The Other day at Grandma's House

The other day at Grandma's house I thought we had a different kid! Not really, but Esme showed a few new abilities and tendencies. She drank from a straw for more than just 'by accident' - and was happy about it. She also said (although not very clearly) a word that sounded like Gramma, but she said it for Grandpa too. She also sat at a chair to eat some pudding from the table height - and was very very proud of that. So proud that ever since she did that up there she has been getting into a chair here and pounding on our kitchen table. We don't eat at that table - and the chair isn't quite the right height for her, but she tries anyway.

Esme also did something very strange while sitting at Grandma's table. It took a few days for me to get a good explanation of it. I put her Cheerios on a napkin and she put the napkin in her lap and wiped her pudding-covered hands on it. That looked like a very grown-up manner she would have not seen in our house, or even in Grandma's house. But she did it anyway, and repeated it here at home as well when I put Cheerios on a paper towel. I got an explanation yesterday - Mark has been putting a paper towel in her lap in her 'high' chair here at home to catch spaghetti sauce etc... so Esme took the napkin on the table as needing to go in her lap like Daddy had done. I hadn't seen that habit either as he usually does it when I'm not home -- when I'm home she gets messy and I take her off for a bath immediately after supper.

She is turning into such a "little person" - with lots of habits, thought processes and ideas about how the world should work. She knows about faucets and doorknobs and cabinets - about the refrigerator, dishwasher, dryer, ziploc bags and shoes - toys and books and how to get Mom to sing songs and visit Starfall.com and how to get a piece of paper and put it on her easel etc etc... it is so hard to believe sometimes that a year and a half ago she was a tiny little 8 lb baby unable to even hold her head up!