Our big girl

This is her 'cheese' face

Esther turned 20 months today (written on the 13th, pics uploaded on the 11th) and it is really hitting us that she is not a baby anymore. She is growing up so fast (as everyone said she would). She loves to help out around the house, pretend with her baby, and tell us everything she knows.

Feeding baby

With all the wonderful time we have on weekends now, Ben has taken up cooking. I know- what a lucky woman I am. On the days I work and some on the weekends, Ben has been trying out new recipes (with Esther's help). Going back to his cajun roots, he made Jambalaya this weekend. It was SO good! Last night, he made pasta primavera. Yum! I made a peach and blueberry cobbler over the weekend too, but it didn't last long enough to get a picture.

Cooking with Papa

Notice the new haircut

A fun visit from Poppi and Grandma (Ben's parents). We also had a great visit from my parents last week, but unfortunately I did not have the camera out. Next time...

Keeping on the theme of our big girl, we are working on updating Esther's room. Since potty-training is going to well, we've put the changing table in storage and got this great dresser. I found it on Craig's list (online garage sale-type thing) and when we picked it up, she gave it to us for free. It is in good condition and fits our needs perfectly. We also found this cute elephant at a yard sale over the weekend. This wonderful woman goes and picks up good-condition stuff off the side of the road that students, who don't know the value of stuff, dump on the side of the road after the school year. She then has this huge yard sale at the beginning of the next school year to keep all this out of the landfill and provide cheap items to the public. We got some great items, including this elephant, some cute Esther clothes, books, a laptop case, a lantern, and a beautiful shirt for me (all for $4, by the way).

I don't think I have posted a pic of this great toybox my brother made Esther before she was born. We love it! E can color on the chalkboard and it hides all the extra toys and bags that she's gotten too old for or otherwise have no place to go. My brother is an engineer and wonderful woodworker. Knowing I would appreciate it, he only used reclaimed wood for this project. Thanks, Kris!

And a memory of Esther on her first day home. She had jaundice, so we let her get a bit of sun each day. Even though it was December, the temps were in the 70s. And a highlight of the first baby blanket I crocheted her. I made her a purple and white one after she was born (knowing she was a girl).

Oh, the baby fever is setting in. No worries (or, don't get your hopes up), it will be at least another year or so. But they are soooo sweet!

Well, its 4:00 in the morning and I can't sleep. At 29, the insomnia that has plagued my parents for years has hit me as well. It's no fun, but I'm embracing it and figure I may as well get up and do something, rather than toss and turn for hours.
So, here is a recap of our wonderful weekend (and Monday added on). August started Ben's new schedule, which includes No More Weekends! Woo Hoo! It is wonderful to have family time and to be able to enjoy life together. Esther loves having both of us and commands us to 'hug' and 'kiss', just Ben and I, then a 'family hug'. So sweet!
Back to the weekend. Saturday was very busy, but fun. We started off with a trip to our local market for some yummy veggies and music. The corn is actually from our landlord, who is a very sweet, 80-something year old man. The eggplant, care of backyard harvest, made a delicious eggplant parmesan on Sunday.

We then headed to Ben's ER department picnic at Sandy Creek Park. Esther enjoyed playing on the dock and romping around with the other kids.

After an attempt to get E to sleep (which did not happen), we went to our dear friends' son's 7th b-day party. It was pirate themed and included water balloons. Esther has been saying 'party' ever since. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera out to capture the fun.

Sunday was a wonderful day of relaxation. It was the first time in a very long time where we have had absolutely nothing to do. It was great! We got up and made banana nut pancakes. Esther LOVES to help me cook. She likes to pour in the ingredients and help stir. After breakfast, we went to the local zoo, then went swimming. I later made a wonderful dinner (the eggplant parm). I rarely have time to make such an extravagant dinner, so it was quite a treat.

They were yummy!

Monday, we returned to Ashford Manner to see Grogus (local latin band). Esther was up in front of the stage at the first note played. We danced the night away with good friends and family. Esther continues to ask for 'munic' (music) and 'dance', so now we are having daily dance parties in the living room.

Late in the evening, after the sun went down (it was really hot, too)

So, we are enjoying life. Three times last week, the theme of 'living in the moment, slowing down, and appreciating all you have' came to me. I am trying to pay attention to this message. Esther is no longer a baby and changes every day. Ben and I are very blessed to have the relationship we have, a beautiful daughter, and wonderful family and friends. We are grateful to God and all who have helped us along the way. To many more wonderful moments...

Family Reunion and other random things

We headed back down to Mississippi last weekend for Ben's family reunion (mother's side). It was wonderful seeing all the family. Esther had lots of fun playing with Maggie, her 2nd cousin, and all the aunts, uncles, and grands.

Monkeys jumping on the bed

Ben and his brother, Brad. See the resemblance?

Family

And the random things...

