There is a first for everything

I had one of the grossest moments of parenting yesterday: throw up. Grace was waking up from a nap and started coughing profusely. I went in her room and she kept coughing and finally finished the coughing fit with throwing up. The first time it was neatly pooled on the sheet. The second time she lifted her head and sprayed. It was on the wall, my shirt, her hair and face. All I can say is disgusting! And the poor thing is looking up at me like she doesn't know what hit her and then of course I want to hold her because she looks so sad and disoriented and then it's really all over my shirt. You feel horrible for a child that's just thrown up!

So that was the first bout with throw up. Luckily it wasn't the flu and it was a one time occurence:) She was fine after that. This "first" made me think of all kinds of other firsts that have happened over the past two months since I wrote last. She has been saying all kinds of words lately that I just have to record so I remember. The longest word on record is lawn mower and I'm not even joking. Grace is obsessed with lawn mowers in the neighborhood and lucky her, there are lawn mowing companies around here just about every day. It sounds like "mawnmowr." Other first words have been hi, bye-bye, no (that's a favorite right now), momma, daddy, mole (weird word grandma taught her), ball.

Another one of my recent favorite "firsts" has been singing along with nursery rhymes and songs. She is enamored of any song that has motions. "If you're happy and you know it"and "The Wheels on the Bus" are some of her favorites. Now I don't really mean that she sings along. It's more like monotone humming and every so often I hear the right consonants, but I think she has the rhythms down!

Grace is also getting quite smart and a little sassy in her 18th month. She has mastered opening the fridge to ask for her milk or "meh" as she calls it. She also asks very nicely with sign language and everything (please) if she can have a popsicle (pah) out of the freezer. I'm a little concerned with her sharing skills. If you ask her for a bite of her popsicle she will proceed to taunt you with the popsicle by putting it close to your mouth and then pulling it away with a great big NO. She thinks this is very funny:)

I think one of the most amazing things about being a parent is the realization that your child has a mind of their own and that they are slowly separating themselves from you. For so many months you are in control of their every move. But once they hit about a year and a half they already begin to separate. They have so many of their own opinions, likes, dislikes, preferences, ideas etc. This is only the beginning for me. This, I think, is the constant struggle of parenthood. You want them to have their own opinions, likes, dislikes, preferences, ideas. It is such a joy to watch and experience. But they are ever so slowly separating themselves from you. I have a long road ahead of me:)

Life in Slow Motion

My life has slowed down a bit since moving and settling down in the suburbs. As I look for part-time work and take care of Grace I've had some time on my hands for creativity! So I sewed a purse. My newest creation is exciting for me. Other ventures into domestic projects have always ended in unfinished products and a desire to never look at the thing again e.g. scrapbooks, knit blankets, you get the point. It's my theory that I leave a lot of things unfinished in life. This was my chance to finish something despite obstacles, frustrations or *gasp*! imperfection. So onward I pressed.

I was cautiously optimistic when I went to the fabric store with my mom (who is an amazing seamstress and probably could have put this purse together in a couple hours). It was a couple weeks into the project that I actually got around to the sewing part. By this time I was very proud of all my neatly cut out, ironed and interfaced fabric pieces thinking I was on my way to the perfect purse. Then came the actual sewing. Lots of seam ripping, pin pricking, expletives under the breath, and feelings of inadequacy all ensued. The real challenge was not biting my mom's head off when when she kindly offered helpful tips of the trade after I bellowed upstairs that "I messed up the machine". In the final moments of purse making and the grand finale of turning the bag right side out, I had a moment of joy. I really completed this purse; I like sewing; I love creating. I had finally completed something! For me a monumental moment, for my mom, a walk in the park. But we all have to start somewhere.

Time Flies

Time goes by way too fast! We are now just into our fourth week living of in the Chicago suburbs. We are living with my parents right now and trying to survive the challenge of community living with empty nester parents, a 20-something single woman (my sister), and a married couple (Nate and I) with a one year old. Things can get a little dicey at times but all in all it's gone a lot smoother than expected. Our biggest obstacles have been "Grace the alarm clock" (she wakes everyone up in the mornings), sharing fridge space and a veritable used car lot in the driveway that needs to be rearranged every night. It is such a blessing that we are able to live with my parents through this transition!

