Elias Evers!

It's much, much too late to start a new blog post, but I am trying so hard to get caught up so I can keep everyone updated on the new and exciting happenings in our lives- things like a new kiddie pool, Owen pooping on the kitchen floor, Elias holding his head up, sleeping all day and only 2 hr. stretches at night (what's up with that??!!), and the car ride this weekend when I told Owen, "son, don't lick the bottom of your shoe!" Only the beginning of "things I never thought I'd say- life with 2 boys 15 months apart!!" :) Fun stuff!

So for those of you who would like to know how we finally named our 2nd son, here goes...

We didn't have a boy name chosen before we went into labor- this was the same for Owen as well. However, we thought we had time to discuss our short list during labor, as we did last time. Wrong! The fastest birth ever (in under 4 hours) did not allow for any discussion of names- we almost didn't make it to the hospital (see previous post for gory details!). Our doula and friend, Amanda, will insist at our next birth that we sleep at the hospital the night before to avoid having her deliver a baby! :) Of course, us fertile Shope's are really, really hoping to wait and welcome baby #3 on the East coast. :) Anyway...

Elias was born and we had no name, so we called him baby Shope for the first day of his life. He also earned the nickname "little bug" rather quickly because of his "glow worm- like" appearance when he was swaddled with his baby hat on (see below).

Little bug



Our family was clamoring for a name and we were hoping to be able to tell Owen the name of his baby brother before we brought him home from the hospital. The day after Elias was born (Wed. May 27th) Owen spent the day with friends and Brian joined Elias and I at the hospital. Brian and I went over and over the names we had on our list- we felt (feel) strongly about the importance and gravity of naming a child- speaking into their life this name that will be a part of him/her for the rest of his/her life- hence the lack of a decision (I think we felt strongly about making sure we went through this process allowing enough time to give it the time it's due, and never had that kind of time while chasing Owen and working full-time/going to school). So on the day after Elias was born we finally decided that he would forevermore be "Elias Evers Shope". It was really a special time- just the three of us- talking and discussing various options and combinations. It seems funny to think about it now- he is totally Elias Evers!

Elias (Eee-lie-us) is a family name on Brian's side and a form of Elijah meaning "the Lord is my God" and Evers is the last name of Medgar and Myrlie Evers, heroes of Brian and I. Medgar Evers was a civil rights attorney and activist who was assassinated on June 12, 1963 for his commitment to equal rights for blacks in Mississippi and across the nation

Brian and I took our college students at WVU to Mississippi in May of 2006 for a trip working with John Perkins and his family at the Jonh M. Perkins Center for Reconciliation and Development in Jackson, MS. It was a formative week in our lives, and one of the highlights was a tour of Jackson, MS including Medgar and Myrlie Evers home. Brian and I were both moved to tears to be in this space, and continued to learn about the Evers and their commitment to justice and peace throughout their lives. After reading a biography of Myrlie Evers I remember telling Brian "Evers" would be a name I would like for one of our children, hoping that he/she would seek to care for the poor and oppressed in much the same way that Medgar and Myrlie did (no pressure, Elias!).

And so, Elias Evers was the name we chose for our beautiful son. After we decided on this name for our child, Brian held Elias and told him his name for the first time, blessing and praying over him. It was a special time for all of us and a moment I won't ever forget; to see this man that I love casting vision for our son as he heard his name for the first time. This is why we don't tell people the names we're thinking of beforehand - this is an African tradition that we like to uphold- the child hears his/her name first - from the father. So, if you asked us what names we were thinking of, you received a vague answer for this reason. :)



It fits him, we love it, and can't wait to see how his personality continues to unfold!

Introducing Elias Evers Shope...

Baby Shope is born!

My first day of maternity, Tuesday May 26th, I woke up feeling a bit crampy, but nothing major. I couldn't go back to sleep, so I woke up Brian and told him I was having some contractions, but nothing major and I was going to take a bath and see if they subsided (this was at 6:45am). I couldn't get comfortable in the bath and got out and Brian and I talked about how we would spend what we thought was pre-labor, which can last for hours/days. At about that point Owen was up and Brian started to get him breakfast and make me some toast w/peanut butter. He really wanted to be sure I ate enough- with Owen I didn't eat very much and was so very tired by the end. So Brian, the dutiful husband, was feeding Owen breakfast, getting him dressed, and insisting that I eat. I was really trying, but feeling a bit nauseous at that point and the contractions were really intense. I could really feel the baby moving down and I was nervous that if it was this painful at what I thought was 3/4 cm, what would it be like at 10???!!

