The better to see you with, my dear...

Ask Esme where her nose is and this is usually what you'll get.

















Ask her to show you her eye and this is what she'll do.















The nose pointing came first and almost always turns into deep nose picking. I try to clarify for Esme that that is her nostril and that we're getting more specific than is required, but she doesn't stand on particularities. A nose is a nose is a nose.

The eye bit came as a surprise. I had been working on "mouth" which for Esme was pretty much another excuse to explore the inside of her nose. Then one day I was reciting the alphabet and when I arrived at "I" I noticed that she was pointing to her "eye." I'm still not sure where she picked that up, but pick up she did. After congratulating Esme for her aptitude I launched into a discussion of that slippery slope we call homophones, but she would hear nothing of it.

Peace + Love

So Esme attended her first music festival this weekend. She really enjoyed herself and spent much of her time there walking around, taking in the scene.


The dress is courtesy of Aunt Sasha. Thanks Sash!

Esme is still a ways from walking on her own. Her preferred method of locomoting is still the beloved scoot. Concrete, grass, you name it, she's scooted it.




She also got ample practice drinking from her cup. Something she truly puts her all into...



Esme is rapidly acquiring new skills by the day and I'm trying to document them all. I'll be posting more soon.

Happy (Belated) Fourth!

Esme celebrated her first Independence Day out by the Long Island sound. Though the weather proved less than cheery, she had a fun time catching up with Aunt Lori and Uncle Marc. Packing for two has its challenges, and Mommy left behind Esme's special Independence Day tee sent with love by her Nana. So sadly the holiday came and went without festive fashion to mark it.

Meanwhile I dressed Esme in Nana's tee today to document the cuteness. The good news is that it's 24-month size, so we'll get another chance come next year.

"Miss Independent" indeed! Taking pictures of Esme these days is nearly impossible. She's got places to go, cats to torment.


















Plus she insisted on doing all the accessorizing herself.






And I'm not joking. She selected the hat. And she put it on. I like the jaunty way it covers her eyes. Très chic!







But seriously, I need to figure out how to adjust the shutter speed because this girl is all movement... and all attitude, too!



















Finally she simply became bored with me and my demands to sit still and smile.






She hightailed it on out of there with yet another hat perched just so on her head.

The Finger Lakes

So Esme survived her first family vacation. It was not without its drama... from being without a house and having a flat tire to losing Grandma & Grandpa somewhere in Ithaca and Ethan falling down the stairs. And that was just the first day! Fortunately things took a definite turn for the better.








The house we ultimately wound up in was beautiful and just steps from Lake Keuka.



Esme was able to enjoy some quality time with her cousins,
especially Ella.



And Daddy was able to enjoy some QT (along with some bruises)
with all the kids.



Esme attended her first wine tasting. This one was a little too assertive in her opinion.


And she had a blast at the Corning Museum. Since her cousins were off trying their hands at glass blowing, Esme took a moment to work on her kiss-blowing skills.



Despite less than perfect weather, the kids couldn't stay away
from the lake.


And despite a less than perfect start, including that trip down the stairs, Ethan did manage to stay away from the ER this year!

A fun time was had by all.