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Here's a shot of the fam at the daycare's Halloween party. Estelle was a very cute giraffe, but didn't last long in her costume that was really more appropriate for outdoor temperatures.

When asked about his "costume," Bryan said he came as Will Smith, but needed to find a way to make his ears stick out.

A tantalizing prize (my leftover Halloween candy) goes out to the first blog reader who can guess what I was dressed as. Yes, it was a little obtuse, but I'm obsessed with developing "costumes" out of what's available in my home, and all this required was a little chimney soot, my oldest wornout and torn sweatshirt and a few twigs to stick in my hair.

(And, btw, is anyone else disturbed by the inappropriate mermaid costumes out there for 4 year olds? Sheesh.)

Morning at the Museum

Today we went to the Children's Museum with Kim and Thomas. They're featuring some fun exhibits right now -- both Curious George and Sesame Street are there. But Estelle and Thomas seemed to enjoy the aptly named "Habitat" gallery the most, where they had slides, caves and ramps to run around on.

Waterpark mania

We went up north for a friend's wedding this weekend...I convinced Grandma, Darien and Regina to come along and they watched Estelle while her dad and I attended the festivities. We stayed at a hotel with a waterpark and the kids had a blast. Estelle was pooped by the end of the weekend...actually, we all were.

Estelle v. Asphalt

She got going too fast this weekend, trying to catch up to Darien, and did a face plant on the asphalt. She cried a little (okay, maybe a lot), shook it off, and did it a second time! Poor little face!

Handstand Preview

This is Estelle's newest craze...I can't wait until she actually tries to kick up into a real handstand!

Saturday at the park with Darien

It was sprinkling and overcast, but Darien and Estelle still had a blast at the park today. They didn't even need to be on the equipment -- just chasing after each other on the grass was good enough. Occasionally, Estelle would turn around and cheer on the youth football game ("Go! Go! Run a ball! I try it, mama?") I told her to talk to her dad.

The Return of The Climber

Can't even turn around and Estelle is climbing on some new object or surface these days. This was a supervised climb in grandma's garage. She looked so proud of herself for climbing to the top of the ladder.

Gymnast in the Making

It was the last gymnastics class of the session today, and they held a little award ceremony at the end of class (complete with "Eye of the Tiger" playing in the background). We're definitely going back for next session. She looooooves "ma-kicks," as she calls it. This morning when I asked if she wanted to go, her eyes widened, she gasped audibly and said, "Kick-a bubbles feet!! (I kick the bubbles with my feet)" (Another fun activity during each class).

She is particularly fond of the beam and swinging on the bars, but not so much for tumbling....sounds familiar!

Friday Night Lights

Estelle went to her first high school football game last night. She was all about being in the stands, even though her dad and I presumed she'd just run around in the grass (though I suspect it was more about climbing on the bleachers). She did pay attention and tried to clap when her dad clapped.

Happabirday!

Yesterday was Estelle's birthday (or, "Happabirday!" as she likes to say). We had a nice party with dinner and cake -- she looked truly delighted when everyone sang "happy birthday to you," a phrase she often sings after we read one of her favorite books (Curious George and the Birthday Surprise).

Speaking of cake, can you just take a look at one earnest mom's creation -- I seriously need to get a hold of myself.

I don't know why I do it...I get an idea in my head and I MUST make it happen, at the expense of sleep (and aesthetics, in this case). Take this cake for example. I decided that Estelle must have a Clifford cake. But his character is not easy to find...unlike, Elmo...or Curious George, for that matter...two other characters she ALSO loves. At any time, I could have abandoned the Clifford idea and ordered an Elmo cake from the grocery store. Alas, the idea in my head took over. Unfortunately, Clifford was the one who suffered. At least it tasted good and Estelle did recognize him, despite his malformations. Check out the video clip.

Here are a few more cute photos from the party...you can see more by clicking on the link to Flickr on the right.

Who needs mommy and daddy?