Owen was so early and this baby much bigger, so I was a bit nervous. Brian called our doula, Amanda, and Audrey and Nick to come and get Owen. It was about 9am at this point. Nick came to get Owen, who I was actually trying to avoid b/c I was sounding out the contractions (think whale-like sounds as you breathe out! :) and didn't want to scare him. I was telling him, "it's ok, O, Mommy's just being silly!" but he wasn't so sure. He kept coming into the bathroom where I was rocking over the vanity to see what I was doing in there. :) Nick came to pick him up and I was so relieved that he would be taken care of and not upset by seeing me in pain. I had worked so hard to make sure everyone who took care of him would know the drill and his likes/dislikes so there were instructions, but his bag wasn't packed. Brian was quickly getting the diaper bag together and I am yelling out from the bathroom, "don't forget the sheet for the pack n' play" between contractions. :)

In the meantime I had called my parents and Janine to tell them I was in labor and to pray, pray, pray! I think I scared my poor Dad; I had to put the phone down during a contraction and after I got back on he said you guys better get to the hospital quick! :)

Once Owen left Brian was gathering up my stuff and helping me breathe and move. I was actually a bit frustrated with myself because I wasn't moving as much as I did with Owen and I thought that would help, but I just couldn't move out of the position that I was in (which was leaning over the ottoman with my head down and my belly in the air or on all fours rocking back and forth). Our doula Amanda came in and I couldn't even look up. I moaned a greeting and she immediately started timing my contractions (did I mention Brian had also called our dr. at this point). Only a few minutes after she arrived she was telling Brian, "we need to go NOW! they're 2 min apart!" I was not wanting to move, let alone get in the car, and I was pleading with her, "I have to be at at least 5-6 cm, right? since they're this intense? right Amanda???!!!" They finally got me in the car and Brian drove like a maniac to the hospital, which is about 10 min. away. I was aware of what was going on, but very much turned into myself, concentrating, and pulling in. It was different that I was with Owen, and I don't really know how to explain it. I was hearing them talking, but kind of far away at the same time.

At this point my water still hadn't broken, and we arrived at the hospital and were met by a Fuller student who's a chaplain there. She wheeled us to labor & delivery and Brian and Amanda began answering questions of the staff. When they brought me into the delivery room the nurse who helped us with Owen, Nicole, was there. I said, "I can't believe you're here!!! I told our friends I wanted you to be here for this brth!" and she laughed and actually switched patients so she could be with us. She said, "weren't you guys just here! wow!" yeah, pretty much! :)She remembered Owen and asked how he was doing with his lip- it was so cool, so much a God-thing and I had an overwhelming sense at that point that I was ok, things were being taken care of, and although I was overwhelmed with the speed at which this was happening to my body (it seemed to just take over and have a mind of its own) I was going to be able to do this. It was 10:30am at this point.

There wasn't time for any monitoring or anything (my water still hadn't broken). We had everything prepared and packed this time- cold soda cans to roll on my back, a playlist on itunes, the birth ball, lights for ambience, my lavender lotion, and there wasn't time for any of it!! I didn't even get to wear the long tank I wore for Owen's birth- I didn't have time to change out of my pajama pants and t-shirt (that morning I had originally planned to paint my toenails and put in my contacts, but as the contractions mounted with every passing second those plans flew out the window!!!). Ha!

Nicole checked me, said I was probably at 8cm, but she felt a bulge (which she originally thought was the umbilical cord) which scared us a bit, but then another nurse, Susan, checked me and found it was the water bag and I was at 10 cm. Hallelujah!! They moved very, very quickly at that point getting the mirror in position, the baby warmer, and all the other gear. Our dr. still wasn't here at this point, but I didn't care! I was fine with the nurses catching the baby. :) He arrived a few moments later and broke my water, Brian got behind me to help support me while pushing and after 3-4 pushes, at 10:58am, we had our little boy! I think we were both in shock, it happened so fast. I saw that he was a boy before the doctor, as he was holding him up, and laughed that everyone that he was a girl.

