...and then, there were three!

(Eric)
On December 16th, at 10:46pm, we welcomed Cade Jeffrey Matthews into our family! He came out healthy and handsome at 6 lb 7 oz and 19 3/4 inches long. It was not without a little excitement either. Melissa started having contractions early in the morning on the 16th and by 3pm we were in the hospital monitoring mom and baby. It turned out that Cade didn't like the contractions as much as mommy didn't like them either. His heart rate would drop with each contraction. After trying a number of things to make mom and baby more comfortable we were faced with a possible c-section, which turned into reality around 9:30pm. A little over an hour later our baby boy entered the world. Melissa and I both cried as we heard his first little cry. Such an amazing moment to hear your child before you even lay eyes on him.

While Melissa was finishing up in the operating room, I went into the nursery with Cade to watch him get bathed and checked. Everything was normal, and so within about 15 minutes the 3 of us were reunited back in the original labor/delivery room we were given.

Dr. Mandleman took care of mom and baby :)

Our first outing since coming home was to Cade's first pediatrician appointment. He got a shot for Hepatitis B, which needless to say hurt Melissa and I more than Cade. He took it like a champ though, and we headed off. So far, so good! Our thanks are certainly first and foremost to the Great Creator who allowed us to enjoy the birth of our firstborn son. We are ever mindful that the Lord is first and foremost to be praised and worshipped, and He is certainly magnified during a time like this. I'd also like to take a minute to thank everyone who prayed for us during the pregnancy these past 9 months. God has answered faithfully with much kindness to us, and He acted upon the prompting of your prayer for us and for Cade. With much sincerity, thank you.

Can I blame it on the baby?

Can I blame it on the baby? My reason for not posting in over a month...
So much has been happening that I can't seem to sit myself down to update the blog! Now I have no excuse because as of last Friday I am no longer a career woman, but a full time mom instead. No, Cade hasn't arrived yet, but I am in full preparation mode. Finishing up his room, washing clothes, Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, and Christmas tree shopping. I am excited to say that I am done with the shopping and wrapping! The baby's room is almost ready and I have been getting some much needed rest while battling a cold.
I would like to give an update on what has been happening (though if you read Jenny's blog you'll get a good idea!) I have had not 1, but 4 wonderful baby showers! We have been spoiled like crazy, but what I have enjoyed the most is seeing friends and family and sharing in wonderful memories before Cade arrives.

Mom's "Family" Shower

Jenny, Michelle and Stacy Shower

Office Ladies Shower (playing a fun, but competitive game!)

On my mom's birthday she went to Disneyland with my dad and Eric and I took some fun pictures with Jenny to capture my pregnancy. Jenny did a fabulous job and they will be a wonderful keepsake.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Cooper side of the family a week early. It was a big group with some of our favorite family friends in town to celebrate with us as well. Thanksgiving day we shared with Eric's family in a slightly untraditional fashion. We had chicken fried steak instead of turkey! It is a Matthews' family favorite. Both celebrations were filled with lots of love and laughter.

As it draws closer to Cade's arrival I am filled with so many emotions. I am excited for him to join our family, nervous for labor (yikes!) and in awe of how our life is about to change yet again with this tiny miracle. I have been comforted recently by reading a wonderful book by John MacArthur called The Extraordinary Mother. It has a collection of stories of mothers in the bible. Their courage, faith, strength and love for their children has been an encouragement to me. A particular scripture quoted in the book has been most inspiring "A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come, but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world." John 16:21. I can't wait for that moment of JOY!

37 Weeks

39 weeks!!

Trip to Underwood Farms... 2 years later

October 12 celebrates one of the best days of my life. It was 2 years ago on this day that the one the Lord created for me proposed in the most special of ways. He carved "will you marry me?" into a beautiful pumpkin and left it among the uncarved pumpkins, and right next to a white pumpkin, for me to find.

After leading me through a lane of pumpkins, we started to walk among them and I noticed one had been carved, but couldn't see what it said. Eric got down on his knee to turn it towards me and that is when I noticed it said "Will you marry me?" Out of shock I exclaimed " Did you do that??!" He said yes and asked me again to which I said "YES!!" We spent the rest of the day celebrating and rejoicing in the love the Lord had blessed us with.

Now here we are two years later expecting our baby boy, Cade in just a few months. I can't wait to watch Eric holding our child. It will be an exciting day for our family. This weekend we went back to Underwood Farms where Eric proposed and walked down memory lane, holding hand and talking about that wonderful day. I am just overwhelmed by the blessings I have received in marrying this wonderful man. He cherishes me, spoils me and I can't believe how much more I love him today than yesterday. The Lord continues to reveal to me in the smallest ways how He created Eric to be my perfect match.

We took some fun pictures to celebrate our engagement, and picked out the traditional pumpkin and white pumpkin to celebrate the occasion! Thank you Husby for each day you show how much you love me. I am a blessed woman and cherish you as my best friend and love of my life. Thank you for making me a mommy and for caring for our family. I am so grateful to be walking this journey with you.

30 weeks pregnant and thinking my belly is pretty much the same size as the pumpkin I am holding!

