Party of 3 Plus a Belly!

I haven't been great at taking the belly pictures this time around like I was with Cade. I had Eric pose me in front of a blank wall every 4 weeks with Cade. I think I'm lucky if I have 4 pictures this time! I guess that is what happens when #2 comes around and there is a busy 20 month old to look after and a new home to clean, decorate and organize. My sis was gracious enough to squeeze in taking some pictures of the 3 of us during a very busy weekend. Literally we had 15 minutes to get as many pictures as we could, and of course it was the perfect storm - - Jenny needed to get to Cooper to feed him, Cade needed a nap, Eric (who was on call for work all week long) had an emergency with a client, yet was kind enough to tear away for the photo opp, and we were expected at a 5 year old birthday party! Phew!! God had a grip on my heart and attitude because I know typically I would have been disappointed with the timing, upset we didn't get 100 photos, and frustrated with Eric's work emergency, but instead I was incredibly grateful for what we were able to capture. Life is not going to slow down, get any less busy or complicated.
So I am learning to be grateful for whatever the moment holds and sometimes you only need one picture to tell an entire story.

Oh boy! What a Summer!!

Today I am 36 weeks pregnant... you know what that means... last post until 2012! Just kidding, but with the way I update the blog I wouldn't be surprised. Nolan's due date (scheduled c-section on 9/9/11) is approaching so quickly. We are doing our best to get everything accomplished on our "to do" list. It's overwhelming and exciting all at the same time. We can't wait to add Nolan to our family and see what Cade thinks of being a big brother. He is such a sweet boy that I can't imagine that he wouldn't be great at the roll.

I still plan on posting some pics of our "new" home and the projects we have been working on, but for now I thought I would do a little recap of some of our summer adventures. Since we just bought a home there were no summer vacations for us! We have instead filled our weekends with home updates and trips around town. I have been really tired with this pregnancy, so I can't say we have done as much as I would have liked, but I think Cade has had some fun none-the-less :)

We welcomed Cooper John Poladian into the family early in the morning on June 18, 2011. It was an exciting couple of days since Jenny had to work out 30 hours of labor. She was a real trooper and strong mama! Cooper has been such a joy to snuggle! Cade and I have made couple trips down south to visit and Cooper has made some surprise visits up to us too. We are taking in as much as we can since they seem to grow so quickly at this stage. We love you Cooper!

July 24, 2011 was a beautiful day in Camarillo at the Bella Victorian Vineyard as we were part of an intimate group who were honored to witness our friends Tanya and Jere become man and wife. It was a bit of a date for Eric and I to be in this beautiful setting, enjoying wonderful friends! I even wore the shoes I wore on my wedding day. The first time since the wedding, so we had to take a picture to commemorate the special day :). I am 33 weeks pregnant in the pictures and still managed to wear those heels all night long! After leaving the wedding Eric surprised me and took me to this little gelato and chocolate shop (it was a treat since I couldn't eat the wedding cake!). We had the most wonderful salted caramel gelato and chocolate peanut butter chocolates shaped like an oyster shell with a macadamia nut as its pearl! Such a fun night!

Our friends the Tahmisian's are faithful missionaries in Russia. We usually get to seem them in the summer when they are home for their yearly trip to the US. The student visa they are currently allowed requires them to come back to the US once a year, and while we are grateful for their visits, we pray they will be receiving a more permanent way to stay in Russia in the near future. The weekend they planned their Russia update and family/friend gathering was also the weekend of the 405 closure. We were grateful to be on the "right end" of the closure so we could enjoy their company! Many people were on the West side and couldn't make it. We pretended to be sad (kidding of course), but were so excited to have a lot of one-on-one time with this special family. Our boys, who are just 5 months apart, played so well together. They even managed to pose for a picture as long as they had their brushes. The dads were so proud. HA HA.

Finally, our stay-at-home summer has given us the opportunity to create some homemade fun. Grammie and Gramps surprised Cade with this great little outdoor play table that holds sand and water. For now it just holds water, but Cade loves it. I got him all decked out in his swim trunks and we played in the hose. He giggled so much. It was really cute to watch.

