Ezzy's Christening (Nov 4-8, 2010)

Esme Jean was christened at Trinity Church on November 7th, 2010. Her Grandma Julie, Godmothers Tiffany and Abbie and Tiffany's boyfriend Paul flew in for the event. Jim and Nina Hennig and their daughter Faith came up from southern NJ and my good friend Evi journeyed across from Hoboken. Ezzy's best friend Savannah and Savannah's mommy Krystal and daddy David also joined us. We were very lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and family on such a special occasion

Esme's godfather, Michael Harrison, was unable to attend the christening...with good cause! He was on Honeymoon with his lovely new bride Veronica! We wish them all the happiness in the world as they embark on their new life together!

The ceremony was lovely. Esme was a little bit cranky at the beginning because she was overly tired and eventually fell asleep. Unfortunately for her, the vicar woke her by pouring ice cold water on her head! She was not happy about this and her poor little hands were shaking in anger!

In case you missed the service, you can watch it here:










The Trinity knitting society gave Esme a lovely baptismal towel for the occasion. Esme also received a lovely gift from trinity, and Father Mark Bozzuti-Jones, in particular. Along with her baptism certificate, Esme received a copy of a children's book called "God Created." It is extra special because this book was written by Father Mark and he signed each copy to each child that he baptized. It is a gorgeous book, brilliantly written and vibrantly illustrated. I have a feeing it may become a favorite when Esme is older.

The quarter peal at Trinity that day was dedicated to Esme's baptism. Daddy did not get to ring in the peal but he did nip up the tower for some post service ringing.


View from the tower


Mommy, Daddy, Ez and her Godmothers


After the ceremony we had lunch at Merchants. Merchants is frequented by the bell ringers and they were thrilled to have us. We had a mix up with the cake that I pre-ordered at costco and were unable to pick it up. Tiffany and Paul saved the day by running to the local grocery store and picking up a back up.

The back up cake- surprisingly tasty!


Esme with Jim, Nina and Faith


When we got home, Esme gave her godmothers their little gifts. We made double frames with a poem about godmother's on one side and a picture of Ez with each of her godmothers on the other. Simple but sweet.

Esme received a beautiful beaded bracelet with pearls and her initial and a lovely engraved photo album from her godmothers. They really put a lot of thought and effort into her gifts and she will cherish them forever. Other gifts Esme received include a beautiful diamond cross necklace from her Great Grandma and Grandpa Kennedy, a bible and first prayer book from Grandma Julie, Grandpa Gordy and Brent, A stuffed Kitty Cat from Savvy, Krystal and David, A dress from Evi and a children's place gift card from Jim, Nina, Faith and Tara. Esme also received many lovely cards from other friends and family members.

We also did some sight seeing while Grandma, Tiffany, Paul and Abbie were in town







The traditional tourist things were fun but I think everyone enjoyed the bakeries even more! We made several trips to Crumb Bake Shop for Cupcakes and even made a stop at Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken (known for the TLC show Cake Boss).

We also spent some time at the apartment talking and playing games.



We were sad to see everyone go. We had a great time and can't wait to see everyone again!

Halloween Festivities

We kicked off our Halloween festivities with a party at little gym. Esme wore her "nice" cow costume to this party and had a great time. I think she made the cutest little cow ever!


Savannah was a dragon!


One of the little boys in Esme's old Little Gym class (the bugs) was at the party and he was dressed up like a chocolate chip cookie. I thought getting a picture of the "milk" and cookie together was a cute idea.


Ez and Savvy had Halloween snacks at the big kid table.


They sat in big girl chairs and everything!


Ez wondering when I am going to take away her usually forbidden treats...


That night, we carved pumpkins as a family. This was Stephen's first time and I think he did better than I did!


Esme really enjoyed playing with the pumpkin guts and even attempted to eat some!


Daddy working on his pumpkin (with Ezzy's help, of course!).



The end result...



The next evening, we went to a Halloween party at our apartment complex. I am nothing if not competitive, so I decided to put Esme in a second "naughty" costume in an effort to win the best costume prize at the party. It paid off.

Esme won first prize in the baby category for her Chucky costume.




Proud daddy holding Esme during the costume contest


The happy family


Esme was the belle of the ball. People thought she was a doll at first! It was said that the fact that she actually looks like a doll in real life made her costume extra frightening. We even had people on skype ask us to come into the computer lab so they could show their friends!

