Eating and playing...what more can you ask for.

We let Esther feed herself
...and as you can see, it's a messy enterprise. Independ-
ence can be messy at times. I sometimes resort to stripping her down to just her diaper so I won't have to wash yet another outfit.

I've also started putting newspaper under her highchair to try to save the carpet. She's trying to share her "mmm goodie" yogurt but Mommy was having none of it.

Esther's playing has definitely gotten more involved lately. She still does a lot of exploring and satisfying curiosity. But she also gets really involved in pretend play now, too. I love watching her. Although her vocabulary is expanding like crazy, most of the time when she's playing she's in her own little world and I can't understand much of what she's saying. (Check out the video below if you want to glimpse some E play time. Warning: it's five minutes long...but like I said I love watching her, so deal.)

Cleaning up is still a subject E would rather not address. We've starting picking up two times a day now, before nap time and before bedtime. I say "we", but it's usually me and/or Gene with Esther supervising. She will help, but only if told specifically what to do..."put the crayons in the box", etc.

Enjoy.