Plantinga Family

Children's Museum

2012-02-26T09:57:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I took Emily to the Children's Museum for an afternoon of fun with Daddy. We had been looking forward to it for a while, and occasionally Emily would tell me things like "Daddy, sometimes I just can't sleep because I'm thinking a lot of things about the children's museum". Part of the fun was getting to ride the bus on the way there and back, which Emily got quite excited about. The museum turned out to be even more fun than the bus, and had new exhibits since we'd been there last.

Waiting eagerly for the bus.

Crawling through the giant tires in the garage room.

Emily climbed the rope net all the way to the top without getting scared (unlike last time).

We made a wheel to roll down the track.

The water room was once again a BIG hit (despite some wet socks and shoes).

Emily overcame her fear of the giant tunnel system and discovered it was lots of fun.

The only exhibit that was a bit of a dud was the craft workshop where the two of us spent fifteen minutes wandering around wondering exactly what we were supposed to make until we decided to just go ride the virtual car again. We agreed that Mommy could take Emily there to try some crafts some time. It was a great afternoon, and Emily told me when she went to bed that she was thinking about the museum so much she just couldn't fall asleep. Somehow, she was tired enough that she still did.

Fader Fundraiser Letter

2012-02-25T15:40:00.001-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

On May 6, 2012, I will be lacing up my sneakers to run the Pittsburgh Half Marathon. And while many of you know that running is one of the things I love best, you not be as familiar with something else I love: the Fader family. Eric and I first met Jason and Heather Fader when they came to live with Eric and I briefly in the fall of 2000 in Ann Arbor while they were searching for a more permanent home. Heather is the sister of one of my best friends, so Eric and I were more than happy to have them be our guests for awhile. They have been dear to our hearts ever since, and I can say with complete sincerity that they are two of the people whom I admire and respect most. They live out their faith and their calling with such dedication and joy!

Here is a bit more about their story:

Both Jason and Heather Fader sensed that God was preparing them for medical missions even as children— Heather in Wisconsin, and Jason in Kenya, where his parents were medical missionaries.

In 1995, Jason and Heather first met in a general chemistry laboratory at Calvin College in Michigan. They were married shortly after graduating in 1999. Then, while Jason was in medical school at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago, Heather completed a Master of Arts in Teaching and began teaching high school chemistry and Spanish. They moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2003, for Jason’s residency in general surgery. In 2005, their daughter Anna was born, and in 2009, they adopted Abigail from Ethiopia. It was also in Ann Arbor that they met two other families from their church who similarly felt called to medical missions. The three families decided to begin
working together to serve God as one team.

From 2009 to 2011, the Faders and their team served at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya. Jason and the other physicians in the group cared for patients and also trained and discipled Kenyan interns and residents. During those very fulfilling two years, the team added two more doctors to their numbers and explored options where they could continue teaching medical trainees in a long-term setting.

The whole team feels called to move to Burundi, in Central Africa, to be the clinical teaching faculty for medical students who attend the medical school at Hope Africa University. These eager students have had no permanent faculty since the medical school began in 2006. This is an opportunity of tremendous potential to train and disciple African medical students who will be the leaders of this underserved, impoverished, post-war nation.

Of all the many worthy causes to support, I find myself first and foremost wanting to invest in the Faders and the McCropder team.Jason and Heather told us recently that the entire country has a total of nine surgeons! Can you imagine that?! Talk about being able to fill a great need! However, given our current financial situation (Eric in school full-time and me as a mostly stay-at-home mom to Emily and Sophie) we aren't able to support them financially as much as we'd like. So instead, I am pledging to fund-raisefor them while I train for this half marathon. I think of them often while I run, and the good work that they are committed to doing in the Lord's Kingdom.

If possible, would you prayerfully consider making a donation to their cause as I run to raise awareness of their good work? As little as $1 per mile that I will run (13!) would be so much appreciated.

To donate on-line, just visit this website:
http://www.whm.org/give/missionary?ID=51320
Or, if you would prefer to give or send me a check, you can make it our to World Harvest Missions with Fader in the subject line. I can make sure you get a tax-deductible receipt.

Thanks so much for considering! Please let me know if you have any questions.

Blessings,

Sarah

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-03T17:49:00.003-05:00

Tis the season to make resolutions, and though I don't often find myself jumping on the bandwagon, there is something appealing about a fresh start and a clean slate. And so I've decided to make some resolutions of my own this year. Not knowing how many I can stick to for the duration of the year, I've decided to list several in the hopes of accomplishing at least one or two!

Track all of my 2012 runs (with the help of www.dailymile.com)
Drink a minimum of 16 ounces of water per day
Take a multi-vitamin daily
Organize our home spaces so that we can better enjoy them
Spend more time in God's Word
Tell my husband and my children how much I love and appreciate them on a daily basis
Stop biting my nails

Whew! That's a lot to tackle! Feel free to ask me about my progress and help keep me on track. :-)

Happy 4th Birthday!

2012-01-02T10:45:00.010-05:00

Dear Emily,

Happy fourth birthday to you, my big girl! I don't think I'll be able to put into words exactly how much I have enjoyed this past year of your life. Three was an excellent year for you. You morphed into a beautiful, independent, creative, silly, articulate, inquisitive, and caring girl. You learned how to play on your own so well, to make up stories, and to transport yourself into your own little world. For the first half of the year three, playing with your doll house was your absolute favorite thing to do. You love to role play, and I can't tell you how many times we hear you say "okay, you be the little girl and I'll be the mommy" or some variation of that throughout the day. You have turned animals, trains, pieces of food, and even different sized sticks into family members. The second half of this year was all about the crafts, as we learned how much you adore creating pieces of artwork. You can spend hours each day at your craft table, and though we've surely killed our share of trees this year, you delight in all of your new creations. You love drawing families, and even began to illustrate your own books, telling your dad and I what should go on the pages.

This past year you also began attending preschool, and you just love it. You like the structure, I think, and you are quite fond of your teachers. I have yet to hear a negative thing about any part of the experience. You have learned to write about 90% of your letters, you can recognize them all - uppercase and lowercase - can count to 20 (still occasionally skipping a number), and can recognize an alarming number of words by site. You love to be read to, and you also like to read your books to us. You can spell and write your own name, of course, but also mom, dad, and a handful of other words. You blew me away once when you nonchalantly came up to me and gave me a card with my name on it that you had written. You also are using new words all the time, and often correctly. Although one incorrect use that continues to make me smile is when you whine in frustration that Sophie is "recognizing" your projects.

In addition to surprising me daily with how much you know, you constantly blow me away with how much you care about others. You are so very observant, and are deeply affected when anyone else is sad or upset. When we are reading, you study facial expressions, and will ask me why someone in the story is upset, or frustrated, etc. based on how they look. You are normally so great about sharing with your sister, and wanting to make her happy. She is going to have a great role model in you, I am quite certain. You are also learning more and more about God, and beginning to have a relationship with Jesus. Your prayers are very full of energy, that's for sure! And your questions blow me away. The other day we were driving in the car when you asked, "Mom, how does God see everyone at the same time?" You are so eager to figure out how the world works!
You are still a little shy, and pretty cautious of new situations. Your least favorite part of the day is going to bed, but obedient creature that you are, once we can wrestle you into your pajamas and your bed, you always stay there.

I have loved getting to spend this past year with you, Emily, and I am so honored to be your mommy.

Te Amo, Emily!

Mommy

How To Melt a Father's Heart

2011-12-09T20:48:00.000-05:00

Tonight I was tucking Emily in bed, and after I gave her a hug she told me:
"I like it when you put your arms around me because it's like a hammock in my daddy's arms."

What else could a father want for Christmas?

I love you Emily,

Daddy

Twelve Months Old!

2011-11-18T15:45:00.005-05:00

Dear Sophie,

On your birthday, there are a few things I want you to know. First, we feel so lucky to have welcomed you into our family exactly one year ago. Maybe it's because you have the benefit of having an older sister (and we made all of our mistakes on her - just kidding, Emmie!), but almost everything about your first year has seemed to go pretty well. Yes, there were hiccups along the way, and yes, there were days that most certainly wouldn't qualify as easy by anyone's definition, but by and large I will always look back on your first year of life with a smile.

Second, I want you to know how much you are loved. For me, it has been especially fun to watch Emily grow to love you. And someday - maybe ten years from now - you may not believe me, but you are one of her very favorite people. She adores you, she takes great pride in the fact that you are her sister, and she is always on your side. She loves making you laugh, and you don't disappoint. Your infectious smile and giggle are so much a part of your personality, and we are thankful that you are often such a happy child. You have an entire extended family - aunts, uncles, and grandparents - that think you're pretty great. You have a mom and dad who delight in you each and every day, and you have a God who will always watch over you.

Third, I want you to know some of specific things you do that make you unique. You love to cuddle any and all things soft, and you give phenomenal hugs. You don't like being cooped up, and are always on the go. You have begun pointing to things you want to see, touch, and grab and you squeal like a stuck pig when you don't get your way. You enjoy being read to for short periods of time, and will help turn the pages. You must also believe that every book is supposed to be a "touch and feel" book, and will spend forever combing your fingers over the pictures. You were an early walker, and are pretty athletic. You can go up and down stairs with great ease. You like being outside, in new places, and around people. You have amazingly beautiful eyes, and I can never decide what color they are. You seem to detest getting new teeth, and sometimes will stuff your entire little fist in your mouth to see if that will make everything feel better. You are quick to cry, but easily comforted. You have flaws, of course, but to me you are perfect because you are you.

I love you so much, and I celebrate you today, Sophie Grace.

Love,

Mommy

Frustrations

2011-11-10T12:50:00.001-05:00

After listening to several minutes of Sarah venting her frustrations
about trying to order a Christmas gift online, Emily steps in to help:

EMILY: Momma, what's wrong?

SARAH: Oh nothing, Emmy. Mommy's just frustrated about ordering
something with the computer.

EMILY: Oh. One time I was frustrated when I was trying to play the
game I got at the chicken nugget store.

Playing School With Emily

2011-11-02T19:11:00.001-04:00

EMILY: Everyone sit down please, it's time for school!
ME: Am I one of your students?
EMILY: Yes, you sit right here.
ME: OK
EMILY: Now it's time for the story.
ME: I want a snack! I want goldfish crackers please! Can I have
goldfish? Can I?
EMILY: Well, you just can't have what you want all the time.
ME: I can't?
EMILY: No, different people bring the snack every time. It's not just
goldfish, goldfish, goldfish all the time Daddy!

Halloween

2011-11-01T14:58:00.002-04:00

While trick-or-treating last night, we noticed Emily wasn't saying "trick or treat".

ME: Emmy, don't forget to say "trick or treat" when someone opens the door.
EMILY: But they already know!

Eleven Months Old!

2011-10-18T21:25:00.000-04:00

Dear Sophie,

You are now eleven months old, and so close to reaching the huge milestone that is your first birthday. You decided to celebrate eleven months by taking your first steps - about five - yesterday, but you definitely aren't walking yet. If I hold my arms out to you from a couple feet away, you'll make your way over, usually falling into my arms on that last step. You want to be walking so badly, but I think it will be a few more weeks before you get there. And that's okay with me because I enjoy watching you speed crawl your way through our entire house. If they had crawling races for babies, my money would be on you every time.

Your days follow a mostly predictable pattern. You enjoy three bottles each day, gobble up finger foods at each meal, and on good days, will tolerate some baby food. You nap very well each morning, but often cry for awhile before your afternoon nap. You are quite happy on most days, but the last hour before bedtime is often hard. You've just plumb tuckered yourself out and start to lose the ability to keep it together. So we take walks, we read books, we cuddle, we have dance parties and somehow, day after day, we make it until 8:00.

You're quite mischievous, just today finding your father's secret stash of dark chocolate and going to town until I found you and promptly put an end to your fun. You have an almost constant gleam in your eye, telling me that you're enjoying life to the fullest. But this gleam also lets me know - in a way that I can't fully explain - that you're going to be trouble sometimes. You're going to test limits and push boundaries, but you'll do it with a happy grin the whole time.

I absolutely adore watching you grow and change into the little person you will become. Sometimes the days are long, but the months and years are short, Sophie Bear. So very soon you will turn one, changing more and more from my baby precious baby into my precocious toddler. And I can't wait to be there with you every step of the way.

I love you lots and lots,

Mommy

Traditions

2011-10-11T18:51:00.000-04:00

One of the things I had really looked forward to when Eric and I started a family was creating traditions. I love looking back fondly upon some of my family traditions, from Christmas pajamas opened every year on the 24th of December to my mom's homemade pecan pie every Thanksgiving to eating the same wonderful casserole on most every special occasion. And these days, here in Pittsburgh with two young girls, it's hard to find time or energy to create traditions. Most nights, it's hard not to fall over in exhaustion as soon as the kids are asleep.

But still, when I look back and remember these years, here is one thing I desperately want to remember: making muffins from scratch with my girls. It's an easy recipe, one that my husband and his college roommates made all the time. One that these boys - now men - now all make with their own families from time to time. When I make the muffins, I remember these friends and how our lives intertwine, both then and now, and it makes me smile.

