Eight Month Old Esther

• Again, no official weight from the doctor, but Wii Fit said Esther is about 16 1/2 pounds.
• Esther is now what I would call an independent sitter.  Sure, she topples from time to time, but it is generally safe to leave her for a minute or two...if Austin is not around.
• Being an independent sitter has also made Esther an independent player.  Give her a pile of toys and she's good to go for awhile.
• Esther still loves to chew on things but she also likes to wave her toys around and bang them against each other.
• Esther likes to play with Austin's toys.  I am starting to be very aware of just how many little pieces they have.
• Esther rolls over more often than she has for the last few months, but if she's not in the mood she just lays on her tummy and cries til you pick her up.
• Esther loves to stand.  I am predicting that she will be like Austin: a late crawler who walks soon after learning to crawl.
• Esther likes the Exersaucer quite a bit these days.  I love to watch her lean over and talk to herself in the little mirror.
• Esther has been waking up at night a lot this month.  Most nights she goes back to sleep quickly if I just hold her for a few minutes.  Teething is a possibility...but when is teething not a possibility?
• On a good day, Esther's second of two or three naps lines up with Austin's nap and lasts an hour and a half.  On an average day, Esther's three or four forty minute naps completely miss Austin's nap.
• In addition to puff cereal, I gave Esther some little peach chunks the other day and she did really well with them.  Mostly she eats purees, though.
• Esther smiles when she sees people she knows and loves.  She is pretty wary of strangers, though--when people try to smile and talk to her she cries if I am not directly in her line of sight.
• If Esther wants attention (for example, from Daddy who might be working across the room) she looks over and makes little coughing sounds and coos until she gets what she wants.
• Esther gets frustrated if I read to Austin with her in my lap.  She clearly thinks the book would be put to better use in her mouth.
• Esther does not like drinking juice or water from a sippy cup.  I think she could benefit from some extra liquids but I have to give them through a medicine syringe.
• Maybe it's the sitting up or the sounds she makes, but Esther seems much more grown up this month.  A bittersweet realization.

Just Some Pictures

Esther just gets cuter all the time.  It's hard to get catch Austin with a nice smile in a picture these days, but Esther is my smiley girl.

I remember Austin playing in a laundry basket just like this when he was younger.  Now it's Esther's turn--she can amuse herself for quite awhile in there.

 I call this Esther's college student outfit.  Long sweater: check.  Leggings: check.  Boots: check.  Fun personality: check.

 Esther, not content to rest on her laurels, has moved beyond pulling her socks off to the bigger and better Baby Legs.

 Aww, I do have a picture where Austin looks nice.  The kiddos were smiling at their Gran.

Solid food that's...well, solid

Esther ate her first finger food today, sweet potato-flavored cereal puffs. (As an aside, is this the right time to introduce finger foods? I think Austin was older, and he didn't do very well with them for several weeks, but maybe that was just him.) As is apparent in the video, Esther did just fine. Surprised us how fast she figured out how to get the food to her mouth, in fact. Is there anything cuter than a baby trying to stick her whole fist in her mouth because she knows food is in there somewhere? I love it.

Esther ate cereal while we ate dinner tonight, keeping herself amused nicely. She amused us too, though...I looked over and saw this:

On Video at Last

You might remember from the "Five Month Old Esther" post that my baby girl first rolled over at the beginning of November. Three months ago, a long time in the life of a baby. She's done it only sporadically since then, though, and we had not managed to catch her on video until today. I am trying my best to capture Esther's milestones on video like I did for Austin but she has not made it easy. We probably have an hour of video footage of her on her tummy NOT rolling over. I'll spare you that--here's the success.

Recent Pictures

I realized today that I hadn't moved pictures from my camera to the computer in a few weeks, and of course looking at the pictures as I did that made me want to show you some. Because my kids are just so cute that I gotta share. :)

Gran's in town! Extra fun for everyone.

Hugs and Kisses (outfit) from Grandma Susan



Two of my three favorite people

As if there is any doubt that kids grow up fast, here is my baby boy on that digger such a short time ago.

Ambition

Do you, like me, wake up in the morning and think "today is the day I'm going to accomplish X, Y, and Z plus a whole lot more"? And you really believe you can do it. And then twelve hours later you're putting the kids to bed and thinking "gee, what exactly did I do today, cause it sure wasn't the things I hoped to do?" That is me just about every day. I even made a little post-it note list today to try to stay on track. I managed to cross off three items, another is half done, and the rest...well, obviously I'm blogging right now and not cleaning my bathroom sinks.

Keeping two little people alive and well is a lot of work, period. Lately I've been tempted to feelings of failure because my home is not as clean as I'd like and I have so many unfinised projects. But I was listening to a message yesterday that my pastor gave at a parenting class and it really encouraged me. He said our job as parents is to pass on our worldview (who God is and who we are in relationship to Him) and to prepare our children for Judgment Day. Wow. I guess that's a little more important than a clean sink.

Me and My (Little) Man

Just trying to be fair...picture of Esther yesterday, picture of Austin today. Not the most natural smile from the little one but I'll take it. Love this kid.

New Look

Lately the idea of abiding has been coming at me from all directions: links posted by friends, my morning readings in 1 John, some blogs I follow. No surprise, God knows what I need to learn. The last few weeks have been quite challenging at home and so often I've found myself impatient, frustrated, harsh...I've had to take a deep breath and ask Austin's forgiveness more times than I care to admit. And then I read words like "Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming." (1 John 2:28) Abide in Him. Only three words, but packed with so much meaning. I can't do this on my own. Only walking with Jesus minute by minute will allow me to be the calm, loving mommy I desire to be.

So with these thoughts floating around in my mind, I thought it was time for a few changes to the blog. Because a few thousand people are living in Indiana, PA but as a sinner saved by grace I want to do more than that, I want to abide.

Bugs

Esther Bug loves her ladybug. Just some cuteness from today.