We have also enjoyed the "little red wagon" at Grammie and Gramps house. Cade doesn't care if he's being pulled around the backyard or on a walk, just as long as he gets a ride! It's funny to watch him kick back in the wagon and take it all in. This particular ride we put a margarita in daddy's hands and Lucy even joined in on the fun (Lucy had just had eye surgery to remove a cataract hence the cone.).

Oak Park has it's very own splash pad that is free for the kiddos to play in all day long! It is really a fun place and lots of kids show up to cool off. Cade wasn't so sure at first, but eventually found his way over to some smaller fountains and soon enough he was jumping, laughing and splashing around.

I know I am missing some of the fun things we have done this summer, but looking through our pictures this was all I came up with! We have enjoyed lots of indoor time and movies. It is usually the first thing Cade asks for when he wakes up. He sits through them, but I'm not so sure it is the best thing for him! When you're 9 months pregnant you kind of let it slide for a bit. LOL!
Just this last week though our little bug was really sick with a 103 temp and a very sore throat from hand, foot and mouth disease. Sounds a little scarier than it is, but I am grateful even at such a young age the Lord gives our children the ability to let us know that something is really wrong. After a day or two of fever and Cade tugging at his ears we went to the doctor who immediately found "the culprit" as he put it. So it was stay-at-home a little more for us this past week and enjoy soft foods. Cade was a trooper, but daddy and I had a rough time! We aren't use to being up all hours of the night with a crying baby... uh oh, guess we better get use to that again. Nolan is just 3 weeks away and counting!


We hope you all have had a wonderful summer with all your adventures whether they be at home or off to some vacation spot! We look forward to catching up with you soon.
XoXo,
MmM

And then there were THREE!!

This past weekend the Matthews' gang all got together at Grandpa and Grandma Matthews' house in El Segundo. This was the first time all three grandkids would be together, so it was a fun time with a lot of action and baby passing. Tommy, son of Greg and Ana, is almost 16 months, Benjamin, son of Chris and Amy, is almost 2 months, and our little bug is 4 1/2 months now. It was so much fun to see all the boys since the Matthews' family is a whole lot of girls.

Eric and I are looking forward to the Matthews' family houseboating trip at the end of June and getting the cousins together once again. Should be a very active trip!

Here are some pictures from the weekend and Cade in his Tonka truck at 4 months!

Cade is thinking "Hey, where did you come from? I was the baby not that long ago!"


Eric and our nephew Tommy. Oooh those cheeks!
This is where I hang!

Bathtime fun :)

Crusing in my truck... won't be long before I'm pushing it along!

March Recap... In APRIL!

So apparently March flew by and I neglected the blog once again. A lot happened in March and wow now we are half way through April. In March you saw that we celebrated 2 beautiful years of marriage. Eric's sister had her first baby, Benjamin Robert on March 11, Cade turned 3 months on March 16, and well I turned another year older on March 27! Lot's of celebrating. Just days after Cade turned 3 months we took our first "official" family photos. As you can see Cade is quickly growing out of the Tonka truck. Won't be long before he is sitting beside it and then pushing it along.
Beautiful baby boy :)
Our baby boy is such a JOY! He is making all kinds of noises, laughing and cooing. His smile actually spreads across his face as he recognizes friendly faces. It is just the sweetest thing. My favorite smiles are the ones he has for his daddy. They are so precious and he just LOVES his daddy. He even has some of the same manerisms as Eric. It is so much fun for me to watch. I fall more and more in love with my boys every day. God is good!

My munchie and me celebrating my birthday!

For my birthday we did a low key celebration with family and friends at a yummy restaurant at the Glendale Americana. Frida is Mexican cusine with a fun atmosphere and amazing corn tortillas! Because I have a gluten allergy I couldn't eat the chips (fried in the same fryer as some of their flour tortilla dishes), so the waiter brought me my own basket of corn tortillas to munch on before the meal. I'd go back just for the tortillas, but my tacos we wonderful too!

