Tess Play

"Mommy, will you play with me?"
"What do you want to play?"
"I'll be the Mommy and you be the Daddy."
"OK, what are we going to do?"
"Well, I'm rocking the baby and you can clean up the blocks."

Should I be worried the the Mommy always tends to get the better deal in Tess's imaginative play? ;)

September 5, 2012

Memories of right now...

• We are all counting down the days until "Baby Sister" arrives. Me most of all. The humid days kill me and I'm sick, sick, sick of this huge belly.
• Tess starts preschool today, though after going last spring and then again to summer school, it doesn't feel like that big a deal.
• Tess and Eric love to wrestle and tease. I'm so happy he can play with her like that since I feel unable to be the jungle gym she's longing for. Last night he held her by the ankles and swung her like a pendulum so high that her head almost reached his shoulders. She couldn't get enough.
• We are setting up the house, washing clothes and blankets, and rearranging furniture.
• After 10 years of not owning a car, Eric and I bought one two weeks ago. We love it.
• Tess broke her arm 10 days ago and is sporting a red cast. Other than not being able to pull up her underwear or wash her hands, she's pretty unphased by the whole experience.
• Tess really likes the alphabet right now and tells me she wants to be able to spell.
• Eric and I keep trying to remember what newborns are like. And we keep trying to fathom having two kids to love and care for. Both seem impossible to truly imagine.
• Things that make Tess laugh a lot:
• Ernie and Bert on Sesame Street
• Pretending that she's a "clump of goo" on the floor
• doing things that bother people and make them frustrated (don't love this one)
• Hiding and having someone look for her while she makes lots of noise

Tess's First Family Portrait

Drawn at school

Her teacher asked how old her baby sister is, and Tess replied, "she's not out yet."

Conversations with Tess

Tess's commentary on my belly this morning:
"Mom, you sure are a baby carrier!"

***********************

Tess: "Mommy, you said there was blood on the subway."
Me: "What?! There isn't blood on the subway. What do you mean?"
T: "Yes Mommy. Yesterday, when it was raining, you said there was blood on the subway."
M: "Oh! I said there was a flood on the subway. Do you know what a flood is?"
She didn't, so I explained that and how when it rains a lot the subways can flood.
T: "And then Daddy can't come home from work. He just has to stay at work. Like that day. And then he takes a boat."
M: "No, Daddy didn't take a boat."

Ice Cream

Yesterday Tess and I met Eric and his friend Paul in the city for lunch. Eric has half-day Fridays all summer, and so we're trying to meet him for some special lunches and outings on a weekly basis. We found ourselves at Jacques Torres chocolate store later that afternoon, and Tess got a delicious chocolate ice cream. As I was helping her get seated, I said, "Tess, what a delicious ice cream cone."

"Mommy I like ice cream!" she told me in a very serious voice. "I like it so much I want it every day. But you say 'no' everyday. Except today. Today you said 'yes,' so I got ice cream."

At least she understands how the world works. :)

21 Weeks

I have reached the stage where the belly is starting to bump into things, like the counter when I'm doing dishes. And I have to lay on my side when I sleep.

Tess climbed into bed to wake me up this morning and her first question to me was, "how is Baby Sister?" After I told her she was good. Tess told me another list of things that she was going to teach her: how to cut and rip paper, put on stickers, write with markers, and glue!

I'm leaving for a five-day trip to San Francisco on Thursday. It's a big deal. It will be the longest stretch by far that Tess and I have ever been separated. Last night Tess asked me if Baby Sister was going to stay with her and Dada or leave with me. I told her that Baby Sister pretty much goes everywhere I go these days, and that made Tess sad all over again. "But I don't want Baby Sister to leave!"

Playing Teacher

This morning, I set up a sheet of paper for Tess to decorate as she wanted. For the longest time, she was singing a little song as she colored all over the paper. Something like, "Color the paper," sung over and over again to various tunes. It reminded me of Frances from the Frances books, and I snuck up to get a video of it. Just as I started the video, she stopped singing, but then started this game instead.

For Mother's Day, Tess made me a card at school, and on the inside, it said, "Thank you for the hugs." So I quickly recognized this as Tess pretending that she is her teacher at her school. She's pretending to ask the kids, "What do you want to say to your Mommy?" And then she's writing that and saying, "OK, Thank you for the kisses. Write down message. What else do you want to say?" "This says..."

I was charmed.