Compare and Contrast

Three kids, each at around ten months old:

Meg


Matthew


Esme

Esme is 10 Months Old!

And I haven't blogged a real update about her life since she was... four months? Wow, that's bad. I'm sorry, little girl! Blogging sure has slid down the priority rankings since you came on the scene.

But here we are, and there's no time like the present to do a little catch-up. Esme is indeed 10 months old, and I'm betting you've never seen a sweeter, blue-er eyed, daintier, better-postured little lady than she is right now. Of course, you've probably never seen anyone more attached to her mama, either. I mean to tell you, folks, we are breaking records in the clingyness category! To better explain what I mean, I will share with you Esme's Simple Rules for Mommy:

Rule #1: Mommy may not leave the room where I am stationed unless I am being put to bed.
Rule #2: Mommy may not hand me off to any other individual, even if she stays close by that individual.
Rule #3: I may make an exception to Rule #2, if and only if the other individual is Daddy. Exceptions shall be made on a when-I-feel-like-it basis.
Rule #4: If Mommy should transgress any of the above stated rules, she shall be punished with the following punishment, executed personally by me: loud wailing, a red face, eyes full of unshed tears, flailing and/or trembling hands, and other indications of supreme agony.

The practical implications of these rules? One is that Esme spends at least a small portion of every day in loud wailing, a red face, eyes full of unshed tears, flailing and/or trembling hands, and other indications of supreme agony. Sometimes Mommy just has to leave the room sans baby, you know? Even if it's only for 30 seconds... and that's plenty of time for Esme to get good and worked up. Fortunately, she turns it off like a light switch when I reenter the room.

Strange to say, the exception to this rule is Esme's daily quiet play time, which takes place while I am putting Meg and Matthew down for their afternoon naps. I take Esme into her room, sit her in the crib, give her some toys, and when I come back in, 20 minutes to a half-hour later, she is still completely content, sitting or rolling around on her yellow crib sheet, talking and crowing to herself. It took--I dunno... one day, maybe--to "train" her to do this without crying. I keep hoping it will help with the times when I leave her sight during the rest of the day, but not so far.

In case you haven't gathered, Esme is not yet mobile. Well, not what people call mobile. She's a decent roller, but no scooting, sliding, crawling or cruising yet. She now has friends who were born several months after her who are surpassing her in this department. Honestly, though, I'm not worried. She'll get there when she gets there... and then I can have a wailing, red-faced, quivering baby who follows me from room to room! Yay!

I should clarify: as long as I am in the room with Esme and there are no strangers threatening to pick her up, she is quite darling. She rarely cries, often takes abuse from her adoring but not-always-wise siblings with only a whimper, and plays happily and quietly by herself for long periods. In general, she's still on the serious side, and her smiles are a bit harder to win than some kids'. (Again, Mommy is the exception.) But she is fascinated by Matthew, and regularly laughs spontaneously at his goofball antics. You can just imagine how he receives her appreciation!

Our whole family really does love this girl. David probably tells me how cute she is four times a day, on average. Like, the kids are in bed, Dave and I are talking about something else, and he suddenly says, "Esme is so CUTE!" Meg and Matthew cannot keep their hands off of her. And, as for me, if Esme had a dollar for every kiss she gets from Mommy, well... I guess she'd be all set for Harvard, no scholarships required.

I've given up making blogging promises, but hopefully there's more on Esme soon to come...