September Wrap Up.. SF, a crib and some pesto

A little late, but here is a picture from our weekend in San Francisco. We traveled up with my parents and Lucy for a very fun weekend. It was Katie's birthday that following week, so we had a little early celebration with a cake, candles and presents! Juliet is very kind and letting Cade use her crib and dresser since she is a big girl with new furniture. Thank you Adam's family for a wonderful weekend, great food and lots of laughter!

Juliet is now 7 years old, so the crib needed just a little TLC. It is in perfect condition, but had yellowed a bit from being stored. We (and by we I mean me :) )thought it would be a fun project to refinish the crib. I did a little research and found out what kind of paint would be safe and just what we needed to do to get the job done. My husband being so protective of me and his little guy wouldn't let me get in on the action, so he managed to sand the entire crib by himself, but got some help from a pro in applying the primer. My dad (Gramps as Cade will call him) was around to help and even had a great invention for painting. They hung the pieces from a ladder that was hanging from the ceiling so they could paint both sides, which got my dad thinking he could create a paint booth in the garage to put the final coats on each piece. I love you daddy - you make this so much fun and always an adventure! Eric appreciated the help and loved spending time with Pops (as Eric calls him) too :)

So what was I doing while my husband was hard at work? Well mom and I decided to make pesto from scratch. We had gone to the farmer's market and picked up some wonderful smelling basil. Mom picked up the rest of the ingredients from the market and then we realized that she didn't have a food processor! No problem, we'll just use the blender... Well the blender wasn't such a great idea. It wasn't moving things around well enough, so we stuck a wooden spoon in it just to give it a little help. This was a brilliant idea until I went a bit far and the blade caught the end of the spoon, scared me and I flung the cup of olive oil I was holding all over the chair, the floor and myself. What a mess! We grabbed a food processor to finish the job (thanks Aggie!) and it actually turned out great. The next day we decided to stick to from the box gluten free brownies (Betty Crocker and they are the BEST!). No catastrophes there thankfully.

We had a great weekend with Gramps and Grammie who are very excited to meet their grandson! I am now 30 weeks, so Cade's arrival is just around the corner. People have been asking for a photo update of the belly, so here you go!

Cade's first feature film

(Eric)

Here's Cade in a few minutes of the 3d ultrasound he had done. Really neat to watch. Something worth noting... the cloudy looking blotch in front of his face is the placenta. The ultrasound technician was trying to focus in on his face while getting the placenta out of the way. It was also funny because the technician kept pushing on Melissa's stomach during the appointment to try and get his hands away from his face. We don't think he quite picked up on that, but we were still able to get great shots. Enjoy!

Cade in 3D!

We have been so busy lately that I haven’t had time to update the blog! We were in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend to spend time with our dear friends the Adams, celebrate Katie’s birthday and pick up our baby furniture! I will post some pictures of our very fun weekend soon.
Today I am 27 weeks, and yesterday we had a very exciting doctor’s appointment with the specialist. They did a detailed ultrasound and checked out Cade from head to toe! We had the same ultrasound at 18 weeks, which was truly amazing to see our child so in depth for the first time. This ultrasound was no less amazing as he has grown to 2.2 lbs and developed so much more.
We are praising the Lord again for such a healthy report. Cade is right on target measurement wise for 26-27 weeks, so December 15 is still the plan for his arrival! Seeing him yesterday makes us more anxious to hold him and love him, but we are grateful for the necessary “baking” time. I must admit I love feeling him move and kick around. He is an active one for sure, making his presence known often.
At the end of our appointment they flipped on the 3D/4D machine and showed us images of our little man. We were blown away. It is hard to believe that a child is developing inside my belly, and when we saw those pictures it made us more in awe of the Lord’s creative and perfect ways. We posted a few so you can see him too! We happen to think he is the cutest little man around. The nurse even said “Look he already has cheeks!” We can’t wait to pinch them!


Sweet Little face











Here he has his hands in front of his face. We watched on screen as he opened his hand to reveal 5 perfect little fingers!

This one you can see his shoulder on the left just below his face, his arm and two little hands up near his mouth.

The Ever Growing Belly!

12 weeks...

17 weeks...

20 weeks...

24 weeks!

Here's some fun profile shots of the wifey. The latest one taken tonight. Funny how the days go by. She's been a great sport about getting bigger. We've been having fun lately talking to little Cade (as we've been reading that his ears are developed enough to hear us both now). We'll keep posting some more pictures in the coming weeks as she gets farther along. Next Monday is our next appointment with the doctor, so we're excited to go again and see how much our little boy has grown. He's starting to kick a little harder and I've even begun to feel him by laying my hand on Melissa's belly. One night he kicked really hard and Melissa jumped, then asked me "Did you feel that?!". To which I replied "YES!". Guess you had to be there...
Lately, we've been taking some time to research some baby furniture and start registering at Baby's-R-Us. We've already done a couple of trips and are narrowing our selection of baby accessories, apparel, and baby transportation means. The Lord is gracious to give us such great friends who have helped us to really zero in on the quality baby stuff. So if you have any advice, we'd love to hear it!
Eric

Happy birthday Jenny!! (Part 1)

Matt and Jenny invited us to Lake Arrowhead to celebrate the last year of Jenny's 20's (I think that is a better way of saying 29, don't you ;) ). It was a great weekend with some of our closest friends, the Guties, Kalub's, and Brannon's.