We admired our new addition and explained that he didn't yet have a name ( we only had definite girl names chosen, but the list hadn't been narrowed for the boy names). Then we began the calls to our families to share our new little miracle and sat back and marveled in all that you can accomplish in 4 and 1/2 hours!! (no that's not a typo!) :)

Look at our beautiful boy...all 7lbs. 14.6 oz. and 19 in. of him...











God is so good! We are thrilled with our new little bug and excited to continue our adventure in parenthood with 2 boys...speaking of 2 boys...

Owen met his new little brother that very night and was quite excited, and then he saw the straw in my water pitcher and started walking around our hospital room pushing the tray table. Fun stuff! If only he knew how much his life had just changed!! :)





Much more to say, but I didn't get a nap today and the 3.5 hr. stretches of sleep (if we're lucky) don't leave much brain function to be had at 11pm! :) Stay tuned for more on how we named our new baby boy and the 1st 7 weeks with two littles.

Toddles, Waddles & Pop

Well...yes, it's true. Our newest son is 7 weeks old and one day when he asks me why it took me 7 weeks to post about his birth on our blog I will have to explain that he won't understand until he's the Daddy of two littles himself!! :) Hmmm...some excuse! "Poor Elias" you may be thinking. I bet that kid won't even have any pictures in his baby book. Not a chance, though, our computer is full of pics of Owen, and now Elias and the two boys. I can't guarantee when any of them will get off of the computer and make it into the baby book, but here's hoping it's before his 1st birthday! :) In all seriousness, we are thrilled with our newest son and delight in his 7 week old coos and new abilities- he is holding his head up like a champ and eating nonstop! Sleep remains elusive, unless it's the middle of the day. His witching hours are between 9pm and 12am and he and Mommy are enjoying some quality time most nights at 12:30am when he wants to coo and look around - very peaceful, but AWAKE! :) Well, he was spending this time screaming until we broke down and got a binky, so I suppose I can't complain.

Look at that sweetie!



But before I impress you with more accomplishments and the full birth story, let me catch you up on the last months of pregnancy for the Shope family...

In April we all went on a roadtrip to San Jose for the California WIC Association conference for my job. It was held the last week of April and we were at 35 weeks- the same time when Owen made his debut, so we were a bit nervous about having our new baby in San Jose, but all went well and I had just a few contractions while we were there. Owen enjoyed his first stay in a fancy hotel and he and Brian hung out while I was in various sessions and then we also had some time to play together in the evenings. It was a fun adventure just the 3 of us before the 4th arrived.

Following our trip to San Jose we had a fabulous visit with Owen's godmother, Janine, and her now fiance, David. Janine is one of my very best friends in all the world and is living her passion working with an incredible non-profit, Nuru, working in Kenya living among communities while teaching them how to keep themselves and their families healthy using her stellar public health skills, and even more importantly, her passionate spirit and contagious energy. I love this girl!

She and David were awesome- coming not to sight see in LA, but to really care well for us as we prepared for our newest one. I was on empty at this point- Brian had just had the flu and I was exhausted. They came and loved us well doing dishes, playing with Owen, and sharing in the excitement and anticipation of another Shope. It was a great visit and really significant that they both came to be with us when she only had a short time back in the states before leaving once again for Africa. Thanks you guys- we love you!

Owen especially enjoyed time with his Auntie and soon to be Uncle David...


The beginning of May (May 8th to be exact) marked 5 years of marriage for Brian and I and we celebrated this milestone with Owen and the belly at the beach (an appropriate place to be, as we were married on the beach on the NC coast) followed by an amazing dinner just the two of us in Old Town Pasadena- it was a special day and we all enjoyed it immensely.

This was the first time Owen had been to the beach since he could walk (he was there several times as a baby). He loved the sand and the waves, pointing and grunting in excitement. We laughed that he is definitely our son, as we both love the beach.







As you can see the belly was pretty big at that point and I was slow and uncomfortable (hence the "waddles" in the title of this post!). I had never experienced the last month of pregnancy and I spent most of it trying to catch my breath and stay cool in the soCal heat.