It also makes me smile to watch Emily's excitement at getting to help, at insisting that she can dump in the ingredients by herself. It makes me smile how she asks approximately 28 times if she can lick the spoon yet. It makes me smile to see how she wants to share the experience with her sister, and how she's the first one to suggest that Sophie should get a taste too. It cracks me up that she spends the entire time the muffins are baking "washing" the bowl and measuring cups in the sink. It amazes me that she says, "Guess what mom? The sponge can float. That means it can stay on top of the water." It delights me to watch Sophie take it all in, to know that someday, she too will help us make these same muffins.

Yes, these days are crazy. And hard, so very hard. But these small traditions, like making muffins, are the things I want to remember about these days. And I think I will.

Ten Months Old!

2011-09-19T21:04:00.000-04:00

Sophie,

Here's something I've learned about parenting - you can never trust what other people tell you about raising children. Everyone always told me that raising a second child would be completely different than the first. But so far, your similarities to your older sister are far greater than your differences. At this age, you both couldn't stand to be left alone in a room, were always, ALWAYS on the go, and had very little interest in age appropriate toys while always angling for ways to get the things I didn't want you to have. You and Emily were/are both social babies: perfect angels when we're out on the go, but often very whiny at home. But Sophie, in little ways, you are definitely your own little person. You're tender, and will almost always give me a cuddle, albeit often brief. Your smile is big, bright, and so frequently on display. And not to knock your sister, but let's just say I have a hunch that the natural athletic ability was more greatly bestowed to you.

You're such a good sleeper, my darling baby. This needing more sleep is both a blessing and a curse though because if you miss a nap you fall apart so quickly it's pathetic. When I started working three mornings a week and at first you weren't napping in the morning- well, let's just say it was a rough transition. But we've found a solution, you seem to adore your caretakers at the nursery while I work, and all is well.

You're still very much attached to your bottles, but slowly warming up to the idea that liquids can also come from a sippy cup. You let us know that you can feed yourself, thank you very much. Baby food fed from a spoon doesn't go over very well with you, but you will pick up cheerios and banana pieces until we decide you can't possibly need any more food. You are finally getting your first tooth popping through, which leaves me feeling relieved that you will indeed have at least one tooth by the time we're celebrating your first birthday.

Unfortunately, Sophie, I am finding it to be true again that this is often a frustrating age. You are very much aware of what you want but can't yet vocalize it with words. You very much want to follow but can't quite keep up by crawling. You desire to be held and explore at the same time and why can't I just figure out a way to let you do both? Still my darling girl, I cuddle up with you before bedtime, you rest your little head on my shoulder, and for a few moments, absolutely all is right with the world.

Love,

Mommy

Our New Normal

2011-09-13T15:35:00.000-04:00

I'm so thankful that the Lord knows me so well. When we moved to Pittsburgh for Eric to go to school - with a spirited three year old and an infant - I didn't imagine working was in the cards for me. Not because we wouldn't need the money (we sure do!) but because there didn't seem to be any scenario that would prove to be financially beneficial while simultaneously not completely overwhelming. Put another way, I may have been able to find a full-time job that would net us enough money to justify childcare expenses for two children for 40+ hours, but there was no way that I was comfortable leaving them for that long each day. As I found with Emily, part-time work is what sits best with me as a mom. It allows me enough of a break to miss my kids, to engage in adult conversation, to challenge parts of my brain that aren't normally used in parenting, etc. But at the same time, it's not so much that I feel like I'm missing out on milestones or bonding time with my girls.

I was given the gift of a job opportunity a few weeks ago when I was asked to interview for a part-time position in our church. I now work Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings with a great group of people. I feel challenged to do my work well, and I get to hear words of affirmation in a way that my little ones aren't able to provide me for me. I work in the same building on the same days that Emily goes to pre-school and Sophie is in the lovings arms of childcare providers just down the hallway from me. All in all, I couldn't imagine it working out any better. Our new normal routine is taking a bit of adjustment, but I praise God that "Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely, O Lord!" (Psalm 139:4).

Growing Up Tech Savvy

2011-08-22T17:26:00.000-04:00

The other day, Emily and I had the following conversation on the way home from picking up our take-out food for dinner:

Emily: I think we should get Pap Pap Barry a Blues Clues placemat. He would like that.

Me: You think? Hmmm. I don't know where we would get one of those.

Emily: At the Blues Clues store, mom!

Me: Oh course, why didn't I think of that? But Emmie, I don't know where that store is.

Emily: That's okay, mom. Just plug it in there (pointing to the Garmin).

Nine Months Old!

2011-08-17T10:59:00.001-04:00

Dear Sophie,

Today you turn nine months old, my littlest girl! You have left infancy behind, and I fear it will be all too soon before you are saying goodbye to babyhood. Don't get me wrong, I love watching you develop and change, and truth be told, I'm a much bigger fan of most stages after the first year of life. But at the same time you are such a joy right now, just as you are, that sometimes I do want to just press the pause button. It's so easy to get a smile and a giggle out of you, and I know that's not always going to be the case.

You're a crawling fool, having abandoned the army crawl in favor of the more traditional (and faster!) style. After a few strikes, you are finally starting to get the hang of the sippy cup. You are sleeping wonderfully, so much so that I almost didn't want to write that down lest I jinx myself. When it's time for a nap, you will lay your head on my shoulder as I sing a few verses of Silent Night (don't remember how that particular song was started, but it's your cue that it's time for sleeping). It's the ONLY time that you are still in my arms, and I cherish those moments in our days. You have taken a particular liking to a white bunny blanket, and now sleep with it at all times. You terrorize Oscar, pulling out fur whenever you can (but between you and me, he has plenty of extra - I know because I vacuum it up all the time). You are eating many more solids, and just yesterday took a particular liking to graham crackers. You love to play peek-a-boo and perform well when I ask you, how big is Sophie?! (Answer: SO BIG! and you'll raise your arms proudly).

In short, ladybug (or, stinkbug, if you are being naughty), you are becoming such a fun, smart, energetic and spirited girl. You make me smile every day, and though you may not believe me if you read this when you're, say, 12 and your sister is almost 15, Emily adores you. We often go around the table at dinnertime after we've said our prayer and share one thing we're thankful for. Emily will normally say ice cream, or Dora, or something equally profound. But the other night, she paused, looking thoughtful and serious and said: "I'm really thankful for my sister". And I, Sophie, am really thankful for my youngest daughter.

Love you,

Mommy

Eight Months Old!

2011-07-18T17:14:00.001-04:00

Dear Sophie,

In only eight short months, you have managed to make yourself the center of this family in so many ways! And not in bad ways. I am just trying to tell you how much we all love you and can't imagine what it would be like without you. For example, the relationship you already have with your sister is amazing. She just adores you, and has pretty much from the moment you were born. She always seems to know just what you need. In fact, she often anticipates my moves and will hand you a different toy when you begin to fuss, or tell me she thinks you want to eat when I just went to the kitchen to make you some solids (sidenote: why do they call it beginning solids for babies when everything is still pureed and clearly a LIQUID? Sorry, that's always bothered me a little). In short, your older sister is pretty amazing to you. You seem to adore her right back though, and I swear on occasion you look first to her for comfort when things aren't going your way. The growing relationship you two have - and the ways that you can make each other giggle - has been my single biggest parenting joy this month.

You enjoyed your first vacation recently, as we ventured to Michigan to visit Grandma Evonne and Grandpa Don, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Kara, and many of our old friends. You did pretty well, all things considered. The biggest discovery was that you love the water. And not in a "hey, this is kind of fun" way, but more of a "oh. my. goodness. why don't we live in here ALL the time!?" kind of way. Splashing in the water just didn't seem to get old for you. Perhaps you'll be a little more adventurous than Emily, who still acts as though life as we know it will come to an end if the water gets anywhere near her eyes. Oh the drama!

You're sleeping well (only waking in the middle of the night on rare occasion), and pretty much regularly taking two 1.5 hour naps. Seriously, I can pretty much set my watch by you. Not that I'm complaining because only recently 45 minute naps were the norm, but it's a little strange. You're eating well, trying pretty much everything we give you though you have recently vetoed carrots, which at first you seemed to enjoy. But Sophie, we need to talk about how loud you are when you eat. It's as though you are having an entire conversation with your food, and I can't decide if you're frustrated, happy, annoyed, or maybe all of the above. It sounds a little like a baby soap opera. Let's just say that between your noise levels and our constant negotiations with Emily about how many more bites of dinner she must eat, our meals aren't quite as relaxing as they once were.

You're always on the go, always ready for a laugh, and very eager to find new ways to entertain yourself. I am predicting that your spirit will be a bit more adventurous than I've grown accustomed to, and that gleam in your eyes assures me that we're in for a fun ride over the coming months and years. We love you BABY Sophie!

Love,

Mommy

Sleepover at Grandma Ruth's House

2011-06-26T19:01:00.001-04:00

Setting: Emily is getting ready to go to bed at Grandma's house.

Grandma: OK, Emily, it's time for bed. Now you get to sleep on this fancy new sofa-bed, so I want to make sure you don't have an accident. I need you to wear this pull-up please.
Emily: Grandma, I'm 3. I wore those when I was 2.

[PAUSE]

But....I'll wear it for you.

Seven Months Old!

2011-06-19T12:16:00.001-04:00

Sophie,

You are seven months old now, and whenever I see you in recently taken pictures, you look so big to me. Maybe that's because your head really is giant (95th percentile last we checked), or maybe it's because I simply can't understand how you changed so fast from the tiny, skinny newborn that we brought home from the hospital. But whatever the case may be, you are learning and growing and changing everyday, and occasionally I struggle to keep up.

You can crawl now, not the classic style only hands and knees crawling, but the just as effective army crawl style. It gets you (much too quickly, in my opinion) from one side of a room to the other. We've started to hear cries from Emily along the lines of "Mom, Sophie's eating/slobbering on/tearing apart my (fill in the blank)!"

You're eating so many different kinds of solids now, and love them all. At least, I think you do because you don't spit anything out. You are, however, a very vocal eater! You had your first taste of puffs (aka cheerios that dissolve slightly easier), and did very well getting them into your mouth all by yourself. You love to sit and take out every toy from a box or bin. You look at each object, put in your mouth, turn it around in your hands, studying it the way that only someone who is discovering new things can do.

You're sleeping pretty great, most days still taking two naps, unless they are exceptionally long and then it's just two. You sleep 11 to 12 hours at night, waking up by talking to yourself or shrieking happily. You're always a little disgruntled when you're left alone in a room for any length of time, but other than that, you're really pretty darn happy. I love you little ladybug!

Love,

Mommy

P is for Perfectionist

2011-06-15T11:03:00.001-04:00

Emily has been going through a little bit of preschool withdrawal since school let out a few weeks ago. Thus, we've been working our way through a bunch of preschool level activity books, and she loves it. One day when she was finished with one page in the book I suggested that we practice writing her name. She's been good with the letters, E, I, and L for awhile now, but still asks for help with the M and the Y.

Almost immediately after we started, she burst into tears, truly upset because her "M" didn't look like a perfect "M". Glancing down, I could have guessed which letter it was, but agreed it wasn't quite right. I assured her that was okay, that she'd get better the more we practiced, that lots of people struggle with learning new things, etc. The angst in her eyes did not improve. Instead, she told me that she HAD to be able to write her name. After some more prodding, she said that this was because when the teacher asked everyone to write their names on their papers, she wanted to do it. Now, I'm not quite sure which teachers asked her this (all her preschool classmates had adult handwriting on their projects) but I told her I'd help. After several more attempts, experimenting with which lines to draw first, uppercase or lowercase, etc. something clicked and she got it.

Instead of being excited, she just looked relieved. I feel badly for my perfectionist daughter, not sure where this internal pressure is coming from (I have deliberately not pushed letter writing yet), and a little nervous about this tendency as she grows older and struggles with more things. At the same time, I'm proud - she worked really hard at this until she got it and didn't give up. Once we mastered the "M" we worked on the "Y" and she can write her name flawlessly now. Way to go, Em! Just don't be so hard on yourself, okay? You're a pretty terrific, very perceptive little three year old.

Oh, The Places We Go!

2011-06-02T12:29:00.001-04:00

We enjoyed a gorgeous day in the city of Pittsburgh today. The kind of day that you can't see a single cloud in the sky. The kind of day where you could wear just about anything and be comfortable. The kind of day where you can't bear to go inside if you don't have to. And the kind of day that makes me wonder why we don't live somewhere that has these kind of days more frequently. The girls and I took full advantage. Here's a snapshot:

10:45 a.m. - Jogged - for the first time in our double jogging stroller - to the supermarket to get some fruit and bread.

12:30 p.m. - Spent a considerable amount of time swinging outside. Emily learned some new tricks at preschool this spring, her favorite being the one where you wind the swing up and then get dizzy as it unwinds. It makes me dizzy just watching her, so I don't.

3:06 p.m. - Rode our bike around an entire block for the first time, and got some scooter action in too. Sophie chilled in the baby bjorn, but then demanded her shot at the action.

3:44 p.m. - The cutest baby in a toy car that you'll ever see!

Who knows what the evening will hold? I see a trip to the DQ for some I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M (we now spell that so Emily can't weigh in if we're talking about going).

