My excuse for not posting...

...Gene was in San Francisco last weekend and had the camera. Really, I promise. It's not that I've been lazy and less than inspired, no not at all.

I feel like these last few weeks, Esther's really changing. She grew out of her shoes in what seemed like a day. She started talking...some. She says "apple", "go", "dog" and "car" now. And signs more and more. One of my new favorite things that she does is when I'm working on my computer, she'll climb up my chair and sit behind me. She hangs out with me and periodically gives me hugs. She'll pat my back and play with my hair. It's something she doesn't even think too much about but for me it's pure bliss. She's my girl.

We had to get her new shoes and she seems to approve:

"Hey Mom, what's up?"

She loves the noodles!

"What? You don't think I can stuff more noodles in my face? Bring 'em on."

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.

Well we're movin on up, to the eastside. To a deluxe apartment in the sky.

Can you find Esther in the mess? We have moved to Kirkland, and are trying to work our way through the mountains of boxes and stuff. It's an undertaking trying to unpack and organize with a toddler. She's really good at pulling stuff out of boxes but not too keen on putting things neatly away.
A new obstacle to overcome...stairs. Gene drilled into Esther's head to "scoot, scoot, scoot" down the stairs. She finds it very amusing when he demonstrates his scoot technique for her. So far so good, no head-first tumbles down the stairs yet.

This Tuesday, we got together with my roommates from college (I won't tell you how many years it's been since we were in college). All four of us girls are now married and have kids, so it was fun to have all our kids meet each other. Esther enjoyed running down the pavement at a dangerous speed. She fell twice and scrapped her forehead each time, luckily after two good cries she was good to go.

Here's a shot of the first head wound:

Getting ready to go on a boat ride on the lake:

Gene was exhausted making sure Esther didn't make a break for the water every chance she got:

Here's the four roommates and our families (only one family member is missing...and you know who you are...Chris):

On the way back home, Esther was so tired. This is how she likes to fall asleep, sucking two fingers and smelling her blankie.

All is good with the world!!!

I'm home safe and sound again. I had a great trip but was definitely ready to come home. Gene and Esther had a great time bonding. After about the third day, Gene got into the flow and started enjoying himself. Five days was a little long for me to be away from my family but I think it was a good amount of time for Gene and E. Other than a few minor mishaps everything went pretty well. Esther decided to wait until I was gone to figure out how to fall out of the crib. She was down for a nap and Gene was spying on her through the monitor. He saw her drop her blanket and then try to grab it back but instead she went over the edge. As he was running toward her room he heard a clunk and then Esther started crying. Probably expecting to see our daughter's broken body, upon entering the room Gene found her on her back, no worse for wear. Soon after this occurance, Gene lowered her mattress to the lowest setting. Now climbing on the coffee table doesn't seem so bad.

I had the camera so unfortunately there are very few new pictures of Esther. So enjoy these photos of Alaska. This is on the way to Bettles, where I grew up:

This is on the way from Fairbanks to Anchorage. You can see Mt. McKinley and some glaciers:

Today Esther decided to do some painting...while preparing to move Esther has found some new and probably inappropriate playthings:

Her she is showing off her technique:

Esther's dad is going to get an ulcer...

she's figured out how to climb up on the coffee table. Can you see the look of terror on Gene's face? And to add to his ulcer, I am going to Alaska for five days (4 nights) without my girl and husband. Esther will be in very capable hands with her dad, but I'm sure he'll be ready for a break when I get home. Wish him luck.

Doin' the sign for cat:
Ah, so cute...on the coffee table:

Oh, Esther says "da" now for dog and she makes a cute little woof sound. She loves dogs...which is weird since we don't have any. Sorry Audrey and Sydney (our two cats).

I've run out of ideas for post titles...

so let's get straight to the pictures. This is how I found Esther...whimpering, she had gotten herself stuck underneath a chair:


Pan Pan and I spent a nice Saturday evening with my sister and her son at Golden Gardens. Esther enjoyed her first experience with sand and sea:

Yummy, this rock tastes good!