17 Months

Jace just had the best weekend with his Mimi and Papa Todd, and is getting back to his regular old "life with Mom" routine. He turned 17 months old yesterday and his little wrist rolls are disappearing. The last remnants of babyhood, vanishing before my very eyes. He's starting to look like such a big boy. Colt showed me a picture of JJ taken when he was about three months old, and I just laughed: "Is that even the same kid?!" It's crazy how much he's changed in such a short period of time, especially lately. Every other day, Jace says a new word, or does something I didn't realize he knew how to do. At 17 months, this little monkey...

-Goes and gets a fresh diaper from the diaper basket when I ask him to, and after he's been changed, throws his old diaper in the trash all by himself. On occasion, he will go grab a new diap, set it on the rug, and lay down to be changed without me saying a word. HA! "Ready, Ma."

-Folds his arms when he is asked to do so, or when hears anyone say the word "prayer." He's always so pleased with himself after we say "Amen."

-We play a game sometimes called "Raise your hand if you...(love your mom, are the cutest baby in the world, have a stinky butt, etc)." He raises at least one hand, and sometimes both.

-He has a book that shows pictures of a little baby doing different actions (i.e. sitting, waving, jumping, etc). He always stretches up his own arms on the stretching page, dances on the dancing page, and waves on the waving page. He knows the book well, so he'll start the action before we even turn the page. 

-Has a few new words: Pizza, catch, truck, papa, Jesus, circle, wow, and thank you.

-Loves his shape sorter, and selects all the circles from the assortment of shapes, puts them through the circle slot all by himself, and appears very self-satisfied after he's finished. 

-Loves to load and unload anything he possibly can.

-Wakes up in the morning or after his nap and just reads his books quietly in his crib. I don't actually know what time he wakes up, because he's sat in there for anywhere from 30-45 minutes reading, talking to himself, and playing with the small cars we keep in his crib.

This gentleman is funny, opinionated, sweet, silly, determined, smart, and pretty much every good thing to be. We love you to pieces and pieces, little man. Thanks for being you.

Celebrating Three Years With The Whales

Hunting the harbor seal

If you look closely, at the very top of the tree, you can see the symbol of our nation. 

Deception Pass

My parents were kind enough to drive up this weekend to stay with Jace, so that Colt and I could enjoy a weekend getaway to celebrate our anniversary. We were able to spend most of Saturday in Anecortes on a whale-watching tour boat, and spend the night at a quaint little a bed and breakfast nearby.

We were lucky whale-watchers, indeed! Our tour lasted four hours, and Captain Carl told us that, usually, the majority of the tour is spent looking for whales, and they only get to observe them for a small amount of time before it's time to head back to the marina. But we happened to encounter a pod of resident Orca whales just 45 minutes into our tour, and were able to spend the rest of our day following them around. "T-Pod" consists of a mama Orca, her 14 year old son (who's dorsal fin alone was approaching 6 feet in height!), and her two calves. After a half hour of watching them, a lone male Orca appeared out of nowhere and decided to spend his afternoon hanging out with T-Pod, and so we were able to watch the group of five trap a harbor seal against the coastline of an island, hunt him as a team, and gobble him up for an early lunch. I felt sad for the seal, but it was amazing watching the coordinated efforts of five HUGE whales on a hunt in their natural environment. Nature, man, I'm telling you. It was cool. And after they finished their snack, the two little calves were in the mood to celebrate and show-off, so we got to see them spy-hop, cartwheel, breach, and wave their flippers at our boat. 

I desperately want to be friends with an Orca.

I should probably also mention that we saw nine bald eagles, a porpoise, lots of jellyfish, and a couple of harbor seals as well. But if we're being honest, bald eagles really can't hold a candle to Killer Whales, in my opinion.

Our Bed and Breakfast was really cute. The people who run it are super sweet, and breakfast on Sunday was delicious. They also keep chickens, and a funny little goat named Jackson. He had a fluffy chin-beard, and I loved it. Now I want a beardy goat, but I don't think  I could get Colt to go for it. I can't even convince him to let us get a dog sometime in the distant future.

We had a lot of fun. We missed Jace, but as my mom told me when we got home: "It's important to make time to be a couple." And it is. Thanks for being my adventure buddy, Colt! Whales are pretty cool, but not as cool as you.

Three Years

Three years isn't very long, is it? 

I'm sure we will look back on our ten year anniversary, or 20th, or 50th, and think: "We were so young and naive. What did we know about marriage after three years?" Not much, most likely. But I do know that you are my best friend, and that I love being married to you.

We've been together long enough for you to know that I become anxious over numerous things, including about what trials and challenges undoubtedly lie ahead. I'm not a big fan of the unknown. But it helps when I remember that I have my buddy by my side, and that we will handle anything and everything together. We've got a lot of marriage ahead of us, babe, and so much left to learn. It won't always be perfect. But I can tell you, I don't need perfect. I'm just excited about all the life we have left to experience, both the good and the bad, and I'm so happy I get to experience it with you.

Thank you for three years of always having my back, and for three years of teaching me about patience and humility. Thanks for helping me around the house, for changing Jace's diapers and taking out the trash without being asked, for working so hard everyday so that our family has everything we need. Thank you for being an example of consideration, and of thoughtfulness. Thank you for helping me learn how to let go and live without fear, and for understanding when I continue to fall short in all respects. For three years, I have been reminded every day that I married a person who possesses so many incredible qualities that I lack in my own character. And for three years, I've realized each day that I also married a person with seemingly endless patience in regard to my shortcomings. I want to be better for you, and I promise to continue to try. 

