One Last Hoorah!

Esme had her last birthday celebration this weekend with 2 of her friends and their families.  It was a low key party, almost like a glorified paydate with dinner and strawberry shortcake for dessert.  She had a total of 4 parties (one on her birthday at Nana's, one with Hunter at the park, one at school, and one at our house in WA) so she got very used to the festivities.  By far her favorite is still the singing :)  And she pretty much assumes that the English and Mandarin versions of the song go together so as soon as we finish the first one then it has to be sung in Mandarin next.

She needed me to hold her hand while we sang to her and she wouldn't smile.

She got her first baby doll this birthday and I was surprised that as soon as I took it out of the package she put it in her lap and started feeding it the bottle.  Then she wanted me to sing lullaby's to the baby too.  When I asked her if she's going to help me feed my baby when it comes out she took the bottle and put it up to my belly too.  Ha ha!  She's going to be such a great big sister!  She also got her first trike this year so we're letting her practice in the house for now and then we'll take it outside when she's really ready.

Big sister Mimi taking care of the baby

In the background is her new trike

Esme celebrated her birthday at school after we got back from vacation.  We took mini blueberry muffins to share with her classmates and they made her a crown to wear for the day. She even picked out her outfit that morning.  Did I mention how long it takes to get dressed in the mornings now?  Esme is so particular about what she wears and is trying so hard to do things for herself that I try to give her as much space and time as possible.  Luckily she gets up early enough that there's always time to spare. 

Her school birthday outfit and crown

The cheeser smile resurfaces at times

Wearing her new kitty shoes and doggy purse

I forgot to mention that the other great part about her turning 2 is that she is now starting the pre-school program at Ms Faye's Daycare and so tuition also goes down for us.  Woohoo!  Since it's just a small in-home daycare/pre-school she's been able to participate with the big kids prior to this if she wants and I feel that's why she's learned so much over the past year.  But now she's officially joining the big kids for good which she really likes too.  This past month they've been learning about the human body and being healthy so I went to visit her school on the "doctor day" to talk to the kids about going to the doctor.  I enjoyed watching them do circle time and then I joined in when it was my turn.  I showed all the kids my tools to listen to their hearts, look in their ears, eyes, and mouth and then read some books to them about going to the doctor.  Esme just sat and stared at me the whole time like she had no idea why I was there and why I wasn't speaking in Mandarin ;)

We've all adjusted back to being in Washington.  The cold rain was an unwelcome change but at least Esme's sleep schedule is back to normal.  And we missed the massive rain storm on the Big Island since they apaprently got almost 17 inches of rain in the past 3 days.  We got back to Seattle on a Sunday and it worked out well that the next day was a holiday at school so she could stay home with Allen.  She taught him all the new things she learned on the trip and then got to have some quality one-on-one time with him while I worked.  Then on Tuesday it was my normal day off so she was home with me and then she finally returned to school on Wednesday when she celebrated her birthday. 

Back To Cold Country

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and we had to return to Washington yesterday.  Esme was my great travel partner once again and we had no issues throughout the day.  We left Hilo in the late morning and I was hoping she'd nap on the flight to Oahu but she was too excited to look out the window and play with her Barrel of Monkeys again.  Once we landed in Oahu though I knew she'd need to get a nap in so I found a chair in the breezeway between the interisland and mainland terminals and had her lay down on my chest.  She was tired enough that she didn't fight me and managed to sleep for a little over an hour.  I was just thankful cause this at least saved us some time on our 3 1/2 hour layover.  Once she woke up we took our time walking through the airport, eating lunch, and looking at all the planes close up.  After all that it was time to board for Seattle.  The hardest part of all the plane rides is getting her to buckle her seatbelt so this time the Silly Putty and a little plastic bear that had removable shoes kept her busy for over an hour.  She kept putting the bears shoes on her toes (since that's the only place on her body they'd fit) and she did this over and over and over.  After some time she took another nap for an hour and a half and I didn't even have to get out the Ipad for this flight either.  Once we landed in Seattle she was soooooooooooo ready to see Allen.  She was yelling "hi dada, hi dada, hi dada!!!" at the top of her lungs when we saw him pull up at the curb and everyone around us was laughing.

We had a great last few days on the Big Island with all the cousins, aunts, uncles and Nana & Papa.  Esme and Hunter had a birthday party at the park and Nana's new bubble machine was a hit.  The kids were chasing bubbles all over the place.  Esme was so excited about being outside at the park and the bubbles that she could care less about the yummy birthday cake she had.  It was hard to say goodbye the next day but I think we made some great memories that will last Esme for awhile.  At least until the next time she sees her Hawaii family this coming summer.    

Nana distracting the kids while the bubble machine got set up.

Oh so many bubbles!

The too cool cousins, Charlie and Tosh.

Esme loved this little toy from her goodie bag.

Hunter's birthday scooter.

Toshie showing the little kids his bike skills.

Mmmm, guava chiffon cake.

Tosh wearing Esme's new chef outfit.

Now that Esme's two years old we finally changed her carseat to face forward and she loves being able to see exactly what we're seeing.  We've also stopped buying whole milk for her so she can just drink what we do.  We still need to get her physical set up but the good news is that she doesn't have shots until she's four years old!  