Esther helping me cook - snapping beans


Finding my old glasses and looking studious

E and I went to the Jittery Joe's roaster for a tour with some other Mamas and babes. Here was Esther's favorite part, playing outside in the rocks with Oscar.

Plant Photography

We have a Certificate of Native Plants program at the Garden where people have to take 10 courses and do a certain amount of volunteer work to complete the certificate. The program was such a success last year that we are opening it to more people and offering multiple classes this year. It is a really neat program and I'm excited to be working with it more now that I'm done with school. Last Saturday we had a Digital Plant Photography course, taught by Hugh and Carol Nourse. They have some really beautiful plant photography books, mainly on GA native plants. Here are a few shots I captured during the course. Enjoy the floral eye candy!

We'll miss you, Babouchka

We said goodbye to our cat, Babouchka, yesterday. After doing multiple tests and trying a few meds, she did not improve (probably cancer). It was her time to pass on and get some rest. She was not a lovey-duvey cat and didn't do any tricks, but she was a sweet fixture in our home. She occasionally would dive into the floor and roll over for a nice rub-down. Esther loved searching for her around the house and petting her "soft". She was so sweet to her while she was sick the last few weeks. She would check on her and lay with her. We will miss you, Babouchka, but are glad you are at peace now.

So not to leave on a sad note, a bit about Esther's new favorite outfit. It is her bathing suit cover-up. There have been many days where she will not leave the house without it. The hat is a nice added touch.
Here is Esther reading to her babies. She did this all on her own. We haven't pushed babies (all were gifts) on her or any real gender roles. It is interesting to see nature (vs. nurture) taking place. I love that she is starting play and use her imagination. So sweet!

The 4th and Spencer's party

We had a busy 4th of July weekend, but really enjoyed catching up with old friends and family. On the 4th, we went to a pool party with some old friends and really enjoyed ourselves. The kids loved swimming and playing together.

Samarah, Emily, me and the kiddos

Swimming with Papa

Esther was soo pooped

Sam passes on Lilli's clothes to us (Thanks, Samarah!), including this too cute fairy dress. Esther put it on and immediately started dancing around the room. A girl after my own heart!

We also met up with some friends from my old youth group on the 4th. I wish more people had come, but it was great to see those that really meant so much to me back in the day. That night, we kicked it redneck style and watched fireworks outside the Wal-mart parking lot after Esther went to bed. Fireworks always make me feel like a kid again.
Saturday we hung out with some good friends (thanks, Maki and Poppi for keeping E). Then Sunday was our nephew, Spencer's 1st birthday party.

What a stud! Just a picture I snapped at Spencer's (our nephew) birthday party.

Grammi (aka. Mimi) enjoying lap-time w/ both grand-babies. Spencer was trying to grab hold of Esther's ponytail.

Enjoying a ride on Pops' lap. Spencer is such a cutie!

Spencer checking out Uncle Ben's beard

And lastly, I leave you w/ a pic to bring humor to your day. We are poddy training, so E runs around naked pretty often. She also is in a "take everything out/sorting" phase. Here, she is combining the two. She was having so much fun, we couldn't help but let her demolish the kitchen and make her own play place in the cabinets. It is a good way to reorganize, too!

Birthday Week

Ben and my birthdays are just 5 days apart, so we choose to celebrate the birthday week. For his birthday, we were in Louisiana. His Aunt made him jambalaya and cousin made a delicious chocolate cake. We also had gumbo and shrimp poboys during the week, so he was a well fed, happy man. For my birthday, we decided to have a relaxing family day back in Athens. We started by going to the local farmers market and buying this week's veggies. They are really beautiful and yummy. Esther loved the corn.
We dropped off the veggies at home then walked to our local park. We took Esther to the pool for the first time since her swimming lessons last year. She loved it! She wanted to swim like the big kids and kept pushing us away. We let her play in the baby pool so she felt like she had some independence.
Then, we went to our small zoo, Bear Hollow, which is a frequent stop on our walks. Esther will give tours, pointing to where the bears and otters live, then telling the noises that each animal makes :)
The rest of the day was spent lazily around the house. It was perfect after our long trip to just relax and settle back in.
On Sunday, we went to the Georgia Nature Center for the Solar Festival. All the music was powered by the sun. They have two huge solar panels and a wind turbine. The owner also built his home on the property using green methods. I did a project on their Education programs and field trips for a class last year. It is a really neat place. We also got a big plate of jerk chicken and spicy cabbage. It was SO good!
A big storm came towards the end the festival. Esther loved dancing in the rain, splashing in the puddles, and getting muddy.
On the way home, we were gifted with the most beautiful double-rainbow I have ever seen. We stopped on the side of the road to get a picture, but I think this one taken from the car is cooler. The picture still does not do it justice. The colors were so vibrant. What a great ending to our birthday week!