I love you C. You are such an extraordinary father, provider, and husband. I'm glad you are on my team.  Team Plessman, three years strong. 

Bring it on, Year Four! We're ready for you.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the father of my baby. You are doing such a great job. Every morning when I go to get Jace out of his crib, he points to your mission picture on his bedroom wall and says: "Da!" And as we walk downstairs, he points to our wedding photo in the stairwell and asks: "Da?" It's like I don't even exist ;) Obviously, you have captured both of our hearts, and we are so very lucky that you belong to us. I love you, babe.

Happy Father's Day to my own wonderful Dad! You taught me how to keep my cool in the face of confrontation, how to be goofy and silly and fiercely competitive. You worked so hard to give us the best, and you have always been so loving and supportive. You taught me what is really important in a husband and father, and I owe you everything. I love you, Dad.

And Happy Father's Day to my kind hearted,service-oriented, people-loving, elbow-squeezing, hard-working, bear-hug-giving Grandpa Dee. I miss you every single day. We put a horseshoe pit in our side yard and played tonight, for you. You always have been, and continue to be, my hero. Thank you for being simply the very best. I love you, for always and always.

Late 16 Month Post and JJ's First Motorcycle Ride

Well, Jace's 16 month mark just came and went! He's does something new almost everyday, and he's getting so smart. And feisty. Oh, the feist! He's got opinions and ideas, and if I'm not on board, he doesn't hesitate to make his frustrations known. He also got to go for his first motorcycle ride with Daddy (don't worry Grammy and Mimi-it was just around the yard, and not too fast)! He had a smile on his face pretty much the entire time, and so did Colt.  After we put our little moto-man to bed, Colt got right on the computer to look up motorcycle attire for toddlers. Haha! I suppose I'll have to come to terms with the fact that I could be spending a hefty amount of my  future weekends at the motocross track/emergency room. 

At 16 months, Jace...

-Signs "more" when he wants more food or books, signs "please" (with two hands, ha! SO cute) to ask for help, and often pairs them together to say "more please!" The other day, when we were outside, he pushed his stroller into the driveway, signed "more please," then climbed up into the seat all by himself. Any guesses as to what he wanted me to do? ;)

-Has a few words, although he doesn't use them all the time: Fish (peesh), birdie (buh-dee), dog (da), outside (au-sah). "Fish" and "outside" are the ones he says the most. He also understands so much, and is a good little listener...most of the time.

-Is loving his cars and trucks. Toys, books, watching them pass by our house,-anything involving transportation, he's all about it.

- Loves to make me laugh, and he knows that when he laughs, I laugh. So he's started doing these super-forced, fake laughs, which of course then elicit genuine giggles from us both. 

-Can point to Christ when we read him his little book about Jesus, and when we show him the pictures of Christ around the house.

-Loves to dig in the dirt and gravel, fill up his buckets, and dump it all out into his lap. He can spend a half hour doing this over and over again.

-Can drink out of a big-boy cup all by himself, with supervision (he still likes to shake, throw, and turn the cup upside down, although he cries when he ends up with milk all over himself). 

-Is a good helper. He knows how to put the dishwashing tablet into it's little spot in the dishwasher, and only needs a little help shutting the cover. He does start crying when we shut the dishwasher, though. Sorry little buddy, no knives for you.

-LOVES to read, both on his own and with me. He reads in the living room, in his crib, and in his car seat. I love turning around in the kitchen and seeing him on his tummy reading a story. He also thinks "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" is the most hilarious book ever written.

-Still says "Bye, son!" whenever he hears someone say bye-bye, and he's started to wave goodbye a little more often. He is also still obsessed with our belly-buttons, and continues to torture me by slooowly sticking his tiny finger inside my notoriously ticklish button. He thinks it's hilarious. I know, we're a weird family.

No wonder I missed this kid before he was even born. He was meant to be here with us, and his infectious personality and sweet smile brighten our home and our lives. He's not a perfect child, obviously, but he teaches us so much and he fits like a puzzle piece into our little family. I love both my handsome guys so much.

Late Mother's Day Recap

My mama came up for Mother's Day weekend to spend some time with me her gran'baby. I completely understand; he is much more fun that I am. 

For my Mother's Day present, I requested that we hike Lake 22 on Saturday and have a picnic up there. It was a beautiful day, and so nice to be outside. Colt and Jace also made me a card and I get to choose a new dress. I love me some new clothes.

P.S. Jace's sense of humor is developing. There is a scene in Finding Nemo during which Nigel the Pelican flies into a closed window, and Jace laughs at it every time, no matter how many times we rewind and play it again. He starts to chuckle a few seconds before it actually happens, and as soon as that goofy bird hits the glass, he just cracks up. I suppose all the America's Funniest Home videos we watch actually made an impact. Just don't be offended if he laughs at you when you trip and fall.

Mother's Day

Sometimes, I can't believe this beautiful life is mine. 

I hope my sweet mom, my lovely mother-in-law, my amazing grandma's, and all of my sisters and aunts had a wonderful Mother's Day. <3