At this point we were anticipating a baby any day since Owen was so early and trying to mark things off of our "list". I always have a list of things I want to accomplish before they're born and it's always much too long! We spent the last few weeks of May savoring the last bit of time as a family of three, trying to get organized, and finishing up school work for Brian and the last days of work for me before maternity leave.

I made it to my last day of work, May 21st and we were so thankful. I was really having trouble getting around with any speed at that point and was excited to get things in order (aka: continue nesting). The health dept was closed on Friday and Monday was Memorial Day, so we spent a long weekend playing with Owen, enjoying the farmers' market, cleaning, running errands, and had our good friends Nick, Audrey, and their baby Jonah over for an impromptu cook out Monday night.

At this point I was having contractions every day, but they always stopped when I rested and I was losing some of my mucus plug each day. Every day we woke up and said, "will today be THE day??!!" but I was hoping for a bit more time to cross things off the list, or not. :)

Monday night we grilled hot dogs and had picnic fare with the Read-Brown's and enjoyed the boys playing together. My Mom called and when she heard we were having hot dogs she called me back with glee and left a message to be careful, the baby must be coming soon (a significant event in my own birth story is the fact that my Mom stayed home the day I was born from school (she's a teacher) and cleaned while my grandma brought her hot dogs and onion rings, and then I popped out! three weeks early). We laughed about this with our friends and talked about the new one's debut- Nick and Audrey were at the top of the "care for Owen list" for folks who would come in the middle of the night to be with O once we went into labor- good friends are priceless!

I told Nick and Audrey I wanted to call the hospital and ask when Nicole, the labor and delivery nurse who helped us deliver Owen, would be working before I would have the baby. She was phenomenal; totally understanding and supporting our desire for a natural birth and I was so grateful for her presence with O. Brian and I talked scheduling for a bit after our friends left- we were planning on spending the days before our due date (Thursday May 28th) preparing and Brian was also hoping to get a bit of reading done for school before the little little made his/her debut. I also talked to my Grandma that evening, and she told me how she hadn't started the blanket yet, but she was pretty confident that the pink material she planned to use wouldn't go to waste (everyone! I mean, everyone!, except me and my college roommate, Eve, thought I was having a girl :).

We went to bed tired, but excited for the upcoming week, and I only got up once during the night (looking back it was my last full night, well, sort of full night of sleep for the next ???? how many months, Elias???).

I woke up Tuesday, May 26th, and.....

Owen's 1st Birthday!

How did we get from this precious little bundle...


...to this monkey who loves to dance and bang on the drum (and everything else for that matter!) :)


Owen turned a year old on February 12th! How did that happen? The time has gone sooooo quickly and he has changed sooooo much- we really can't believe it! It's been a really good year for us and a really hard year at the same time with many difficult things coming up, yet, through it all this little boy has brought us so much joy and love that we just can't even begin to put it into words. He is too much- oozing personality and winning over everyone in the room. Our little monkey is quite a trip and we laugh daily at his antics.

I am finally posting some of his birthday pics- hopefully I'll be able to put up a video later this week, but this will give you at least a taste of the celebrations we had together for Owen. The day of his birthday we had a special breakfast just the 3 of us and sang to him and had him "blow" (or spit on, really) the #1 candle that we decided would probably be best to not be lit. Sometimes we do make wise decisions. :)



We picked up the various grandparents throughout the day- hitting 3 different SoCal airports by 2pm! My Mom and Dave and Brian's Mom and Dad flew all the way across the country to celebrate their gradnson and we had a great time visting with them and enjoying Owen together. Friday we celebrated Brian's Mom's birthday, the same day as Owen's- Feb. 12th and Saturday was the safari party for O. We had planned to have it at the park, but the SoCal sun failed to show and it was rainy and cool all weekend, so we ended up at one of the houses on Fuller's campus- how many 1 yr. olds can say they had their birthday party at seminary?? He is a very lucky boy! :)

We had a few of O's friends and our family and it was a lot of fun. We colored safari pictures, decorated frames, and spent a lot of time playing with safari beach balls that Nanny brought for everyone. Everything looked so very cute and our son had a fabulous time. He even (sort of) shared his new lion with his friends, however, he was not happy to see Mommy holding one of his friends while he was eating. I guess we have more work to do with fake baby (see Jan 08 entries for more on fake baby!).