On Waking Up

2011-05-21T13:42:00.001-04:00

The other day it was time to wake Sophie up from one of her naps, so Sarah found Emily and the following conversation ensued.

Sarah: Hey Emily, it's time to wake up your sister. Do you want to help?
Emily: Yeah! I'll do the waking, you do the smiling.

Sure enough, Emily ran up to the crib, woke up baby Sophie, and then looked over expectantly at Sarah, waiting for the agreed-upon smiles.

Six Months Old!

2011-05-18T05:44:00.001-04:00

Dear Sophie,

You have been a part of this family for half a year now! (And on a related note, yes, I realize that is a sufficient amount of time to change our blog header to include you. This is one of the many things you can hang over my head as proof that I'm a terrible parent when you are a teenager.) What a difference a month makes. It is amazing how pleasant you can be when you aren't busy trying to fight off all of those viruses. You're sleeping better, eating better, and for the most are a lot happier. For that I'm so thankful! I praise God that you were born with a good, strong, healthy set of lungs that fought so hard for so long.

We went on our first road trip this month to Baltimore to visit Susan and Peter and your future best friend, baby Lydia. The two of you hit it off pretty well, though I did have to remind you on more than one occasion that it wasn't okay to grab her face with the same enthusiasm that you grab mine. Still, I think you enjoyed it. And you did very well during the car ride, so that made for an easier trip for everyone.

You're sleeping through the night again for the most part. For the past few nights though, you've decided you need an extra snack at some point in the middle of the night. Growth spurt perhaps? You're eating lots of solids now - from pears to peas to sweet potatoes. Currently we have not found a food that you don't like. I'm trying not to get my hopes up that you'll be a less picky eater than your sister. Though, in fairness to her, she is getting much, much better at trying new foods. Except for hamburgers. Clearly those are still too much to handle.

You still laugh and smile with ease at just about anything. Your smile is one of the best smiles I've ever seen. You get this glint in your eyes that makes your whole face light up. It's really one of your best features and someday you are gonna break some boys heart with that smile, I'm quite sure. You are so active when you're awake, always kicking or trying to grab the nearest thing in sight. It's fun to watch how curious you are, and how big your eyes get when something surprises you. You still adore being in the baby bjorn and going for walks, having your sister sing to you and dance around you, and listening to all kinds of music. You're an absolute joy and I'm so thankful you're my little ladybug.

Love,

Mommy

Five Months Old!

2011-04-18T10:44:00.001-04:00

Dear Sophie,

Where to start this month? It's been a rough few weeks kiddo. You've been sick for the better part of the past four weeks with RSV and bronchiolitis, and it hasn't been pretty. There were a few days where you seemed to be better (and I think actually were better, before you re-infected yourself somehow), and I was so happy to have you and your fabulous personality back! And then we regressed, and it's back to wheezing when you breathe, coughing round the clock, using the snot sucker several times a day, and putting that mask over your face for the nebulizer breathing treatment on the off chance that it actually provides some relief for you. You don't know this, Sophie, but when your dad and I were in college, he and his friends used to play this computer game called "worms" a LOT. Each player got a team of little worms, and an arsenal of weapons. The point of the game was to kill the other team's worms and one of the weapons you could use made the other team's worms sick. I remember hating it because for several minutes all you could hear were these cute little sneezes and coughs, and I felt so bad. For the animated bugs. So you can imagine that hearing you cry so often and seeing you unhappy has just about killed me this month. Plus we haven't been sleeping that great. It's been a little emotional around here lately.

But, despite this, you are still an amazing, lovely little girl. You'll still shower most people with smiles, and are still often content. I think you're generally feeling worse than you let on. You really like the exersaucer these days, and are bearing more and more weight on those little legs while you're in it. You grip toys much better, and for longer periods. Everything you can get your little fingers on - from toys to clothes to our hands - goes straight into your mouth. I'm pretty sure this doesn't help us control the germs that we're trying to keep away from you, but there's just no reasoning with you.

We're really trying to successfully get you on a schedule of three naps per day, and for the week that you were healthy, you were pretty amenable to this. You're eating rice cereal with more regularity, and have also tried pears and sweet potatoes. You are becoming more and more squirmy, which I can't tell is just because you're uncomfortable lately, or just not really interested in being still but rather want to see how quickly you can wave those arms and legs.

My absolute favorite part about you lately is that when I pick you up after a nap, or after you've been crying, you burrow your little head into my shoulder. You don't stay there for long, but it's as though that's your way of saying "oh good, I'm so glad you came back. I love you." Perhaps I'm reading a little too much into that, but I don't think so.

I love you too, Sophie.

Mommy

March Projects

2011-04-05T09:40:00.001-04:00

Here's what Emily has been up to this month with crafts and projects! (Sorry if these are boring, but it's the only way I can recycle things without feeling guilty).

Photographic Evidence

2011-04-01T06:48:00.001-04:00

Sarah was looking through some of Emily's baby pictures recently, and discovered photographic evidence that Emily and Sophie are sisters. Can you guess which is which in the picture below?

So long, tummy time!

2011-03-30T10:38:00.001-04:00

I've mentioned before that Sophie isn't a big fan of being on her stomach for any amount of time. Still, I've persisted in giving her small quantities of tummy time whenever she'll tolerate it, even this past week when we've been fighting the evil, nasty virus. But it looks like that is a thing of the past because Sophie has learned how to consistently turn from her stomach to her back. Generally this maneuver is called rolling over, but to me, it looks more like Sophie has figured out how to throw her giant head around in order to achieve the desired effect. And she does it pretty much the second you place her on her stomach. I had to reposition her three times just to be quick enough to capture this milestone on camera. So long, tummy time!

Untitled from Eric Plantinga on Vimeo.

Baptism

2011-03-28T14:27:00.001-04:00

ME: Hey Emily, do you know what's going to happen next time we go to church?
EMILY: What?
ME: Baby Sophie is going to be baptized! Do you know what that means?
EMILY: No
ME: That means baby Sophie is going to be welcomed into God's family.
EMILY: [slightly sad] Oh. But I just want to be in God's family too.
ME: Well, you know what Emmy? You're already in God's family, because you were baptized too!
EMILY: [giggling] That's excited!

The One Where Emily Wants to Sing!

2011-03-26T11:01:00.001-04:00

Sophie's been a little sick recently, and I must have not been lavishing Emily with enough attention because yesterday she said "Mom, I can sing! I can sing Keeping My Eyes on Jesus! Want to make a video?!" It added a little entertainment to my day!

Emily Sings Keeping My Eyes on Jesus from Eric Plantinga on Vimeo.

Emily Sings Twinkle Twinkle from Eric Plantinga on Vimeo.

Sophie's First Haircut

2011-03-26T07:45:00.001-04:00

I just walked back into the room where Emily and Sophie are hanging out, and the following conversation ensued:

Emily: Oh, hi Daddy!
Me: Hi, Emmy
Baby Sophie: coo
Emily: (excitedly) I just gave Baby Sophie a little haircut, Daddy!
Me: Oh! That's interesting, Emily, why did you do that?
Emily: Because she didn't already have a haircut yet today.
Me: Oh, I see. Well, Emily....[insert lesson on appropriate use of scissors]

Fortunately, she only cut one or two hairs that were "sticking out".

Vocation

2011-03-18T12:39:00.001-04:00

Emily and I were just discussing one's calling in life, and she seemed to be getting the idea of how jobs work, so I thought I'd go a little further.

Me: Emily, what does Daddy do? Am I a doctor just like the one baby Sophie visited today?
Emily: No, you're a nesthetist!
Me: Very good Emmy, Daddy takes care of people at the hospital. Emily, what do you want to be when you grow up? A doctor? A nesthetist? A teacher? A bus driver? A fireman?
Emily: Hmmm.......a kitty!

Everyone's gotta have a dream...

Four Months Old!

2011-03-17T06:30:00.001-04:00

Sophie,

Four months old already?! Boy oh boy, time just keeps moving right along. You're still a happy girl, and are still content to do just about anything. Your favorite things to do right now are try and stuff every possible object into your mouth, roll onto our side as often as possible, and giggle hysterically when we bounce you up and down or fly you around the room. Your sister continues to adore you, and I just can't wait until you can actually move around or talk. If she loves you now, she's going to go completely nuts over you in a few more months.

Your sleeping is going pretty well. But you have this thing with 45 minute naps. You almost always wake up 45 minutes into your sleep, whether it be a nap or at night, and cry. At first I'd rescue you pretty regularly, but then that got old so we moved into a little bit of cry-it-out bootcamp this week. You're getting better at putting yourself back to sleep now, which is great. And if you're really struggling, I move you to your swing to finish out your naps. Keep up the good work. I anticipate that you'll drop down to three naps soon, and will probably start eating some rice cereal and other foods in the next couple of weeks. You are still consistently sleeping through the night with no problems, and you and your sister generally wake up around the same time each morning, both bright eyed and ready to start the day.

When we take you to church, we get swarmed by old ladies telling me you are the cutest baby they have every seen. Truly, they do. And you probably are. Cute and content as can be most of the time. As I said, you enjoy being on your side, but have yet to roll all the way over by yourself regularly. You've done it once or twice, but I think it was an accident. My theory on why you're a little slow to master this particular skill is that you don't care enough. If I put you on your back, you're happy. If I put you on your tummy, you're now happy too. There's no reason you need to change anything, so why bother trying to roll?!

Anyway, we love you like crazy Sophie. Thanks for being a part of our family.

Love,

Mommy

Emily's March Madness Picks

2011-03-17T04:06:00.001-04:00

Just in time for the start of today's tournament games, Emily is publishing her 2011 march madness picks. The only help she got was Sarah reading the team names to her, repeating in the opposite order, and asking which one Emily liked (e.g. "Emily, do you want Michigan or Tennessee, Tennessee or Michigan?"). Here are the results of that process:

Expert Picks

2011-03-16T18:48:00.001-04:00

As usual, our family is getting excited for NCAA basketball and march madness. This year, we are getting Emily involved as well. She has already learned to cheer for Michigan and Pitt, but with a little help she has also filled out her own bracket. Below are my picks, but stay tuned for picks from our real expert, Emily, complete with upset specials.

On Giving Grace

2011-03-08T10:33:00.001-05:00

This morning Sophie and I were running a little late to pick Emily up from preschool. I'd like to say it was for a good reason, but the truth, plain and simple, is that I was trying to cram in one too many things before going to pick up my little energizer bunny. Anyway, we got to the church, circled the parking lot, and found it full. So I parked on the street, vaguely aware that my spot had a meter, but fairly certain that there was no way I'd get a ticket in the short amount of time I was inside. I was wrong.

My husband will attest to the fact that I'm a fairly reactionary person. I'm quick to respond to situations with how I feel, rather than always being fair headed and logical, as he is most of the time. My first reaction was one of disbelief, followed quickly by irritation. The time on my ticket was 11:29, and since I was fairly certain I parked after 11:30 it means that this person likely watched me somewhat frantically grab Sophie from the car, dash inside, and probably return too, as I was inside a grand total of seven minutes. This person (who I've decided never had to parent young children) decided to be punitive, rather than forgiving, and I was hopping mad about it.

I began composing a letter in my head that I would send, along with my $5 payment, telling the city of Sewickley that their employee, while technically correct in giving me a ticket, was just plain mean. He ( I guess I've also decided it was a man...) showed me no leniency. He watched me frantically trying to successfully master the preschool pick up; trying to carry one child while holding the hand of another child while all the while juggling a back pack, my purse, and dodging questions about what's for lunch, or what we're going to play with at home. He decided to ticket me anyway.

But then I calmed down a bit and realized that maybe I was wrong. Maybe he didn't see me *just* leave my car, maybe he didn't see me return a few minutes later, or maybe he did but he believed that anyone breaking the rules deserves a ticket, and that's his prerogative. Maybe, even though I was annoyed with him for showing me no grace, I would not be showing grace very well either by calling him out in a letter pointing out all the ways - justified or not - that I had been wronged. I was reading a book last night called Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist, and read this thought on grace: "I don't really trust that people will show me grace. I don't show it to myself well, and when I'm doing poorly, I don't show it to anyone else well either." and also that grace is "when you finally stop keeping score and when you realize that God never was, that his game is a different one entirely". Suddenly I became aware of how petty my reaction to the situation was, and how thankful I am that God showers us with His grace so much better than I ever will be capable of. I guess that's a good lesson to re-learn, even if it cost me $5.

February Projects

2011-03-02T06:39:00.001-05:00

Here is a look at what Emily has been up to during the month of February. The last picture is one of her attempts at writing her name. I had her trace the letters and then write them on the Valentine we made for Eric. The only letter she asked for help with (because it's "tricky") was the "M". She's getting very good at writing her letters!

Snow!

2011-02-22T06:09:00.001-05:00

Oh Pittsburgh, I'm not a fan of the recent turn of events in the weather! Hard to believe that only a few days ago we were playing outside in short sleeves and this morning we woke up to several inches of snow and preschool was canceled. After Emily and I got over our initial disappointment, we headed outside to explore.

I can't believe this is the same car Sophie was lounging in merely a few days ago!

Sunshine!