Wonderful friends

Life is finally starting to make a little sense again as we get more sleep (although last night he had me up all night!) and figure out how to get out of the house to be apart of the world. I am always amazed at how much my friends can accomplish in a day. They keep me motivated and aspiring to be more creative and explore being a stay-at-home mom.

Happy 2nd Anniversary!!

On March 1 Eric and I celebrated two wonderdful years of marriage. I guess you can say a lot has happened in two years! We decided to take a quick trip to Solvang for the day. Eric had never been to the quaint little Danish town, so my mom offered to take Cade for the day to give us some "couple time". We were excited to spend the day holding hands and celebrating our love, but I think my mom was even more excited to spoil Cade for an entire day!

It was a little chilly and definitely rainy, but I think it made it even more romantic. After walking through the shops we ended up at a small little wine bar for some wine/beer tasting. It is called Tastes of the Valley and we will definitely go back! I was so grateful for the time we were able to spend reflecting on our marriage and looking forward to another blissful year. We both give thanks for the work the Lord has done and continues to do in our lives.

Goofy Husby :)We found refuge in an adorable children's clothing store (of course!). Eric captured the downpour.
The beautiful rainbow after the rain.
Tastes of the Valley - yummy wine bar

I took out the program from our wedding and reflected on the scripture and songs that were apart of our special day. I thought I would echo part of the thank you we wrote on the back. "It is because of God's perfect example of sacrificial love that we are exchanging marriage vows today. We are grateful to our Savior for revealing Himself to us and bringing us into his marvelous kingdom."

Amen!

Two months, travel and tenderness...

Our little man is now two months old and finally packing on some weight. We went for his 2 month check up (he's perfect!) and he weighs 10 lbs and is 22 inches long. Still only in the 15th percentile for height and weight, but his head is in the 50th percentile. This kid has a huge brain, no wonder he is so advanced (spoken like a true mommy!).We thought it would be fun over the first year to take pictures of Cade with the Tonka truck his Grammie and Gramps gave him (the blanket was crochetted by Grammie too) to see just how big he is getting. As you can tell he has just about grown out of the back of the truck!

Two months also brought Cade's first trip! We traveled to see Auntie Jenny and Uncle Matt for the weekend. I joined Jenny, my mom and our friend Stacy for a Rebecca St. James concert at their church and then we spent the next day in San Clemente with our friends the Eckerts. Cade got to meet his friend Sadie who is just two days younger. She shared her basket and we got some cute pictures.

Rosie is the best big sister! She was even giving love to Cade.Grammie giving her love

Family picture :)

The best part of the weekend was being with family and capturing some beautiful moments thanks to my sister's talent for taking pictures.

Valentine's day rounded off the weekend and Eric and I continued our tradition of breakfast for dinner and a movie. This year instead of apple pancakes we made an Apple Puffed Pancake. I have posted the recipe. It is so so yummy and a Cooper family favorite. I subsituted Pamela's Pancake and Baking mix for the flour to make it gluten free. Seriously, Pamela's mix is the best. We don't even keep the regular stuff in the house any more. If my gluten loving husband likes it, then it must be good! So we set up a little romantic dinner with the Munchie (Cade's newest nickname from me) and enjoyed our picnic.

Me and my Valentine

Our Valentine's Day feast

Apple Puffed Pancake

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup flour

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon (Eric and I like a little more cinnamon than this)

1/2 stick butter

2 apples peeled, thinly sliced (Granny Smith work best)

2-3 Tbsp. brown sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 425. Mix the first 7 ingredients in a bowl. The mixture will be slightly lumpy. Set aside. Melt the butter in the oven in a 12 in oven safe dish. When butter is melted, add the apples to the butter. Put back in the oven until the butter sizzles, but don't let it brown. Pour batter mixture from bowl over the apples and butter. Sprinkle brown sugar on top and bake for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!!