The birthday boy and his new lion from Nanny & Grandpa...



The party!



We went with a safari theme, since we call O our little monkey!



A bit of healthy food before the sugar fest...



The anticipation mounts...



He was fascinated by the candle...



The monkey cake Mommy and Daddy made (we started a tradition of making all the birthday cakes for the littles)- this was our first effort

It started like this...



And this was the end result- not too bad! :)



Hmmm- what is this?



The fun begins...









This was O's first taste of refined sugar. As you can see, he was ready for more, but we cut him off at one cupcake. :)

My Mom cut off Bri's head in this pic, but the other ones were blurry. Sorry, babe.



Since O's birthday we've also celebrated my 30th and Brian's birthday!
We're busy getting things ready for the new babe, hopefully this one will stay in the belly a little longer than Owen!! We've been trying to think of names, searching for a new car seat on Craig's list for Owen, and generally trying to be more organized.

Here are a few fun pics of the bundle from this month...

Bath time fun!


I love to play with cars!


O and his music table form Grandpa & Grandma


Reading some books in my stylin hat

A Christmas Surprise!

I always seem to start my posts with, "Wow! It's been a long time since we last posted!" or "A lot has happened since we last posted," and this time is no exception. Geez! Well, ahyway. In lieu of Christmas cards this year we thought it would be fun to post some pics of our amazing and very talented dancing/smiling/squealing/teething boy, Owen Benjamin!

What did we do before he came into our lives? We sat around and talked about how cute Maggie was, and of course, we slept. I guess he's worth the sleep deprivation, which is actually much. much better now- the first of the update items...

1.) Owen is sleeping through the night (and has now for about 3-4 weeks)!!!! Of course, as soon as I write this he will be up all night tonight, or something. :) This is a huge accomplishment in our family and Mommy and Daddy are quite thankful for this new development!!!

2.) Mommy has a new job (still with the Pasadena Public Health Dept.), but this position is full-time WITH BENEFITS!! Finally, after a year of working with the immunization program, a great position that I really miss, I interviewed and was accepted for a full-time position with WIC- Women, Infants and Children. WIC is a fabulous program that provides nutrition, breastfeeding, and healthy choices education to pregnant Moms and parents with children under 5. We also provide food vouchers to low-income families. It is federally funded -one of the few Pasadena Public Health Department Programs that isn't totally crunched for funding this year. It is a huge blessing for our family and includes a nice promotion to management for me and a salary increase. I started on December 8th and my position includes working with the local store owners and staff to prepare them for the upcoming food package changes (less juice and dairy and more fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, etc.-- YEA!) as well as writing and teaching the education classes that we provide for our clients. It is a good fit and I work with great people-we are incredibly grateful (and the icing on the cake is it's 2 blocks from our apt. so I can walk to and from work and home for lunch to see my boys)!

3.) Brian finished his 5th quarter at Fuller quite successfully after a very busy time of full-time classes (he also received a scholarship!!!), TAing for one of the professors whose work was a huge draw for us moving here, and caring for Owen almost full-time while I work. He's amazing, and did I mention he also cooks and does laundry??? Brian deserves major kudos for his amazing care for us- this quarter was full of many days of time with Owen, interspersed with classes, and then back to the library after fixing dinner with the wife for a long evening of reading/writing. I am quite proud of our Daddy and couldn't ask for a better partner in all of the adventures we encounter!

4.) We got to have a date in December! This is something that's been really difficult for us, as childcare is hard to come by when you live so far away from all of your family. We, fortuately, are surrounded by a great community through our church, Fuller, and the Fuller wives. Our friends Jeff & Sara were so kind as to allow us the opportunity to see Over The Rhine, one of our favorite bands, in concert earlier this month. We had an amazing time.

5.) My Dad, who has multiple myeloma and is in kidney failure, is having a bone marrow transplant. We have traveled extensively this fall with 2 trips back East in December alone to see my Dad before his chemo and the harvesting of his bone marrow. We were fortunate that he had a window of time before this process began the 1st week of December when he had a break from chemo and Owen and his germs weren't a threat (this coincided with the end of my previous position and I was able to take some time before I started my new position so we flew just the 2 of us). It was great for my Dad and Neal to get to spend some quality time with O- we actually stayed with them for multiple days and they were able to glimpse the boy in action- squealing, dancing, and pulling himself up on EVERYTHING!!

