Photo hunt Saturday: Reflection

I don't know the exact rules for the photo hunt over at tnchick, but I'm playing along this week because I loved the theme: Reflection.    Here is fairy Esme, admiring her year-old self as she tries out her wings.  I love how her hand trails dreamily along the glass...

Chipmunk costume photos

In keeping with the cute Halloween theme: Esme as chipmunk. Note: it took some convincing to keep that headpiece on. And the photos are a little blurry, because it's just not easy to take photos of a running toddler!

"Chiiiip! Chiiip!" says Esme.


Pretending to clean herself like a chipmunk.





"See how well I can move in this?"

"I can dance, too!"

Happy Halloween, says the chipmunk.  Me, too.

My Name is Esme, and I am a Chipmunk

Note:  No animals were harmed in the creation of this costume.  It's all faux fur.

I've been away from the computer and hunched over the sewing machine again.   This time, it's Esme's Halloween costume I'm working on.  She's going to be a chipmunk.  To be specific, she's going to be Pip from the movie Enchanted.  The idea is that Pip and Giselle are friends, and they will be great companions at the local Halloween party.

Ever a sucker for a big and unreasonable project, I told Esme, "Why, of course you can be a chipmunk for Halloween.  I'll make you a costume."  What?!  What was I thinking?  Of course, this conversation took place in August, promises for fancy costumes come easily when Halloween seems an eternity away. 

If I were a sensible person, I might have suggested that she wear one of the costumes Ada wore, or I might have decided to just have her wear some brown sweats and makeup, pin a piece of furry fabric on her bum as a tail, and be done with it.  To those who have the sense to know the value of your own time and make quick costumes, I salute you!  I, unfortunately, am too far into this one to turn back..

And actually, it's coming together pretty well.  It's my first real effort with faux fur, and despite the overwhelming amounts of fuzz that comes off that stuff when you cut and sew (seriously--I needed to wear a facemask), it's working out.    A few more hours, and it will be ready to wear. Look for more photos of the completed projects tomorrow.

A Great Game of "In"

Esme's has a new favorite game. She calls it "in." We call it cute as can be.


She can now climb up to sit "in" a chair.


And she loves to put the elephant "in" the A-frame house.

She also puts things into baskets, buckets, and toy bins. She puts Mommy's shoes into paper grocery bags, and puts her feet into Ada's boots. She helps put the groceries away--cat food in the pantry, and cheese in the fridge. And she's a whiz with helping load the wet clothes into the dryer.


Something that's not as cute or fun is finding out that our cellphone does indeed go "in" the dryer lint slot--all the way in--down into the vent. 30 minutes and 2 bent-up wire hangers later, Mommy decides maybe having Esme's help with every chore is probably not such a good idea. And maybe letting her play with our lone cellphone is not the brightest, either. Maybe Mommy needs a few more hours "in" dreamland--fast asleep.

Stand

REM says (yes, 80s girl, REM) "Stand in the place where you are."

For Esme, that's the theme of the summer. She's standing up every chance she gets, from the moment she wakes up, literally. Yea, Esme!

Bounce!

A new discovery for Esme--the johnny-jump-up is more than just a hammock. She can bounce! And what's more fun than an evening of boing, boing, boing, boing, boing, boing.

Catching another nap.

Here is Esme napping with her friend, Teuce.
And I promise, Esme does more than sleep and eat (or eat and sleep).

Eat Like a Lady--sort of

Esme practices eating rice cereal every day. Thanks Auntie Missy for the bib!

Rice is Nice

Our little baby has been eyeing our food for a few weeks now. Her wide-eyed gaze has been following each forkful of food we eat, and she has been smacking her lips as she watches us chew. We took it as a hint that she might be ready to try eating something, so we gave rice cereal a try this week.
And rice is nice, Esme decided. But it’s still not helping her sleep through the night, though!

Serendipity

This week I was browsing some of my favorite blogs, and I saw that Hillary at wee wonderfuls was eyeing a yellow baby sweater from a vintage catalog. It’s almost exactly the same sweater that my mom recently gave to our youngest daughter, Esme.




The weird thing about Esme’s sweater is that it was kind of a hidden treasure. My grandme must have started it sometime in the seventies. Many years after my grandme died, my mom found a stash of sweaters. The first set, she found just before our Ada arrived—and they were the perfect size. And then, five years later, she found this yellow sweater just a few weeks before Esme was born. The yellow sweater was unfinished, and my mom had to stitch it up and add the ribbon.
Just looking at it makes me feel more connected to my mom and grandme.