another video

So after I posted the last video I got some requests for more.
Esme was being pretty cute tonight so I tried to catch it on film.
Sorry it's so dark, I was scared if I flipped the light on we'd lose the moment so I just went with it.

Enjoy!!

Twinkle Twinkle in a box

Yesterday Esme carried a box in from the kitchen...lifted it up on the couch and climbed in.
Seemed like a perfect place for singing a song...Note the change halfway through from the traditional twinkle twinkle to Esme's favorite "twinkle TC" an ode to her favorite mascot :)





Please note the Daddy styled hair:

vacation is truly over

Esme and Dada share an introspective moment in the swing

Well... it's about time I wrapped up the stories of our travels to Minnesota so I can do a better job moving us on with everyday life here in Philly.

The second part of our trip we were in the Twin Cities with Grandpa and Grandma Bette.
We had a great time with playdates this whole vacation. We met two new friends in Grand Marais, Leiv & Ella who Esme still talks about. And while we were in the Twin Cities we had two playdates with a friend from college who has two little boys. (If I were not the world's worst picture taker I would have documented proof of these playdates but alas and alack...)

Here's a naked Esme playing "in" the sprinkler
(this mostly involved thwarting the sprinkler from actually hitting her body in any way)

Esme watching Word World and cuddling TC

This picture requires the full story... TC is the Minnesota Twins mascot. We met him at the 30th Anniversary Party for El Burrito Mercado (A Mexican Market) in St. Paul. Esme was smitten the moment she saw him and spent the whole afternoon watching TC longingly and pointing. The hillarious part of these baby crushes is that she, of course, won't go near TC.
She did however spend the next week cuddling, kissing and patting the autographed TC picture that she carried everywhere with her!!

Grandpa and Grandma Bette bought Esme a stuffed TC on our way to the airport that has now replaced the rather frayed picture (thank goodness)!!

This is the super yummy corn from El Burrito Mercado
Butter, the Mexican version of sour cream, Cotija cheese and cayenne --A-Mazing!!!

Esme made herself a cozy little bed in the window seat

We went to the Minnesota Zoo, which has a working family farm,
where the goats were way too scary to actually touch but were lots of fun to visit!

Another zoo picture (not sure why some of these are so small)
Notice Grandpa Ernie the explorer in the corner there...
"Dr. Livingston I presume?"

Just thought you'd all appreciate that scrunch face faze has not yet passed!

Susannah and I spent the obligatory day shopping for clothes, her asking for my help and then refusing to buy anything I recommend...you know just like we were actually sisters :)
Luckily Grandma Bette came along and leant a hand with Esme...she also snapped these great pictures as Esme discovered the mannequins inside Old Navy. It was truly hillarious to see her decide these were her new best friends. The fascination carried on through the next few stores...results documented below...

I had to save this for last as it is my favorite picture.
You can just tell Esme feels so sad for her new headless friend...

a purse and a big ball of pot-pot

Here are a few more pictures from our time in Grand Marais...and a few more stories to accompany them.

One of Esme's favorite things about Babka's house is the Meow Meow (pronounced more like wow wow but with an "m") Willa...Esme chases her all over the house, under chairs, behind couches, the whole time chanting "hold, hold, hold" this picture is one of the rare times I convinced Esme to sit properly and hold Willa in her lap. A successful venture for all as Esme especially loves it when Willa "kicks" her tail as she pets her.

Esme and Dada strolling the metropolis of Grand Marais

We visited the family farm where Babka and Nana Coo get their milk and butter and things...here are the pigs.

And here's Esme very sure she has no desire to touch the pigs

I think this next picture is one of my favorite. It's important to the story to know, if you don't already, that Esme calls poop "pot-pot" this was her own invention and she sticks with it!

Also, while we've been on vacation Esme has started pronouncing words fully and putting 2-3 words together more often than not. One of her favorite things is to add "big" before everything.

Babka and Nana Coo are faithful composters and have been trying this new (to me anyway) method that involves putting all of their organic material in a big plastic ball that they can then move around their yard to facilitate the breakdown of everything inside.

One day Babka, Esme and Auntie Shooz (Susannah) went out to put the compost into the ball...spying it from across the yard Esme immediately called out "Big Ball"...yes it sure is. As soon as they opened the big ball, something none of Esme's balls do, she got very excited and peeked right inside. Upon spying, and more importantly smelling, the brown decompsing matter inside Esme looked up at her Auntie Shooz and said quizzically pot-pot? I guess so she said...it sure does look like pot-pot.

We've since established that it is very silly that Babka and Nana Coo keep a big ball of pot-pot in their front yard...but to each her own right?

And here in the distance you can see the big ball of pot-pot

Our little Scandahoovian trying on hats at the Duluth Pack store in, well, Duluth :)

Most importantly Esme with her new purse...

brought to you By Auntie Shooz and Uncle Chris.

Esme loves her purse as she can perfectly carry her cell phone, keys and little baby

everywhere she goes, she never leaves home without it!

The Great North Woods

We've been visiting Andrew's Mom (Babka) and her partner Suzanne (Nana Coo) in Grand Marais, MN.

Esme's favorite pastime has been sitting on the shore of Lake Superior throwing rocks. She loves the splash when they hit the water, she loves dropping them down from on top of her head, she loves sneaking as close as she can to the water then scurying back when a little wave rolls in.

Esme could spend hours down at the water. When she gets up in the morning she waves hello to the "leak" and the moment she first saw the Lake on our drive up her she asked for a "dip, dip" (upon questioning I discovered that it was herself she wanted to dip, dip in the Lake).

We spent one afternoon (or an hour of it anyway) going on Esme's first canoe ride. She did a great job sitting still in the canoe. On our return trip she got a bit antsy and kept asking to touch, splash, and dip-dip. I had to explain that we can only touch, splash, and dip-dip in the water when we can see the bottom. Of course we immediately hit an oddly shallow patch pretty far from the shore and Esme had to point out to the lake and say "Bottom"...damn smart kid :}

Andrew's Mom makes fabulous bread so my goal for my time here was to learn how to bake bread. We've baked several loaves and Esme has been a great help she loves to stir and has even been making us stone soup in the living room every night.

We also spent one afternoon playing in the small waterfalls on the Kadunce River just North of Babka's house.

Pre-baby the family used to hike up the Kadunce and up the falls every summer. I think it may take another year or two before Esme can hike up the falls with us but she loved playing in the small falls and shallow pools.

she is definitely an explorer and wanted to walk right through the rushing water and loved her first slide down one of the shorter rock falls.

I let her go at the top and her dad caught her at the bottom, she thought it was great!

More to come as soon as I find a USB cable and can download our pictures!