Daily Adventures

We've been keeping busy and going on all sorts of adventures these days.  Yesterday was playtime at a bounce house which was a great way to wear out all the girls.  They came home and slept over 2 hours each!  We even took them grocery shopping to Costco where they had fun sharing the huge cart together.  Today we took the ferry over to Sequim to visit our Aunt Dee, who we've renamed Aunt Dee the Great for the kiddos since she's their great aunt.  Esme's still teething and was trying to get her mouth on almost anything in Aunt Dee's house.  Her top four teeth are bulging out of the gums but they haven't broken skin yet.  She also made a new friend with Rudy and got excited whenever he came around.  She would do her ritual of sucking her right thumb and putting her head down next to something soft (in this case, Rudy's fur) whenever he came around. 

                    
                       

                   A Costco shopping adventure                                                                      Can you see the 4 bulging teeth on the top?

                                           

                           Esme's new friend Rudy                                                                                Family photo with Aunt Dee

Trip To Leavenworth

Yesterday Hannah and I loaded up the car and took the 3 little girls to Leavenworth, a Bavarian Village over the Cascade Mountains.  I was worried about the pass conditions especially since we were travelling with kids but we lucked out and it was clear the whole way.  We made it to Leavenworth just in time before the snow started falling which made our sleigh ride that afternoon that much more magical.  Makena even got to enjoy some sledding at the end of the day.  Now we're back home and Hannah and I are worn out from all the packing and trying to keep everything together for the girls.  It's amazing how much stuff went into a one night stay away from home :)

All the girls seem to be doing better on their medications and no one's ears were affected by going through the mountain passes.  Today Esme seems back to her normal self and not as cranky but she still isn't eating very well.  All she wants to do is nurse but she's not interested in solids at all. 

                                                                                                            
                     Capri saying her favorite word "wow"                                                            Family photo before the sleigh ride


                                            
                  The requisite cheesy picture of Esme                                                                       View from our sleigh ride
                                                      
                                                   
                             Makena going down the hill                                                                     The village Christmas tree

So Much Wrapping Paper!

After a rough morning we discovered that Makena also has an ear infection so now all 3 girls are on antibiotics and hopefully feeling better.  Christmas day went by so fast that they weren't able to play in all the wrapping paper mess so we saved it for them and they went at it this afternoon and had a blast tossing it in the air and making lots of noise.  Then once the Capri and Esme went to bed, Hannah, Makena and I snuck out of the house for a pedicure which felt soooooooooooo nice at the end of the day.  Tomorrow's adventure is a overnight trip to Leavenworth, the Bavarian Village east of the Cascade Mountains.  More pics to come when we get back!

Makena, Capri, and Esme in the wrapping paper mess

All you have to say is "cheese" and she makes this face now

Makena getting her pedicure

First Christmas = First Ear Infection

Merry Christmas!  And what a day it was!  It started off early cause Esme didn't sleep well.  She's had a cold and been teething but she woke up with a low grade fever today.  I checked her ears and lungs but didn't see anything so we just kept her dosed up on Tylenol and Motrin all day which helped a little bit.  We got to presents and stockings mid-morning and ended up doing it in two shifts.  The first shift was with the adults and Makena while the little ones napped.  Then once they got up and we Skyped our Hawaii family, we opened the next set of presents.  Truthfully, the day's almost over and we still have some left under the tree to unwrap.  It's just so overwhelming for them that we've been taking it slow.  We took a break for lunch at a friends house but by the end of the evening Esme still wasn't herself.  Turns out she had a double ear infection that was brewing all day.  Now she's on antibiotics so hopefully she'll be feeling better tomorrow.  I'll be off this next week since her daycare's closed so we'll get lots of quality time together.  Unfortunately Allen has to return to work so he'll miss out on all our girly adventures.


                                            
           My sick little bean in the morning                                                                                        Allen loves hats that don't fit
                                           
         She rallied for some present opening                                                                                  Skyping the Hawaii family.
                                                                                 
                 Matching Hats                                                                                                                    Matching PJs
                                           
                   Hannah and the girls                                                                                          Makena checking out her new castle
                                         
                    The first Shih Christmas                                                                                           Makena goofing around

Capri (just read the t-shirt)

Christmas Eve

Today we learned that Christmas Eve is a great day to go to the zoo.  We decided to get the girls out of the house and only had to share the zoo with a handful of other people which made it so much more enjoyable.  And despite the cold weather, we were able to see a lot of the animals up close.  We also worked on fitting all the presents under the tree and hanging the stockings up on the mantle.  The girls are as ready for Christmas as they'll ever be :)

Esme's still got a cold and she's also teething so that's made for a fussier than normal baby.  I can see all of her four top teeth trying to break through but nothing yet.  She's been going to bed earlier and earlier every night and even waking up in the middle sometimes which is not her norm.  Tylenol and Motrin seem to take the edge off a bit and we're running the humidifier in her room at night so help with the snotty nose.  She still wakes up with crusties all over but I don't think we can help that. 

