Three generations

I love this photo with the weird angles of Estelle, my mom and me.

This one of Estelle and her "Auntie Wanti" is pretty cute too:

It's a happy, happy birthday!

Estelle is 1 today! In honor of her first birthday, she got her first real taste of dessert -- cake and ice cream. I'll interpret the photos:

"I guess I may as well try some of this stuff..."



"Holy cow, this stuff is good!"



"Man, I shoulda known you punks have been holding out on me."



"From now on, it's cake and ice cream at every meal!"

...and drop it like it's hot

Click here to see a 15 second video of Estelle wobbling...I mean, walking...

Walk this way

Estelle started walking last week, and already she'll walk across the room, turn around, and walk back. Her balance is improving rapidly, but she's still quite wobbly. Her dad says she looks like a drunken sailor. I'll attempt to get some video and post it.

Another first: she waved bye-bye last night to much cheering and clapping from us. In fact, when she saw the response it garnered, she planted her feet in a wide stance and kept waving bye-bye like a crazy person. However, when I was actually leaving the daycare this morning, she refused to wave bye-bye to me. I guess context is a concept that will come later.

Summer vacation in exotic Brainerd

So this is what it's come to...well, at least for the next few years. But we had a great time relaxing and playing at the lake and the pool. Regina, Darien and Estelle were as happy as 3 peas in a pod. In fact, I think Estelle enjoys their company more than mine or her dad's.

Smart, strong and funny

Many of you know that I have an aversion (even before I was pregnant) to the pink-pink-pink obsession for little girls. Mind you, I'm not categorically opposed to putting pink on Estelle (or wearing pink myself, for that matter). I just believe that little girls should be able to wear ALL colors, and with the exception of a few retailers, all colors are not easy to find. And this is not girl-specific -- the gender stereotyping for boys is just as bad. I'd like to lay out my principle objections to clothing options for kids, girls, specifically:

1. Must everything be pink? For crying out loud!

2. If it's not pink, it's pastel. Perhaps studies have been done that if you dress girls in bright colors, they spontaneously combust. Ergo, all girls should be dressed in soft, soothing, nonflammable colors?

3. "Hi, my name is ________________ (fill in your favorite little girl's name). I signed a contract in utero to provide free advertising space for Disney, Baby Einstein, Dora the Explorer, Winnie the Pooh, Barbie and Strawberry Shortcake. Unfortunately, the only way to get out of a contract signed prenatally is to be a walking billboard for American Eagle and J. Crew as a teenager."

4. Note to clothing designers: can you wait until my kid is, say, at least 15 before you try to put her in a halter top with cups? Oh, wait, you've already got that covered.

5. (And this is, perhaps, my biggest complaint.) Daddy's little princess. Sweet. Cutie. Cupcake. Pretty Pretty Pretty. How can we be surprised when little girls grow up to be obsessed with their looks, obsessed with their weight, and more concerned about makeup than math? Again, I'm not against putting Estelle in something that says "Cutie pie" on it. If only I could find JUST ONE t-shirt or onesie that says Daddy's smart girl, or Strong, or Funny.

Look, I know it's just clothing and, in the end, it's way more important what behavior and attitudes you model for your child. But it bugs me... a lot. Thank God for Hanna Andersson. Otherwise, Estelle would be naked most of the time, and we live in a cold state so that wouldn't be a good thing.

So one of my favorite pastimes these days is to fantasize about designing a children's clothing line... a bit more empowering, a bit less nauseating, than practically everything you find in stores. Comments and suggestions about this idea are welcome.

My first BBQ

It was a special moment last weekend -- Estelle had her first taste of her dad's BBQ ribs. As you can see, she enjoyed herself immensely. It wouldn't have been my first choice to feed her ribs, but her grandmas (sitting across from each other at the table) were in cahoots. After she finished with this rib, she dove into her grandma's plate of food, shoving potato salad into her mouth with her hands. When she had a rib bone and half a piece of bread hanging out of her mouth at the same time, I had to put a stop to the feasting.