It was kind of a rainy Saturday morning, but the boys still managed to get in some good skiing first thing in the morning. The girls opted for manicures and tea lattes in the village. What a way to spend a Saturday! We had a fabulous dinner with Jenny's favorites - tri-tip and corn on the cob, and then a yummy flourless chocolate cake and St. Patty's mint yogurt from Golden Spoon for dessert. Jenny had a little help blowing out her candles because Andrew and Chad’s birthdays are coming up soon too!

Thank you Matt and Jenny for bringing us all together for a fun weekend! Jenny, we praise the Lord for you and his work in your life. We pray his blessings are abundant for you in this next year of life. We love you!

What's In a Name??

Our little man ~ CADE JEFFREY MATTHEWS

Eric and I decided that we would not share our baby’s name until we were 100% sure that we both loved it. And, we love it. We kept all of our prospects a secret, not because we don’t love your opinions, but because we wanted to love it without influence (except maybe a little from each other).
We both agreed that the middle name would be a family name, but the first name was a little harder to choose. I had made a deal with my sister back in high school that whoever had the first boy would name him Cooper, which of course is our maiden name. Since my dad doesn’t have a son to carry the name on it would be our honor to do so with our son. This however was before either of us was married, and well the decision is no longer just mine! Eric was gracious and tried to love the name as much as I do, but in the end it just wasn’t working for him. I probably gave him a hard enough time, so for those of you Cooper Matthews lovers – no hounding my Husby!
Onto the name… Cade Jeffrey. Eric found Cade online and mentioned it to me. I liked the sound of it and decided to look up the meaning. I think the meaning of a name is really interesting and fun. Cade means round, barrel and a couple other not so flattering references to large, BUT I also found that there was a minor character in Gone With the Wind whose name is Cade. I searched Cade and Gone With the Wind to find that a Wiki definition said that Cade is an alternate surname for a cooper. Cooper means barrel maker. So it is perfect! An interesting connection to Cooper and we both love the name. We chose Jeffrey as a middle name, which is also my dad’s middle name.

So now on to how we told everyone... We had dinner with my parents on Monday night along with our family friends, the Adams family. We brought along a hangman puzzle that I had quickly printed up for everyone to play along. After dinner everyone gathered in the kitchen and living room and plopped down with their pen and paper. We went around and everyone kept guessing letters until we had it all filled in. Everyone had fun and it was a unique way to let out the name little by little.

God is good – I can feel Cade moving about a little every so often and Eric and I are really enjoying praying for Cade by name. His salvation is always top of the list as we pray that he will one day love the Lord as much as we do! Hope you will join us in praying for Cade as he grows in my belly!

...and more pictures

(Eric)
I decided to post some pictures for those of you that wanted to see the whole "gender unveiling" unfold. For a little while, I'll post an album for everyone to view on my Picasa page. It can be found here

Enjoy!

The Big Day...Boy or Girl Revealed!

Today was an amazing day! We were able to see our little one for 45 minutes during a detailed ultrasound. We saw the baby's heart, lips, legs arms, heart - it's little face :). The nurse spent time explaining to us what we were seeing and assuring to us the whole time that measurements were normal and on target. She was having a hard time getting a clear picture of our little one's face and told us we had an active baby that didn't want to sit still! Oh no!! We have heard that twice now - we are in trouble when they start walking! I can just hear it now "Mr & Mrs Matthews your child will not stay in their seat" and I am going to tell them, "Yep we've heard that since the womb!"

We were so thrilled to hear that our baby is right on target and very healthy. I was praising the Lord throughout the ultrasound for this miracle that he has blessed us with. For its little arms and how they move, the quickness of the heartbeat and even the way our baby likes to make us work for a good photo. You can see its character already and know that God has formed that in his most perfect image. Everything about our little one has been determined before we even knew they were ours and how excited we are to find out all about them!
So we know you are all dying to know what this precious little one is! We made my parents, Jenny, and even Matt via the phone wait until they came over for dinner tonight. Here are some pictures of the set up...

We had bought three baby food jars and emptied them of their baby food, and then got all different kinds of pink and blue candy. We filled up each of the jars with different candy and different amounts of pink and blue so they couldn't team up and have one person count pink and another person count blue. We really made them work for it! All of the jars had more of one color than the other so they would know if it there was more pink it was a girl and more blue a boy.

It was really fun to watch them pour out the pink and blue candy and count away. My mom figured it out first and whispered to me what it was and then Jenny figured it out and screamed... IT'S A BOY!!!!

Counting away.... Mom is almost done.... It's a BOY!!!!
The candy on the plates after it has been counted and Eric giving Matt the play by play...

Finally, here are our happy faces with our little man's "gender" picture, and the picture up close! Can't wait to celebrate with all of you. The name is soon to come! Stay tuned.