Cooper // The Artist

Well hello there...I haven't posted in what feels like forever.  I've had ideas of blogs to write and then time passes..and well..they never get written.  

In short, we've been busy.  Our lives are full and for that we are so thankful.  

I thought you might want to see what Cooper has been up to...painting!  He loves to paint.  When he sees his finished product he points it out and wants you to know he did it.  (Don't worry! We are working on humility too!) Here he is working on a little project we wanted him to do for his sister's room.  I'll post the final product soon..it's almost finished!  

He continues to fill us with such joy.  

Soaking up these last months as a family of 3 // all while greatly anticipating the arrival of sweet Reagan Jean.  

Sugar and Spice

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

We found out a couple of weeks ago we are going to be adding a little sugar and spice to our family.  I have to say I was a little surprised.  My pregnancy has been so similar to Cooper's that I just assumed it was another boy...which I was totally excited for.  But to find out we were having a girl was such a welcomed surprise!  This was a new experience for us since we were surprised with Cooper.

Here is how it all went down.

At 16 weeks I went to the Doctor for a regular appointment and he had said at my previous appointment that he would take a look to see if we could tell boy or girl.  Well, Matt couldn't make that appointment...so we developed a plan.  We would have the Doc write it down on a notecard.  Then when I got back to the house my Mom was going to look at the notecard and give me the correct "gift" that she had wrapped and ready to go.  Matt and I had planned a date night to one of our favorite restaurants to open the package and being dreaming about our new addition.

Well our perfect plan was foiled!!
The Little Miss had the cord between her legs so Dr Frields wasn't able to tell.

We would have to wait.
** Sure Lord, I'll wait on you and your perfect time **

I scheduled my 2nd trimester ultrasound..you know..the big one where they measure everything...as quickly as possible! We would only have to wait 2 more weeks! It gave me a renewed appreciation for technology and that we even had the opportunity to find out what the Lord had blessed our family with.  This time Matt was able to make it, so we just decided to let the Doctor tell us. Our girl was cooperative and gave us a good view of her face as well as the rest of her.  Below are some of the shots from the 4D ultrasound. 

We still opened the correct gift my Mom had picked up weeks before.  Our little girl had her first dress. Precious!

We decided her name will be Reagan Jean.  

Years ago on our honeymoon we chose two names.  

Cooper and Reagan 

I prayed for them and imagined what they would be like. And now, almost 7 years later, they are part of our family!  Crazy!  

Reagan: in honor of former President Ronald Reagan, one of Matt's heroes

Jean: in honor of our Moms - Melinda Jean and Debra Jean

 **Thank you Lord for blessing my quiver with 2 arrows.  I am in total awe of your kindness **

Samantha and Aaron tie the knot!

Wedding came day a couple of weeks ago and boy was it fun!  Sadly, I don't have a picture of the newlyweds.  How did that happen??  But I can assure you they were both glowing! It was such a wonderful day full of love and family.  I can give you a little glimpse into the day.

How great is this!  

I am a big fan of fun signs at wedding and I hadn't seen this one before. 

My VERY talented sister did Samantha's hair and make-up. She also did Matt's mom, sister and mine!  It was a busy day but we all enjoyed being pampered!

Sam taking a look at the finished product! 

My hair and make-up! Super fun half-up do. 

Emily and I!  Two preggo bridesmaids!  

The mother of the groom!  Doesn't she look lovely!

Check out Melissa's work here! And hire her for your next event!

Below is all I have past the point of getting ready!  The camera was left behind and the party started!!  

The Hubs and me!

Looking a little squinty, but dressed in our finest!

Isn't she pretty! 

My inherited family!  

I am incredibly blessed to be part of such a sweet family.  What started out as these five has turned into 12 with the addition of 3 spouses and 4 kids/grandkids. 

Yet another way the Lord has been kind to me.

2 Dream Jobs and a SWEET Wife

Everyone always looks for a "dream job."  It's that job that makes you smile your entire drive to the office.  That job that you can't stop talking about when you get together with friends.  That job you'll never leave because you can't imagine doing anything more rewarding or fulfilling with the skills God gave you.

Over the past two years, I've had the privilege of starting TWO jobs that fit that "dream job" description.

Cooper joins Daddy for lunch at the office

1. I started a job at Disney.  When I tell people I work at Disney, most folks respond "That's so perfect for you!"  And they're right.  It's almost as if the job was created just for me to do.  The work is challenging, the people are encouraging, and the company provides vast opportunities for me to learn and grow.
2. I started a job as a Dad.  No doubt, this is the best of my two new jobs.  When I look at my beautiful son, I am immediately reminded of how blessed I am to be a father.  I'm also reminded of my shortcomings, which challenges me to be a better man.  This is a serious job, but one that has brought tremendous joy to my life.

My two dream jobs intersected yesterday when Cooper came for a visit to my office.  It was so much fun to watch him walk around and see where I spend so much of my time.  I look forward to the day when I get to visit him at his office, and hope I’m doing a good job of teaching him how a strong work ethic is pleasing to the Lord. 

Yesterday also reminded me of one very critical factor in being successful in my dream jobs: MY SWEET WIFE!  She enables me to devote plenty of time to my work at Disney, talks though difficult decisions to help me ensure I’m always doing the right thing, challenges me to be a better father, supports my role as the leader of our household, and (most importantly) loves me in spite of my mistakes.

I’m grateful that I’m married to a woman who so clearly exhibits the woman of Proverbs 31.  She’s awesome and exceptional and I love her more than I can sometimes believe.
So, I’ve hijacked her blog to let you all know.  Thanks for listening.

Cooper John - 18 months old

One and a half! Really? 

I know I sound like every other Mama watching their baby grow and saying "I can't believe it.  It has gone by so fast!"  

