Esme Caroline

A blink of an eye ago our sweet Esme Caroline was born.

Okay, so it was more like a year ago and Peter and I cannot believe how quickly this little bundle

Many happy returns on your first birthday, little one. We love you more than words can express!

(click on the photos for even more photos!)

The Mole Sisters and the Big Rocks

Catherine and Esme and I enjoyed some time in the woods of Manchester-by-the-Hyphen-Sea today. We hiked the loop at Agassiz Rock, visiting both Big and Little Rocks. The hike was almost too strenuous for Catherine but she was a trooper and didn’t give up. Not even on the steep spots with slippery pine needles and leaves underfoot!

It was a beautiful day and the forest was ripe for exploring. Esme, as is her wont, tried to eat everything she got her hands on; pine needles, acorns, stones, a stick, leaves… It was an amazingly tactile learning experience for her. And a test of speed and agility for me as I swooped in to prevent consumption of above items.

Catherine had the chance to practice her map reading and trail marker following skills. She also dammed up a little stream, walked the balance beam on a fallen tree, and balanced some little rocks. As we hiked she joined me in a rousing chorus of “She’ll be Coming Around the Mountain When She Comes” (thanks to Jason for teaching it to her!) And as a nod to the Mole Sisters she went BoingaBoinga on a piece of moss.

If you’ve never been to Agassiz Rock and you’re in the area you should definitely check it out. And let us know if you’re headed there, we’d love to tag along! All our photos from today are in our gallery. Here are a couple more to whet your whistle:

First and Fourth Fourth

Esme celebrated her first Fourth of July today, decked out in her new, Mama-made, Star Spangled Romper. We didn’t get any great pictures of the whole outfit, but who cares when you can see a great smile like this

It was the fourth Fourth for big sister Catherine. She and Nonnie decorated her bike and marched in the MVCMA kids parade.

The rest of our day was spent at the West Tisbury Farmers Market (where we met the Travel Channel’s Samantha Brown and drank yummy Limeade) splashing in the ocean, eating delicious grilled corn on the cob and otherwise generally enjoying the freedoms we have as Americans. Happy Fourth, whichever number it is for you!

Two months, two girls, and the Importance of planning ahead

Esme is two months and two days old today. She had her checkup yesterday at which the doctor confirmed what we already know; she’s doing great! She’s gaining weight, getting taller and meeting her milestones. We are all loving her little coos and smiles and giggles. Maybe my favorite thing about her lately is that she has a little cry that sounds exactly like she is saying, “Esme”.

Long story, short, she’s awesome and we can’t imagine life without her.

Big sister Catherine is leading the way. She has been picking out clothes for little sister and showing her how all the baby toys work. I’ve found her, more than once, lying inside the ‘baby floor gym’ batting at the hanging toys.

Catherine has been charming the pants off her Mama by reciting her story books (“Mother and Gloria were inside at the table drawing place cards for the party”) and by never using contractions (“I fell, Mama, but I am okay.”) She also attended story time at the library today for the first time. We talked about how the other kids would go in alone and she had no qualms leaving me behind!

Life with two has its super sweet times and its super hectic times. I’ve found that the best way to manage and keep our sanity is to be compulsive about planning ahead. Luckily, it is one of my better qualities (if I do say so myself) I’m always mentally composing lists of things to pack in the diaper bag, noting where all the restrooms will be when we go out, categorizing to-do lists based on the number of girls napping…that sort of thing. It doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for daydreaming or creative thinking (I cram that in before bed) but it does help our days and outings run so much more smoothly.

What do you do that helps keep your days stress free?

Tiny Tangerine

Per Catherine’s request, I made Esme an orange shirt just like hers. I had to do a little finagling with the pattern to make it smaller overall, but big enough to fit over her diaper. It knit up nice and quick and I think the two of them are pretty darn cute!

The Second Time Around

The past two weeks have gone by so quickly, yet the days have gone by slowly. These first fourteen days with Esme have been so different from Catherine’s first two weeks (click Here for those of you just tuning in). Here’s a little rundown of life with Esme.

Esme’s birth went about as smoothly as I could have hoped for. I know birth details aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, so I won’t go into specifics- but feel free to ask me if you’re interested. I’ll be open and honest! Suffice it to say we had a completely unmedicated birth assisted by a nurse and a Certified Nurse Midwife. Everything went pretty quickly. We checked into the hospital around 10pm and were settled into our post partum room and napping by 4am.

With the benefit of experience (and lack of breathing apparatus) Esme and I had an easy start to breastfeeding. She latched on perfectly on her first try and has continued to go strong ever since.

We’ve been enjoying having Peter home from work and have been taking advantage of his vacation by ‘lying-in’. Esme and I have been getting to know each other well, mostly while hanging out in bed. We’ve been reentering the world at our own pace and I think it has really helped our bonding and our ‘after birth’ recovery. It has been a relaxing Babymoon!

Catherine has taken to the role of big sister like a fish to water. It must be a hard transition to make, but she seems to be coping very well. It is impossible to capture her cute tone of voice here, but you can imagine how cute it is when she says things like, “Baby Esme, you crying? You need your Mama’s milks!” or “Hey Esme, you want a carrot?” And, out of desperation to get a cuddle with Mama, “Papa, YOU want to hold Esme?”

Big sister is already teaching Esme things. While I was nursing the other day I said to Esme, “Oh Esme. That is a bad latch!” Catherine quickly came over and instructed her little sister, “You need a big latch, Esme, like this…” and she gave a shining example of a big mouthed latch. Ahh, my little lactation consultant!

It has been nice to have a teeny babe at home; hearing her little sounds and counting her little toes. I’m pretty sure it will only get better from here on out!