2011-02-20T13:27:00.001-05:00

Pittsburgh enjoyed a gorgeous string of warm, sunny days last week. I think we spent more time outside than inside on those days, soaking up all the vitamin D we could!

We inherited this swingset in our backyard. It needs a few minor repairs, but I expect we'll get a lot of use out of it!

Emily was giving Sophie pointers on how to drive.

Three Months Old!

2011-02-17T08:49:00.001-05:00

Dear Sophie,

You are turning three months old already. And even though I am looking forward to all that you will be able to do as you get older, your dad and I both think you are growing too fast. Slow down already! You're so much fun to be around these days. There are actually days that a few hours go by before I can recall hearing you cry, and you often have trouble eating your entire bottle because you won't stop smiling. (Your dad nicknamed you Smiley Cyrus, and I'm afraid it stuck). And on top of that, you often giggle at me as I am trying to rock you and calm you down before naps. You can't seem to fall asleep because you're too busy being happy!

Not that we don't have our issues, because you're still not napping great. It's clear that you're tired, but also that you enjoy being around people too much to want to stay in your room by yourself for very long. You nap just enough so that you won't pass out from exhaustion, and then want to come back downstairs and bat some more hanging toys or gaze adoringly at your sister. And speaking of your sister, you clearly think she's pretty special because some of your biggest smiles are reserved for her. And I have to say that seeing you smile at her like that, that's the reason having two kids is amazing and worth the exhaustion that I feel at the end of each and every day. It melts my heart to see the two of you interact together!

You still don't like being on your tummy very much at all, though you'll tolerate it for a few minutes at a time as long as you can find your fingers to suck on. You enjoys baths, as long as you don't get too cold. And just like your sister, you are content as can be anytime we put you in the baby bjorn. You prefer to nap in your swing, though I'm trying to convince you that the crib is okay too (it's not going well). You do, however, sleep excellently in your crib every night, often sleeping 10 hours straight without a peep. Thanks for that, sweetie! You tend to get a pretty crabby only in the hours before you need to poop. In fact, if you're fussy at all, it's usually for a good reason.

We love you so much Sophie Grace!

Love,

Mommy

Heat Wave!

2011-02-16T12:55:00.001-05:00

Well, it's sort of a heat wave. It was in the mid 50s today here in Pittsburgh, so we took full advantage of the opportunity to get outside and play! (Gotta love Emily's new camera face).

Polka Nots

2011-02-12T14:11:00.001-05:00

Emily said to me the other morning, "Mom, look, baby Sophie and I are both wearing polka nots!". That warranted a picture.

Working Mom?

2011-02-09T10:20:00.001-05:00

Before Emily was born, I planned to quit my job. I just knew that I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. I was wrong. I lasted about 9 months before I went back to work, only part-time but enough to give me some balance in my life again. And it worked wonderfully for a few reasons. First, I was only working three days per week. Eric was home with Emily one day each week, and this meant that she only needed childcare two days each week. I could live with that. Second, her childcare was four houses down the street with a wonderful lady (Hi Julie!) who cared for Emily along with her own two kids in her home. She let me bring Emily over in her pajamas and eat breakfast at her house. Getting out the door was a cinch most mornings! And third, my commute was about five minutes, and that's if traffic was bad. So the stars aligned and I worked at this job for over two years.

When we moved to Pittsburgh, I knew that the decision to work again or not would not be so simple. First, there are now two children, and one of them is still so tiny! Second, two children are twice as expensive. Some openings that I've seen would actually cause us to lose money by my calculations. Can you believe it? I have a graduate degree people! And we don't have someone waiting four houses down to watch my babies. And finally, unless I want to work at a bank or the local YMCA, my commute to work is guaranteed to be quite a bit longer. All this is to say, working may not be in the cards for me for awhile. I thought this would be hard, SO HARD. And some days it is. But amazingly, it's a lot better this time around. Maybe it's because Emily is getting older and more creative in her play. Maybe it's because I have been lucky enough to get a ridiculously good easy to care for infant. Maybe it's because I don't know how we'd keep our house clean, do laundry or cook meals if I were working while Eric was so busy with school. Maybe I've changed. All I know is that right now, today, I'm happy to be where I am, at home with my babies playing duplos and scanning blogs for new recipes to try this week.

Developing Literacy Skills

2011-02-02T10:45:00.001-05:00

Sophie and Emily are at different levels for developing their literacy skills, but here is a sneak peak of their current skill levels. I would start with Sophie first, otherwise her video might be a bit of a letdown. Unless, of course, you are a grandparent or other relative in which case staring at baby Sophie and listening to her coo is loads of fun. I won't say much more because I don't wouldn't want to spoil anything.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/19486205]

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/19481724]

Words of Encouragement

2011-01-30T11:21:00.001-05:00

Have you ever read the book "The Five Love Languages"? If not, I suggest you do. In it the author, Gary Chapman, describes five different ways that people express love, and wish to receive love. He says that people have a primary (and often a secondary) love language, and that this is how we can best receive love and often try to show love to our spouse. It's also often a reason why couples fight: they don't have the same love language. For example, my husband has physical touch as his primary love language. He will often say with some genuine surprise, "oh, you do love me" when I give him a hug at the end of a long day. Well of course I do, I think to myself, but to him, this is the best way that I can show him this. Well, to be fair, hugs, backrubs, and making him food are probably about equal.

Back when I first read the book I identified quality time as my primary love language. I start to feel as though my husband must not love me very much anymore whenever the two of us are busy and spend a lot of time apart. Recently though, I have been realizing that I also crave words of encouragement a lot. And that is precisely why my current job of stay-at-home mom is so difficult. I give 100% of myself everyday to two girls who are unable to express their gratitude for my dedication. Once in awhile Emily can muster a thanks when I deliver her a nutritious lunch or help her clean up her toys, but most of the time, it's a pretty thankless job. And it never ends. I am working hard from the moment one of my girls wakes me in the morning until little Sophie finally peters out at night, and sometimes in the middle of the night too, if Emily has a bad dream or Sophie wakes up to eat. And most of the time, I don't mind. Because it is a choice I made, a choice our family made together. And I like it (most of the time). But it sure would be nice if there were a way to feel like what I do is making a difference.

When I worked for Calvin Seminary, my supervisor was always quick to offer reassurance that I was doing well, that he appreciated my work and admired it. But now, I can go days without seeing a direct benefit for anything I'm doing. What's my point here? I don't know exactly except that I think all parents who stay at home and strive to parent well don't get nearly enough recognition for their work. So let's just take a moment to offer a big kudos to stay-at-home parents! And next time you see one, tell them that you know what a hard job they have and you appreciate their work.

January Projects

2011-01-25T09:09:00.001-05:00

Since beginning preschool, Emily has begun to bring home a lot of artwork and craft projects each day. Our fridge can only hold them for so long before they need to be filed, and eventually discarded. But thanks to modern technology, I decided to archive them forever by taking pictures of them, and posting them here. That way all our friends and relatives can share in her creative genius too!

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Morning

2011-01-18T07:19:00.001-05:00

(Preface: Let me begin by saying that this actually started last night, as Sophie was very fussy, and up three times in the middle of the night. I am fairly certain this hadn't happened since she was two weeks old).

Today Emily has preschool. Her preschool is absolutely wonderful (and interestingly, also where I myself went to preschool) but it is also about a 12 to 15 minute drive from our house depending on the traffic lights. School begins at 9 a.m. and runs until 11:30 a.m. so even though it's a long drive, I normally plan to return home after dropping her off. We were running late this morning, so I actually kept my pajama top on and threw on my coat. When we got there though, the parking lot was empty - a bad sign. After a phone call to the teacher I learned that there was a two-hour delay. And contrary to the name, school would begin at 10:30 a.m. today. What? The sun is shining, there is a high of 40 degrees today, and no new snow.

Nevertheless, I was facing a bit of a dilemma, as I did not want to drive home only to drive back again in an hour, and then home again, back again to pick Emily up, and home again. No problem, I thought. Plan B, the library. We drove there, and found out it was closed until 10 a.m.

Okay, Plan C, walk a few blocks over to Starbucks and hang out there for a bit. Fortunately, I had the double stroller in the trunk, and both girls had hats. It was at this point that I learned the cause for the two-hour delay: ice. Lots of ice, in fact, which made our walk more of a skate. I fell twice, biting my lip once, causing way more blood than it should have. And when we got to Starbucks, it was closed. Power line down, or something of that nature. By this point, Sophie is screaming and Emily is telling me her hands are cold, because although we had hats, we did not have mittens.

Plan D, walk back the car, drive around for a few minutes, hit up the library, and then head to preschool. This plan worked, though I must point out the library was having furnace issues and was about a thousand degrees inside. Any normal person would have removed their coat, but if you'll recall, I was in my pajama top, so I sweated through it. By the time I got home after preschool drop off, there was approximately an hour until I had to leave to pick Emily up one more time. Oh well, it was enough time to feed Sophie, dry my bloody lip, take a much deserved shower, and put on actual clothing. I know in the grand scheme of life, this was not a tragic morning. But boy, I could use a nap right about now!

Two Months Old!

2011-01-17T08:17:00.001-05:00

Dear Sophie,

We have reached the end of month two already, and boy is it going fast this time around! I mean, to honest there are some days when I look at the clock 20 times in the afternoon, counting down the minutes until your daddy will get home, but in general, your infancy seems to be going quite quickly. You are growing well, I think, though we won't know for sure until we have your two month check up on Wednesday and get your official stats, but you seem to getting bigger and you no longer fit in your size newborn clothes, so that's a good sign.

You are sleeping well, generally going to bed for the night around 9 o'clock and then sleeping until 5ish, at which point you eat and go back to bed for another two to three hours. And once, you did sleep the whole night through, so I know you can do it. But your napping is a bit more of a struggle. You seem to be the queen of the cat nap these days, often only wanting to sleep for about 30 minutes at a time during the day, which makes it a bit more challenging. But you are SUCH a happy and calm girl. You will sit contentedly in your bouncy seat or lay on your play mat for very long periods of time. You are quick to give smiles and I swear that you giggled at me the other day (as I was trying to rock you to sleep).

You are not a fan of being on your stomach, so I sense that you will be slower to roll over than your sister was. She loved her tummy time. You are gaining head control, but pretty much refuse to lift it up when I place you on your stomach, choosing to immediately wail instead. But other than that, you are a LOT like your sister was as a baby, and it makes me wonder whether your personalities will become more similar or different as time goes by. I very much look forward to the days that you will spend playing (and probably fighting) with her. Right now she adores you, but I wonder if that feeling will remain once you try to play with her toys and imitate everything she does. We'll see!

You are a joy to us Sophie Grace, and I'm glad you're in this family. I already can't imagine it without you!

Love,

Mommy

Three Years Old!

2011-01-02T16:32:00.001-05:00

Dear Emily,

Today we celebrated your third birthday, and I am so proud of the big girl that you are becoming. You have really blossomed in the last couple of months, and while I was afraid of the changes that you would go through with the move to Pittsburgh and adjusting to being a big sister, you have taken it all in stride.

You are a tremendous big sister, always eager to help with your baby sister by fetching me a diaper, alerting us when she's unhappy, or even trying to calm her down yourself. I hope to always remember the way that you try to soothe Sophie by reciting, "it's okay, momma's gotcha". You talk constantly these days, and are starting to understand such complex things. You have complete conversations with people, and will say things like "when I was a baby, I used to play with these toys". You say very few words incorrectly, and the few that you do say wrong (eatmeal for oatmeal, and musigic for music), I can't quite bring myself to correct, for fear I'll completely lose the baby that you once were.

You can identify most, if not all, letters of the alphabet, and you can even tell me the sounds that many of them make. You enjoy puzzles, music, playing with your dollhouse, duplos, and trains. You can play pretend with the best of them, inventing all sorts of different scenarios to act out. And you have become amazingly good at entertaining yourself, which has been a huge blessing in this time of great transition.

You love life, Emily. You have an amazing amount of energy, and your eyes sparkle when you get excited. You are cautious, but quick to get involved once you feel safe. You show an amazing amount of kindness and empathy towards other people, and can very quickly pick up on how others are feeling. You are quick to give hugs and kisses, and to share with others. You are getting to be a much better listener, though you test your boundaries pretty regularly. In short, I could not have asked for a more perfect, more beautiful daughter. I can't wait to see what this next year brings! I love you!

Love,

Mommy

Say Cheese

2010-12-29T07:46:00.001-05:00

Sophie has been smiling for a few days now, but this is the first one I captured on camera.

The More Things Change...

2010-12-23T17:38:00.001-05:00

the more they remain the same. These picture were taken when each girl was about five weeks old.

Big Girl Beds

2010-12-17T04:47:00.001-05:00

This past week, Emily slept in her new "big girl" twin bed for the first time. I expected some drama, but there was none. She did great, sleeping the whole night without a peep, and staying in her room in the morning until someone came to get her. Also, Sophie began sleeping in Emily's crib, and no longer in her swing or carseat. She also did great, still going three to four hour stretches at night. Yay for my good sleeping girls!

One Month Old!