But really it has.  Really.  

This little guy has brought us so much joy and happiness it is unreal!  He keeps me energized (most of the time...exhausted at other times), he has made me more social, brought me to my knees in desperate prayer, made me more aware of sin (mine and his), made me laugh, reminded me of God's amazing ability to design, taken so many of my kisses, melted my heart over and over, and given me another purpose in the life God has granted me.   

So what have we done since June when he turned ONE and I posted last about his growth and accomplishments?  A TON!  I'll break it down for you.  

  

He started walking at just under 14 months.  Everywhere he walked some sort of car of tractor would come with him.  We have joked the Cooper has more cars that we do and needs his own garage!

He spent a week with Grammie and Gramps while Matt and I went to New Mexico with church for High School summer camp.  He didn't even know we were gone!  Here he is at one of the many trips he took to the water park with his cousins.

He learned to color and loves it!  He asks all the time to color.  Maybe a budding artist?

We all survived a 5 hour plane trip to Hawaii to vacation with the Poladian family and soaked up every minute of sun and sand we could get while we were there.  Cooper LOVES to be outside. This was the best week of his life.  Outside. all day. every day!  I loved it because he was so tired he took some of the best naps of his life!  And I got to lay on a lounge chair and read while he did...ahhh! During our trip we dropped the second nap and went to just one a day. As soon as we got home we said good bye to the pacifier.  That's a lot of growing up for one week but our guy did really well! 

He drove his first tractor (not really) and ran through his first pumpkin patch (last year we did a fake one)! One of Cooper's first and favorite words was "tractor" making this a very fun day for him.  He still speaks often about tractors and gets really excited when we see them.  The Lord has been gracious in allowing construction to be going on all over the place around our house (and even in front of our house) which means a LOT of tractor sightings.  The men are very friendly and don't seem to mind that we sit and watch them work.  Maybe a future in construction?

Some other noteworthy accomplishments!

This boy talks!  Definitely his father's son! He has so many words and communicates really well.  Some of the cutest things he says? I'm glad you asked!

"bulldoder" bulldozer - open shut (when he wants you to open something) - "I wuv you" I love you - "oowie" Louie - tractor (clear as day) - "coer" color - "Pooper" Cooper (working hard on getting this one right!) - HI! (he has the sweetest Hi! So loud and with such gusto.  It makes everyone smile). This is the short list.  He will repeat just about anything you say.  I get such a kick out of his little voice!

He is so social.  He has no problem joining a group or walking up to people.  He has pushed me to start more conversations with other mom's at the park or friendly people at the grocery store just because he walked up and said "HI!"

He has gained such confidence with climbing, jumping, swinging, sliding and other activities since we joined My Gym.  Coach Rosie is so sweet and he loves to go "pay" play with the other kids. 

He is a little man with a little personality that we look forward to learning more about and watching develop.  He is testing boundaries and learning to be patient.  He is learning that having a bad attitude doesn't get him what he wants.  He is developing a sense of humor through playful interactions. He learned the word "obey." He likes when we pray with him. 

He is growing up.

Cooper John.  I wuv you.

A picture recap of the last couple months

The sweetest face on Thanksgiving.  We continue to thank the Lord for his life and for giving us the privilege of raising him. 

We put our zoo passes to good use in the last few months.  For this trip we met up with our friends Lacey and Joshua.  

We sent our friends the Wrights off to Indiana to take on Castle View Baptist Church.

We celebrated the new life of Taylor Rose with all things girly! Headbands, roses and lace!

We kicked off the Christmas season with a White Christmas Party at the Matthews.  A wonderful night with wonderful friends.

 We took another trip to the zoo to celebrate Cade's birthday! He turned 3! So hard to believe!

We just loved celebrating Christmas with Cooper this year.  He is so chatty and interested in what is going on around him.  Here he is with Daddy playing with one of his favorite new toys and most importantly reading the Christmas story from Luke 2.  

... and then there were 4

We are welcoming a new family member in August 2013! 

It's been quite a year for the Poladian family. We are looking forward to what the Lord has planned for us in 2013..especially the end of January when the nausea will hopefully go away and a small amount of energy will return :).

Be like the Ant

I found this little gem on focalpointministries.org.  Focal Point is a ministry of Compass Bible Church, the church we attended in Orange County.  We still get their emails...probably because we love and miss so many of our friends there and are thankful for the spiritual growth that happened in each of our lives as a result of the solid teaching from Pastor Mike! 

I have been focusing on discipline this last month, mainly in the area of time management and hard work.  This short devotional encouraged me today to keep pressing on and work hard!  Hope it does the same for you.

The Bible has a lot to say about working hard, being disciplined, and fighting all slothful tendencies. The Christian work ethic we derive from the teaching of both the Old and New Testament leaves no room for leisurely lives, lethargic attitudes or half-hearted work. Solomon advises us to “Go to the ant” and learn her wise ways (Proverbs 6:6). No one has to stand over her shoulder to prod her along. Threats are not needed. Like the rest of God’s insects, the ant is an industrious self-starter. “Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest” (Proverbs 6:7-8). The Apostle Paul equates idleness with sin, going so far as to say that we shouldn’t even associate with a Christian who is lazy (2 Thessalonians 3:6). Paul points to his own example and tells how he, Silas, and Timothy “were not idle” but instead “with toil and labor we worked night and day” (2 Thessalonians 3:7-8). Of course, scheduled times of rest and refreshment were built into the pattern of creation, but a life of leisure was never the goal. God created us to be creators, thinkers and workers. So instead of being discouraged about past failures or any previous patterns of sluggish work, why not pray for a fresh start and for God’s encouragement, then approach the next thing on your schedule with a purposeful enthusiasm. And always remember that “whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23).