Driving in the Sun. . .

A HUGE thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for enabling what was a very much-needed vacation. Kristopher and I had a great time in Northern California. We hiked. We tasted wine. We pigged out. And speaking of pigs... we even took a mud bath. Anyway, it was a great way to celebrate 10 (wow) years of marital bliss.

Esme had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. She went to the playground. Ate at the diner. And enjoyed getting to know them a little better, I'm sure. Fortunately, she didn't seem to register our absence. Though Grandma did report one incident. It occurred while they were watching The Today Show together. Apparently seeing Al Roker and Meredith Vieira on the screen prompted Esme to say, "Mama, Dada." Ohh, so that's where we were off to.



Anyway, the trip wouldn't have been possible without Grandma and Grandpa. And knowing that our little girl was in good hands enabled us to relax and truly enjoy ourselves. I'm happy to be back home now. And though happy to have me back, I know that Esme is also missing her Gs. She's a lucky girl indeed.

The Great Pumpkin

Since autumn is in full swing and Halloween is just around the corner, it was time to hit the apple orchard and pumpkin patch. Aunt Stephie and Uncle Kevin live in Jersey "farm country" and were kind enough to host the event. We missed out on most of the apple picking due to naptime, but Esme more than made up for it in the pumpkin patch.

We thought it would be cute to photograph her perched upon a pumpkin. However what was simply a photo-op for us turned out to be some serious conditioning for Esme. Now as far as she's concerned pumpkins are not some crazy autumn vegetable from which we get Jack 'o Lanterns and pies. No. They're little Esme-sized seats.



She spent the rest of the afternoon attempting to climb upon every pumpkin she saw. And even now, more than a week later, she happily sits upon the one at Grandma and Grandpa's. And I'm really not sure how she's going to feel about it when we start carving up the one we have at home.

Apple picking has not changed Esme's opinion on apples. She just doesn't like them. She even rejects applesauce. Pears, too, are not a favorite. She does say "apple" however, which is too cute. I'll try to get some video up soon. It's one of her few multi-syllabic words. "Ahhh-pull" she says with the stress on "pull".

Sleepover!

Last weekend may very well go down as one of Esme's all-time favorites. She relishes any opportunity to spend time with her cousins, but never before has she had the pleasure of their company for an entire weekend.

Though Saturday was rainy, we still managed to get outside for a bit. That was followed by pizza, bath and bed for Esme, and a screening of The Muppet Movie, complete with popcorn. Ethan was partial to Animal. While Ella appreciated Miss Piggy's karate moves.

In the morning we hit the diner for breakfast.




























Then we joined Grandma and Grandpa for a trip to Liberty Science Center. That was tons of fun, especially the IExplore Room where all three kids had a ball trying out all the different activities. Esme just loved painting...



Look how good Esme is getting with her letters! I'm sure it's all thanks to all the time Ethan and Ella spent drilling them with her.

Seriously, her much more advanced cousins did have some influence on her. Just days after their visit, Esme took her very first steps! I guess she wants to be absolutely sure that the next time she sees them she'll be able to keep up.