2010-12-17T04:42:00.001-05:00

Dear Sophie,

You are turning one month old today! As was the tradition with your sister, I will try to remember to write you a note every month. Thus far, I have to say that you are a remarkable baby. You seem to generally be pretty content with life, and happy to relax in a bouncy seat, swing, or someone's arms and take it all in. When your eyes are happen, which is happening with greater frequency, they are so big and round. I wonder what color they will end up being, dark like mine and your daddy's or bright blue like your big sister!

You sleep like a pro, generally going three to four hours between feedings at night. Also, you are happy to accept both breast milk and formula, which has been wonderful. I pretty much expected that I would not be able to feed you with only breast milk, as was the case with your sister, but unlike Emily, you will take either without much fuss, which has been great for both of us.

When you do fuss, I have determined that you like to swing sideways and I am glad that your cradle swing, which we lovingly selected for you, has this feature. You also can often be found with several toys at your side because whenever Emily sees you awake and without something to do, she loads you up with baby toys. Also, you poop. A lot. Well, whenever you decide to poop, there is a lot. Enough said.

Sophie, this has been a hard month, but it is not because of you. We have packed up our entire home and moved to a new house in a new city in the first month of your birth. And through it all, you have been (mainly) a source of joy. I can't wait to get know your personality more in the coming weeks, months, and years.

Love,

Mommy

Thanksgiving Weekend

2010-12-01T07:04:00.001-05:00

Our family enjoyed a low key Thanksgiving, with Eric's parents and my mom coming to our house for the holiday. We sure enjoyed having everyone here, and all the extra helping hands. Emily especially liked the extra attention from her grandmothers, and a great time was had by all!

Emily helps Grandma Evonne make the turkey soup from our leftovers.

Story time with Aunt Kara. I think each adult read these Babar books about five times over the weekend.

Making blueberry muffins with Grandma Ruth. Emily really likes to put all the cups in the muffin tin, and she's quite good at it.

Sophie snuggles with her mommy. She was quite sleepy for most of the weekend, but she's waking up a lot more these days!

Sophie warms up after her parents had the audacity to give her a bath!

More Visitors for Sophie

2010-12-01T06:50:00.001-05:00

This post is a little overdue, but Sophie had a few more visitors after she was born, and here are a few more photos:

Kristy, Josh, and Micah Manion. They are such a photogenic family! We captured this one on the first try.

Tala, Val, and Tiona Sakala. Little Tiona didn't look so small next to our newborn!

Uncle Rick and Aunt Joan Plantinga reminisce about when their three children were this tiny!

Grandma Ruth arrives in town a few days after Sophie's birth and quickly snuggles with both kids!

Toddler Homophones

2010-11-22T04:54:00.001-05:00

This morning Emily and I went downstairs to play trains while Sophie "watched" and Sarah got some extra sleep upstairs. It was a nice quiet morning, and everything was going well. The trains were chugging, Sophie was cooing contentedly, and Emily was entertained, so I ran upstairs quickly to print something. I came back after one or two minutes and Emily ran up and announced "Daddy, baby Sophie was crying! But it's OK, I gave her the fire." Slightly alarmed, I went into the living room to make sure Sophie wasn't actually engulfed in flames. "Tada!" Emily proclaimed. Turns out Emily said "fier", short for pacifier, which she had given to Sophie while she pushed her in the swing. Not only was she not on fire, but she was happy and quiet.

Sophie's First Visitors

2010-11-18T11:31:00.001-05:00

Not long after settling into our hospital room, we began receiving visitors, all eager to meet Sophie. First of course were Grandpa and Grandma with a very eager Emily, who had been waking up every morning for five days straight asking "baby Sophie come out?".

After some quality time with Grandpa, Grandma, and Emily, and explaining that babies eat milk, not saltines, we welcomed some more visitors. Andy and Sarah Fox dropped by, and were so adept with Sophie that we thought they might like to have one of their own soon.

Next came Uncle Jeff and Aunt Kara, who rushed over from work, and couldn't have been happier to meet Sophie. Sophie is already their eighth niece. With only one nephew, Jeff and Kara began to consider doing their part to even out the gender ratio.

Finally, we welcomed the Kruis family, consisting of Noah, Megan, Jonah, and Eden. Although they all enjoyed meeting Sophie, as a big brother Jonah seemed especially well versed in how babies work and how to listen to them with a stethoscope.

We loved sharing the joy of Sophie's birth with so many visitors, and will look forward to more over the coming days and weeks.

Sophie Grace Has Arrived!

2010-11-17T08:33:00.001-05:00

This morning at 9:01 God blessed us with the birth of a healthy little girl, Sophie Grace! She has a little head of dark hair, weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and was instantly loved. Sophie has been making cute little fussing noises, but is very sleepy and not interested in eating yet. Sarah's c-section went very well, and she is already happily resting in her hospital room. Praise God for the gift of another wonderful little girl!

A New Chapter

2010-11-15T07:10:00.001-05:00

As the scheduled c-section date for our new baby approaches, I find myself anticipating how much life is about to change. Before Emily was born, I was so anxious and excited to meet her! Since the last few weeks of pregnancy aren't really enjoyable for any woman, I woke up every morning hoping that it would be the day! This time around, we've had November 17th circled on our calendars for months. Yes, there was always (and still is, I suppose) the chance that this little one would come early, and I had moments where I wondered (due to my insanely busy fall) whether this would be the case. But in my mind, I was always planning on this baby coming on a particular date, so the anticipation this time around has been a little different.

Now that this date is almost here, I'm once again anxious and excited. But this time, I'm not really that anxious about the arrival of a newborn. In fact, it's my hope and plan that I ENJOY our new daughter's infancy more than I did with Emily. I questioned every decision when Emily was a baby, responded to every cry, and was - to be perfectly honest - a little astonished when she hit her first birthday and I had managed to keep her alive that long. There were many times that my family exchanged looks with one another (yes, I saw them) when I demanded that Emily be woken up from a nap exactly on time, or not fed until she was scheduled to be. (Though, to be fair, my rigid schedule had our baby sleeping through the night by eight weeks and never looking back). And, my poor husband more than once had to remind me that our daughter was a baby and not a robot when she wasn't doing what a particular book said that she should be doing. This time around, I'm hoping to be a little more relaxed, and to spend more time cuddling our new daughter even if the books say she needs to learn to fall asleep on her own!

My anxiousness this time around is focused more on the other members of my family. I worry about losing what little free time Eric and I manage to spend with one another when Emily is asleep or in her crib for quiet time. I worry about focusing even more of our energy and time on our children, and not paying enough attention to each other. And, while I think that in the long run, Emily will love having a sister (I know I love my own sister SO much), these are going to be a tough couple of months for her. She is going to have to adjust to a new baby, less attention from me, and a move to Pennsylvania, leaving behind life as she knows it here in Grand Rapids. She's an easy going kid, and I'm sure she'll be fine, but I've been conscious to try and enjoy these last few days of time with her, trying in some way to prepare her for what's ahead, and stock up on our time spent together. To that end, here are a couple of pictures of Emily from this past weekend while she is still an only child!

Fall Photo Update

2010-11-04T18:11:00.001-04:00

Even though we have been busy this fall, we have still been able to enjoy some fun and festivities. Here is photographic evidence!

Emily Prays

2010-10-26T16:46:00.001-04:00

We have a family prayer that Emily enjoys singing before meals, and I wanted to record it so that I can listen to it when she's sixteen and screaming at me for not letting her borrow the car to drive to her boyfriend's house.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/16214117]

In case you need some translating, the words are:
Heavenly Father, Heavenly Father
We thank You, We thank You
For our many blessings, For our many blessings
Amen, Amen.

Our Future Home

2010-10-23T10:18:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, our family made a quick - but busy - trip to Pittsburgh. Eric and I toured several houses that we could potentially rent while he completes his program at Pitt, while my mom graciously watched Emily so we could better concentrate on the pros and cons of all the houses we visited. Our goals were to find a house that a) is close to Oakland, the part of downtown where Eric will commute for the majority of his classwork, b) is somewhat close to my parents, so that they can more easily help with childcare we can see them more often and c) provides enough space (both inside and out) that we can live as a family of four without losing our sanity. We toured several homes, some new and shiny and others older and rundown. In all, I was surprised at the poor condition that some renters kept their residences. I hope our renters like to clean! Maybe that should be part of our application. When you spill juice on the floor, do you a) clean it right away with the appropriate cleaner, b) wipe a paper towel over it or c) pretend that you can't see it and maybe it will go away? Anyway, we found a house that met our criteria in Bellevue, a neighborhood just to the North of the city of Pittsburgh. It is a fairly nice walkable neighborhood for walks and runs, and we got a lot of house for our money (3 BR, 2 Bath). There is a great fenced in backyard, and the previous renters are even leaving us their swingset. Score!

One more thing we can check off our list. Now we pray steadfastly for the right people to find our Grand Rapids home! Here's a picture of our new place.

The Count is On!

2010-10-04T07:03:00.001-04:00

My life right now in numbers:

44 - Days until Baby Plantinga #2 is due to arrive.

68 - Days until we are planning to move to Pittsburgh.

90 - Days until Emily turns 3 whole years old.

3 - Number of classes I have left to teach this fall.

12 - Days of work I have left (my last day is 11/5/2010, but I only work part-time).

2 - Number of tours that our current favorites to rent our house have been on. Our fingers are crossed. Please cross yours too.

7 - Number of houses that our on our list to tour and possibly rent in Pittsburgh.

1,050 - the estimate of the moving truck company to get our 4 BR house moved to Pittsburgh.

2-3 - Days that the company estimates it will take to get all of our stuff driven to Pittsburgh.

91 - Days until Eric begins his Masters in Anesthesia Program at the University of Pittsburgh.

0 - What our income (from jobs, not loans/grants/etc.) will be for the first part of 2011. Are we crazy?!

1 - Number of times I almost had a panic attack this morning after making this list.

Look at Me Mommy!

2010-09-23T09:12:00.001-04:00

Emily yelled "Look at Me Mommy!" - and this is what I found.

Emily continues to be a source of joy to us, especially in the midst of such a busy time in our lives. She both makes me laugh and want to pull my hair out about a hundred times each day. She is talking like crazy, and singing all the time. Most times whatever song she has in her head turns into Jingle Bells, so I think she'll enjoy Christmas this year. She has pretty much given up her nap completely, but will happily read books for about an hour in her crib every day, which has been a huge sanity saver. I'm a big fan of daily quiet time, and I'm not sure how easy this will be to enforce once she moves into a "big girl bed", but for now it's a good part of our daily routine. Emily has been mostly potty trained for a couple of months now, but was showing a bit of regression, so we instituted the M&M reward policy every time she initiates going to the potty and has dry underwear. Wouldn't you know we haven't had a single accident since we started that?! She really must be her mother's daughter!

I am continuing to feel good during this pregnancy, though I am feeling quite large now, and will be ready to have my stomach (or tummily, as Emily calls it) return to a normal size soon. I am struggling to have enough energy to get through everything on my long, daily to do list, and at the end of each day feel like I've run a marathon, but so far God is giving me the strength that I need to carry on!

Eric and I are also anticipating a move to Pittsburgh in the middle of December so that he can begin his masters program in anesthesia at Pitt in January. He's excited for a new challenge, but we'd appreciate thoughts and prayers during our upcoming transitions. Moving with a newborn and a toddler will certainly prove to be a challenge, as will finding the right people to rent our home, and finding the right home to rent in Pittsburgh, but we are taking one day at a time and trying to trust God with the rest.

Top Chef

2010-08-31T09:51:00.001-04:00

Our apologies for not blogging very faithfully. We've been rather busy, and while I don't expect that to let up anytime soon, I want to keep documenting our adventures as a family. Lately Emily has been very happy to help me in the kitchen. She loves cooking and baking, and an added benefit is that we've discovered she's much more likely to eat what we eat for dinner (as opposed to say, another peanut butter and jelly sandwich) if she has a hand in making it. Sunday night we made a spinach, onion, and cheese quiche, and she quickly ate her piece with excitement at dinnertime. She has also discovered the great tradition of licking the utensils after you're done, and here she is getting a head start on the banana bread dishes while I was putting some of the ingredients away.

Bathroom Etiquette

2010-08-06T09:52:00.001-04:00

Today I'm at home with Emily and just witnessed what may be the first step towards reconciliation in a decades-long debate between the sexes.

Me: Emily, I'm going to the potty, please play with your toys.

Emily: What, why?

Me: because Daddy has to go potty

Emily: Oh, OK. Wait!

[Emily runs into the bathroom and puts the toilet seat up]

Emily: There, now you go potty, OK?

Me: Wow, thanks Emily!

Apparently all that potty training time in the bathroom has taught her more than just where the pee pee goes.

Elsa and Isaac Tie the Knot

2010-08-05T06:22:00.001-04:00

This post is a little late, but we've been so busy since arriving back from PA almost two weeks ago! On July 24th, we had the honor of watching as my little sister, Elsa, and her long-time boyfriend, Isaac, tied the knot. This was Emily's second gig as flower girl, and she did a fantastic job. The wedding coordinator at the church said she's one of the best behaved girls she's ever had. Clearly she missed the tantrums that accompanied the obedient behavior, but overall, Emily did great! Thanks again to grandma Evonne for tagging along this weekend and watching Emily; it allowed the rest of us to really enjoy the weekend and cherish our family time together!

