The Princess Ball

I finally got the pictures downloaded from our trip to the princess ball.
This was a fundraiser for childhood cancer that we attended. My mother-in-law's retreat center donated a mother daughter canoe trip as the grand prize so we got to be there to draw the winning name.

Luckily there is no photographic evidence of my lack of shoes, I'm telling you wool socks are totally the next thing in princess wear....

 The Princess Eats:

A sampling of what photos look like when Esme takes them:

Sure, this one she gets right on:

The two princesses (I'm not really sure why one of us looks a little grumpy...):

This next pictures was far and away Esme's favorite part of the day.
Three Ballerina's came from the Minnesota Ballet and danced for all the little girls. Esme sat right on the floor in the front row and I thought she might explode from sheer excitement. I really didn't think she could get any more excited when all of a sudden they started dancing to "Some Day my Prince Will Come". Esme LOOOVES Sleeping Beauty.  I honestly thought she might possibly shoot through the roof with excitement when she turned around to me and said "MAma...(it was half whispered she was so excited) They're dancing to Princess Aurora's song!"

Here's our little princess ballerina so excited (can't you see the excitement?) to be posing with the real thing.

The whole day was so fun and exciting that Esme fell asleep exactly two blocks away from the ballroom and slept the entire 2+ hours home.
It's good to be a princess!

forever and a day

Well...I know it's been forever since I've gotten my act together in the blogosphere....but here we are!

This move has been a bit more...everything...than I imagined.
A big adjustment to be apart as a family, and then back together again.
A big adjustment to move so many times -- have Esme move into her own bed and then into her own room for the very first time.
A big adjustment to leave the city
A big adjustment for me to have a job that has shifted so many times in so few months (leaving me a bit unsure of my abilities and self)
A big adjustment to have no tv or internet (although we still watch way too many netflix)

So it's been a lot. I think we're adjusting, I'm just not used to a slow adjustment, you know more of a jump in with both feet person so it feels kind of weird to still be finding my way and to feel so unsure about myself.

On the bright side Esme is adjusting beautifully....no hesitation there. She knows who she is (right down to the fact that she is "dying" for a princess gown for Christmas). She knows how valuable she is (evidenced by the church thanksgiving service where she announced to all she was thankful for herself). She has friends, is a good sharer, loves dance class, can't wait to go see the Nutcracker in two weeks, loves her new doll house -- almost as much as she loves her new Barbie (much to her father's chagrin).

Here's some photos of what we've been up to...birthdays, halloween and all that...enjoy!
and I promise I'll try to drop by more often!

PS if you have any good visit pics e mail me and I'll post them...I'm the worst picture taker EVER!!!!

Grandpa Ken's Visit (of which I'm hoping Grandpa Ken got better pictures)

Two cold swimmers

More presents...good thing she had help!

The super exciting new talking Dora Doll

(which we hear for at least 15 minutes every night at bed time!)

Esme's third birthday! (I know there are better pictures than these out there....share the love people :) )

My favorite present opening response:
breathless with excitement Esme says: "It's a...box!!"
no sarcasm, all joy

Just to show Auntie Melanie the beautifully wrapped birthday presents :)

Raspberry Torte (or Raspberry Torrit as Esme insists on calling her)

All the little girls got princess crowns (even some of the big girls joined in)

Who doesn't want to run around in their swimsuit when it's snowing out?

Some State Fair Pics....Esme loved the rides!

The Swings

This was totally Esme's "are you sure we're doing okay here Auntie Shooz?" face

after an encouraging grin from me Auntie Shooz passed it on and Esme decided "the scary ride" was perhaps fun after all!Worlds largest corndog...don't worry she had help :)

Esme & Daddy on the Carousel

Two happy piggys in the dairy barn

Cowboy Boots and Abbreviations

Grandpa Ken sent Esme some new cowboy boots last week and they are definitely the most exciting thing since sliced bread!

I'm not going to lie I was a bit skeptical when I saw the the heels light up every time she takes a step...but in a bizarre twist, it's my favorite part. I can't get over how cute it is. Plus every time someone compliments her on her boots she does this great little dance to show them how they light up, it's really too cute!

Had he was also sending a hat I would have made sure he knew she has been blessed with an Ashcroft head...so alas we will have to donate the hat to the dress up box at day care and the younger kids (or even the ones Esme's age with a normal sized head) can enjoy wearing the cute hat...

Esme has also been very into shortening words lately and I thought I better share a few of her favorite abbreviations from the past week... (Imagine a very reassuring know-it-all tone for all these statements)

"That's the kitty mom...sometimes I call her kid"

"It's so rainy, look at the puddles...I just call them pud"

"Babka are we going to watch Up? Is it time for the movie? I call it the move, let's watch the move!"

daycare, wilderness & bubble beards...

Esme had her first day of day care today. Of course since I warned her day care provider (Lisa) of Esme’s extreme aversion to naps she started off her daycare career with a 2 hour plus nap including a glare/rollover at Lisa when she finally came in and turned on the light.

Some of you will not be shocked to learn that the little 2 year old boy who only has eyes for the most popular boy (Ray-Ray) had a, perhaps momentary, but shocking nonetheless, shift in loyalties when he spent a good portion of his day following Esme around. When I picked Esme up I said it’s time to say goodbye to your friends and she promptly responded, “I better give hugs and kisses!”

We did Ya Ya proud today when I picked Esme up early to take her to the pool for a “swim lesson”. I think I did alright for my first lesson, we did a lot of kicking with a kickboard and practiced big kicks / big arms over and over again. I think my favorite part was when Esme figured out she could get some momentum going by using her arms as a sort of gerbil wheel right in front of her, it looked hilarious but worked shockingly well!

Esme has also been spending quite a bit of time with her Babka, they went canoeing and have even written their own version of the wheels on the bus…the waves on the beach, we expect their first solid gold hit is already on it’s way!

Esme proudly pointed out the gold finch at the bird feeder this morning and saw her first two deer in the front yard this evening…she is truly becoming a wilderness explorer.

Esme has become quite the fan of the bubble beard and bubble hat during her nightly bath, everyone has to be called in to see her magnificent creations which she keeps on as long as possible.

You'll be glad to see Esme is still practicing her photography...

As well as working hard to ensure all those rocks finally make it back into the lake.

Lastly Esme exploring the labrynth on a rainy day...

We miss you all!

sled dog puppies

I know I still owe you all the swimming videos I promised...this moving thing was perhaps a bit more intense than i realize... I have to get all the electronics up and running.

In the meantime, what could be better than a few puppy/baby pictures?

I'm sneaking in one little hiking pic to let you know we are doing something up here...

And now for the real fun...

Don't worry, we didn't bring any home :)