What A Ride It Was

Well this might be a record for how long I've gone without posting something - 2 weeks!  Unfortunately we're still recovering from our trip to Ithaca, NY over Labor Day weekend to see Allen's sister Ting, Yoshi, and Kai.  In the end we learned that it was way too far to go for such a short time and with Esme being sick which started the moment we left.  On the flip side, it was great to be able to spend time with family :)

We planned to take a redeye flight on a Friday night so we put Esme to bed that night at her normal time and woke her up prior to leaving for the airport.  She didn't fall back asleep until we boarded our plane and they turned the lights off.  She was sprawled across both our laps and all of a sudden got really hot.  I figured it was just all our body heat combined so I unbuttoned her sleeper and she cooled off a little bit.  Then we landed in Chicago very early in the morning and Esme decided she was done sleeping so we spent our 3 hour layover at the awesome kids play area which was almost like a children's museum.  On the next flight to Syracuse, NY she slept again and started heating up but I figured that was because she was lying against my chest this time.  She cooled off once we landed and then napped again on the drive from Syracuse to Ithaca.  She had a hard time adjusting to the heat once we got to Ithaca and was still slightly warm but by the afternoon I realized she was burning up even though she was just wearing her diaper around the house.  We started giving her ibuprofen and her fever would spike every 6 hours when it wore off and this went on for about 36 hours.  She had no other symptoms though so I figured it could only be teething even though she was super hot.  Luckily we didn't have any major plans for the weekend so we spent a lot of time just hanging out and catching up with Ting, Yoshi & Kai.  Esme wasn't quite herself the whole time which was a little hard. 

On our last night we were able to coordinate a dinner with my sister Hannah and family who were driving from Buffalo, NY down to North Carolina.  It was a special treat as it was Aunty B's birthday too.  Unfortunately Esme was having a bad afternoon and didn't care much about seeing her cousins Capri and Makena.  She wouldn't even let Aunty B hold her :(

The next day, just 3 days after we arrived, we took off for Syracuse Airport again to start this whole adventure over.  By this time Esme's fevers were gone but she was still very edgy.  She slept on the first flight and then enjoyed the play area at the Chicago airport again.  But on the flight from Chicago to Seattle she was up most of the time and was super fussy.  She was crawling all over Allen and I and signing and saying "all pau" and "outside."  It was miserable.  Strangely enough as soon as we got home that evening, she ran into our house and was just screaming with glee.  She seemed so excited to be in her own home.  That night when Allen was reading to her before bed, she pointed to her crib and said "inside" cause she just wanted to go to bed already.  She's always been a great sleeper and so easy to put to bed but she never does that! 

Just a day after we got back, we noticed Esme broke out in a small, fine red rash all over her body and turns out she had roseola, a viral rash that's common in kids following a high fever. At least that explained everything but coupled with the travel it just made it that much worse. And on top of that we infected all her cousins, the children's area at the Chicago airport, and the airplane. We learned our lesson after this trip and decided to buy Esme her own seat for our next trip to North Carolina next month to make our lives a little bit easier. We'll just cross our fingers that she doesn't get sick again.

                   
                Hanging out at the Chicago Airport                                                                       Playing in the pretend shipping crates
                    
                                More playtime with daddy                                                                         Enjoying the pretend cockpit
                  
                Sleeping on daddy on the flight to Syracuse                                                     Visiting one of the gorges at Cornell University
                    
                      Playing at Cornell University architecture school                            Constantly sucking her fingers so I thought she was teething
                                                                      
                      Attempting a hike at the park                                                                                 Eating breakfast with Kai-Kai
                    
                            Cousin Capri just lights right up!                                                                       So does cousin Makena
                                                                
                                                                                        Happy Birthday Aunty B!

A Visit To The Doctor's Office

Esme had her 18 month check up this morning and passed with flying colors again.  She weighed 24.6 # which is 50% for weight, and was 32 3/4" which is 75% for height.  There were no shots at this visit which was nice since she was going to daycare afterwards.  She's talking a lot in English and Mandarin now.  She knows all body parts and can count to ten in both languages.  She's finally starting to say please and help which she's been signing up till now.  She listens to directions much better in Mandarin than English I've noticed though and I think that's because of daycare and all the other kids.  Apparently she's a great listener there and always the first one to complete a task or follow the instructions.  They're continuing to work on potty training and she's so eager to go anytime they take another kid to the toilet.  And she's such a pleaser that she actually goes pee or poop at least a few times a day for them.  At home we're still just going before bath with her and sometimes she goes and sometimes she just sits.