Salt n' Pepa reprise

Estelle is totally digging the push toys lately. The toys move a little faster than she expects so her little legs work like crazy to catch up with the wheels. As soon as she runs into something, she screams at me to turn her around, and off she goes again. She giggles the whole time.

The Climber strikes again

Say, Say, Oh Playmate

Estelle had a great time on Saturday playing with her friend, Annika. Annika's mommy and daddy were nice enough to watch Estelle for us for a few hours. The girls had a grand time playing in the tupperware drawer, eating dinner in high chairs side-by-side, and swinging at the park. Annika also showed Estelle that her puppy, Abby, was nothing to be afraid of. It's nice to have friends!

Next stop: Everest

On Saturday I was hurriedly trying to pull things together so we could head out to a destination and placed Estelle in care of her father, who was in front of the television. Rushing madly about upstairs, I heard Estelle babbling to herself as if she was getting closer to me. Strangely, I did not hear Bryan coming up the stairs with her. I peeked over the railing, only to see her making her way up the stairs to the landing at the front door. Bryan was contentedly watching his movie, unaware The Climber had escaped the TV room and was confidently making her way up to find me.

After scooping her up, I thanked my lucky stars that she didn't fall backwards on her quest to the top. Bryan was surprised with her first successful attempt at the stairs, but noted that, after all, he WAS the youngest kid on his block to make it all the way across the monkey bars...sigh...

Me and D

Darien and Estelle are such good buds. She's lucky to have a big cousin who loves seeing her and giving her hugs. When I drop her at daycare and Darien is there, he has to say hello to Estelle and give her love.

Hungry baby

This is the face that Estelle makes when she thinks she hasn't had enough dinner yet...often, it's after she's already eaten meat, vegetables, bread and fruit. She leans forward and screams, "EEeeeee!"

Have I mentioned that she has a mind of her own?

Before and after

A few of you who can't make the open house have asked for a final picture of the joint. Finally, we have grass, so I'm posting one. Please let us know when you'll be in town so we can have you over for dinner, or even better, Bryan's infamous "smoke-smoke" ribs.

I love dinner!

I cannot believe the quantity of food this child can put away...and further, the pitch of her scream telling us she wants more. No question that she's our kid. The daycare can't believe her consumption either considering what a little peanut she is, but they're convinced it's because she's so active. Friday is the nine-month checkup and we'll see what she weighs in at.

Bouncy Bouncy

Click here to see a quick video of Estelle...

The Climber

Estelle's newest thing is climbing. If there's something on the floor, she wants to be on top of it. She wants to climb into the high chair, or the tub, or up mommy or daddy. I came back into the room after stepping out for a second to find her on top of this wagon of blocks. Of course, with climbing comes crashing, so she's getting pretty tough.

Also, I just noticed this morning that she's finally getting her first tooth...coming in on the bottom. Which nicely explains the drool on her chin in this photo...

Splish Splash

Estelle LOVES the bath. Afterwards, Mommy is usually as wet as Estelle with all the splashing. As you can see, she doesn't even want to wait until all her clothes are off to get into the tub. Though she has very cute rubber duckies to play with, her preferred bath toy is an empty bottle. She crawls around the tub chasing after that thing.

The wind in my hair

I've lost track of how many colds Estelle has had this winter, but finally spring has sprung! Hopefully we're past the worst of the virus season now. In any case, the humidifier has taken up permanent residence in her room, and she is obsessed with it. Every time she's on the floor she makes a bee line for it. She giggles as the air blows into her face...it seems like it takes her breath away.

Now that she's crawling and pulling up she's discovering everything. Time to babyproof!

Cruising

Estelle started crawling on Saturday and pulled up to standing in her crib today. Let's hope she doesn't take her first steps tomorrow since mommy and daddy need some time to adjust. Here are some shots of her motoring around the family room.