Nate is enjoying work on the trucking docks of Monroe Transportation. He is working a shift that is not the most desirable (1pm - 9pm) but most days he comes back upbeat and ready to go back the next day. Sara is still adjusting to the stay at home mom role. This is something that I looked forward to for 8 long months. Now that it's finally here it hasn't been quite the picnic I imagined:) Week one was like a vacation (husband still home), week two was a reality check (exhaustion began to set in), week three I was dragging (hoping by some chance I was going back to work on Monday) and week four things are beginning to look up. It is wonderful to spend more time with Grace. I am so thankful for this time but it sure is a lot of work! She is non stop energy right now and gets into EVERYTHING. I will most likely be getting a part-time job to balance the mommy time. For now I will be loving every moment I get to spend watching Gracie grow up:)

Grace has a party

Birthday Celebration!

In light of our recent move we hosted Grace's 1st birthday party a little early in Grand Rapids. So this past Sunday (March 7) we decked out the house in pink balloons and white polka dots and had a celebration. Once everyone arrived, we lit the candles on the cake, sang a big rendition of Happy Birthday and blew out the candles. Grace was quite a dainty cake eater at first but once she knew what was in front of her it was all over her face, hands, sippy cup and hair.

I think she ate a whole piece herself:)

The house is ready

The cake is ready

Grace awaits her guests

These days, Grace has two bottom teeth and two teeth just coming in on the top. She loves to say ma, ma, ma, ma and pa, pa, pa. She points at things she is interested in with her whole hand and she seems to be curious about everything. Recently she has been babbling quite a bit about all kinds of things. No walking yet, but she does like to push her new shopping cart around with her baby and some groceries. She knows how to give kisses if you ask her. She is such a sweet little girl.

Chicago or bust

Boxes, boxes and more boxes. Our house is filled with boxes! We are embarking on a new journey in a few days. The Plasmans are moving to Chicagoland on Sunday, March 15. The house is sold, Nate has a new job and we are prepared for the next chapter in our lives. Our emotions are mixed as we look towards the future. There is so much joy and relief about selling our house and being able to switch roles from working to homemaking and vice versa. But the move will be bittersweet as we leave behind so many wonderful friends and family members in Grand Rapids. God has truly taken care of us throughout the years here. We will miss everyone but the visits will be often and you will always be in our hearts.

Plasman Life Lately

Today is January 27. Wow, where did this month go? The Plasman household has been very busy with house improvements during the month of January. We have been motivated to keep plugging away with the conclusion of some small projects like bathroom and dining room trim. This week it is on to fixing the infamous bathtub leak in our kitchen. Little by little we are making progress. We should be taking leak-free showers by the end of the week.

Grace reached the 10-month mark on January 23. She has also reached some exciting milestones in the weeks since my last post including her first tooth (for those of you wondering it is one of her bottom teeth) and learning how to dance. She likes to bounce up and down to the beat of nearly any music including classical and pop. Some of her favorite songs to dance to include Forever by Chris Brown and I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas. We're happy to report that she has good rhythm! She is a continued source of joy in our lives.

Grace at 9 months

Grace will be ten months old on January 23. Over the past month Grace has grow rapidly. Her last pediatrician appointment with Dr. Rauwerda went very well. Grace is in the 80th percentile for weight and off the charts for height. Dr. Rauwerda informed us that Grace is on a trajectory to be 5'10" to 5'11"! She is a tall little girl.

Some new developments in the last month include the "big girl" crawl. She started with the army crawl at about 7 months and has now graduated to crawling on all fours. Other developments include clapping her hands and our hands, playing peekaboo behind the coffee table and "walking" when we hold her hands. She also pulls herself up on all furniture and scoots from piece to piece. A couple days ago she started eating dairy and has taken a fancy to yogurt. Other foods she eats regularly include cooked carrots, peas, wheat bread, avocado, turkey, black beans and the list goes on. She can pretty much eat whatever we eat.

Grace is very active these days and gets into everything around the house. She likes to "play" the piano in our living room, empty the entire tupperware cupboard in the kitchen and splash in the bathtub. I think she gets the energy from her daddy. She is also starting to get a voice of her own. She says a lot of "ma, ma, mas" and "bah, bah, bahs" and babbles constantly.

January 17, 2010

Welcome to the Plasman Family's blog. I thought it would be a good way to chronicle our lives and share with our friends and family the development of our daughter, Grace. It's hard to believe she will be ten months old in less than a week! Ten months has gone by very quickly. She is a constant source of joy and delight to us and all who come into contact with her. Nate continues to stay at home with Grace during the days and Sara works at National Heritage Academies 35 hours per week. NHA has been a stable and enjoyable workplace for Sara for just over seven years. Nate completed his last class towards his Bachelor's degree at Calvin College in December through Grand Rapids Community College. We continue to pray that God will provide a job for Nate and that Sara will be able to stay home more with Grace. As we start another new year, we know that change is inevitable in our lives. We are excited to continue on our journey and see what God has in store!