Esme Turns 1

A little swimming, eating out, few presents, and cake. I was excited to try this Korean tradition where you place several objects in front of a baby on their first birthday to see what they grab. Esme grabbed the bracelet, paint brush, and money. Aparently she will be fashion conscious, artistic, and rich. My favorite part of the night was listening to Eli's soft voice as he sang Happy Birthday and watching Esme laugh while Brian played with her.

As for what we know for sure about this girl.

She is so friendly. She reaches out to strangers and if they're nice enough to take her she honks their nose. If she really likes you she'll lick your face, which I have only seen a couple of times.

Adventurous. Not as cautious as her older brother, at least she she thinks about something she wants to do before she does it. Today it was crawling forward toward the play structure into the water as it got deeper and deeper and her face went under.

Easy. The first 6 months were tiring, but now she sleeps 10-12 hours and takes two long naps. She's independent, preferring to crawl around and explore to sitting in my arms. Flexible. She doesn't start whining once it's time to eat or sleep, but waits pretty patiently.

Loves animals and babies. I have to get it on video. This high pitched screech/laugh comes out when she touches a dog or our neighbor's pet pig. Babies get smiles, a face touch, and even a lick.

Prefers to feed herself. She's loved the introduction of a fork. And her favorite foods seem to be cheese, tomatoes, PB&J, and tonight's spaetzle.

Can't wait to learn more.


All night I've been imagining where I was a year ago. I get teary just thinking about it. Every day we're grateful for this angel girl and love her more. I don't deserve such sweetness, but I'll take it.