Silly

One of the little toys we got yesterday is another RAR pencil eraser-top type monster creature. Esme has been running around the house with her two RAR monsters on the top of colored pencils saying RAR to everyone and everything. We have to participate. She also had this weird game with putting colored pencils one-by-one in a thin plastic tube (part of packaging from something else) and dumping them out again. It sounds simple but watching (and having to participate in it) proves it quite complex. She's got a system going on. At least it doesn't take much to keep her amused ;)

I'm not feeling 100% and Mark was good enough to go do the garbage and grocery shopping this morning. I'll see what I feel about finishing the toys I was making yesterday. I did do some laundry and changed the rug in Esme's play area, which she loves and is already doing headstands on.


liked this picture...

Vacation Sunday

PeanutNinja occupies my chair in the worksapce

We went up to Hazel's antique mall for a short time today, bought Esme a chair and a few little toys. I've been looking at Ebay a lot for a few small things I wanted for her - and wanted to see a different scene. I have many days off this week for the second half of my vacation. It's nice.

We have a new rug for Esme's 'room' and I'm thinking of moving my sewing machine to another place in the upstairs to expand the area Esme has for her own. That will leave room for a 'big girl bed' later and maybe a reading corner. They are just tentative thoughts I'm coming up with. I know she needs to move out of the crib sooner or later... she's not too tall for it yet but that is mostly because she prefers to sleep curled up in the corner. I know some other people who live here she gets that trait from.

Woods pictures

Soon enough there will be snow on the ground and there won't be many of these excursions out into the woods behind our house. Until then, we continue to enjoy them with Esme.














Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

small day out

We had a small day out to the thrift store in Paris and the grocery store. I bought two more pairs of used shoes for Esme - and she is clopping around in the 'dress' type shoes now having a grand time. Her feet grow so quickly I'm so glad they had something larger than what she was wearing. She also got a set of colored pencils at the grocery store which she has been happily scribbling with all day.

I have tomorrow off and Thanksgiving off and then the Retail Horror Day (Black Friday). My second vacation begins in early December.

Drawing at the table and toddler shirt

Here are a few pictures of Esme drawing at my worktable. She has been having lots of fun with a pencil and paper today - actually forgoing crayons for it! She has also been liking my collection of colored thread and been naming some of the colors and sorting them between colored buckets and tin containers.

She is wearing that first size 3 shirt I made back in August that was too big for her then. Her hair is just as wild as ever. I washed it last night like I usually do but keeping it in pigtails is almost impossible lately. Mark still wants it to grow until Esme asks for it to be cut herself.. or experiments with cutting it like I did in kindergarten. Haha! I'll probably corner her and put it up before we go to Grandma's house.


One of her pages of handiwork

Our Friday morning and update

It is nice to have a morning to play with Esme, do a little laundry and not worry about going to work until the afternoon. We've been playing with letters, counting, blocks, teaset and our kitten PeanutNinja. Esme has to learn PeanutNinja does not like to have things stacked on her - this isn't 'Stuff on my Cats'.com! I am amazed every day at how much more I understand of what Esme is saying - especially when I can slow down and watch without having to be busy myself.

Updates: Some of this has been happening for a while but I don't think I've noted it here. So, this is 'for the record.' I'm hearing sentences like 'my cow, my cup' and 'good cow', 'good kitty'.. also things like 'What is that?' much clearer than before and expecting an answer. She will often repeat the answer or attempt to - which she was reluctant to do a few months ago unless she was really interested.

She asked me 'What you got' or something similar to that in the kitchen today to make sure I had the same pepperoni she had... Her number of things she knows how to say on Starfall is increasing as well and she is participating in the matching and puzzle games by pointing to the squares.. something she would not do a few months ago.

This morning she has been doing the 'shhh' with her finger to her lips. That is cute because she can't keep a straight face even though she tries. I say 'Shhh.. be wery wery quiet, we are hunting wabbits!' and she giggles her tail off. I'm hearing counting sounds when she puts large pegs from one cup to another. She is trying colors too - 'black' and 'green' are easy to understand. The numbers are still hard to understand but she is getting the basic shape of the word right. Hearing her pretend to talk on the phone is hilarious.

