And the journey continues

We have BIG and EXCITING news!!

Cooper says..."My Dad is going to work for the Mouse!"

..and now the story

...as the Poladian family continues on this journey we call life, we are about to take a turn.  Or a veering in the road. Either way we are heading in a new direction...the one that takes us right back where we started from.  Interesting how it has happened.  If you will allow me, I would love to share yet another way the Lord has molded me, stretched me and shaped our family.  

(Ha! You have to allow me..it's my blog!)

It happened quickly, as it usually does when the Lord is about to ask something of us.  Matt came home from work, casually talked about his day and then said, "oh yeah, I have an interview with Disney this week."  I have trained myself to say in my head "ok Lord! I trust you" when Matt says things like this..because he does this to me often...before I say anything aloud. That way I have a joyful response to whatever his news is.  And believe me, my heart lept because we have been praying about his job situation and Disney is such a great company, but my head tells me to be patient, trust and not get too ahead of myself.  So the phone interview turned into an in person interview, which turned into another interview, which turned into a job offer! All within a couple of weeks.  

So I know what you are thinking...where is the stretching?  Sounds like a blessing that came easy? 

Well, saying yes to Disney means change. transition. moving. All things I don't do well.  On my own that is. Every ounce of me likes to cling to familiar, hold on tightly and not let go.  In the past this has led to discontentment and a complete lack of joy in my heart.  I am determined to change well this time.  To cling to my Savior instead of the temporal.  To find joy in the journey and not let it be stolen by circumstances. Please don't get me wrong.  There are so many blessings in this new job.  It is such a great opportunity for Matt in his career.  We can move back to be closer to family.  We have friends that are treasures this side of eternity already there.  We have an amazing church to plug into and receive great teaching. 

But it also means leaving an amazing church, friends and ministry that we have grown to love deeply. Our friends here have prayed with us through infertility, rejoiced with us and served us when Cooper arrived, helped us move, encouraged us in our faith and most of all loved us like we are called to as Christians.  

As you can see..this news is two fold.  

But in all things we give thanks and praise to the Lord for what He has done.  It is good. 

{pray for me please}

Cooper John is 4 months old!

 Here he is!  Our little peanut at 4 months.  

I was looking back at previous months pictures and can't believe how different he is. Oh my...he is growing up.  I'm fighting the temptation to go into his room and stop him from growing.  Not too hard to fight - I can't do it!  And I'm reminded of my resolution to embrace the growing and not resist it. 

So anyway...With the turning of 4 months came Cooper's very first cold.  I took these pictures of my sickie so I didn't capture as many smiles as I would have liked.  I'll have to do another set when he is fully recovered.  He is stuffy and coughing. I have the humidifier on full force. We stayed up snuggling and rocking.  All things I pictured would happen when he got sick.  

A long time ago I identified that I am not very compassionate.  I asked the Lord for help and slowly over time He has changed me.  I cry easily now and I feel deeply for others. Making me a Mama has increased my compassion exponentially.  The Lord allowed me to put all other things aside and care for my sick child without any thought to what I needed.  

It makes me think about what the Lord has done for me..a sinner..a sick sinner.  

Because of God's compassion (which is far greater than mine) He sent his Son to heal the sick.  Our sin is too great for us to care for on our own and God, in his mercy, created a way for our sins to be forgiven - for us to be healed.  I am so thankful for the gift of salvation through the death of Christ.  

"My chains are gone. 

I've been set free.  

My God, my Savior has ransomed me

and like a flood his mercy rains

unending love, amazing grace" 

Chris Tomlin, Amazing Grace

onto the babe...

 He found his feet and grabs for them often

He holds his head up really well during tummy time 

 I am in love with his backside..so cute and squishy

 He gnaws on everything!  Even his own arm.

 Mama's favorite thing the last month!  

The swing has helped us learn to nap for longer periods of time.

 Trying really hard to turn over! He almost has it!

An old pro at tummy time

Excited to see what the next month will bring!

Elements of Cooper's digs

3 months..that is what it has taken for me to get Cooper's room together!  One of the benefits of finding out the gender of your unborn child is that you can get the room ready BEFORE they arrive.  However, when you take the Poladian route and wait to find out the gender then the only option you have is to decorate AFTER the baby arrives.... and having a baby has definitely slowed down my "get 'er done" projects. The hubs gave me a budget so each project was about $10-20 and many of the materials were used more than once.