I also had the privilege of being the matron of honor, and making a toast at the reception. Here's part of the toast I gave to the happy couple:

In many ways, Elsa and Isaac are pretty similar. For example, they both have a flair for the dramatic, which can lead to some entertaining arguments. In other ways, though, they are exactly what the other needs. Isaac, I've never seen anyone that can make Elsa laugh and smile like you can. And Elsa, Isaac's affection for you is obvious, even in those moments when he seems to be utterly exasperated by you. Isaac, as you already know, Elsa is sensitive, caring, faithful, and extremely generous with her time and her love. I know that she'll always be there for you, and that in return, you will honor, respect, and love her right back. Please raise your glasses with me to the happy couple!

Congratulations Elsa and Isaac! We're so happy for you!

Emily Reads About Jesus

2010-08-04T16:23:00.001-04:00

Tonight when I arrived home from work I walked into the middle of a book reading session, led by Emily. Emily was reading books that were (supposedly) about Jesus. After finishing the first book about Jesus (aka Elmo sticker book), she moved on to this Berenstain Bears book.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/13897417]

In case you didn't catch that line near the end, Emily says "I have go potty about Jesus!". Although I couldn't stop laughing while listening to Emily read, I am nonetheless excited that she already seems to grasp the central message of the gospel: (A) Jesus loves you, and (B) we should announce this to everyone in a loud voice.

Adventures in Pregnancy

2010-07-10T11:35:00.001-04:00

I'm now just about 21 weeks pregnant with baby Plantinga #2, and in contrast to my first pregnancy, for the most part this one seems to be flying by. Now that the morning sickness and exhaustion have passed, sometimes I even forget that I'm pregnant! That is, until I try to squeeze into a space I normally could and realize my expanding belly won't let me. Eric and I decided to find out the gender of our second child because we're terrible at waiting, and because it seemed practical to know if we needed to stock up on blue the second time around. Between 16 and 17 weeks, we had a nurse on Eric's floor who used to work as an ultrasound technician give me a quick exam. This revealed that we were going to be the parents of a little baby boy! We were excited to hear the news, and also to know that everything seemed to be developing normally.

Then, yesterday, I went to my official mid-pregnancy ultrasound at my doctor's office. After carefully measuring the heart, brain, kidneys, lungs, arms, legs, and several other body parts, it was determined that our baby is healthy and all looks great! But then, when she asked if we wanted to know the gender, a funny thing happened. She happily declared that we were having a girl. Um, what?! I was having a boy. Where did he go? It seems that our first results weren't as accurate as we would have liked, but this second set of pictures, taken with better equipment and at a later stage in the pregnancy, should prove to be much more reliable. So, now we're adjusting to having a second daughter join the family in a few months. And, we're trying to teach Emily that it's no longer a baby brother in mommy's tummy. So far, that hasn't been successful. She's a little confused, and to be honest, so am I! But we're happy, ecstatic even, that our baby girl is healthy and growing. Here are a few pictures!

Pickerel Lake Triathlon 2010

2010-07-08T15:26:00.001-04:00

On Saturday I had the opportunity to compete in the sixth annual Pickerel Lake Triathlon. After whetting my appetite last year with my first ever PLT, I was eager to try another. Organized by Jason and Randy and company, this is a triathlon where everyone knows each other, there are no entry fees, the course is slightly adventurous, and when you finish, Uncle Marv hands you a t-shirt. I did very little training this year, especially with regard to running, so I wasn't sure what to expect. My goals were to (a) not get a speeding ticket on the way there (like last year), (b) not accidentally start the race from the bathroom (like last year), and (c) finish strong. As luck would have it, I achieved all three.

The weather was great, and the water was just the right temperature for swimming.

Despite veering off course several times during the 1/3 mile swim, I was out of the water in a respectable 12:00.

After that, it was transition time and off on the 9.5 mile biking leg, which I finished in 39:58. I had a good solid bike ride, except for the home stretch, where I accidentally took the wrong road, costing me several minutes of carrying my bike back and forth through the woods. The 5.5 miles of running was much tougher, since I was both tired and not well trained. The highlight of the run was the aid station where Sarah and Emily cheered me on, and Emily ran at me yelling "Daddy!". After that, I tried to just keep moving until the end, and finished the run in 46:33, a pace of 8:28 min/mile. I finished 7th overall, with a time of 1:38:31, a mere 5 seconds faster than last year. If nothing else, I am consistent. My three clear areas for improvement this year were (1) deviating from a straight line during the swim, (2) a wrong turn on the bike course, and (3) a slow run.

After everyone had completed the triathlon, we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon with friends. We went out on the motorboat with Jason, Melissa, and Esther. Emily loved it, although she was a bit nervous at first.

Emily loved playing in the sand even more than the boat. She especially liked playing with Esther.

They ran around together like they were sisters.

Emily also discovered the Elenbaas's jumbo dog, which is almost as fun on land as it is at sea.

It was a fun day, and a great way to celebrate the independence day weekend.

Emily "Reads"

2010-07-07T07:38:00.001-04:00

Recently Emily has begun to "read" books to us. She amazes me with how much she retains, almost word for word sometimes, from some of her favorite books. A few notes of explanation on the video - 1) We are sitting on the air mattress because unfortunately our central air didn't get the memo that it needs to cool the second floor too. 2) Eric taught Emily to snuggle the other day, so she's not actually attacking her mommy in the video. She is enthusiastically encouraging me to snuggle while she reads. 3) When she forgets or doesn't know the words on the second to last page, she says "I can't read". Hilarious!

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/13141612]

Happy Fourth of July!

2010-07-05T05:21:00.001-04:00

We enjoyed a wonderful holiday weekend, beginning with the Pickeral Lake Triathlon (post to come) and then in true West Michigander form, we spent the day on Lake Michigan yesterday. We drove down to visit our best friends, Peter and Susan, who were staying at Peter's parent's condo in South Haven. Emily had a blast playing in the water, at the playground, in the sand, and walking along the pier. We wish we could have seen even more of our friends and family, but we hope you all had a great time celebrating Independence Day!

From Summer 2010

Friday Afternoon Nap

2010-07-02T12:52:00.001-04:00

My peaceful little family. From left to right: ages 29, 20 weeks, and 2 1/2.

Motorcycle Duo

2010-06-28T04:13:00.001-04:00

Here is another picture I rediscovered recently. This is from our most recent trip to Pittsburgh, when Isaac finally convinced Elsa to step onto the motorcycle and do two laps around Freedom Village. These two crazy kids are going to be married in only a few weeks, and will be tearing up the neighborhood for years to come.

Andy and Sarah's Wedding

2010-06-27T05:41:00.001-04:00

This post is a little late in coming, but last weekend we had the honor to watch as two of our close friends - Andy and Sarah - were married. It was a beautiful ceremony and a super fun reception. I finally downloaded the pictures, and deleted all the blurry ones we tried to capture on the dance floor. We were moving too fast!

The Happy Couple

My "Read Wine" Book Club ladies!

This one just makes me laugh. You'd think, from our expressions, we were dancing to thriller, but I don't think that was the case.

Friends!

My turn with the beautiful bride!

Saturday Morning at the Races

2010-06-26T10:09:00.001-04:00

This morning I accomplished one of my running goals by running both the Reed's Lake Run 5K and 10K back to back. I started the 5K at 8:00, and the 10K at 8:45. With barely any training (I've been taking time off from both basketball and running to help my iliotibial band heal), the 10K was fairly difficult. The heat almost did me in, but I still made it, thanks to Sarah and Emily's cheering, and because I wasn't worried at all about time in the 10K, I was just hoping to keep moving and cross the finish line. At 63:11, the 10K was easily my slowest ever, but I did finish the 5K in a respectable 24:18 (I held back a little bit because I knew I would need energy for the 10K). As a special Dutchman bonus, I only paid one fee for both races! Afterward, we biked home and I cooled off in the kiddie pool, although Emily thought it a little strange that Daddy didn't bother to take off his clothes first.

Grandpa Reads to Emily

2010-06-26T03:00:00.001-04:00

I uncovered this photo recently and thought I'd share it. It's from a recent trip to Dexter, where Emily enjoyed some relaxation while Grandpa read books to her.

Summer Fun

2010-06-25T04:37:00.001-04:00

Emily enjoyed a pretty great summer day for a toddler yesterday; watching the "big trucks" working in our yard, swimming in our friend's pool (she's quite a little fish, and was in the pool for over two hours despite quivering lips and shriveling fingers), a pizza picnic by Reed's Lake, and ice cream at Jersey Junction. Here's a picture of the happy toddler after her long day. Oh, and in case you couldn't tell, this photo was taken after eating the superman (red, yellow, and blue) ice cream and before bath time.

New Sewer Line

2010-06-24T17:09:00.001-04:00

Today, we finally had our lateral sewer line replaced. For several years, we have had minor problems with groundwater backing up in our basement with heavy rain, and recently it had become much worse. Since the tree roots that were causing the problem were not going to magically go away, we finally decided to just replace the whole line.

Emily and I enjoyed watching the whole process. Emily spent a long time in the doorway or standing with me on the porch, saying things like "that a big truck!" or "they dig a mud". Indeed, the workers wasted no time in using their "big truck" to dig a large whole right next to our porch and sidewalk, down to the where the lateral sewer pipe connected to the cast iron pipe coming from the house. The 55-year-old clay pipe was disturbingly easy to break, which explained how roots got in so easily. After the pipe was opened up and the hole was cleaned up a bit, a nice young lady from the city of Grand Rapids drove in with another big truck.

The truck contained a large "root saw". The root saw is essentially the most powerful squirt gun I have ever seen. The orange hose is inserted into the sewer line, and the pointed nozzle head sprays huge volumes of water at extremely high pressure (thousands of PSI), enough to cut through tree roots.

I was eager to see the devilish snares of roots that had plagued my existence over the last few months, but I soon realized I was to be disappointed, since (a) the sewer gentlemen did not dig up the entire sewer line trench as I had expected, and (b) the root saw pretty much blasted all the roots down the pipe and into the main sewer line. On its way back out, the root saw did snag a darkish bunch of roots the size of a small football. The sewer gentlemen assured me that this was probably only a fraction of what had been in the pipe, and were impressed that we had any water flow at all through the pipe.

After the root saw did its work, the nice lady from the city of Grand Rapids took her leave, and the sewer gentlemen trimmed and cleaned up the old clay pipe. Then, they inserted ten foot sections of new PVC pipe into the old clay pipe and pushed it through, all the way out past our sidewalk and almost to the street.

This resulted in a complete replacement of the lateral sewer line for which we as homeowners are responsible. The last step was to install a vertical cleanout pipe, fill in the hole, and hide the cleanout opening under a shrub. Ah, the wonders of modern plumbing.

Finally, the pleasant surprise of the whole job was that none of the sidewalk or porch needed to be removed or replaced as we had originally expected. Bonus!

It Brings Joy to a Father's Heart

2010-06-23T17:16:00.001-04:00

Tonight I arrived home late after a long day at work. After saying hi to Sarah (and talking about the USA world cup soccer match, the earthquake, and the epic Wimbledon tennis match), I went upstairs to change clothes. As I tiptoed towards the bedroom, trying not to wake our hopefully-sleeping toddler, I heard a loud "DADDY!". Emily was definitely not asleep. As I changed clothes, I heard another "Daddy!", followed by a pause and: "Oh no, Daddy? Come on, you give big hug? Daddy, you give big hug me?" Naturally, I obliged immediately, and was met with a huge Emily-hug. Children truly are a gift from God. I am also blessed with a wife of noble character and a job that allows me to make a difference in people's lives on a daily basis, but my favorite part of any day is getting one of those hugs, or arriving home from work to find toddler Emily careen full speed through the kitchen yelling "Daddy Daddy Daddy!" and throw herself into my arms.

Toddler Sound Bite

2010-06-15T05:21:00.001-04:00

This morning Emily went to the pantry and pulled out the goldfish crackers, then told me that's what she wanted to eat for breakfast. I told her no, that we don't eat goldfish crackers for breakfast. She replied, "then I eat lunch" and proceeded to try to open the bag and start chowing down. Eventually, I convinced her that yogurt and half of a peanut butter and honey sandwich were better options.

Friday Five

2010-06-11T09:56:00.001-04:00

For someone who is in a rather busy phase of life (working part-time while raising a two year old with another on the way), I subscribe to a rather comical number of magazines. I always find myself thinking, wow, I'd only pay .50 cents an issue if I sign up for this deal, and forget that my leisure time is not what it used to be. But still, relaxing outside in the sun with a cold drink and a magazine to flip through ranks among my favorite activities, especially if I'm next to the ocean. Here are my top five favorite magazines:

1) Cooking Light. I don't have nearly enough time to try all the recipes I want that come in each issue, but I have rarely - if ever - been disappointed by one I've tried. And they are relatively healthy too! One of my favorite columns is when they ask a reader for a tried and true favorite recipe that is terribly bad for you, and then lighten it up, while still keeping the yummy flavor.

2) Runner's World. It often inspires me, or gives me the kick I need to get out the door or train for my next race. Plus, it's full of cool new gear, nutrition ideas, and stories about running. It's also fun to read about the crazy, CRAZY people who do things like run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 weeks.

