One Tooth Wonder

Esme's little tooth is slowly but surely making it's way out, maybe half way by now.  It looks so big in her mouth but it's probably because it's the only one.  The runny nose has continued but the drooling stopped after the first day.  She seems more tired than normal and hasn't been napping as well, even at daycare.  Her bedtime is still 6pm but she's ready to go to bed anytime after 5pm it seems like.  She sleeps through the night at least and still wakes bright and early at 6am. 

Ms. Faye said that Esme is now holding her own bottle with two breaks inbetween cause it's so heavy on her little arms.  She sits in the high chair at the table while all the other kids eat too.  We've continued to try new foods and some of the latest include apples, celery, and nectarines.  All these solids have brought on some mild constipation too but nothing too bad just yet.  She's recently figured out how to get from a sitting position to the floor without help so now nothings safe.  Before this I could just plop her on her bottom and she'd sit there and play for any length of time but now she can get out of that position on her own.  Yikes! 

First swing ride at the park by our house

First Tooth!

This morning Esme woke up with dried snot all over her face and very congested so she had a hard time nursing.  She continued to sneeze throughout the morning while I was getting ready so I figured she was getting a little cold.  Then I noticed she was drooling a ton which she stopped doing a while ago so I felt along her gums and there's a little tooth breaking the surface.  You can't see anything yet except the gums splitting and I can feel the tooth under there - her left lower central incisor.  This coincides with her eating a ton yesterday at daycare so maybe we're turning a corner here.  She's seeming more interested in food and we've even given her purple sweet potato and bananas in the soft mesh feeding net that she can suck on.  Here's some pics of all the fun she has with her spoon and sitting in her booster seat.


                              

                              

Esme Meets Kai-Kai

Esme got to meet her one and only Shih cousin this past weekend.  Kai, along with mommy and daddy, Ting & Yoshi, flew all the way from Ithaca, NY to meet "baby cousin Esme."  We took them on a few adventures in Seattle including a picnic at Gasworks Park, to watch the salmon making their way up the river at the Ballard Locks, and to Remlinger farms.  With both kids, feeding and sleep schedules, the time flew by so we're looking forward to our family trip to their home sometime next year.


                              
        New Pepsi spokesperson.                                                                                           Gasworks park

                              

          No idea what's going on here.                                                                         Cousins playing trains

                              

           On a real train at Remlinger farm.                                                         Skyping Grandma and Grandpa

More Milk Please

I did it!  I officially filled up our entire kitchen freezer with breastmilk - 725 ounces to be exact (Esme takes about 5-6 ounces per feeding).  We ended up having to buy a chest freezer just to be able to continue storing it.  She won't be losing her rolls anytime soon!

Esme new favorite toys are foam bath letters as you can see by the pics below.  Everyday she picks out a few letters and numbers to explore and just goes at it all day.  Her hair is also starting to grow back in but only one curl remains on her right side.  Before she had one on the left and one on the right by her ears.   

                        

Labor Day Weekend Pictures

Here's the pics from our weekend out at Crescent Bar, WA during Labor Day.

                        

                        

                        

                        

Bye-Bye Binkie

Today Esme's daycare celebrated the Chinese Mid - Autumn Festival (Chinese Full Moon Festival) and we got to stop by in the afternoon for mooncakes and tea.  Yum!  Faye said the other kids are much calmer when Esme's around and love watching her play instead of running around themselves.  Apparently there's a noticeable difference on Tuesdays when Esme's not there.  She also mentioned that sometimes Esme just isn't interested in food so it's good to know it's not just us.  She tried oatmeal this weekend and one day did great and the next day could care less. 

It's funny how sometimes it feels like nothing changes and then all of a sudden everything's changing.  Esme doesn't drool as much as she used to so she doesn't have to wear a bib with every outfit.  No teeth yet but still chomping on everything she can get in her mouth.  And I went to pick her up the other morning and she was sitting up in her crib.  Normally we'll sit her up and she can stay that way for a long time but she can't get up on her.  However, now she obviously can.  And this past weekend we were pacifier free!  She's never been super attached to it and I've often forgot it when we leave the house but it does help to calm her down if she's fussy.  Allen was working so it was just Esme and I having some girl time so I thought I'd see what she would do without it.  She didn't fuss for too long before she soothed herself, or found her thumb when she was tired, so I think that's the end of the binkie. 

 Too cool, cruising in her stroller

Food or No Food?

Esme's still trying all the foods we give to her but she's not all that interested for the most part.  She takes about a tablespoon if we're lucky and then she's done.  She'd rather bang on her tray or play with the spoon.  The other night I was eating on the floor while she army crawled around and she wasn't even going for my bowl of food.  Her list of foods now include poi, rice cereal, yellow squash, peas, avocado, and carrots.  Ultimately though, she just likes her momma's milk :)  We might take it easy for a bit on the food and see if she changes her mind in a bit. 

She's moving a lot more now and is perfecting her army crawl.  She pulls her weight on her right forearm and then shifts it to her left palm which helps guide her.  Along with a few rolls here and there she gets all over the place this way.  She's still working on getting up on all fours and rocking but then doesn't know what else to do.  She can also sit up for any length of time now.

My little bug!

 

The army crawl

Happy Labor Day

Esme got to experience the Columbia River for the Labor Day weekend but unfortunately mom and dad forgot the camera to document the occasion.  Allen may have gotten some on his phone though so we can post those later.  Anyways, Esme got to play with her friends Liberty and Natalie, both 14 months old and cute as can be.  She was by far the slowest of the 3 but she kept up as best as she could :)  And by next year the 3 girls will be running circles around all of us adults.  Esme resorted to her old ways when we took her out in the boat.  As soon as it took off down the river she just closed her eyes and went to sleep.  Too much stimulation I guess.  Once she realized it was safe and not so windy, she enjoyed looking around and being on the water.  While we were there she got to add avocado to her list of new foods but she's still trying to decide if she likes it or not.  Today is day 3 and she only gags once during a feeding instead of after every few bites.  I think it's just too thick for her to know what to do with it in her mouth and I have yet to thin it out.  Tomorrow we'll probably try carrots.