Don't cry...

Things have definitely returned to normal here. As normal as things can be. The big focus these days has been transitioning Esme to milk. It's part of turning 1, plus she has successfully weaned herself (and I'm happy to report that that process was about as smooth and easy as could be) so now more than ever she needs milk.



I didn't imagine she wouldn't like milk. It never crossed my mind. Plus she's such a fan of sippy cups that I figured any substance contained within would be likewise adored. Not so.

The closest we've gotten to her showing any love for milk is when she's able to outsmart the no-spill design of the sippy cup by bringing the milk up into the nozzle and shaking it out all over the floor. Then she proceeds to fingerpaint with it. When that grows tiresome, she simply scoots through it and on to the next thing.

More than drinking from a sippy cup, Esme loves to drink from a real cup. This is something we only allow under the strictest supervision and only while strapped into her high chair. Desperate to win her over to milk, we attempted to give her some in one of her beloved cups. Since part of the fun of cup-drinking is pouring it all over ourselves this is a far messier affair than when we fill her cup with water.

I think I just have to accept that a lot of milk is going to be spilled in the effort to convert her.

Faster than a speeding bullet

Where to begin. This past Tuesday won't go down as one of Esme's favorites. Nor mine. Nor Kristopher's. I was getting ready to post here about the girl's first birthday. I could hear her in the hallway, rattling around like she usually does. She had only been away from me mere moments when she came scooting back in the den, all smiles. I noticed something strange around her mouth. Something white and powdery. I immediately rushed to the hall to see what it could be thinking she somehow got a hold of some soap from the linen closet. It wasn't soap. She had managed to find an ancient pill case of mine that I thought had long been thrown away. It held both Advil (candy-coated) and uncoated Excederin. I found a half dissolved Excederin among the debris and could see that her face was decorated with the remnants of both pills. I died a little then picked myself and her up, proceeded to induce vomiting which she endured like a champ while frantically dialing the pediatrician's office. The nurse urged me to call Poison Control which I did immediately.

Let me just say, Poison Control is wonderful. I was immediately connected to a doctor who handled the call with calm and reassurance. Since I was unable to deduce how much she has actually ingested, the doctor left it in my hands to decide the best course of action. His feeling was that it was unlikely she got very far since the amount of time she was alone was minimal. Plus infants aren't natural pill-poppers. They might sample, taste, suck a little, but they aren't as likely to swallow. With that in mind, he thought I could just take a wait and see approach. However, he also suggested that I could take her to the ER and have bloodwork done so that we could know for sure if she ingested more than her little body could handle.

Wanting to be safe rather than potentially sorry, I opted for the ER. We had to wait 4 hours for Esme to metabolize whatever she had taken before reporting to the hospital. That gave us enough time to call Daddy who wanted to come home and join us.

Poor Esme. With veins no larger than strands of hair the nurse had her work cut out for her. After failing to get anything out of her left arm, they had to then attack the right. With both Kristopher and me holding her down, she cried and wiggled and fought. It was just awful. Every bit of good I had accomplished as her mother dissolved that very moment for me.

But she quickly bounced back from the experience. With her snack cup full of cheddar bunnies firmly in her grip she was all smiles again. We waited out the hour for the results watching videos (a novelty for her), playing in the sink and reading books. The results were fine. Not a trace of anything in that hard-won vile of blood.

The nurse was sorry she only had "boy" band-aids available. I wasn't sorry at all. Now more than ever, Esme is my hero...

Happy First Birthday!

A few weeks after the fact, I know, but it's been busy. Esme has successfully turned 1 and with it comes all sorts of fun things: parties, cupcakes, presents, a visit to the doctor, shots... Esme was a trooper throughout her party despite missing her nap. And she was the lucky recipient of all sorts of great gifts. She's been having a ball getting to know each new toy and book.



The big news here is that Esme has finally sprouted a tooth! We thought this day would never come. In fact as of this writing, she has three on their way. The first to pop up was her lower left tooth. Then yesterday I noticed she had two upper teeth coming through. The funny thing is, typically the front teeth come first. Esme is anything but typical, though. Instead, her two eye teeth are on their way in. I've taken to calling her "Fang." This should be quite a sight once all three are in. I promise pictures.

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.