Shoes are good.

Wearing Mom's shoes, and showing off Dad's:

Hangin' with the cat:

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ivy!! (There's Ivy's mom Jen, Ivy's friend Nina, and Ivy in yellow):

Opening presents:

Dad and E. reenacting a scene from Star Wars:

Playing is exhausting:

OK, we didn't break her...

...she getting back on her sleep schedule. Yahoo!

This Saturday, we went to a get-together with other AWAA families. A good time was had by all. Esther was a trooper, and was go go go.


Bryanna

Shaelynn is showing off the pinata to be destroyed later:

Lili gets a whack at it:

After all the girls went (except Esther and Miah) with no success, one of the boys broke open the unicorn and the mayhem began:

"Hey Dad, play my harmonica for me."

Sleep, o'sleep, wherefore art though, sleep?

So, do you remember me blogging that Esther was a great sleeper and slept through the night. Well, Gene and I kinda screwed this up by moving to a new apartment and me leaving for five days. Since all these happenings, all-night sleep is hit or miss (and more likely than not it's a miss). She wakes up screaming and won't go quietly into that good crib, so she usually ends up sleeping with Mommy and Daddy. This inevitably leads to a few well placed kicks to some one's nether region and leaving Daddy about an 8 inch strip of bed. Naps have been difficult for Esther, too. And to top it all off, she's getting four molars in. Lack of sleep makes for two grouchy parents and one overly sensitive kiddo. Good times!

So on to the good stuff...pictures! Esther with her new favorite toy...an empty Starbucks cup (Mom helps by drinking the contents).

"Yes, I know I got myself stuck but I expect you to get me out."

Family portrait.

"Hey, do you like my new belt? It's going to be all the rage!" (It's a mirror that's supposed to go in the car.)

"Hey, Sydney, check it out."

"And it goes with all outfits."

It's eerily quiet and this is what I find:

Look who's 18 months old now...

...yep, little Pan Pan is officially 1 1/2 years old. Woohoo!

I'm still unpacking, working through the mess. Esther sure enjoys the piles of stuff though. She climbs everything. Here is a shot of her, climbing from the pieces of the Bowflex and into her toy that isn't set up yet. Yes, I know this probably isn't very safe. Gene would have freaked out if he had been home. (Can you tell who the cautious parent is?)

When I saw Esther trapped undeneath her toy, my first thought wasn't to rescue her post-haste, but to run and get the camera. That tells you what kind of mom I am, but she wasn't crying...only whining a little.
Welcome home, Kristina!!! My friend Kristina is back from teaching in Spain for a year, so she finally got to meet Esther. Esther wanted her to get off the phone because as we all know-it's all about her.

Checking out the Irish cookbook that Kristina got us.

Yay! Esther ate her first apple! Well, not the whole thing and she did spit out some of it, but is was really cute anyway.

Do you think we need to call an exorcist?

wow...she's loud. should I call a catholic priest or something? sheesh...huddle told me 'bout this, but not until i saw the movie did I understand...we totally love the second scream...how her shoulders go up and stuff...awesome...enjoy.