting two puppies, learning the game of tennis together, running our 1st 5k, riding in our 1st bike race, moving to a place I had never heard of (ha), buying two houses, crying and laughing together and much more. I love him more today than I could ever have imagined and I'm so very thankful for him :)

I had fun going through some old pics this afternoon :) Can't wait til our family pics are a family of three!!!

Seeing the new Yankee stadium....Jason's fav team!

US Open 2009

St. Thomas 2010...one of our favorite trips!

Watching AU win the SEC championship in Atlanta

San Francisco, summer 08....another great vacation!

Snow mobiling in Utah

Pebble Beach and the Lone Cyprus Tree

Skiing at The Canyons in Park City

Top of the Rock in NYC, spring 08, our 1st trip to NYC together!

Watching AU become National Champions....what a great season 2010 was!


1 year anniversary in Jamaica

About to watch the Cubs in Chicago. Best place to take in a baseball game!

Double Decker 5K in Oxford....looking forward to running again after the baby is born.

We've had some wonderful time together, but we know none of them will compare to when our 1st child is born. I'm so thankful for our past and looking forward to what the future holds for us :)

Showering Baby Hudson

I went home this weekend to help host a shower for one of my very best friends, Brooke. She is due toward the end of December. Hudson got lots of great gifts and will be set. It was so great to catch up with old friends. I'm so happy for Brooke & Corey and can't wait to meet Hudson. I see lots of fun times ahead :)

Delicious Cake :)

Brunch Food....always my favorite!

more food!

Jennifer and me w/ the mom to be. Brooke looks great...just all baby!!

Lot of gifts....and my camera didn't capture it all.

So glad our sweet Jani got to come. She is our good friend, Jeremy's mom and may be one of the sweetest people I know.

Lesley and her mini me, Kennedy

Fun to catch up with high school friends :)

Amanda, Brooke, me and Lesley.....so many sweet memories with these girls.

Thanks to my mom and Lesley for making the shower a success.

Football Fun and Friends!!

Since AU played so poorly yesterday, I decided to remember the good times of last weekend's AU vs. FL game. Of course the game was wonderful and we had a great win, but the best part of the day was catching up with family and friends :) We started off the day with lunch @ Cheeburger with my parents and good family friends, The Cruz's (and big Gator fans) that came up for the big game from Tampa.

After lunch we made our rounds to see other friends. My college roommate, Haylea, her precious son Graeme and sweet mom, Jane were in town and it was soooo good to see them. Haylea is due 10 weeks ahead of me with a girl to be named, Anna Chase. If I have a girl, we are hopeful that they can be future AU roomates & sorority sisters and have the same sweet memories we did.

me and Haylea....she looks great as always :)

Graeme....the cutest 2 yr. old boy I know!!

We also got to spend some time with Brooke and Corey. This was Brooke's last and only AU game this year since baby Hudson will be arriving soon. We'll be showering Brooke and Hudson in 2 weeks and I can't wait!!! Brooke and I share so many memories as well growing up together and I can't wait for our children to do the same :)

I was running out of time to see everyone, but had a quick visit with my old co-workers and sweet friends from Montgomery, Rachel and Jennifer (and their husbands and sweet Sydney- Rachel's daughter). They just opened up a new mortgage office in Montgomery and I'm thrilled for them.

me, Rachel and Jennifer

Many of my other friends I like to meet up with our either about to have a baby or just had one and weren't able to be there. Seems to be the season for babies :) After the whirlwind of visits we made it to the game. It was nice to watch one that didn't come down to the wire. I couldn't think of a better day to spend the day- family, friends and an AU win :)

AU vs. ARK....War Eagle- Win or Lose!!

only pic of the trip....sorry battery camera went dead

The only two SEC stadiums I had not been to were Arkansas and South Carolina. We don't play SC that often and Arkansas is just soooo far away. This year, Jason and I decided to make the trip to Fayetteville and I marked off another stadium. Although we are a little closer than when we lived in Montgomery, it is still about an 8 hour trip....wow!! My parents usually fly to that game, but we all decided to make a road trip of it.

We headed out of Kosciusko around 1:30 on Friday and made the 5 hour drive to Little Rock. Although we didn't have time to see much, it looks like a really nice city. We had great steaks at The Butcher Shop and called it an early night to prepare for Saturday. The game wasn't until 6, so we headed out of Little Rock around 11:00 on Saturday to make the 3 hour trek to Fayetteville. The drive was gorgeous...reminded me a lot of NE Alabama/TN...even prettier.

We arrived eager to see an Auburn win, but by the 1/2 our QB problems were evident and our hopes were dwindling. It was hard to see a loss like that having not experienced one in quite some time (this was way worse than the Clemson loss to me). Most of the Arkansas fans were very nice (you always have a few- but every school does). The stadium was great place to watch a game despite the annoying hog calls. Despite the loss, we still had a great time and were happy to support our Tigers on the road!

I'm glad to be back home this evening and hope AU can pull a win over FL next week. I guess it will be the match up of teams w/ QB problems...so it may actually be an even match up...we will see!! War Eagle!!!!

Baby Shower Fun!!!

Speaking of babies.... I recently helped host a shower for my sweet friend, Whitney Pettit. She is due with her 2nd, a little girl to be named Emory Hart in November. I think baby Emory Hart is giong to be the best dressed girl in Kosciusko!! Hopefully little baby Pope and Emory Hart will have many playdates in the future :)

me, JJ, Whitney, Rachel and Lauren

The spread :)

Exciting news!!

Most of you that read my blog already know this news, but we thought we'd make it official on our blog and announce that we are expecting!!! Little baby Pope is due April 11th :) We are beyond thrilled, excited, overjoyed, etc. This is something that Jason and I both prayed about for quite some time and we feel so blessed that God answered our prayers!!