The actual night of Halloween was spent indoors handing out candy to trick or treaters. We didn't have many trick or treaters and we were left with a bunch of candy...someone has to eat it!

All in all a successful Halloween!

Esme at 10 months (Oct 20, 2010)

All was well at Esme's 10 month check up. Her growth has slowed down a bit but she is still fairly big for her age and is fit as a fiddle.

Here are her measurements from this appointment:

Weight: 19 pounds 10 ounces (50th percentile)
Height: 29 1/2 inches long (75th percentile)

Esme has...

0 teeth
Loads of dark blonde/light brown hair (past her shoulders in the front)
Big blue eyes- just like her daddy
a giant personality
short little legs and a long body (again, just like her daddy!)
She wears 6/9 month clothes but needs 12 month clothes for the length.

Esme has a very gregarious personality and is an absolute joy to be around. She has a bit of a temper and likes things her way. If she isn't happy with you or wants something that you have she will definitely let you know! She has a set of lungs on her!!

Esme especially likes...

Broccoli and chicken
Swings
When daddy gets home from work
Chasing the kitties
Climbing, crawling, walking while holding on to things and getting into everything!
Music!
Little Gym
BUBBLES
Bath time
Books
Playing with Savvy

Esme can...

Stand and walk while holding on
Crawl
Clap
Wave
Point
Mock coughs and other noises
Mock actions like drumming, clapping, etc.
Say many things including Mama, Dada, Ki (Kitty) and Ni Ni (no no!)
Dance when she hears music
Knows the word no...but doesn't always obey!
Flip through books (sometimes upside down!)
Feed herself finger foods
Drink from a sippy cup (though she prefers drinking directly out of Mama's water bottle)
Hold her arms up to show she wants to be picked up

Around Esme's 10 month birthday (10/8/10), we found out that she is going to be having a baby brother. No set name yet for baby boy Bailey but Mom and Dad are working on it. Esme is going to be a wonderful big sister- baby boy Bailey is one lucky kid!

Baby brother baby

The adventures of Esme Jean

Esme loves being active! She enjoys trips to the park and especially likes the swings. These pictures were taken at a park in Hoboken on a day out with Krystal and Savvy.

They were not impressed with the duck.







Esme tried to climb up the slide. I was taking a great video of it but my camera died! Here is a picture and the two second video that I shot.





Esme loves watching Stephen play with her little bat and ball. Here is a short clip of her laughing at daddy. My apologies for the TV noise.


Esme also enjoys her time at little gym. She has stepped up from the "Bug" class and into the "Bird" class. Her walking is progressing well and she will be on the run in no time! She stands without holding on and "sopha surfs" like crazy. She is a very active little lady!

On the bouncy mattress with her shaker eggs




Standing like a big girl! Look Ma, no hands!


Working on her backward flip skills


Playing with the bars


Esme loves hanging on the bar and can even hold on all by herself!



Walking with the "hotdog."

Sorry, the video is sideways!




Esme has two favorite parts of class. The balls (she gets a bit greedy)


And the BUBBLES! She is even starting to recognize the sign language sign for bubbles.



Sometimes I even get surprise Savvy hugs at the little gym!


Esme has a lot of toys at home. She really loves her instrument set and her drum in particular. Maybe she will be a drummer like Grandpa John!


The best thing about her drum is taking the lid off and letting it spin on the ground. It makes a lot of noise and makes her smile. It sounds like something her daddy would have done when he was little!


Esme also loves books. Even if she does like to read them upside down!


She also likes to climb on things


Play peek a boo


and take baths...


Mommy and Daddy bought Esme an elephant walker and she loves the freedom it gives her. We didn't have a rug on her first use so it went a bit too fast for her but she managed to keep up.

Look how proud she is of herself!


The cart is great for hauling her blocks around and has a counting abacus on the front.


Weekends are extra special to Esme because she gets to spend full days with her daddy. We like to spend some of this time in the park on walks and pushing Ez on the swings.





Ez has voiced her opinion about baby proofing and she is not a fan. She can't get into the drawers and cupboards in the bathroom and she isn't happy about it. I missed her first screams of aggravation but this video is pretty cute...


She is an epic mess maker





She hates going to sleep and consequently falls asleep in the most random places on the floor while she is playing.


She is still a huge fan of the cats and enjoys touching them and pulling their tails. She thinks it is hilarious when she pokes their feet with her fingers.