We sing “Belly Breathe” to Essie and she sings it back to us.

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Essie’s word for bug is “bugah” or I suppose “bug-ah” but those two sounds blend together so seamlessly, and she so rarely says it once, that you really get bugahbugahbugahbugah. So that’s anything small and colored dark. Most things requiring a pincer grip. “What’s that?” we ask. “Bugahbugah. BUGAHBUGAHBUGAH.” comes her reply.

The other day Ess had poppyseed bread, a few tiny pieces of it. She was just convinced it was filled with bugahs. She ate it anyway. We should be excited about knowledge transference? We should be concerned about her willingness to eat things which she believes to contain hundreds of tiny bugs? Both? Parenting.

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I’m walking through the mall, with Ess riding in the Björn, and her little left hand is holding mine. I realize she’s been holding my hand for five minutes straight. Her whale spout pony tail on the top of her head swishes back and forth as she looks around.

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I’m lying on the kitchen floor when Ess walks over and, uncharacteristically, lies down next to me, resting her head in the crook of my elbow, and just stares into my eyes for thirty seconds. Satisfied with what she saw, or what she communicated, she gets up and toddles away.

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It’s bedtime and dark. Ess finds her stuffed monkey as I pick her up and carry her to her room. She rests her head in the crook of my neck, and her tiny little cheek feels cool as she snuggles in. I pause in front of her crib, holding her, willing myself to somehow remember everything about this moment. I lay her down to sleep.

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Dante Fiero the dragon loves Yule Logs, televised or otherwise.

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I like everything in this video except the “Young Living” on the side of the box. I hate Young Living. I do love Essie, though.

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So, Emily and Nick very kindly got us tickets to the Blenders’ holiday show. We went there on a couples date, and stopped at Hen House for brunch beforehand. I was waiting at the table while Mykala waited at the door for Emily and Nick to park their car in the downtown Minneapolis maze. While sitting there, I noticed the nice logo of the restaurant, and being a very new iPhone owner, I thought it was super cool to be able to attach this picture to a text message and send it along. I clearly did not think this through all the way, because Mykala later pointed out how incredibly rude it was to send a picture of nice hot coffee while our friends froze in the outdoors trying to park. I regret the error.

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I just received my first text message ever from Essie. It read:

Aripop
Cfunbi cb blllpv. Y bhg j

I’m optimistic that future messages from her will make more sense. You know, after she learns to talk.

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