sun's up rooster, where's your doodle doo?

it's been a busy week.

first there was this:

and because of that, we did this (swaddle free!):

and finally, there was this:

tada

sleuth sloth

this video of kristen bell is hilarious! i have never seen a movie with her in it but what a quirky person! watch until the end..

in that dream i'm as old as the mountains

ankle weights under socks really help strengthen baby's legs. jk. see em's ankle weights here, made out of fat and really tight skin.

fun house

this is a video of esther margaret talking and playing (and being mesmerized by the strap on my camera).

this is a video of esther margaret watching the video of her talking and playing and being mesmerized by my camera strap.

i actually have a video of her watching the video of her watching the video of her talking and playing and being mesmerized by my camera strap but it was basically, mostly, exactly the same. the primitive signs of recognition are really weird.

sleep sacked out

five out of seven days, this is what i see on the monitor when i wake up in the morning. she used to wake up in this position, her nose half an inch away from the crib bumper, and call out to us (presumably because she didn't expect to wake up with her entire field of vision filled with mustard colored matelasse). but now she sleeps away like a little hibernating bear cub, her little lips and eyelids fluttering.
the other two out of seven, she's usually on her side, like this. i know it's not technically remarkable, but it is a very wonderful thing that this little seven month old human has developed preferences, like sleeping on her right side with her head tucked down.
*yes she is still swaddled
**yes we have tried!!
***yes more than once!
****no, not forever.

i believe in memories, they look so pretty when i sleep

this is jeremy in 1990 climbing a wall near the suspension bridge. he was 14, crazy about climbing and even used to make his own climbing equipment (naturally). his friend, nathan, was just a fledgling photographer then (he was around 16) and took this shot. he is now a professional photographer. jeremy was always doing crazy things and nathan was around to capture a lot of it. someone recently called nathan and said they'd found a box of his photos and negatives and this was one that found its way back to him after all of these years.

cousins

this a photo of evan on his first birthday.
this is esther margaret at 7 months.
i think they bear so much resemblance, do you??

seven months

esther margaret is 7 months old. she thought white cable knit, heathered coral with contrast trim and dark rinse slim jeans were a great way to wear resort.

she is now sitting up (still no intentional rolling, happens on accident from time to time)..
pushing up..
and the biggest change of all, she now loves sophie, her once embittered enemy.
somewhere around teething, allergies, a cold, starting child care, switching to formula and constipation, we sort of dropped trying to have a set schedule. so she roughly wakes up at 730, eats and plays until 9-930. then she naps and wakes around 1030-11 and sometime between then and about 1p she eats and plays. then another nap until 2-230. up, eats again around 330. if i time it right, i can get her down for another catnap around 4 but otherwise we go running with lesley and one of her offspring, play or run errands until bedtime, which is 630-7.

she used to start talking a lot when she was tired but now she talks from the moment she wakes. i swear she has been saying "dada", i will try to record it on video.

she used to think baths were OK but is very excited about them now..when jse bathes her, i always hear lots of giggling and splashing..


she's eating better than ever! she would never take more than 24oz but is cruising along at 28-30oz these days. in addition, she is starting to feed herself and enjoy gumming all of her food. it's great to see her become more independent but she is losing interest in pureed food, which is a shame, because the freezer is now stockpiled with pureed millet + sweet potato, turkey + quinoa, spelt + peas and amaranth + apples.

here she is trying out and loving these japanese potato crackers that her habujee and hamoni got for her.
she's such a great kid, gentle, observant, super sweet and affectionate, she's pretty cute.

frank you

thanks for visiting us, aunt marcy!

in the saddle again

esther margaret's first ride.
she liked it, pistol thought it was OK.
jeremy surprised me with this antique saddle he had restored! it's so pretty (it actually reminds me of one of my favorite designers, natch), and i hope i will get to use it soon..

snot sucker

snot is a losing battle for any parent with a kid under 2 years old. the suction bulb is like a mirage in the desert. it looks like salvation but is a sheer illusion.

this is the nosefrida.
the cartoon is self explanatory, and i know it looks gross but when your kid wakes up early from every nap and at 5 in the morning because he or she can't breathe, you will do whatever it takes. yes you provide the suction. no you will not get snot in your mouth. no your child will not look like this when you use this on his or her runny/congested nose. they will actually not like it at all and probably freak out (in fact, em, who does not know how to roll over yet, is getting close as a result of trying to squirm out of getting her snot sucked). but you will not care because it is awesome! of course the next time your kid sneezes it will be back to square one, but for those few minutes or hours when the air just goes in and out of your child's nose, silently, it will be victorious, electrifying, supernatural. try it!

no child left behind

child care is getting better, but this is still most days. five minutes into the car ride home, em falls asleep clutching onto jacques the peacock.