Project #1: Bunting

Oh bunting..so popular!  I jumped on the bunting bandwagon and made this for above the crib.  My mom was here for a couple of days this week and was a huge help in getting this done.  And I learned she is more type A than I am..if that is possible.  We made a template of the triangle and then took burlap (have I mentioned how much I like burlap?!!?) that I had in the garage and cut out the triangles.  We left a section to make a flap at the top to go over the twine (another favorite and something I always have at the house). FREE so far! The next step was the letters.  I put a shout out on facebook to see if anyone had a fancy schmancy silhouette, but decided I needed to "get 'er done" so we began exploring other options.  Stamps? maybe... I know blast to the past and stencil! I purchased stencils at Michaels for around $5 and a couple of brushes $3 and used paint I had from another project.  DONE!

This is my view from the chair I nurse Cooper in.  It reminds me to pray for him as he grows and has adventures in life.  

Project #2: Growth Chart

This was my creative Uncle's idea.  I had one last piece of wood from the fence we brought back from Colorado (remember that story?) Anyway, he suggested I make a growth chart out of it - genius!  I carved notches in the wood at each foot and half foot up to 6 feet -- not sure why -- I don't think any member of our family will actually reach 6 feet... Then I headed to Michaels again and picked up stamps this time with a 50% off coupon for $5 and grabbed a stamp pad from the dollar pin.  The letters also came from Michaels and were a couple of bucks each.  Same paint as the bunting.  

We stood Cooper up against it!  Ha Ha! 

Look at those legs -- and the slippers! This picture makes me laugh out loud!

Project #3: Shelves

My friend Michelle told me about the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.  Have you heard of it?  You can get all kinds of things for pretty cheap.  These shelves were $2 each!  I picked up 2 and a small can of paint at Lowes (same paint used in all the projects) to finish them off. They add a nice touch on either side of the window.  

Just a few more things to do to put on the shelves. I have a fun idea for a "non" frame...

...and remember this? it just needed a baby and a changing pad? well...

...here they are! and COOPER added above

Matt came home from work while I was taking pictures in the boy's room and I captured this cute moment too!

{LOVE my boys}

3 Months Old

Well, Cooper's first year is 1/4 finished.  It pains this Mama to think that the next 3/4 are going to go just as fast, but I try hard to enjoy the moments as they pass and look forward to what is next in this boy's life.  I know the Lord has big plans for him and if I hold on too tightly I'm going to miss them because I'll be wishing for what has past..and we certainly don't want that!

The last month has been really fun.  Cooper has always been very alert, but this month I feel like he is not only alert but present.  He seems to take in what is around him and interact with the world.  He grabs onto toys and blankets, he smiles at you, he looks intently at things like the fan and trees and yes he even gave us some giggles!

He continues to be a source of constant joy in the Poladian household.  In some ways we can't remember life before him, but we often find ourselves saying to each other...

"hey, look at that guy...can you believe it?!?"

Thank you Lord for entrusting this precious life to us.  We are looking to you for the wisdom we need to raise him up to love and serve you. We recognize the task is challenging and will likely be full of trials, but also moments of pure joy. We know that you have promised us all we need for life and godliness and so we will cling to that promise with each new day. Amen

Disneyland!

So, we took the boy to Disneyland because our passes were about to expire. I think only OC kids go to Disneyland in the first two months of life.  I chuckled a little every time I saw someone over the age of 50 with a "1st Visit" button... finding it funny that our little squirt had the same button.

Thanks Rodsteins for the super cute outfit!  I always laughed a little at all the people wearing Disney garb at Disneyland..you know it's not ok to "wear the concert t-shirt to the concert."  But suddenly I have a small child and I jumped at the chance to put him in a cute Disney outfit for his big outing!  

In fact...I brought 2 outfits...

His first and only ride.  The train around the park!  Can you tell he loved it?!?! It was a super hot August day so we weren't up for waiting in lines in the heat.  We figured one ride was good enough.

We had some of this...

and some of this...

and some of these...

Thanks Lori for the Pooh outfit!  

It was too hot for a total wardrobe change, but his hat sure did look cute!

One happy family at the Happiest Place on Earth!

2 months have come and gone!

Here are some photos of our favorite 2 month old!  He is such a sweet boy and he started smiling at us that past month!  What a treat to walk into his room in the morning and be greeted with the most precious smile.  

We can't stop kissing his squishy little face!

..and those toes!  I could just eat them up!

like I said - can't stop kissing!

We love you Cooper!  You have rocked our world!

Growing!

I took some photos of the boy today and thought I'd share.  I think he is pretty darn cute :)

Yesterday Cooper and I took a trip back up to Glendale for my 6 week post delivery check up.  We stopped at Whole Foods for breakfast just like on delivery day and I got a warm fuzzy feeling when I walked into the hospital..a sort of "at home" feeling.  I think because this was the place where our lives were forever changed and our family grew by one sweet little peanut.  

We love Dr Frields and are so thankful for the wonderful experience we had at Glendale Adventist!  It was fun to bring Cooper into the office and Dr Frields graciously allowed me to take a picture.