Especially when Estelle has Grandma/Darien/Regina, my cousin Kelly, and Darien's fish to entertain her... We spent our first weekend away from Estelle to attend a wedding of a dear friend from grad school. Though I worried about leaving her, Estelle did absolutely fine without us. She stayed a couple of nights with my mom, and then Kelly watched her at our house for about a day so my mom could head out on her vacation (which explains the fish staying at our house).

Kelly snapped some cute photos of Estelle watching the fish (and a hilarious video which I'll attempt to upload).

EP - the next generation

It was so fun to see some of my high school friends recently -- Amy just had a new baby, Madeline, and we all got to meet her and catch up. It's a blast to see each other's kids -- it was a bit of bedlam trying to get them to sit still for a picture.

Pool Pals

Estelle went to the pool with her friend, Annika, last weekend. There's a great play area in the zero-depth pool with slides and swings and waterfalls, but it was just a little too much water in the girls' eyes. They had a better time sitting at the edge, playing with tupperware containers. So many fun things to do in the summer....so little time to blog about it!

Eating watermelon

Well, I guess it would be more accurate to say "Licking watermelon" because I can't actually get her to take a bite of it. Weird...she'll eat a piece of yellow bell pepper but not watermelon.

This was one of those fun summer evenings where we went outside after dinner to enjoy the sunset, cool breeze and watermelon on the front step. Life is good!

Hot and sticky

It was a perfect, hot June day today. Estelle tried running through the sprinkler for the first time. It took a little convincing -- I'm sure the neighbors got a kick out of Bryan and I showing her how to do it. She also had her first popsicle -- that took no convincing whatsoever.





"This stick is pretty good, but I like the cold stuff better."

Estelle played with Darien a lot this weekend. They are pratically inseparable. When they're together, she follows him around like a shadow. When Darien's not around, Estelle asks about him all the time (and she's saying his name pretty well now, though the "r" is more like a "w"). I think the picture below is so cute. They were cuddling and Darien was trying to play possum...Estelle wasn't buying it. You can see he's trying really hard not to smile.

Mischevious

Estelle was really hamming it up for the camera in this picture. It was one of those moments when it was way too quiet in the house. I knew she was getting into something...this time it was climbing up the wrong side of the stairs.

Say Cheese (Seriously!)

So I'm stealing real estate from Estelle to show you all the cheeziest of photos. A couple weeks ago, I went to prom (heart, heart, heart)! It wasn't our first time (nor the last, certainly, since it is a part of Bryan's job) but it's the only prom picture we've had taken. I think it's pretty dang funny. The theme was "Starry Night." The girls were beautiful and mostly appropriately dressed (with a few "J-Lo at the Grammys" exceptions); the boys were coolly dapper, strutting in their tuxes with assorted accessories like top hats and blinged-out canes. As a chaperone, Bryan gave me strict instructions about dancing. Alas, I was relegated to the adults table, forbidden to get my groove on (except, of course, when "Ballin'" came on and then I shot my hand up goose-neck at the appropriate moments). In the end, Bryan relented and we danced during the last slow song of the night.

Warning: Apples Falling Directly Under the Tree

After dinner tonight, I convinced Estelle to sit down and play with puzzles. She sat down but started to cry. She looked straight at me, furrowed her brow and pointed her index finger, jabbing at the rug as if to say, "part of the bargain was you sitting down next to me." I could hardly refuse. This was the first time she's been so forceful in a non-temper tantrum way -- it was quite convincing. I guess it's not a surprise that both verbal and non-verbal communication is developing rapidly right now. What is surprising is the attitude that she gives it. This morning I made her cereal and we sat down to eat. She looked up a me, held out her hands and in an exasperated tone said, "'poon." Not "'poon?" like a request; more like "come on already with the spoon, lady!" I'd better be on my best behavior from here on out.

More fun at the park

Estelle can't get enough of the park. She's worked her way up to the big slide. Today we got her to do "hands up"...






And by the way, teddy goes everywhere with us lately...to the park, in the car, to bed, reading books...shortly after I took this picture, she sat down on the sidewalk and gave teddy a drink of water.

At the park

Estelle is getting braver at the park. She loves to swing and go down the slides. And if there are any other kids there, she'll follow them around like a shadow.