I'm into the 2nd trimester now and my energy has kicked back in. I hope to update the blog more frequently. I found out I was pregnant shortly after our beach trip and bike race (my last blog post) and have felt like doing much of nothing since then. Falling asleep at 7:30 every night doesn't allow much time for blogging (haha).


Below are the shirts Radley and Harper wore to deliver the news to both sets of grandparents. We will see how happy the dogs are when the baby arrives.

Radley and Harper better enjoy the next few months of being our # 1 babies :)

BIKES, BLUES & BAYOUS

As most of you know who read our blog, biking has become quite the big thing in the Pope household in recent months. Jason is pretty much obsessed with it and me—not so much!! I really do enjoy it, but really have no desire to take it to the “next level”. I guess that is the difference in mine and Jason’s personality. Yes, I wish I could say I was a go getter like Jason, but I’ll admit, I’m not. I would be perfectly content with my 15 mile ride that we often do on the Trace. I have gone as far as 40 miles, but I definitely prefer less. Jason, however, has gone as far as 80 miles on the Natchez Trace- WOW!! He is even doing 100 mile race in September.

We recently put our biking skills to the test and participated in our first ever bike ride, BIKES, BLUES & BAYOUS in Greenwood, MS. I wasn’t looking very forward to getting up at 5:00 on Sat. morning and driving to Greenwood, but it was well worth it. We had a great time and many of our Kosy biker friends participated as well. I only did the 20 mile ride, but Jason…..or as I call him now, Lance Armstrong……did the 58 mile ride!! I was so proud of him; he did awesome!!! To finish 58 miles in the HOT HOT MS Delta in August is something to be proud of. Lucky for us, VIKING is based in Greenwood and helped with the race. So after a long hot ride, we were treated to BBQ from VIKING and all sorts of freebies. It was great time and we are looking forward to next year.

**I’m afraid our running days are over…..we’ve realized and read that you burn more calories in biking and it doesn’t take such a toll on your body. So don’t expect any 5K post anytime soon –ha!!

SANDESTIN

We just arrived back from a wonderfuly 5 day vacation to SanDestin. We loved making weekends trip to SanDestin when we lived in Montgomery (and were 3.5 hrs. closer). Now that we have a furthur drive, we thought we'd make the 6 hr. drive worth our while and stay longer.

We stayed at Lasata at The Grand, which did not disappoint. We've stayed in this same unit before and it has a great view of the bay. We were also a short walk to Baytowne, which is so convenient.

Majority of the trip was spent by the pool with a few trips to the beach (yes, I'm more of a pool person). We ate lots of great seafood, shopped at the outlets, rode our bikes from SanDestin to Seaside and enjoyed hanging out in Baytowne. Jason rode all the way from SanDestin to end of 30-A and back (52 miles)...I was sooo proud of him. Obviously the rest of us skipped out on that ride.

We laughed b/c I've NEVER been one to exercise on vacation. I'm the one making morning trips to the Donut Hole or Krispy Kreme. Jason and I even discussed how last summer we saw some people riding bikes and made the comment...who exercises on vacation.?? Well, we are now those dorks riding their bikes :) I must admit, after my ride to Seaside and back I didn't feel so bad eating the fried seafood platter at AJ's.

Since majority of the trip I was either in a swimsuit or on a bike (all w/ no makeup)...the pics are pretty minimal. Here a few...

The Grand @ SanDestin....one of our favorite places to stay!

Spent most of my time in this pool

Ready for dinner!!

Enjoyed spending time w/ my Mom & Dad

On the beach in Seaside after dinner.

sidenote...the TN Titans cheerleaders were having a photo shoot right beside this pic. I think Jason was more concerned w/ their shoot than ours....just kidding!!

Good month for Harper--- new home and first visit to the beach!!

Radley had to come too!!

Worn out from his beach photo shoot :)

Radley doesn't want to go home :( Nor did I.........back to reality now!!

Back to Blogging and New Dog!!

I apologize for neglecting the blog for quite sometime. Although we were home most of July (which is a rarity) we stayed pretty busy. We enjoyed weekend visits from both of our parents, enjoyed getting together w/ our supper club group, biked a lot and tried to stay cool. We did finish off the month w/ a trip to SanDestin, which was much needed. Jason had one of his busiest months at work and I also started a new job in mid-July (same bank--just new position). A trip to the beach came at the perfect time and provided a great way for us to wind down.

One of the primary reasons I haven't blogged is b/c of our new dog, Harper. Yes, we now have 2 dogs!! And yes, they are named after a character and the author from To Kill a Mockingbird. We have promised my mom we won't name our son, Atticus or a daughter, Scout...haha. Little Harper (a rescue Malti-Poo) from New Orleans entered our lives on July 5th :) He is high maintenance like most Maltese/Poodles (reminds me so much of my childhood dog, Cricket, which was a Maltese. However, he loves to cuddle, sit in your lap and gives kisses!! He is about 1 yr. old and thankfully he is not a chewer. He is doing suprisingly well and has adjusted well to his new home. Although he is considered a rescue dog, he actually did have a family. From what I know, he wasn't mistreated, just not given much attention....guess this is why he is so needy.

Here are a few pics below of Harper. Most of my recent nights have been spent playing w/ this precious puppy!!! As a type this he is sitting in my lap....he is a true lap dog :)

"Harper" Lee Pope surrounded by his favorite toys

He has already found the nicest couch in the house!


Loves to play/harass Radley.....Radley could care less about playing and prefers lots of naps!

They've taken over the couch in our bedroom and hopefully sleep peacefully here during the day. However, one day, I'm just waiting to come home to everything on our bookshelves in the floor....so far....so good!!

Radley still considers himself king of the house :)