3) Real Simple. The cover is always so crisp and clean, and so are all the articles inside. Sometimes I feel like the pieces they run are a bit repetitive, but it's fun to imagine the ways that I could be organized and on top of my life. I even employ one of their suggestions every once in awhile.

4) Sports Illustrated. I'm a pretty big sports fan, and can keep up with most conversations about almost any major sport. As we approach NFL training camp season, my desire to read up on players for my fantasy football teams starts to take over!

5) People. Everyone needs a little mindless reading in their life, and this is where I choose to get mine. I don't subscribe, but it's generally the first magazine I pick up when I'm at the airport and need to kill an hour, or I've managed to escape and grab an hour of "me time" at the local bookstore. Gotta love the Hollywood gossip!

Musical Mashup

2010-06-01T11:34:00.001-04:00

I was listening to the radio as I got lunch ready today, and as Emily and I sat down to a lovely spread of crackers and hummus and fruit, a funny thing happened. Emily was the one who remembered we needed to pray, and I noted to myself that the radio was still on in the background. I considered getting up to turn it off before we sung our prayer, but I was famished, and decided to forget about it. What are the odds that as we began to sing our prayer, one of Emily's favorite pop songs would come on? And so, at lunch today, God heard something like this:

"Heavenly Father - woo hoo! - we thank You, we thank You - tonight gonna be good, good night - for our many blessings - i got my money - Amen!"

I hope that God was laughing as hard as I was. I think He might have been.

Friday Five

2010-05-28T15:36:00.001-04:00

In the winter, our family purchased a membership to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. This turned out to be a great activity for those long, never ending cold and snowy days. And, as a bonus, during certain months our membership also gets us into other cool places around Grand Rapids. In May, we were able to take advantage of free admission to Meijer Gardens. We visited on a hot, sunny day this past week to hit up the children's play area and the Chihuly exhibit. For this week's Friday Five, here are my top five favorite pictures!

Toddler Sound Bite

2010-05-21T06:14:00.001-04:00

The other day Emily requested some juice mid-morning. She hadn't had any at breakfast (we've been making smoothies!) so I granted her request and filled her sippy cup. A few minutes later she brought me her favorite baby doll, complaining that she was all wet. Taking a look I confirmed the wetness, and the stickiness. Ever the quick one, I assessed that Emily had tried to feed her juice to the doll. When I asked, she confirmed this. I didn't want to give her yet another thing NOT to do, because sometimes I feel like I'm saying "No!" all day long. Instead I tried this. "Emily, baby dolls don't like juice, so you shouldn't give them any. OK?" She thinks for a moment and responds "OK. I get milk."

Mom FAIL

2010-05-19T11:01:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was not my finest day as a mom. It seemed as the day progressed that things went from bad to worse. Emily cried (a LOT). I cried (some). Granted, this was to be expected because it's always hard to be by myself with Emily (while Eric works a 12+ hour shift) after we've spent time in PA visiting family members who are able to dote on Emily all the time. I think the hardest thing Emily had to do during her time at grandma's house was choose between gold fish crackers or animal crackers for her snack. Still, looking back on the day I can see that I didn't read books with much enthusiasm at all, I spent far too much time worrying about washing laundry and unpacking while ignoring protests from the toddler at my legs, and I yelled (twice!) when there were potty accidents. Yes, I know this probably doesn't help her. Yes, it was out of frustration and unfair to Emily. I guess it's a good thing little kids are so good at forgiveness because at bedtime, she still reached her little arms around my neck while we sung our songs and said "I love you too, mommy" (which is what she says whether she is the initiator or not) and gave me a big smile. Amazing grace indeed!

Toddler Sound Bite

2010-05-12T06:42:00.001-04:00

Emily says so many funny things all the time I'm afraid I'm going to forget them all! So, I'm going to record some of them here, in the form of toddler sound bites. Yesterday, she was categorically placing all of her stuffed animals into our cat Oscar's kitty carrier. This was a re-creation of a display at the Grand Rapids Children's Museum that Emily loved where kids could put all sorts of animals into crates. Oscar decided that he wanted to get in on the action and tried to climb in. Emily was quick to tell him "No Oscar! This for animals". I then explained to her that Oscar was in fact an animal, and she responded "No mommy. Oscar a kitty". You've got to love the logic!

The Friday Five

2010-05-07T11:34:00.001-04:00

I'm having trouble coming up with a topic for this week's blog post. My head is a little bit all over the place, and I can't seem to categorize my thoughts enough to order them in any particular way. One of the biggest things that keeps percolating is news that we've recently begun to share more widely; we're expecting a new addition to our family in November! Emily is going to be a big sister, and though she really isn't too engaged with the idea yet, Eric and I are rather excited. And, truth be told, also a little terrified of having two small children! And so, this week I'll share five random thoughts about being pregnant the second time around:

1. Why didn't anyone tell me that I would start to look pregnant the second the pregnancy test showed a positive result? Seriously, I'm almost 12 weeks along, and already, my jeans are a little snug. I don't really understand this, as I haven't actually gained any weight yet, but there it is. I seem to recall making it at least another month the first time around before I even began to think about maternity clothes.

2. I forgot how rude people can be when you're pregnant. I had one person, who shall remain anonymous, make the following comment to me after I told this individual that I was expecting: "you know, I thought you were looking a little plump". I mean, really, in what context is that an acceptable comment to make?!

3. My unwanted pregnancy symptoms - tiredness and nauseousness - have been much worse this time around. I've felt sick off and on all day long, suffered a rather violent stomach virus in the middle of it, and am only just starting to feel like my normal self. I've also found myself falling asleep on the couch shortly after Emily is in bed for the night on several occasions, and once I laid down on the couch in the middle of the day, while Emily was playing, and was woken up by her several minutes later. That was a little unnerving!

4. I have been very disappointed that coffee has been completely unappealing to me. For my birthday recently, I was given a Keurig single-cup brew coffee maker (thanks mom!). I used it daily for about two weeks, and since then, haven't been able to stomach the thought (or the smell) of a cup of coffee. I'm truly hoping that changes soon.

5. I'm going to know this baby's birthday way before he or she is born. I've chosen to schedule another c-section, a decision supported by my doctor 100%, and she informed me yesterday that she can schedule this anytime after 20 weeks. She gave me a due date of November 24th, but said they like to do as few surgeries as possible in the days before Thanksgiving, so I will likely deliver on the 18th or 19th of November. It will be a completely different feeling to know exactly how much time is left with this pregnancy! Of course, the little one could always come early and surprise us. Early isn't bad.

In all seriousness though, despite the complaints, I know just how blessed we are to be pregnant and almost through the first trimester. It's been a more turbulent ride this time around, fraught with more worries and panicky moments about what could still go wrong, but God is good all the time, and we're thrilled to start a new adventure together as a family.

The Friday Five

2010-04-30T12:28:00.001-04:00

I think most people, even if they don't formally write it down, have at least a mental list of things they want to do and/or see before they die. Some of these things are big and grandiose, and others smaller, but it's fun to have some of each. And even more fun to cross them off as you do them. Here are five things on my list:

1. Start a vegetable garden. I'm irrationally terrified of gardening. But at the same time, I love the idea of growing my own food, and how it would reduce our carbon foot print and force us to eat healthier. I don't know if this summer will be the summer that I take the plunge and just do it, but I have these books on hold at the library, so we'll see: Grow Great Grub and Small Plot, High Yield Gardening: How to Grow like a Pro, Save Money, and Eat Well by Turning your Yard Into an Organic Produce Garden.

2. Run a sub four hour marathon. Okay, so this is a bigger goal, but I really think I can do it. I just better set my sights on a marathon sooner rather than later. Maybe I'll research which ones have the fastest, flattest courses...

3. Attend a major sporting event: the superbowl, the olympics, or the U.S. Tennis Open are my top choices.

4. Go to a wine tasting event. They always sound so fun, and I really love to sample new wines! My friend's mom, who is a buyer for a local grocery chain, hosted an informal night of wine tasting last year, and it was amazing! I need to visit some vineyards and have at it sometime!

5. Make the perfect granola. I love to eat it with yogurt and fruit for breakfast in the mornings, but it's so expensive at the grocery store, so I've tried a couple different homemade recipes. I'm getting better, but I'm not there yet. Any tips?

I finally caved...

2010-04-29T15:21:00.001-04:00

My baby was born with hair. A lot of dark brown hair. In the last two and half years, that hair has lightened significantly (though I still am not convinced that she'll always be a blond) and grown to be quite long. I love her long hair, and I have fought tooth and nail to avoid giving Emily bangs. I think this is because I have so many bad memories of uneven bangs from my own childhood. Well, okay, maybe they are not memories so much as me cringing now when I look at old pictures (sorry mom, I know you tried). But alas, Emily's hair is pretty hard to manage. I often have to re-do it several times throughout the day, she's constantly pushing the wisps out of her eyes, and on Fridays, when Eric is home with Emily? Well, let's just say it's not pretty. And so I caved, and tonight, I gave her a trim and also bangs. I hate it, and what's worse than that, I think I made them too short! So, here are a couple of pictures. And what do I need from you blog family and friends? I need you to tell me how cute she is, how they'll grow back, and how she won't resent me for this when she's older (even if you have to lie).

The Friday Five

2010-04-09T09:12:00.001-04:00

For lent this year, I gave up chocolate. To many, this is not such a difficult feat, but to me, it was quite a challenge. I'd actually done it once before, when I was in high school, but clearly time had made the challenge seem like a less daunting feat than it actually is. I kind of imagine that labor is the same way, and that is what allows women to decide to have more babies, but I digress. This week has been full of chocolate goodness, probably too much so. I KNOW I ate way too much of a butterfinger milkshake last night! Still, here are my top 5 chocolate treats:

1) Trader Joe's Peppermint Chocolate Covered Joe-Joe's. These are the best thing ever invented. Period. The ones in the picture don't all have the chocolate covering, but the boxes I buy do. They only come out around the holidays, so I stock up. I literally bought every box on the shelf when I visited a Trader Joe's location after Thanksgiving. For those curious, it was 12 boxes. I try to space them out over the course of the year, but I'm already halfway through them.

2) Chocolate covered strawberries. I don't get to eat them that all that often, but something about the combination of the flavors has me drooling every time! There are a lot of things that taste better when covered in chocolate, but strawberries have to be one of the best!

3) Bruster's Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Ice Cream. I worked at an ice cream store called Bruster's when I was in high school, and Eric likes to brag about how often I was named "Scooper of the Month". One of my crowning professional achievements for sure. But they have the best ice cream, and the flavor mentioned above is just unbelievable. I've tried everything to transport it back to Michigan, but I have to suffice for over-indulging when I'm home.

4) Warm Chocolate Chip Cookies. When they are right out of the oven, and you down them with a cold glass of milk, that's hard to beat.

5) Tira Misu Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. So stinking good! It feels light (well, relatively light, compared to other cheesecakes) and just melts in your mouth. I'm salivating just thinking about it right now, and I always have to treat myself when I visit this restaurant!

So, that's my list. Am I missing any chocolate goodies that you can't live without?

She Always Keeps Me Guessing...

2010-03-27T13:43:00.001-04:00

Emily always seems to keep me guessing, often doing exactly the opposite of what I expect. Today I was sipping a cup of coffee, and she really wanted to try a sip. She asked me repeatedly, in a super nice voice, and even remembered to say "pleeeeease". So I relented, fully expecting her to spit it out, or tell me it was yucky. Instead, she asked for more, and then more, and then proudly walked around saying "I yike coffee". Oops, I guess that one backfired on me! At this rate, she'll be addicted to coffee before she hits kindergarten!

Friday Five

2010-03-19T17:18:00.001-04:00

Tonight, in the middle of an unusually warm spring week, I bring you the top five reasons why it's harder to push Emily in the jogging stroller this year than it was last year:

5. She is so much more aware of her surroundings. If we get within a 1/2 mile radius of a park, or a field, or anything else that looks interesting, she'll start in on me: 'Out, Emily get out. Swings! Emily swing! Walk! Emily walk!" And so on it will go until we are well past the area. She may or may not also start whining when her pleas of excitement are ignored.

4. She asks me to sing. I only have so much lung capacity, and I'm usually using almost all of it already.

3. She likes to take control of our running routes, and will start pointing in directions I was not planning to go, insisting "this way, mommy!". If I listened to her, we may be running for a long, LONG time.

2. She's no lightweight. She's packed on quite a few pounds since last fall it seems, and you definitely notice the extra weight on the hills.

1. There are dogs everywhere. And birds. And cars. And anytime Emily sees something she likes, she'll point it out, or ask about it, and she keeps repeating herself like a broken record until you acknowledge that she has spoken or responded to her questions. This leads to a considerable amount of huffing and puffing by the end of an average four mile run. It feels more like fourteen.

Still, having the freedom to go out for a run again almost anytime I want has been wonderful. The fresh air and the sunshine has been good for the soul this week, and we've enjoyed every minute of it! Come on spring!

The Saturday Six?

