Mosquito Bites

Esme escaped the mosquitos on our last trip but not this time. She's gotten a few bites on her legs which is nothing compared to how much the mosquitos love Allen when we're here. She doesn't seem bothered by them and they don't swell that much. She's been covered in sunscreen while we've been outdoors and she's not too fond of the hats we keep putting on her.  Esme likes playing in the water and even more so in the sand.  We just have to watch out that she doesn't get too much of it in her mouth which is inevitable if we're on the beach.  Amazingly though she doesn't complain when it happens. 

I think her sleeping is finally back to her normal schedule after the jet lag, bedtime at 6pm and wake up at 6am. The only difference is that she's been waking in the middle of the night here for a quick little nursing session and then right back to bed. She's been hit or miss with the whole milk in a sippy cup this trip but we keep trying during the day. I keep hoping one day she'll just go for it and I won't have to worry about it so much.

                    
                                  Playing with the water                                                                                        Chasing the hose

                   
                                 Esme's bubble beard                                                                                        Rashell, Asia and Esme

                   
                                 Walking at Liliuokalani Park                                                                              Look at all those teeth!

                     
                                        Rainbow Falls                                                                                               Boiling Pots

Hilo Rain

We made it to Hilo but it was definitely one of the harder plane rides we've had.  Esme cried for a third of the flight, then she slept for about a third, and then she was up and fine the other third of the time.  Luckily the guy we sat next to was understanding.  He was a bigger guy with hairy arms and Esme had a lot of fun poking at his arms when she was awake.  I guess she hasn't experienced that before ;) 

It's been off and on rainy since we've gotten here and the nighttime downpours are a nice white noise for sleeping.  Esme's had an easier time adjusting to the humidity this trip and also all the noise since houses aren't insulated here.  However she's still going through multiple clothing changes a day with a little sweating, the drooling, all the water she's drinking and the new foods she's trying.  So far she's enjoyed papaya, apple bananas, fresh poi and her lilikoi birthday cake.  She's done well with all the new people and getting to know all her cousins again.  She's been nicknamed the "cautious but curious" one.  The most amazing thing was how good her walking has gotten as soon as we got here.  Now she takes steps all on her own without us calling to her and she'll go across the entire room.  If we're out and about she loves walking just holding onto our fingers.  Now we just need to find some walking shoes in her size since she still fits in 0-6 month shoes.

                  
                 Cousin Tosh feeding Esme her blueberries                                                                            Cousin Malia

                    
                          Esme loves the shopping cart                                                                                    Esme and the Hawaii cousins

                                            
                        Esme's lilikoi birthday cake                                                                                                   Cousin Charlie

                   
                       Enjoying the nice breeze on the lanai                                                                    Dipping her feet in the fish pond

                    
                                          Cousin Tosh                                                                                         Just cruisin in her diaper

                    
                   Esme and Hunter all dressed up and ready to go                                                     One of many baths in the sink with Nana

Photo Shoot

Here's some pics from Esme's 12 month photo shoot........

12 Month Physical

Esme had her 12 month physical earlier this week.  She's meeting all her developmental milestones on target and has started to slow down on her growth chart.  She was 19# 14oz = 35% for weight, and 28 1/2" long = 30% for height.  That's only a 14oz increase in weight since her 9 month visit but sort of expected after her recent stomach bug.  Strangely enough, she seems so much taller but she only grew 1/2 an inch since her 9 month visit also.  She got her first MMR and chicken pox vaccinations along with having her iron checked.  All went fine and we thought she was doing well until she came down with another ear infection the next day.  We quickly got her on some medications before we fly to Hawaii tomorrow.  She also seems to be teething again cause she's been drooling a ton and both her cheeks have been flushed.  We can't feel anything specific in her mouth but I'm sure we will soon. 

Esme was so excited to get ahold of the Neosporin

This is what happens when she eats warm blueberries

Party, Party, Party

It was a weekend full of parties and Esme held up just fine.  Last Saturday we had a farewell party for one of my co-workers and Esme enjoyed all the new faces.  She ended up missing both her afternoon naps but amazingly she stayed up the whole time with no problems.  Of course as soon as we got in the car she was out like a light!   

Sharing her water with mommy

Hangin with the big girls, Rosa and Lila

On Sunday we had a little birthday party at our house for Esme with some close friends.  I timed the party just right so she could get her afternoon naps in and she had a blast.  I made her carrot cake and this time she enjoyed it more than the cupcake on her birthday.  She still didn't like the sticky frosting on her fingers but she figured out that if she turned the cake over she could get rid of the frosting and have all the cake available that way.  Then towards the end she smeared the remaining frosting and cake on the tray and then ran her hands through her hair.  I have no idea why she likes to do that!

She wouldn't let go of her lovey since she just got up

Enjoying the tunnel she got for her birthday

There's finally someone younger than Esme!

Matthew and Micah and Esme

Testing out mommy's carrot cake

Trying to get rid of the frosting

Holding the huge chunk of cake

Sugar high!

Videos from Esme's First

Here is some footage from Esme's quiet first birthday.  Fun for us... I'll let you decide about her:

Esme's birthday cake!

Opening presents

Happy 1st Birthday Esme!

It's hard to believe that it was just a year ago that I woke up early on my day off because I was having some random cramping.  At that point we still didn't know if we were having a boy or girl but my due date wasn't for another week so I kept thinking, "this baby better stay in there cause I'm still scheduled to work thru the end of this week."  Well Esme had different plans and she showed up later that day!  Fast forward to today and what a year it's been!