We transitioned her to her big girl carseat since she finally outgrew her infant bucket seat.  We'll keep the big girl seat rear facing though till she's 2 and then she'll finally get to turn forward.  She still doesn't seem to mind so it's not a big deal.  She's was real excited to sit in her new seat and didn't want to get out the first few times.

All of Esme's canine teeth are coming in now, some more than others.  They all popped through after she turned 18 months.  She seems to be handling it pretty well and I don't think it's affecting her eating.  She continues to love fruit, rice and noodles the most.  At daycare she eats like a champ and at home it's hit or miss.  We give her all the same foods we're eating and she'll always try something.  She likes meatloaf or meatballs, potstickers, beans, chili and rice, scrambled eggs with cheese, and yogurt.  She's not a big fan of bread or soft granola bars unless I cut them up into bite sized pieces.  She's still drinking organic whole milk and water, no juice.

This weekend we're taking a big trip to Ithaca, NY to see Allen's sister and family.  It'll be our first redeye flight with Esme and we're just crossing our fingers that she sleeps the whole time.  We'll just be there for 3 days and then back to WA so more photos to follow after our trip!  

Biking Adventures

We're trying to soak in as many summer adventures as we can before the weather turns here in Washington. Recently we rode the Surrey bikes (a 4 wheel bike with pedals for 2 side-by-side people and one working steering wheel, the other one was just for decoration) on Alki Beach in West Seattle.  We were having a lot of fun for the first 30 minutes; Allen and I were pedaling and Esme was sitting in front and ringing the bell.  However after awhile she was over it and was much more interested in watching the doggies, birdies, and boats in the water.  We ended up making a lot of stops along the way just to keep her happy and us sane ;)

We also took Esme to the Cougar Mountain Zoo which is about 10 minutes from our house.  I'm glad we discovered it cause it's just the right size for little kids and Esme's just the right age for the zoo now.  The animals are all real close, there's not a lot of walking, and there's even areas to pet and feed the animals.  Esme was a little scared of the alpacas so I ended up feeding them for her.  Her favorite were the emu's I think and she also enjoyed watching the tiger pace around its rock mountain.  She seemed almost mesmerized watching it.  

                    
                          Taking a break on the Surrey bike                                                                Stopping to pet the doggies

                                                           
                                     Running away from daddy                                                                       Decked out in all her jewelry

                      
                        Doing acrobatics on the zoo cages                                                        Wearing a hat to cover up her bad hair day ;) 

Round Of Applause

Apparently it was a big day at daycare for Esme today - she pooped on the potty!  So far she sits on it and tries everyday and then sometimes she's gone #1 but this was the first time for #2.  There was lots of clapping and all the kids came up to her afterwards and hugged her.  Ms Faye said she just stood there with her hands clasped in front of her, swaying back and forth and smiling.  She said she looked very proud!

This past weekend we went down to Portland for my cousins baby shower.  Like many past trips, we've opted to just go for the day to avoid the hassle of having to pack up all of Esme's stuff and have her sleep in a strange place and get all out of her routine.  Usually that works fine since she'd sleep most of the 3 hour car ride if we timed it right with her nap/sleep schedule.  Well this weekend that was definitely not the case.  She barely slept an hour each way and was not too excited with being strapped into her carseat the other 2 hours of the trip.  She kept signing "all done" to me and I was having to come up with all kinds of ways to distract her.  From now on we'll have to make it an overnight trip so we don't have to put her through that agony again.

                    
                 The Kim family photo at the baby shower                                                               Esme actually kept these on for a bit

                    
                      Playing with her new pom poms                                                                        Eating her first marshmallow

18 Months Old



Esme turned 18 months old yesterday! A year and a half old! Wow, how time keeps on flying! We haven't set up her physical yet but I'll post that information as soon as we get it. In the meantime here's some recent, and no so recent, pics:



                    
                    Esme recently discovered capes.                                                                       She insisted that we both wear them.

                                    
                         Then she dove onto the body pillow.                                                                         Her first real pigtails.

These pics are from a birthday party we went to last month.  It was a little cool that day so we had to keep her leg warmers and jacket on the whole time. 

                                                                      
                        Look at that little stance!                                                                                          Hangin with mommy.

And the rest of these pics are ones from San Diego that I forgot to post awhile ago.  We went down there in June to visit Aunty B and Uncle Josh while he recovered from surgery. 