I'm 29 weeks pregnant now and have an appointment with the midwife tomorrow.  The baby's moving a lot and I actually felt hiccuping for the first time last week while we were in Hawaii.  It's getting harder to carry Esme as I have to hike her up over my belly to fit the two of them together.  Esme and I had a great time bonding together in Hawaii but I was glad to get back to Washington and not be a single parent (even though my family was a big help) anymore.  Allen's a great sport and makes up for all that I can't/don't want to do anymore cause of my growing belly.  

  

Happy 2nd Birthday Esme!

Esme turned 2 years old today!  We enjoyed a nice and relaxing day at home since it was the first rainy day since we got here.  She got in her two naps which she's been needing since we arrived.  Normally in Washington she only takes one but the warmer weather and humidity along with longer days really wear her out and she does much better with the two naps.  Then this evening we celebrated her birthday with all her cousins, aunties and uncles at Nana & Papa's house.  We also celebrated Hunter's birthday which is tomorrow.  Basically this was the warm-up birthday celebration for the birthday cousins since we'll be having a barbecue for both of them at Liliuokalani Park tomorrow.  Esme got pretty good at opening her presents and getting to whatever's beneath all the wrapping paper.  It helped that we spaced them out through the day and she still has some for tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Mimi & Hunter, born just a day apart

She was more interested in the wrapper than the cupcake

Ness & I are pregnant together again, this time 2 months apart :)

Sand, Sand, Everywhere!

I took Esme to the beach yesterday and she was fascinated with being able to rub the sand all over her body and mines.  She opted for no bathing suit after seeing another little girl her age do the same.  She's really an island baby now :)  Some new words she learned were sand, shell, ocean, waves, and canoe.

Cooling off after jumping on the trampoline.

Tosh, Esme & Hunter hangin out together.

She last wore this little wet suit at 5 months old!

Once it started to cool off she wanted warmer clothes on.

Cousins Hunter, Tosh, Esme & Malia. 

Cousins on a log: Malia, Esme, Tosh, Charlie, Hunter. 

The birthday cousins, born only a day apart.  

Worn out after a day of water play.  

Visiting with Aunty Kathy, Kai and baby Ally. 

Feeding the fish with Nana. 

Cockadoodledoo

Esme and I made it to Hilo in one piece yesterday!  The trip went so smoothly that I can't complain at all and Esme did sooooo well.  We had to wake her up early in order to get to the airport on time so I knew she'd be tired later on but she handled it great.  I had brought all these new little toys, books, etc for the plane ride but she barely needed them cause she was just content to talk about her new surroundings in the plane, play peek-a-boo with our seatmates, sit on my lap and talk about the baby, take walks to the bathroom, eat snacks, and take only an hour nap.  I think she only used the ipad for less than 30 minutes and I thought that'd be the biggest distractor for her.  The one toy that I was surprised she liked so much was the Barrel of Monkeys.  She wasn't a fan of having to sit down and put on her belt for take off and landing but the monkeys kept her occupied long enough and they cracked her up at the same time.  So that's how we spent our 5+ hours on the flight from Seattle to Honolulu. 

Then we had a 2 hour layover in Oahu which flew by.  Thank goodness for the escalator walkways which we rode over 20 times back and forth and also the mynah birds inside the airport which we chased all over.  She thought that was sooooooo hilarious.  The last short flight to Hilo was when Esme started to look tired and I was hoping she'd take a little cat nap to get her through the evening but she was too interested in looking out the window at the ocean and islands we passed. 

Once we got to Hilo she was immidiately awed by all the new sounds and things to see.  We went to the park for a short while so she could run around before heading home to play with all her cousins.  We made it in time for the weekly family dinner at Nana & Papa's house too.  Esme was in a daze the whole time but she still hung on and was just checking everything out.  Finally I fed and bathed her and put her to bed without one meltdown the whole day or barely a peep sleeping in her new room.  She was lulled to sleep by the coqui frogs and the passing showers as white noise :)   

This morning she was very excited to check everything out at Nana & Papa's house since everyone was at work and she could go at her own pace.  She tried the trampoline, played with the cats, watched the fish in the pond and the chickens get fed.  She's learning new sounds too, like the sound of a gecko, a coqui frog, and a rooster since she's hearing them all very often.  Esme's also very happy to eat apple bananas, papaya, and drink fresh squeezed juice again!  It's so nice to be home!

Pics to come later!

The Home Stretch

I've officially entered the third trimester of this pregnancy - 27 weeks/6 months along, and just 3 more months to go!  I feel like I'm really showing now and not just in that weird phase where you just look like you're gaining weight in your mid-section for no reason.  People might assume you're pregnant but don't dare ask yet so I kept getting the constant belly stares at work up until now.  I'm still wearing some of my old clothes but pregnancy clothes are definitely more comfy.  My belly is growing bigger much faster this time and my weight is coming on faster this time too but that's to be expected I'm told.  I'm carrying this baby just like my last and I don't have any crazy cravings either.  To keep in shape I still get to the gym 3 times a week before work and then do some walking on the other days.  I need to start my pre-natal yoga again cause I felt like that really helped me when I had Esme.  The baby moves a lot in the early mornings and then in the evenings.  I feel it mostly in my right upper quadrant which is where Esme kicked me the most too.  Allen's been able to feel it sometimes but it's still not consistent enough for Esme to patiently wait for it to kick or move.   

Allen and I continue to talk to Esme about the baby that's going to "come out" and be a part of our lives pretty soon.  She seems to be understanding more and more too.  Last weekend I asked Esme if I had a baby boy or a baby girl in my tummy and she very matter of factly replied, "a princess."  Well we'll just have to wait and see about that in just a few more months :)