Two weeks of school under our belts...

and Esther seems to love it. I wasn't sure if she would want me to leave the first day of the regular schedule, but when I checked with her about me leaving, she kissed me and got right into playing. I walked to my car feeling a little sad...hoping that she would have wanted me to stay just a tiny bit. But I've quickly gotten used to my free two and a half hours twice a week. Wow, I can actually go thrift shopping again!! It's much easier without my sidekick and I don't have to spend any time in the toy section. I have to admit I'm enjoying myself. And she takes long naps after preschool because she so worn out (hooray!).
On Thursdays, I am there at the school with 6 other parents. I've really been enjoying this time as well. The kids are hilarious and it's been nice getting to know the other parents. Teacher Kathy is awesome and so great with all the kids. Come to find out she has two adopted daughters from China that are just starting college.
After school treat from McDonald's. Happy Meal box as hat.

E decided she wanted to wear her Yoda costume from a few years back. I wanted to get a picture of her holding her drawing she did at school and for some reason she put on a sad face. (Maybe she's fed up with me taking pictures?)

She wanted to check out her ears in the mirror and gave the sad face again.

I asked her to do a happy face.

...then a mad face.

Last weekend the preschool had an ice cream social. And they had "smarshsmellows" for on top! (I know the picture doesn't go with what I just typed but I like the picture...so there.)

Esther's favorite thing was getting to use the apple slicer/corer/peeler again...and again...and again. Teacher Kathy was very patient with her and let her have lots of turns. All the apples E (and the other kids) cut were put in the apple cider press. Yum!

So glad the preschool has lots of extra clothes, cuz Esther got drenched with water at one point. Ask Gene.

Again with the Yoda hat. This is a new favorite item (along with the train tracks I found on one of my thrift shop expeditions).

First day of preschool!!

Esther fell asleep last night at 9:15 pm (which is huge!) mainly due to the fact that E is transitioning out of naps (weep). But I had to wake her up this morning at 8 am to get ready for preschool and she wasn't happy with me. Luckily Daddy was there to save the day and used his expert distraction techniques to get her up and dressed. The rest of the morning went very smoothly and Mommy's adjusting just fine. Here's her first day of preschool outfit. She picked her shirt...I wanted her to wear a pink one but she would have none of it.
For snack today, Esther got to use an apple peeler that cut the apple into a spiral. She thought that was pretty cool, and got to turn the crank all by herself.

How cool is getting to haul around dirt in a wheel barrow? E thought it was very exciting.

I love the fact that the preschool has an old merry-go-round (that can send kids flying off the edges). I loved those when I was a kid. Of course, it never got going very fast.

Making mud on top of the "mountain".

The other night, before bed, Esther wanted to wear her pink pajamas. But she doesn't have any pink ones, so we didn't know what she was talking about. She was very insistent and finally she showed us this outfit in her closet. These Chinese PJ's were given to E by a friend of her Nana M's when we first got back from China and now they fit! I love that she wanted to wear them. On a side note, I have been showing Esther some of the things we bought in China and now when Esther plays she'll hands us things and says, "Here you go, I got this for you in China."

I asked her to smile for the camera and this is what I got.

Photo by E.

Summer is winding down.

Gymnastics just came to an end and we've had some good visits with family. Now we are preparing for preschool, well maybe not "we" but me. School starts for Esther on the 10th of Sept. Since it's a co-op I'll be there on Thursdays, but that leaves me two mornings a week free. What am I going to do with myself?
E is still in love with robots.

Flying nun?

E enjoyed mixing the salad at Nana's with the help of Aunt Tammy.

Still mixing with super-vision from Cousin Chrissy. The salad was very well mixed by the time Esther was done.

All that mixing was tiring. E fell asleep as soon as we left Nana and Papa's.

Today was the last day of gym class. We would love to continue it for fall but now our money has to go toward preschool tuition. Hopefully we'll be able to swing it for winter.

Esther was pretending to be a dinosaur and "roaring" at her classmate from underneath the bars. I guess it was to motivate the little girl to stay up on top.

Somersault on the balance beam. E was pretty scared but she was very brave.

Tada!!

Back by popular demand...

...OK, "popular" demand may be a little strong. (Here's a new post for you, Grandma Suzi. By the way, Gene accidentally took your little screwdriver home with us.)
Esther and her train on it's train tracks.

Cheesy pose.

Hiding in Grandpa and Grandma Morris' linen closet.

We had a good visit with my former teacher Doug and his partner Nancy. It was really good to see them and have them meet Esther.

Yep, that's her hand.

"Framed" E and her silly daddy putting together a new lamp. She loves to help build things.

103 degrees...in Seattle?!?

Ugh...we're trying to stay cool but we haven't been too successful. Esther loves to be naked so this weather gives her a good excuse. I'll try to refrain from making this whole post about how much I do not like heat. But before I do...today, I decided I had better tackle the growing mountain of dishes that I have avoided doing as long as I could, hoping it would cool down. But having no dishes in the cupboards warranted my sacrifice. So I pointed the most powerful fan we have directly on myself and got to work. Feeling satisfied and extremely sweaty, I was excited at the prospect of lounging in front of said fan and cooling off. That's when the power went out. No fan or any breeze to be had. I felt like shouting, "Serenity now!" but Esther wouldn't have gotten my reference. I figure Kenmore must have blown a transformer trying to stay cool with all its fans and air conditioners. After two hours the power came back on and it is cooling off.
OK, I'm done complaining (but you can probably hear the grumbling going on inside my head!). I am thankful that our condo is a ground floor unit that doesn't get much direct sunlight. I am also grateful to be out of the convection oven of an apartment we used to live in, that had skylights and lots of direct sun. I am beyond thrilled that our complex has a pool (see photos below).

On a not so small side note, yesterday Gene and I celebrated our 15 year anniver-sary! Go us! It's so fun to be married to my best friend. God has definitely blessed me with a wonderful husband, and Esther with a crazy-good father.

Not sure if this swimsuit actually helps E but it's cute with the added air.

"Swim-ming" with Dad

As you can probably tell, the top of her head is not wet. She is not very fond of water covering her face. She did seem to want to try dunking her head, but after I tried it on her once, she was over it.

She loved the safety of the pool steps.

I love lavender!

You'll have to trust me that Esther and I were in Sequim this past weekend for the Lavender Festival. Apparently I've forgotten how to take pictures. No pictures of lavender in all it's purply splendor, no photos of grandparents lavishly spoiling their granddaughter. I got a few of E enjoying the morning sunshine in Nana C's back yard, but alas, that's it.
Here's Esther snoozing on her Wall-E blanket (at home).
We got to spend the afternoon with one of my dearest friends, Kristina. E of course had to be the center of attention.




Catching a clothespin "butterfly"





Yep, running around the backyard in her underwear.

I love our condo, but I wish we had some outdoor space for E to run around in.

I was tired of looking at the two-week old post...

...so I'm finally getting around to updating our blog.
Hey, it's Johnny Appleseed.

Future tattoo artist? This is Esther's first "real" drawing! All others so far have been squiggles, lines or dots. It's hard to see but it is a little person with a smiley face.

And look at this guy from her bath the other night. Pretty cute if you ask me. I love the feet and the slightly confused expression.

Giving him really long arms.

Poor Sydney. Still being used as a pillow.

Making her "robot" with Cookie Monster and Grover parts.