                    
                              Walking along Coronado Island                                                                Aunty B painting Esme's toes
                    
                 Her cheeser smile wasn't working that day                                                               Doing laundry with Aunty B
                    
          This trip might have been the end of the cheeser smile.                     I'm not sure what kind of smile that is.  Maybe it's too bright?
                                                                         
                                                                              Uncle Josh holding up his leg with his crutches
                                                                                        
                                                                                                           Esme going for a ride

  

Summer Break Is Over

It's amazing how fast time flies sometimes and unfortunately this past week was one of those time. Nana left today and Esme'll go back to daycare tomorrow, but she seems like a whole different kid. Her language is really starting to explode.  She keeps asking "what's that?" and learning new words everyday. Nana did a great job of helping to reinforce all her new words too. Let's see if I can remember all the words she says - hi, bye, see ya, I see you, mama, dada, nana, banana, apple, hot, bath, baby, hair, nose, eye, ear, belly, toes, shoes, birdie, doggie, fish, duck, Bella, Adler, and that's all that comes to mind right now. One morning I heard her on the monitor reciting all her new words as she laid in her crib after waking up. It was like she was practicing by herself.  Her Mandarin is also coming along but I don't always know what she's saying.  From what I'm told she understands everything and can say a handful of words like all her body parts, careful, wash hands.  I can tell when she's babbling in English as compared to Mandarin though cause they sound so different.

Nana and Esme went on lots of adventures this past week while Allen and I worked.  They mostly involved playgrounds and playtime for Esme.  Then when we weren't working we had some family adventures too.  One day we caught the ferry over to Bainbridge Island for a day filled with shopping, eating, and strolling through town.  Then we also drove south to Portland to see my mom's family and help Uncle Chan celebrate his birthday.  Esme loved having someone in the back seat with her to keep her company during the 3 hour drive.  Our next trips to Portland won't be the same, that's for sure.

So it was a sad day today after taking Nana to the airport.  The house seemed so empty so Esme and I played outside in the yard and her pool most of the afternoon.  Then a very exciting thing happened - she pooped in the potty for the first time!  I recently got a seat to go over the big toilet and she seems to have better luck with that one instead of the free standing small potty.  Slowly but surely we'll get this potty training done :)


                                                           
                                  Family photo opp                                                                                              Practicing her driving skills
                                                         
                              Practicing her climbing skills                                                                        Esme's got quite the fashion sense ;)
                    
                       Riding the gator kayak with Nana                                                                 Nana's wearing Esme's other sunglasses
                   
                                 Visiting with Uncle Richard                                                                   Happy Birthday Uncle Chan

                   
                                    Esme's so intrigued by dogs                                                     Our apple tree has perfect sized apples for her hands
                                                                         

Nana's farewell dinner - homemade potstickers

Summer Break

Ms. Faye's Daycare is on summer break this week so we were left without daycare again.  Last year we shuffled Esme to a different friends house each day but this year we decided to fly in Esme's own babysitter all the way from Hawaii - Nana!  My mom arrived last Friday so we had the weekend to hang out together and for Esme to get used to having her around.  Of course Esme's so easy and warms up to people right away so it wasn't a big deal at all.  She loves waking up and looking across the hall to see if Nana's in her room.  And I love coming home at the end of the day and dinner's all made and Esme's all tired out from playing with Nana all day.  It's a great feeling!  I drew them a map of our neighborhood so they can walk to the park or the store for little adventures during the day.

Over the weekend we watched the Blue Angels over Lake Washington.  We hit some record heat that day, up in the 90s, so Esme had a hard time napping at the park while we watched the air show.  She kept fighting it but she was sooooooooooo ready.  Finally she took a nap in the car on the way home.  I think she was just happy to have AC again!

                                                      
                       These girls love copying each other                                                                           The tired little girl
                    
                                   Blue Angels air show                                                                             Watching the air show from the shores

We also visited the Ballard Locks to watch the ships travel between the Puget Sound and Lake Union.  Esme liked watching the boats rise and sink in the Locks but that was before we got to the the fish ladder.  She was mesmerized by the salmon swimming up the fish ladder and we had a hard time peeling her away from that area.
                                    
                         Watching the ships in the locks                                                                                              Ta-da!
                                                     
                                  Signing "birdie"                                                                                    Playing near the salmon ladder

Our backyard apple tree is loaded with apples right now so we've been trying to come up with apple dishes to make use of them all.  Nana made a apply crisp with her new apple peeling machine and Esme enjoyed playing with the cores and the peels.  She liked to wear the string of peels over her neck.  
                    
          Watching Nana work the apple peeling contraption                                                        Wearing the apple peel lei

We hit record heat in Washington this past weekend so we were glad we repaired our AC this year.  Our house stayed nice and cool but Esme thought it was better to just sit in the fridge to cool off.  She also had fun running around naked in the backyard and splashing in her little pool.

Chillin in the fridge