Out and About

Life keeps moving along and I guess I should post about it.  We ventured to the "beach" on a rather cold day.  Esther found that the dog's Chuckit (for throwing balls) worked well for digging in the sand.  Easter has come and gone.  We had a nice day with my mom, brunch and then watched some ducks.

And then last week, we got to visit with a childhood friend of mine from when we both lived in Alaska.  Coincidentally, she and her husband adopted their daughter from China, too.  We met up at the Space Needle and had lunch.  Carly was a little reserved at first but Esther was determined to be friends.  Soon they were busy trying to stop the restaurant from spinning, but to no avail.  It was so good to see Angela and get to meet her husband, Dale, and daughter, Carly.

Beautiful grey day.

No, she didn't create this huge hole, it was there already.

Esther on Easter, checking out the ducks.

Carly and Esther moving along with the outer wall of the Space Needle restaurant.

Beautiful girl!

Angela and I.  Loving my crazy wind blown hair.

Esther wearing a pheasant feather in her hair.  She said it made her look like a knight.  I thought she looked like more of an Native American princess.

Sock Hop!

So I've been meaning to post about Esther's first school dance that happened a few weeks ago.  Pretty darn cute!  Of course, Esther didn't "dress" up but there were a lot of poodle skirts in attendance.  Esther wasn't too sure what to think at first.  Although Esther is not shy, she is reserved when there is lots of noise and an abundance of people.  Luckily we met up with two of E's classmates and she was soon dancing her heart out.  And this girl can dance...although she definitely has her own style.  It's a cross between Elaine on Seinfeld and a tribal dancer.  So funny to watch!

Brookelynn in the tutu, Esther, and Grace in the magenta skirt

Don't know these girls but loved their outfits!

Busting a move

I think everyone was doing the "Electric Slide"

Am I doing this right?

Slow dance

E liked the faster music best

Trying to perfect trio dancing.  Might take some more practice.

Going to the Dentist

After what seems like hundreds of visits, Esther has finally gotten used to going to the dentist.  She will  finally allow the dental assistant and dentist to lay her back in the "robot chair" and check out her teeth.  She used to cry and stall and carry on to avoid  it all. To even look in her mouth, I had to have her lay back on my lap and hold her hands.  Luckily, the dental office is very patient, I guess they'd better be since all they deal with is kids.  This time they were even able to take x rays of E's teeth. Big girl!

As I snapped photos of her, Esther told me I needed to put these on facebook. 

Getting x rays taken like a pro. This former dental assistant mama practiced with her at home, using  a slip of paper as film.

I didn't get a picture of him, but the office has a one-year old dog.  While I was chatting with the dentist, E and the dog were running around together.  He would pull on the back of her shirt and she would squeal with delight. Super cute.

And here's our handsome fellow, Ollie, waiting for me to throw his ball.

And of course our so ugly she's cute pup, Frank.

Esther's Jumping Birthday Party

We've all got the crud here...mainly just a yucky cough now.  Esther had a fever a few days before her birthday party and we weren't sure if she would be able to enjoy her party. But luckily she was feeling better with only slightly lower energy on the big day.

Having your kid's party at the jumpy place is a bit pricey, but well worth it.  The kids run around like mad, jumping and playing until they are tuckered out (the parents appreciate this)! Then on to the birthday cake and presents part, which is handled by a young person with lots of energy.  And they clean up after the whole shindig is over.  Again well worth it!

Waiting for the party to begin with Nana Carolyn.

Following each other around like ducklings

Esther needed a break now and then.

Waiting for her second wind to hit.

Theo- friend from preschool

Zachary-from preschool, and Cheyenne-from kindergarten

Lea-dog park friend

Claire-dog park friend
(Love the expression!)

Claire and Esther cuddling

Sisters!

Trying out the seat of honor

Plotting from his throne

Brookelynn (Esther's girl crush) in front; Cheyenne, Lea and E in back

Blowing out the candles!  Man, she has no problem being the center of attention.  When we all sang to her she took it all in, no embarrassment at all.  Love it.

Kelsey-from kindergarten

Bring on the presents!! Esther did very well being thankful for all her presents.  She got her first Barbie...and since it came with a bathroom set which included a toilet, E thought it was pretty cool. (I even found some old soda pop inside it a few days later, which did a good job mimicking dirty toilet water.)

This photo had to be included because it makes me laugh!

It was a monkey bean bag chair.

OK, this has nothing to do with the birthday party, but I wanted to show off the quilt I finished for a friend.  It is made out of her daughter's special baby clothes.

Happy Birthday to my proselytizing, tummy punching, hair cutting girl.

Yep, Esther turned the big 06 this past week.  And decided in honor of her birthday to cut her own hair, but more on that later.  

I got an email from Esther's teacher about E's apparent new found profession, preacher. She kept telling the kids that "God loved her" and "God wanted her to choose to do good things instead of bad".  I responded that I was glad she had taken these things to heart but hoped she wasn't driving everyone crazy.  Her teacher assured me that it was quite cute.  

Fast-forward two days, and Esther decided punching a girl in the stomach was a better form of communication than using words.  Time for a trip to the "thinking chair" and no iPad at home.  Are all kids bi-polar?

This week, after being told to go play in her room for pestering the dogs, she got a hold of some scissors and went to town.  First I have to say it could have been worse, much worse.  But her class picture was the next day and we had just spent $22 for her haircut the weekend before (and it was such a cute haircut).  Now the back has a bald patch and the sides have very jagged layers.  Her reasoning was she wanted to look like a boy and keep the hair out of her eyes.  She did leave the front alone and I was able to fix some of the damage by making more bangs. She has thick hair and it will grow back.  And to be truthful, it really doesn't look that bad, I've seen older kids with similar hair cuts, that they paid for.  Even so, the scissors are now in a safe place.

Helping Daddy fix a leaky faucet (pre-butchering) 

This is a wrench.

She was very helpful as you can tell.

The dogs decided to check on the plumbing progress.

Frankie seemed to doubt Gene's expertise.  She didn't need to worry, no more leak!

Esther birthday present and a shot of her new 'do.

Kinda punk?

Going over the game plan.

Finished "Slave 1" , Boba Fett's ship.

Baldy balderson.

Discussing the intricacies of the ship. (hair after a little correction)