Walk to the Woods

Outside!

In this picture maybe I can see some of me in her... but mostly I see Mark or sometimes when she is crying hard, I see my mom's expressions.

Esme has been without her outside walk for several days since it was raining so much. Mark took her out this afternoon and got a few pictures before the battery died.

They found a very large hole. Mark said it was hard getting her away from it because she wanted to see what was down there...


What _IS_ this Daddy?

Small pieces of art

My coworker wanted me to draw some flowers at work for an announcement. It was interesting to draw something again that someone else wanted. Then I was on the phone for about an hour trying to find something for a customer - and I sketched this little lizard monster during that time. The two styles are completely different.. realistic flower and stylized lizard. It makes me want to break out the inks Mark and I bought in Yellow Springs when I was pregnant with Esme. They are in a box on my sewing table and I have not been into them in months.

Hewwo?

Bring Pizza?

I love this little dress!

Accidental Collage

Isn't it funny how some art just kind of falls into place, all by itself, on accident? I looked up from my desk today and thought... the assorted 'found junk' that has migrated to the whiteboard is actually really pretty. It has become an accidental collage.



A more purposeful collection of cards, notes and scraps of newspaper in a dusty corner of the room. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so inclined towards collecting 'stuff' but here it is... I am.

In Other News: We are having a very bad 'I want my pacifier' day at the moment with Esme. She is tugging me around and trying to tell me she wants it. I told her it is lunchtime soon - and I'm not putting her in there for a nap until after we eat. *lots of tears*

Little Long Sleeved Dresses

Both size 3, zip up the back and long sleeves for winter. They fit her quite well. Both went through the wash beautifully. I'll hope to get a better picture of them on her than I did the other day.

Pattern: Simplicity 9641 from 1971

weekend tidbits

Yesterday we went to have a yard sale at Jack's house - Jack and I work at the same place and he lives up the road a bit. We did make a little money off of things that were otherwise just sitting around. Anyway, Mark took 'Them Smoking Bones' (ie: plastic medical skeleton we have hanging in a corner of our house) and put him in the back of the truck as a 'what IS that' for people driving by. It worked - several people stopped and looked, with their first question 'Why do you have a skeleton there?' During several parts of the day we put Esme in the back of the truck to sit with her cup or drawing pad. The first time we put her back there she went and pointed at Bones and then at the bed of the truck and said 'kitty.' We thought she meant Bones was a kitty for a minute - but then realized that she was talking about last month when we took Bones with us to try to give away PeanutNinja's kitten siblings. She was saying last time things were like this we had kitties 'right here' and she wanted us to complete the picture. I laughed! What a strange memory this kid has. She also tried to get Bones to hold a stick later in the day - and that was funny to watch.

She also got to ride a horsie yesterday! For just a little bit. Ellen lives near Jack and has horses. Ellen and I also work at the same place but she usually isn't there when we come to visit. Esme went to see Ellen's horses many times over the course of the yard sale day - just to pat their noses and offer some grass etc... Ellen came home halfway through the day and Esme insisted on seeing the horses one last time before we left. Ellen was out cleaning barns and invited Esme in to see all the horses individually, sit on their backs and even offered to halter one up for her. Esme thought she said 'hat' instead of halter and took my red hat off my head and gave it to Ellen, then pointed at the horse. That was funny. Ellen held Esme up on one of the younger horses and rode her around for a few circles. Esme had so much fun and was so talkative about it. Ellen asked 'do you like horsies?' without being expected to be answered and Esme said 'YEA' and made horsie noises.

This morning I'm awoken by loud 'chomping' noises across the room. She's hungry. I ask 'are you HUNGRY?' and for the first time in a long time I hear repeated 'I'm hungry!' and more chomping noises. She asked for her boots today - she asked for her Shaun the Sheep... we're really getting a little one who knows what she wants and can communicate it better than ever before.