Grown up

Christ. Esther has grown up almost unnoticed. She is mastering calligraphy, making strides in reading and highest concentration of sass, possibly, in the world. And despite her ragtag charisma she is sharp as a tack even if she does some time not recognise the absolute sovereignty of her parents which can result in in regional tensions.

Her language has blossomed, occasionally in transgressive ways as, unlike her sister, she has little or no shame in the application of war time language. She is particularly expressive when using "bloody" or deploying a contextually perfect "bugger" despite her parents protestations (often undermined by her father's inability to conceal a smile). Like her sister she is also a sponge for language and has a splendid vocabulary - this afternoon while I was cycling she warned me to "stop wobbling fella" and yesterday she told her mother to six and du sept. Maddy initially thought that Esther was counting to ten in French and tried to encourage her (which  in itself is absurd) but it transpired that Esther was telling her mother to "cease and desist". Which is both precocious but also a demonstration her anti authoritarian streak. Similar examples abound - quite how this will be quelled I'm not sure.

Alongside all of this she remains tremendous fun if a little clumsy - she cartwheels off chairs almost by accident, struggles to avoid walking into slow moving/stationary objects and is wholly unfussed by naming conventions (in her world any name will do).