Esther

If you have been checking this blog and wondering when I am ever going to update it, I am not. We also have a family blog and it was getting too hard to have a blog for Esther and a blog for our family. Please refer to our family blog at www.mkmcneili.blogspot.com

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.

Arizona

We are here in Arizona and getting settled into our new house. Esther is enjoying her new room and the new house. We did not want to put Esther back in her crib because she is getting too big for the crib and we need her crib for the baby in January. So Esther has been sleeping on the floor on the crib mattress just until we buy her a big girl bed. For the most part she has done very well. I thought she would just play and never sleep. She does sleep but not always on the mattress. At first we would find her by the door asleep or by her dresser. Now she sleeps on the mattress but not always all the way as you can see from the pictures. Esther has her own walk-in closet which she loves to turn the light on and off. I have purchased new sheets for her new bed, we just need to decide on the bed.

Still in Utah

Esther, Henry and I are still here is Utah. Michael started his job back in August and we are here till the house sells. We have had a lot of interest in the house this last week so we will see. Michael is comming for a visit this week and we can't wait to see him. I will try to keep you posted when the house sells and when we actually make the move.

Tantrum

We took Esther and Henry to Thanksgiving Point to see the animals and when it was time to go Esther put on a show. Now mind you this is a very brief video. The tantrum had been going on for a good 10-15min before I broke out the camera.

Esther's Birthday

Here is the first time we meet Esther. She was cute then as much as she is now.



I know that Esther's Birthday was July 29th but life has been a little busy. Here are a few pictures from the party. We spent the afternoon at the pool but forgot to take pictures. Then we joined up with some of Heather's family. Heather was unable to make it but her parents,sister and brother were there. I can't believe it has been 2 years since Esther first came into our lives. She has been a huge blessing to Michael and I. We love her dearly and look forward to many more birthdays.

Saint George May

Since Michael has some time off we thought it would be fun to get out of the cold and take a trip to Saint George and visit Michael's parents. We left after church on the 2nd. The drive was very pleasant on the way down and the kids were angels in the car to both of our surprise. That night I was a little worried that we would have some sleeping issues from Henry and Esther since they were in a new place but to my surprise again they both slept through the night without a peep. On Monday we just hung out at the house. I was excited for Monday night baths because the kids would get to bath in a real bathtub and not the kitchen sink. Well it did not go so well. They both hated it. I got the water a little too hot and that turned them off to the whole idea of the tub. Even after we cooled the water neither one of them liked the tub. I was very sad. On Tuesday Michael and I attended a session at the temple while the kids took there afternoon naps. On Wednesday we took the kids to the library where they have a water fountain and a little stream to play in. It was about 85 degrees and gorgeous. Henry and Esther had a blast. Esther just jumped right in the fountain and as you can see got soaked. I wasn't sure Henry would like the water. At first he did not want to put his feet in but once he did he wanted to sit down and splash. Esther has a great time following the other kids up and down the stream. On Wednesday Michael's mom took us shopping for kids clothes. Esther was wearing shorts and fell on the sidewalk and got her first official skinned knee. Later that day we went back to play in the water at the library. On Thursday we packed the car and came home. We didn't have as much luck in the car this time. Henry and Esther cried from about Payson till we pulled in the drive way. Esther would cry for a bit then take a breath while Henry cried and visa versa. It was a long drive home but it was worth it.

Being Outside

Easter 2010

We had a great Easter despite the weather. The annual Easter egg hunt was held at my parent's house. Esther wasn't sure what was going on but once she realized what she was supposed to do she took off. I would point an egg out to her and she would put it in the basket. She did not want to hold the basket and find the eggs at the same time so I held the basket for her. Henry was grumpy and did not want to participate. The next day I took out the candy and filled some of the eggs with gold fish crackers which Esther thought was great. She would eat the crackers then hand me the empty egg and I would fill it again with crackers and hand it back. Later she took all the empty eggs and hid them in Henry's dresser, which I found later that night.

The tantrum

I think that we are starting to enter what everyone calls the "terrible twos." Today we took a trip to Costco. After Costco I let Esther play outside while I unloaded the car. After I was all done I told her to come inside for lunch. She hates coming inside even if it is freezing outside. I had to pick her up and bring her in, which is what I usually have to do. When we got inside I took her coat off and asked her to get in her chair so that she could have lunch. She can't actually climb in her chair but she will stand by it until I lift her in. So she is standing by her chair waiting for me but I am washing my hands and can't get to her right away and that is when it started. She begins to crying and wants attention now so she walks over to the book case and starts pulling off books, which she knows she is not supposed to touch and says "no no" while she is doing it. I repeat myself and tell her that if she wants lunch to get in her chair, that makes her cry even more. She then climbs on the couch and continues to cry and kick the pillows. I am not in the mood to fight with her so I just ignore her and get lunch for Henry and myself. The crying/tantrum goes on for about 20 min and then she stops. It is quiet for about 10 min when I hear her snoring, she has fallen asleep. How Esther can go from happy to crying to asleep is beyond me. So I took pictures and let her sleep. She is sure cute when she sleeps.