Esme went to daycare today in her "My First Birthday" onesie and I learned her nickname there is Es-me-me.  Then when she got home we gave her a little birthday treat which she wasn't too excited about.  She didn't like the sticky frosting on her fingers and only ate a few bites of the cake.  She was more interested in the rice and avocado we offered her afterwards.  Once she finished eating we headed over to her present pile and she really scored.  The best part was when I was opening up a present (a pair of her Maui friends favorite walking shoes to help Esme learn to walk independently) Esme got up on her own and walked over to me, about 3 or 4 steps all by herself and without any prodding.  Prior to this she's only walked if we put her out in front of us and call her name and she sort of stumbles quickly over to us.  What a memorable day!  Thanks everyone for all the gifts and well wishes too!  Esme really enjoyed the cards, the paper, and the ribbon.  Ha ha!  Happy Birthday Esme! 

Early morning present opening

Esme's new bookshelf from mom & dad

Cheesy for cupcakes

Ooohhh......cupcake!

Playing in the present pile

Esme's first birthday loot

Happy Valentine's Day

Esme is cured!  She's been healthy since the end of last week and we're sooooooooo happy!  She's eating up a storm too in order to make up for lost times :)  Her most recent favorite food is blueberries.  And she's also tried whole milk in a sippy cup without any problems.  I'm working on weaning her during the day so that I don't have to pump at work anymore.  Not sure how long we'll nurse during the morning and the night though.  She'll get whole milk at daycare and then we'll give her my frozen milk at home till we run out. 

Allen and I used to celebrated Valentine's Day on the day after to avoid all the craziness but last year Esme decided she wanted that day to be her birthday instead.  So now we'll always celebrate February 15th!  Today though, we just went out to breakfast since both Allen and I were off and Esme got to celebrate her first Valentine's Day! 

Go Away Stomach Bug!

We've been on a roller coaster of vomitting and diarrhea this past week and are really looking forward to it being over.  Apparently there's a stomach virus going around her daycare but Esme seems the hardest hit.  We thought she was getting better last Sunday but she's been up and down since then.  I had to stop nursing her for a short while since it'd always make her puke afterwards.  We then limited her to 2-3 ounce bottles of pumped milk and it was agony to see her hungry little eyes when she'd finish.  We don't know the exact amount but she's lost quite a bit of weight too from this past week.  Her belly's not as round so we can fasten her diapers tighter, her ribs are more visible, and her face is even thinner.  So far she's been vomit free for 2 1/2 days but she's still got the loose poops.  We added a probiotic to her diet but the only effect we've seen so far is that it makes her poop smell like fermented dairy.  We'll be soooooooooooo happy when this illness is over!  Our washer has been continuously going on the sanitize cycle ever since this started cause there's so much more laundry.

Superbowl Sunday

We made it through the weekend!  Friday through the night and Saturday morning were the worst and we even considered taking Esme to the ER for some IV fluids on Saturday.  She'd been vomitting all day on Friday and even in her sleep that night.  We'd wake to the sound of her puking in her crib and were having to do complete bedding changes multiple times.  Now I know why we have so many sets of sheets and mattress covers for her crib.  For awhile Esme refused to take anything besides my milk which usually came up within a few hours.  Then we figured she hadn't pee'd for 18 hours and she had no tears when she cried but all of a sudden she let us spoon feed her water, Pedialyte and Gatorade.  Pedialyte was her least favorite so blue Gatorade really seemed to do the trick and she finally perked up.  It was hard not to nurse her even though she kept signing to me that she wanted milk.  I was able to pump and I think this was a good way to start the weaning process.  Still it made me sad cause our nursing days are numbered now that she's almost one. 

We had to miss the Chinese New Year's celebration at her daycare on Saturday night but once Sunday morning rolled around Esme was a whole new kid.  She was hungry, active, smiling, and ready to party.  Allen and I are shocked at how much skinnier she looks though just from those two days of throwing up and no eating.  Don't worry though, she hasn't lost any of those cute little rolls.  They're just less puffy ;)    

What A Day It Was!

Today started out a little rough but ended on a good note.  Esme had a hard time sleeping last night and then she started puking early this morning.  I thought it might be an isolated incident but then it was so bad that she was even dry heaving inbetween :(  She continued this throughout the day even though but she was in a great mood.  No fever, no rash, and she had an appetite.  Of course we limited her to small amounts of water, milk or crackers and sometimes it still came back up.  Unfortunately the diarrhea was soon to follow too.  Allen worked the morning and then came home at lunch to relieve me so I could work the afternoon.  It was times like these that makes it hard to not have family nearby but luckily we were able to make it work. 

The light at the end of the tunnel was that she took her first steps tonight!  Esme was really clingy when I got home from work so I had to take her upstairs while I changed out of my work clothes.  I put her down in front of me, about 2 feet, while I quickly changed but she wasn't having it.  She walked right up to my legs and clung on tight.  It was so awesome! 

One of her favorite new words is gentle but it sounds like "din-tle" when she says it.  I say this whenever she grabs my hair or earrings and she recites it too now.  She's also saying mama, dada, uh-oh, thank you, and no.  We have to be careful cause she recites just about anything we say too :) 

Using Mr Hippo to get to the blinds