                                       
                    Cousins and a Christmas Tree                                                                                       Stockings!

                                            
                             Christmas Angels                                                                                           Mommy's Favorite Gift

                    
                       
                       Makena and the Jaguar*                                                                             Capri and Esme's awesome hat!

                   
                      
          Baby's First Christmas x 2                                                                                       Making friends with all kinds of Orangutans!

*Correction - that is not a leopard

So Many Girls!

It's a whirlwind at the Shih household these days.  Allen's been off this week so Esme was able to stay home from daycare and play with her cousins.  Then I'll be off all of next week between Christmas and New Year's since Esme's daycare's taking a winter break.  We've got all kinds of adventures planned for the girls.  Hopefully by that time they get better since Capri and Makena were getting over ear infections when they arrived and now Esme has the east coast cold they were carrying.  It's a constant cycle!

Esme's handmade winter hat

Can you believe they're only a month apart?

Esme's happy to have the pantry to herself again :)

Cousin Time

Hannah and the girls made it to Seattle late on Monday night so Esme was surprised to wake up to her cousins cruising around the house the next morning.  She definitely doesn't remember them because the last time they saw each other was when we went to North Carolina when Esme was 2 months old and I was still on maternity leave.  Makena, now almost 3 years old, is talking so much more, and Capri, 11 months old, is walking all around.  We're hoping Esme catches on since she's now doing "no hands" when she pulls up.   



                                   
                      Cheeser and little antennae girl                                                                                  Bath Time

They could be twins!

Christmas Is Coming Early

Esme's about to get the best Christmas present ever - a visit from Aunty Hannah and cousins Capri and Makena!  The girls are making the long trek from North Carolina tomorrow to spend the holidays with us since Uncle Josh is deployed in Afganistan.  Just the thought of having family around for the holidays this year makes me giddy with excitement.  Esme and I spent the weekend getting the house ready (while Allen was busy working) and Esme was finally able to explore the Christmas tree.  Normally we don't spend much time in the formal living room where the tree is but today I let her loose in there while I cleaned up. 

Esme's soooooooooooooo excited about her presents!

She thinks they taste sooooooooooooo good!

Raspberries

Esme's very excited about her latest trick but Allen and I can't wait for it to be over - blowing raspberries/spitting.  She does it when she wakes up, when she's nursing, when she's eating, or when she's playing and sprays us with whatever's in her mouth.  Yuck!  We're trying hard to ignore it but we're going on almost a week now.  Apparently she's doing it at daycare also so it's not just us. 

Esme also likes showing off how flexible she is by doing the splits on the floor, in her stroller, in the bath, or when we're changing her diaper.  Sucking her thumb is also a favorite thing for her but she only does it when she's tired.  She finds something soft and pulls it up to her left cheek and then puts her right thumb in her mouth and puts her head down. 

Fun With The Babysitter

Esme had her first babysitter last night.  Allen and I had a Christmas party to go to and instead of dragging Esme along and keeping her up past her bedtime we decided to just leave her home.  It was probably one of the easiest babysitting jobs for Hannah, one of the receptionists from my work, because we put Esme to sleep before we even left.  Esme was excited to have a new friend to play with since Hannah came over a little early and she might have been a little thrown off since we switched up her bedtime routine.  However she went to bed as easy as always and that made it easier to leave.  I woke up super early this morning though and I think it's cause I missed her last night even though she was sleeping the whole time we were gone.  It's just something about being away from her............

Back to Washington

We survived! I felt like I was missing my right leg the entire time that I was away from Esme, a total of 36 hours :) Of course, she did awesome and was having fun showing off all her tricks and cuteness to grandma and grandpa. I was amazed at how different she looked to me even though we weren't apart that long. She just looked so big and grown up. Her skin was really affected by the drier and colder weather in Utah so she constantly had red, chapped cheeks and hands so we had to increase the amount of Cetaphil cream and hydrocortisone we were applying.  She normally has a small amount of eczema in Washington but not this bad. The weekend went by fast and we were back on a plane on Sunday night. Unfortunately our flight was delayed almost 3 hours so we got to explore every inch of the Salt Lake City airport. Luckily we decided to carry-on the umbrella stroller and the Ergo carrier cause they came in handy. Esme was a trooper again and feel asleep for parts of our marathon walks around the airport and during the flight. I just felt bad cause it was a very disrupted sleep and she didn't end up getting to bed till around 11pm when her normal bedtime is 6pm.

Bye Bye Baby

Thursday morning I dropped Allen and Esme off at the airport, ready to fly to Utah.  I sent them with lots of breastmilk and instructions/advise for getting through the airport alone with a baby :)  I bawled my eyes out, worse than when I dropped her off at daycare for the first time, because this is the first time that I've not been with Esme for more than 12 hours.  I'll fly out on Friday night but she'll be sleeping by the time I get in so I won't see her awake till Saturday morning - almost 48 hours after I left her.  I think it might be a little different if I wasn't still nursing her and now all the double pumping sucks!  I miss my baby!