2010-03-06T11:04:00.001-05:00

I missed the Friday Five yesterday. I knew it would happen sooner or later, but I was hoping for later. Oh well. As a way to make up for it, I've decided to embark on the Saturday Six instead. One of the things that kept me busy yesterday was the monthly meeting of our book club. This book club has been together since November of 2007, and the same 10 or so ladies have met once each month to discuss our current selection. We even have a name, the Read Wine book club! I don't remember who came up with it (it wasn't me, so I can't take the credit) but I love the time we spend together. Eric likes to tease me that we don't talk about the book very much, but we really do. I mean, we're *usually* engaged in book related talk a solid 40 to 50% of the time we spend together! Anyway, out of all the books we've read, here are my top six. And this time they are in order, with number one being my all-time favorite.

6. Belong to Me (Marisa De los Santos). This was a fiction novel that was actually a sequel to a previous work, though it was easy enough to read this as a stand alone effort. The characters were engaging, and witty, the story lines moved along nicely, and it was a pretty easy read. I really enjoyed it!

5. Loving Frank (Nancy Horan). This was a piece of historical fiction that I really enjoyed. The characters were complex, if their choices were sometimes frustrating, and it was fun to follow this partly imagined, partly true complex love story unfold. Quite the ending too!

4. A Homemade Life (Molly Wizenberg). This was a super fun read because it incorporated short stories from throughout the author's life with recipes she associates with that time. We all brought our favorite recipe to our meeting that month. Yummy!

3. The Namesake (Jhumpa Lahiri). A coming of age story about an Indian American boy growing up in the NE United States. The writing is phenomenal, and utterly believable. The characters are very endearing.

2. Same Kind of Different As Me (Ron Hall, Deborah Moore, and Lynn Vincent). A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it. I'm stealing a tag line from Amazon here, because it fits so well. This is a very powerful, compelling, inspiring story about faith and the power we all hold to change one another's lives.

1. American Wife (Curtis Sittenfeld). This was another historical fiction piece, loosely based on the life or Laura Bush, and it was utterly captivating to me. I love this genre, and I couldn't put this book down. It seemed so plausible, the characters were flawed but totally redeemable, and I loved every minute of reading it. I also quickly read the other two books this author had written, but found this one was easily the best.

You should check out these books if you're looking for a good read!

Emily's entertainment during USA vs Canada

2010-02-28T14:20:00.001-05:00

The Mexican Friday Five

2010-02-26T12:17:00.001-05:00

I'm rather short on time today, but I wanted to share some pictures of our recent trip to Mexico. And so, I decided to make this week's Friday Five a list of my top five favorite photos from our trip. In short, it was wonderful! A great way for Eric and I to connect again, and Emily had a blast at grandma and grandpa's house (thanks again to you both)!

1. We enjoyed great, authentic Mexican food. They really let you take your time eating (and drinking) while in Mexico. They will not bring you the check unless you ask for it! And they will always bring you another Margarita or Corona!

2. Exploring a cenote, which is basically a really cool sinkhole. There were several near Playa Del Carmen, where we stayed. It was good to explore one! We even jumped off the cliff in the background into the water!

3. We loved the animals in Mexico, from the friendly lizards to the crafty Pelicans. One pelican even let us get only a couple of feet away before he flew off!

4. XelHa was another highlight. It was a huge, natural water park of sorts, with snorkeling options abounding, and other fun outdoors activities. It was absolutely beautiful!

5. And the absolute highlight of the trip for me was a chance to swim with the dolphins and acts as their trainer for an hour. There are several cool pictures, and you can see more by clicking on the one above, which was my favorite.

Eric gave this gift of dolphin swimming to me as an anniversary present last month, and I've been looking forward to it ever since. It definitely didn't disappoint!

The Friday Five

2010-02-19T05:13:00.001-05:00

This week I've been spending way too much time (and consequently, staying up way too late) watching the olympics. And I've been doing a bit of thinking about how much time, dedication, and motivation these athletes must have. They train years and years for a performance that is often over in a few minutes, or even seconds. Crazy! But I also pondered what sport I'd want to compete in if I had the athletic skills to be an olympian. In no particular order, here we go:

The top 5 Olympic Events in which I'd like to compete

1. The marathon. I know it sounds crazy, but I love to run. I've completed a marathon before, and it was fun. Well, the first 20 miles were fun, the last six, not so much. But to be able to do it quickly, and well, running five minutes miles (instead of what I believe was just over a nine minute pace in my race), would be such an awesome sense of accomplishment. I'd love it!

2. Beach volleyball. What's not to like about this idea? You get to spend hours of time outside on the beach training, in the sunshine, hearing the waves (I'm glad I leave for Mexico on Saturday!). Plus, as an added bonus, you get a killer work-out every time you play. My muscles would be so toned, and I wouldn't be so darn pale (have I mentioned I'm looking forward to spending time in the sun this weekend?).

3. Bobsled. Ever since I watched the movie "Cool Runnings" as a kid, I've thought it would be so much fun. Not nearly as dangerous as the luge, it's basically like being a professional sledder. Every kid's dream, right?

4. Gymnastics and the balance beam. This also goes back to when I was younger and watched the likes of Kerri Strug and Shannon Miller win gold for team USA. I'm pretty sure I'm dating myself here! I would love to feel graceful and composed when walking on a four inch beam. An yes, I remember that it's four inches because the commentators mention this every three seconds. Not to mention all the cool jumps, twists, turns, and flips. So fun!

5. Soccer. I love playing the game, and for the most part, watching the game. I should note, though, that I understand the criticism from those who don't play. There's not much scoring and if you don't understand the strategies, or appreciate the awesome individual ball control, it's not very exciting. I was a solid player in high school, one of the best on my team, and I played in off-season travel leagues as well. But I never thought I was good enough to play in college, so I didn't try (one of my biggest regrets). I'd love to play again, especially with Mia Hamm.

What about you? What would your top sports be?

Legendary

2010-02-17T08:43:00.001-05:00

(Editor's note: I found this in our saved but unpublished drafts, loved reading it, and so am publishing it without Eric's permission because he is in Mexico and can't stop me. It was written in March of 2009.)

Emily, I just want to take a minute and let you know that in the church nursery, you are legen - wait for it - dary. You have a reputation that has spread among all the nursery volunteers who have met you. Ever since your infant days, you have apparently been a model child while in nursery. According to Hannah, who plays with you on most Sunday mornings, you have only ever cried once, and on the very morning your mother and I were volunteering. When she told us this, your mother and I both sort of just sat there and said "Really? Are you sure you're not thinking of some other baby? Ours is the squirmy little child who doesn't ever sit still". Don't get me wrong, you are a great kid, but at home you cry crocodile tears if one of us dares to leave you in a room by yourself while we go make some dinner or something. I saw one of the other nursery volunteers once outside of church, and he right away asked if you were always so happy and well-behaved. On other occasions, I've dropped you off, and the volunteers say things like "you don't need a pager, do you?". For some reason, you really like it there, and I think I know why.

This may scare your mother a bit, but I think it's because you're just like me. Friends and family often tell me that you look just like me, but I think your personality is what's really just like me. New people and places are exciting and interesting, and that is just what the church nursery has to offer: different volunteers and kids regularly, and more toys than you could ever explore in one morning. At home you are stuck with the same toys, the same rooms, and the same two parents who won't let you use your toys to play "does it float?" in the toilet bowl. That's why nursery, car rides, runs in the jogging stroller, and any type of store always make you happy: they are all new and different places for you to explore. Just like me, you are a bit ADD, and don't seem to have the instinct to just turn your brain off and slow down. This is where your mother usually rescues the both of us. She will often give you a sippy cup and read you a story on her lap until you're ready for a nap or bedtime. She does the same for me too, but I usually get a peanut butter sandwich and have to read the story to myself.

The Friday Five

2010-02-12T05:37:00.001-05:00

I'm starting a new column on this blog, because I need some more accountability to write consistently, and because I like making "Top 5" lists. So without further ado, I give you this week's list:

The Top 5 Things I Learned about Potty Training

1. My bathroom is not nearly as clean as I imagined it was. When you spend so much time sitting on the floor next to the toilet reading books to your toddler as she sits on the potty, you realize that the toilet is actually pretty gross. And the floor around it? Also pretty questionable.

2. My daughter goes to the bathroom a LOT. I guess she has a small bladder, and isn't accustomed to "holding it". But seriously, I think she uses the potty at least two dozen times a day. And by uses it, I mean uses it successfully. The kid pees quite often.

3. Emily is very terrified of toilets without kid seats on top of them. There was an incident at our friend Julie's house this week that I thought might scar her from her great progress using the potty, but she bounced right back as soon as she wasn't scared out of her mind that she was going to fall in!

4. Potty training requires more patience than I have. It's one thing when we're at home, and I can easily stop what I'm doing every time Emily indicates an interest in using the potty. But when we're on a play date at the mall and the potty is good five minute trek away from our friends, it's another story. Emily requested to use the potty three times in the span of just over an hour. Doing the math; a five minute walk to the potty + two minutes sitting time + three minutes washing hands + five minute walk back x 3 = 45 minutes of potty time and about 20 minutes of playing. But how do you say no? You don't. Instead, you fake patience.

5. Even though we're not out of the woods yet (still in pull ups, no underwear yet), this is so much easier than I thought it would be. I dreaded this stage of parenting more than the nights of interrupted sleep with a newborn, and more than anticipating a teenager with an attitude problem. Instead, I learned that there is nothing worse than being sleep deprived for several weeks. And, Emily has initiated sitting on the potty on her own. Even with the MANY trips we are making, it's not so bad yet (knock on wood). Now if we could only get back to napping regularly...

Going to the Chapel

2010-02-09T09:45:00.001-05:00

At the end of last month, our family participated in the first of three important weddings that will take place in 2010. In the summer, my baby sister will be getting married, and we'll add another member to our extended family. And in June, two of our very best friends are tying the knot as well. But this first marriage celebration was for Eric's brother Jeff, and his new bride, Kara. It was such a fun day, filled with a lot of smiles and laughs (and pictures, oh so many pictures!) and a few tears as well. It was freezing outside; in fact, I don't think it left the single digits all day. But the sun was shining, and everyone seemed to be having fun. I'm sure once we see all the professional pictures, I'll add a few more photos, but for now, here are some of our favorites! Welcome to the family, Kara!

The beautiful bride!

Eric giving Kara a hand with her dress.

Our family before the ceremony.

Jeff and Kara with the many flower girls and the "flower boy".

The Plantinga brothers with their beautiful wives.

Eric and I at the reception.

Emily poses with Jeff and Kara. She wanted to be in every picture that day!

Emily-isms

2010-02-03T05:52:00.001-05:00

It's been a busy past few weeks in our household. This past weekend, our whole family took part in wedding festivities officially welcoming Kara into the Plantinga family (pictures, and a full recap, to come soon). While we've been neglecting the blog a bit, I wanted to take a moment to write down some of the many memorable things that Emily has been saying or doing lately, as this blog has always been a sort of substitute baby book for us. So here we go:

Emily has started to say what she does and does not like. In the past few days, she has told me she "yikes" circles, eggs (which she actually will not eat), watching George (Curious George, that is), play-doh, and friends. Friends generally refer to our good friends Andy and Sarah. I think Emily believes their last name is Friends.

If we tell Emily something that she does not want to hear, like it's time to go to bed, she puts her hands over her eyes as if that will somehow eliminate her from hearing or having to obey us.

She has a firm grasp on what things she is not allowed to touch, only sometimes she thinks it applies to everyone, and if I pick up the TV remote, she'll sometimes tell me "no mommy, no touch".

She picks up on and remembers things so quickly. I read her a new book about Percy the Pig one time, and hours later she asked to read Percy. I had no idea what she was talking about, and she had to remind me who Percy was and where the book was! She also likes to narrate to me what's going on in the picture of books.

She has a very good grasp on at least three songs now: her ABCs, Jesus Loves Me, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

She has become very interested in sitting on the potty right AFTER she has actually dirtied her diaper, and will become very agitated if we don't let her before putting a new diaper on. I see potty training in our near future, hopefully with a slight adjustment on the timing of the aforementioned sequence.

She is very, very good at puzzles, and can also identify a circle, square, and triangle.

When we tell Emily she is a big girl, she'll respond back to us. "No. Mommy/Daddy big girl". As you can imagine, daddy gets quite the kick out of this.

She likes to take her pajamas off in the morning, and we'll often find her naked in her crib in the mornings. She'll look up proudly and say "I change!" (as in, I change my clothes)!

She has started saying (well, whining would be more accurate) "I can't" to things she either can not or does not want to do.

Her vocabulary grows daily, and often says words I had NO idea that she knew. This morning, on our walk to Julie's house, she said "careful mommy, snow slippery". And yesterday, she found a small bag of sun chips, brought them to me and said, "I want this". I responded by telling her we could have a few with our lunch soon, and she looked at me again and said "I need this". I don't know if she truly understood the subtle difference in meaning, or was merely trying another phrase to get me to open them sooner, but what a smart girl!

A Mathematical Prodigy

2010-01-07T13:54:00.001-05:00

Emily has been very determined to master two things recently: the alphabet song and counting from one to ten. Despite singing the abc's at least a dozen times per day, we're still working on that one (especially the dreaded l,m,n,o,p part). But her counting is often spot on: here's a sample!

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/8603707]