The 3 of us just went back last week for a quick trip to spend some time with my Mom and Dave, and Brian and I were able to see my Dad, but Owen was a risk, so we took pictures for him. His bone marrow has now been harvested and he will go back to the James Cancer Center at Ohio State University next week for the transplant, chemo, and hospital stay (which is estimated to be about 3 weeks).

6.) I should have 10 updates, really, to be official- our top 10 of the last few months, but our life really isn't that exciting. Well, we think it's exciting, but we also love to sit around and video our son head banging to Brian playing the guitar- I definitely need to put that video on here!

The greatest Christmas surprise of the last few months has been the news that we will have another little Shope bundle in May! YES- we are pregnant (for the 2nd Christmas in a row)!!! This was certianly not planned, and we were originally quite shocked and concerned given the difficult pregnancy that I had with Owen. But- things are going very well- the baby is healthy and thriving (I haven't had any spotting or placenta problems like I did with O) at 17 weeks and will arrive sometime around May 28th! Our lives are certainly not dull!! We are excited to receive this new gift, and thankful for all the many blessings God has provided our growing family this season and always.

Enjoy some pictures of the first bundle below and know we love and miss you all!

Owen loves his dancing machine from Nanny & Grandpa!

The only snow he's ever seen!

We could've skipped the gifts- he just likes the paper and boxes!

Our own little St. Nicholas with a gleam in his eye!

I love this one- it captures his personality perfectly!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all the Shope's!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Where has the time gone?

Wow- a lot has happened since the last time I posted- July 29th. I'm an embarrassment to bloggers everywhere! Life is quite full with an eight month old, a husband in seminary full-time, and a 30hr. work week. Sleep is high on the list when I have a free moment, blogging is somewhat down the list. :) I do apologize for my negligence.

The summer was full of time with family- we took an August trip to Parkersburg, Morgantown, Hershey, and Harrisburg to see family. It was great to spend time with everyone- we are too far away! Owen loved meeting cousins, seeing his great-grandmas again and generally being the center of attention for all of the grandparents. Brian and I could've sent him on his own and they wouldn't have minded. :) Here are a few highlights...

Meeting Uncle Adam for the first time...

Playing with cousin Nate...
Lookin too cute!

Playing with cousins Kayla, Brad, Morgan, and Zach at Nanny & Grandpa's house...

Remembering his roots :)
Playing with Nanny...

Hanging out with Pap and Papaw Neal...

Riding his first Harley with Great Uncle Bruce...Visiting the Rengers and Carpenter'sHangin with Auntie Janine...
Meeting our friend Eli and his Momma, Alyson


Catching up with good friends...The Shope men...Dedication Day with Auntie Janine (Owen's godmother), Kirk, Mommy & Daddy


Photo shoot with Nanny & Grandpa...
and Grandma & Grandpa Shope!

Meeting Great Grandma Nan

Lunch with Auntie Eve...
A picnic at the petting zoo with Grandma & Grandpa Shope

A visit to Titi Taryn & Uncle Todd's house
A little snack...
First solid foods...or "What the heck kind of milk is this??!!"

Avocado is yummy (it's actually his favorite now)!Labor Day at Uncle Dave & Aunt Traci's House!

The brothers and their sons...

The family...

and new baby Ethan

Cousin McKayla wanted to make sure Owen had enough toys to play with :)
The elder Shope men make cheese pie- a family favorite!

The little family (minus Maggie)...
Relaxing back at home...
As you can see (if you made it this far!) we've had quite a busy summer and fall. We've actually traveled back to Morgantown since these pics for our good friend Trina's wedding and spent some great time with Grandma Betty and friends there.

Since our travels Owen is crawling with lightning speed and always seems to aim for the exact object/location that we are sure he cannot/will not reach. First time parents, geez! He's also pulling himself up and loves to climb over a mound of pillows and fall back onto the bed with glee.


Stay tuned for Halloween pics- before the end of Oct. - I promise!!! :)