Esther's Birthday Celebration

We had a good time celebrating Esther's birthday this last Friday. We went swimming of course followed by pizza for dinner, Esther's favorite. Esther said she wanted purple birthday cake so that is what she got. It was a yellow cake mix that we dyed purple and covered it with chocolate frosting. Esther is into pretty things so she got jewelry for her birthday. It was fun to see her all excited for her birthday and I think it went a little bit to her head. I had to break the news that birthdays only come once a year and it would be a long time before she got another day all about her; wait everyday is about her. Happy Birthday Esther.

Esther's Birthday Tribute

This last Friday we celebrated Esther's 3rd birthday. I can't believe that three years have gone by already. Here are a few things about Esther. She loves to run and chase and laugh. She loves Henry and has no idea what to do when he is not around. She loves Daddy and is the biggest Daddy's little girl. She loves all things pretty or shinny. She loves to "do it myself." She will eat just about anything or at least try it. She is a great big sister and loves to mother everyone. Her favorite word is why and her favorite color is purple. Esther loves to talk and is rarely quiet. Esther is sunshine in our day and there is not a day that goes by that we are not thankful she is apart of our family. We love you Esther, happy birthday.

Esther and her glasses

Esther is now the proud owner of glasses. Back in February I started noticing that her right eye keep rolling in toward her nose or going "cross eyed." Michael and I thought she had developed a lazy eye and thought she would have to wear a patch for awhile. I made an appointment with an pediatric Ophthalmologist for the first part of April. We talked to her about wearing a patch and how she would be a pirate. I even taught her to tell the Dr. that she wanted to be a pirate. Well she does not get to be a pirate. Her eye appointment revealed that she is very farsighted. Her right eye keep going cross eyed due to the strain on her eye and her brain trying to make sense of what she was seeing. She desperately needed glasses. She will always need to have glasses or contacts this is not going to go away over time. The Dr. recommended a specific type of glasses for her. They are designed for kids, bendable, durable and hard to break. We looked around for the best price. One place wanted $80 for the frames and $340 for the lenses. Costco did not have the frames but would only charge $80 for the lenses and a small fee to have lenses put in frames that we bought some place else. So that is what we did. We ordered the frames from one store and had to wait for them to come in and then had Costco put the lenses in. This is why it has taken a month for her to get her glasses. We finally got them this last Tuesday and less than 24 hours she has ruined them. On the way home from Costco she popped the lenses out. That was an easy fix. But then the next day she was left alone with them for a few minutes and she chewed on them putting big scratch marks on the lenses. Thank goodness we did not pay $340 for the lenses, not that $80 was real cheap either. So we decided she needs two pair of glasses so that while one is being fixed she can have a backup pair. She will have to deal with the scratches till the new pair come in. Esther is really enjoying having them. She has been looking at books again and pointing out small details that I never noticed. We are so thankful that we caught this early and she can see again. She looks very cute in her new glasses and loves to wear them. Now we just need to teach her not to eat them.

What we love about Esther

OUCH

Esther had to have three stitches put in her middle finger on her left hand this last Tuesday. Michael was putting up a new light in our entry way and put the box cutters up on a ledge. The box cutters where closed but Henry found them and figured out how to open them. Esther decided she wanted the box cutters and tried to grab them from Henry resulting in her slicing her finger open. I was out visiting teaching when after just 20min into my visit Michael called and told me I needed to come home right away because Esther needed to go to the E.R.
In the E.R. Michael asked Esther if she could be brave and she responded with a very sad NO. Everyone in the E.R. thought she was very cute and yes she was very brave. Every time we change the band aid and put a new one on she asks if it is all better. It is healing nicely and she will get the stitches out this coming Monday.

Welcome baby Ainsley Elizabeth

Born 1/19/2011. The delivery went well. We are glad she is finally here. Esther and Henry love her and fight over who gets to hold her first. We are excited to get to know this new little addition to our family.

The Potty

I know many of you will think that we are crazy but Michael and I decided to potty train Esther this last week. I know everyone says don't do it right before you have a baby but Esther has been ready for a while now and it just made sense for us. We used the three day potty program which suggests training as early as 22 months, which we would have tried if we weren't in the middle of the move. We talked with Esther before hand for weeks about going potty on the toilet and being a big girl. We took here to the store and she pick out her own underwear(she loved the ones with the kitty's). We made a sticker chart and bought a potty seat that fits on the toilet.
Day one: after three accidents in 30 minutes I was about ready to give up. Michael had three days off in a row to help out but had a work meeting in the morning on the first day. If I had to do the whole thing by myself I would have given up. After I cleaned up the three accidents and the mess that Henry made while I was cleaning up Esther I realized something. Here I was trying to make my life "easier" by not having three kids in diapers and in fact was creating more work. I did not realize that even if Esther picked up potty training and did great, having her use the toilet required more of my time. Now I have to rush her to the toilet help her get her pants off, get her onto the toilet, help her wipe, help her get her pants back on, and help her wash her hands. And of course she always needs to go in the most inconvenient time, like when I am changing a poopie diaper on Henry. I guess I will blame my stupidity on having a pregnancy brain. But despite my realization I did not want to give up and Esther did not want to either. After Michael cleaned up 2 more accidents he was about ready to give up though. Finally that afternoon we had a break through she got the idea of telling us she needed to go and running to the toilet. After one successful time and a lot a praise she had it down. It has been 10 days now since we started and she has not had an accident since last Friday. I don't have to ask her a million times if she needs to go, she just comes and tells me. We have had to put a pull-up on her at night because no matter what time I got her up to pee at night she woke up wet in the morning but, the last 5 out of 6 mornings she has woken up dry. She is very cute in her kitty underwear and her jeans are easier to get on without that bulky diaper. I know I have created more work for me but I think that it is worth it. Michael and I are now talking about whether or not to try Henry in a couple of months. I guess we will see.

Christmas 2010

Christmas morning. Esther and Henry didn't quite get the whole Christmas thing but after a few presents they picked up on the idea very quickly. Esther received a play kitchen from Santa and a tea set from Grandma and Grandpa Eaton (Heather's parents). Ikea was sold out of the bottom half of the kitchen so this is just the top half. She receive the bottom half that following Monday.

Henry got a work bench and tools from Santa.

Esther also got some dishes to go with her kitchen from Uncle Thomas and Aunt Laura

and a baby doll and purse filled with baby bottles and baby food from Michael's parents. She is going to be all ready to help mommy when her new baby sister comes.

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We love and miss you all.