Seal in Howth

Some comment about the seal

A Real Stand-up Kinda Gal

It gets kinds boring lying down so much. And sitting is just plain blasé. I much prefer standing. It's my favorite thing to do these days.

Esme  standing on her own

Standing and Smiling at Dad is lots of fun

Mom and Dad can't seem to get enough of me standing and say I have to share it with you all. So I hope you have as much fun watching me stand as I have doing it.

Love and cuddles,
Esme

Happy Half Birthday to Me!

So today was my half birthday. Mom and Dad made a little party for me. It was a lot of fun. They sang songs and I had my first birthday cake. It was a b'naner cake and even had a candle.

Esme loves Mom singing Happy Birthday 

Havin' a grand ole birthday time

Esme posing with her Birthday 'Cake'

Then I even got to eat my 'cake'. It was the first thing other than Mom's Milk (tm) that I have ever tried. It took me by surprise a bit cause I've never chewed food before. Mostly, I thought it felt squishy and was fun to play with.

More playing with than eating the Birthday 'Cake'

My half birthday was really fun. I can't wait for my first full birthday.

Love and cuddles,

Esme

Loving the Burn

A good workout can be lots of fun. And exercise helps me sleep better. So I've been working out lots these days. I asked Dad to film some cause I'm thinking about a putting out a baby workout video. Could help me buy even more new toys if it catches on!

Hope you enjoy watching me workout and maybe doing some exercises along with my video.

Love and cuddles,
Esme

Safta and Ronnie Come to Visit

I like it when grandparents come to visit. They are lots of fun. This week Safta and Ronnie came to New York and we had a good time. Safta read me stories and we cuddled.

Safta reads to a sleepy Esme

Ronnie fed me a yummy bottle and I decided that his penders were real snazzy. He got all dressed up to see me.

Ronnie helps Esme tank up before bedtime 

I can't wait to see them again soon.

Love and cuddles,
Esme

Giraffes are funny lookin'

I really love Sophie the giraffe. She is a great toy. She squeaks and is fun to chew on (I even got three of her feet in my mouth one time). We like to stare at each other too. 

Sophie the Giraffe entrances Esme

Uncle Steve, Aunt Ashley and Christian sure know how to pick a toy. I can't wait to meet them. Since they pick such great toys, I'm sure they'll be super fun to play with.

Love and cuddles,
Esme

Guess How Much I Love to Read

Mom and Dad read me lots of books. We read books at least a couple times each day. I really like to hold the books. The pictures and the stories are lots of fun. I like to read them again and again.

Esme reads her favorite book to Mom

We usually read on the big bed in Mom and Dad's room. That way we can all read the book together. Maybe I'll get to read with some of you when you come to visit. I would like that a lot.

Love and cuddles,
Esme

The Only Way to Travel

So after our vacation in Stowe, we took the train home. The train is lots of fun. I love to look out the windows and watch all the snow and trees. We spent all day on the train and I only had to go in a car for a few minutes before and after. I got to play with Mom and Dad and we had a really good time.

Esme enjoys her private sleeping cabin

I was sad the vacation was over, but the train was so great that it made it OK. I can't wait to take the train on another vacation.

Love and cuddles,

Esme

Quite the Gang

So evidently if more than four members of the family are in one place, there is some rule that we have to take pictures. Normally, I put up with a fair amount of picture taking. But it turns out that the more people in the picture, the longer it takes. Add three dogs and it gets out of control.

Only Snickers and Esme look at the camera

But without the dogs, it turns out we can all look at the camera with our eyes open. Geesh. These people are amateurs. But I love them anyways.

We finally get our act together

After a while, I started to get sleepy. Can you blame me? There was no end in sight. I mean everyone else got to take a break and not be in all the pictures. Except me of course. I had to be in every one.

Don't I look cute between Mom and Safta

But then they said it was the last picture. That made me really happy.

Esme is thrilled that this is the last picture

And after the pictures, we got to play and enjoy our vacation. Tomorrow we have to leave Stowe and go home to New York. I'll miss everyone but they promised to come and visit me soon. That will be fun.

Love and cuddles,
Esme

Chairs, Babysitters and Stowe

This week, I'm vacationing in Stowe. It's been a lot of fun so far. Mom and Dad say this is where they got married and it's the first time they have come back since then. I liked my first New Years and so far my second year is going great.

Happy to be in Stowe

Lots of this white fluffy stuff the big kids call snow. I like watching it fall down from the sky. I also got my very own chair for the first time and can sit at the big kids' table with everyone.

Esme lounging in her new chair

Esme with Mom during dinner

Safta and Ronnie are starting new careers as babysitters. They seem to like it and we have lots of fun. Mom and Dad really seem to like it as they go away on something called dates while Safta and Ronnie practice their babysitting. Well, I should get back to vacationing. It's very hard work. Hope everyone is having a great 2011 so far.

Love and cuddles,
Esme

Journey to the Great White North

So Mom and Dad tricked me into a car again. I fell asleep and next thing I knew I was waking up in a car far from home. But they gave me a bottle of Mom's Milk (tm) right when I got up and after a short while we stopped to play with cousins. I got to meet Cousin Sophie. She's very old...two! She sang me songs and showed me lots of stuff I can do when I grow up some more.

Esme and Sophie play Mix-n-Match parents

Oh yeah, I got to meet Sophie's Ima and Aba too (also known in grown up circles as Ben and Julie). And puppy cousin Lillabee showed off some excellent sniffing of me. Everyone else had yummy snacks and Chocolachino made by cousin Ben. After a while, I got sleepy and dozed off.

And when I woke up, I was in that darn car again! And worse, Mom and Dad hadn't brought cousin Sophie with me. It was dark out and there was some white stuff all around. But they did give me another bottle and Mom played with me. I met a new friend who always seems to be in my carseat: Mr Duck. Mr Duck and I had a staring contest for a while and eventually we stopped and got out. Guess who was there? Safta and Ronnie! I was very excited. And Mom and Dad say we get to stay for a whole week. This should be lots of fun.

Love and cuddles,
Esme

Rub-a-dub, dub...fun in the tub

Maybe I was a bit hasty to judge this bath thing. Turns out I kinda like it. I'm still not crazy about the face washing and shampooing my head, but it's not so bad that I need to cry. Just a little squirming is enough to do the trick. It can be lots of fun.

The Happy Bather

I even started to figure out how to splash a little bit. That one caught Mom and Dad off guard, and I enjoy surprising them. We'll have to see what I have up my sleeve next time. But since I don't have sleeves in the tub, that could be tricky. Hmmm...

Love and cuddles,
Esme

My Former Roommate Comes to Visit

So for the first couple weeks after I came home, I had a roommate. Sherma was a great roommate. She showed Mom and Dad how to take care of me and do all the things they hadn't done before. And she made sure I had company when I got bored or gassy in the middle of the night. But after a couple weeks, it was time for Sherma to head to California and help another baby.

The Roommates looking good

The other day Sherma was back home in NY and had a little free time. So she came over for a visit. We had lots of fun catching up. Sherma said I'd grown a lot. And I showed off my head lifting during some tummy time. We also had a good chat and cuddle. Sherma is very fun and I can't wait to see her again.

Love and cuddles,
Esme

GiggleFest 2010

Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkkah

It seems that every night Mom and Dad insist on playing with fire. And it seems to be getting a little worse each night. I mean that's a LOT of candles. When will it be enough?

Esme poses with her Menorot

But I have to admit I like the singing they do first. Especially Dad's rendition of the Shehekianu in his funny noise. That one makes me laugh.

Love and cuddles,
Esme