Jealousy

I've spoken a lot about our new friends, Nika and Seyla. Seyla is 4 years old, and Tess is seriously in love with her. I think she wishes she could just move in. Well today we went to visit them, but some other friends were there as well. A little girl that Seyla knows from her preschool class (who is 4) and her younger brother (who is 2). Mostly the kids played well together. Tess and Jonathan actually hit it off and played together a few times. But a couple of times Tess would want to join Seyla and her friend, Gabby, and Gabby would tell Tess she was too little.

One time, Tess came out of the room SOBBING, because it hurt her feelings so badly that Gabby didn't want her to play. Other times she would come to me saying, "her say I'm too little!"

When we left, Seyla gave Tess a little bead that she could take home. Tess was BEAMING. That bead suddenly represented the whole of Seyla's affection. As we were leaving, Tess showed the bead to Gabby and said, "this is my bead. I take it home. You no can hold it. You too little."

Gabby replied that she was a big girl. "I a big girl, too," Tess assured her. And with that they parted ways.

On the way home, Tess told me, "Gabby no get a bead."

"Were you jealous of Gabby?" I asked her.

"I no like her," Tess told me.

"Did you like Jonathan?" I asked.

"Yes, I like him. But I no like Gabby."

"Whatchyou want?"

"This my ice cream shop," she tells me whenever we pass a chalkboard easel on the sidewalk. She climbs inside, and then asks me, "whatchyou want?"

"Um, pineapple ice cream."

"I don't have it. I only have vitamins, orange candy, and lollipops," she replies.

"That's it?" I complain. "I want pancakes."

"OK, I make them. Just a minute."

"Like a little old lady"

Tess has an earnestness to her. She is very serious, and growing increasingly bossy. She knows what she wants and can articulate it quite well for her age. Together, these qualities are really funny. She's such a funny combination of confident and sure-of-herself and awkward toddler movement and speech. Or she's a funny combination of bossy-take-charge in a tiny little body.

Tonight we took a trip with Jenny, Nika, and Seyla to Rockaway Beach for dinner at a taco stand and an evening jaunt in the water. It was a really fun adventure.

We ate outdoors in a little space that this taco shack had decorated with a few tables, chairs, stools, and (as luck would have it) a tiny dispenser of $0.50 animal rings. Tess was totally fascinated with the dispenser, studying it as we waited for the food to arrive. Then the food arrived, and my friend and I were trying to gather up the three girls and offer them something to eat. It was chaotic. There weren't enough seats, the table was low, the girls were constantly moving around, and we weren't sure what of the food they would like.

After a while, Tess moved to a seat where she could reach my wallet, which I had placed on the table. She grabbed it and got out a penny, as I'm telling her to put it away with my hands full of messy fish taco. I wipe my hands, retrieve my wallet, but let her keep the penny. Next thing I know, she's over at the dispenser, trying to shove the penny up the opening where the prize comes out. When nothing happens, she turns around in dismay and yells, "it's not working!!"

She spent the rest of dinner trying to sneak my wallet so that she could get out more coins and see if that would make it work. I had to admire her planning and effort. Eventually I gave her a choice between a toy or ice cream, and she opted for the ice cream. After all that effort, she abandoned it willing for an icy. (A good choice, I assure you. That was an amazing icy!)

2 1/2

Tess is now two-and-a-half, something she can tell people. She's talking fluently now, though still with a squeaky toddler pronunciation that makes it hard for strangers to sometimes understand her. I have been marveling lately at her growth and thought I'd record some of our "right now" moments.

****

Nana sent animal and bug flash cards. Tess loves them, especially the bugs. She likes for me to hand them to her one-by-one, telling her the name of each bug. I will sometimes ask her, "Do you remember this one?" And other times I'll mention something I know about a bug. (Not often, because my bug knowledge is pretty weak.)

So the other night I walk into the room and Eric is laying on the couch while Tess hands him bug cards. This is the conversation I transcribed.

Tess is saying, "this is a mosquito. Mama don't like this one. This is a fly. We see these in our back garden." She gets to one she doesn't know, so she asks Eric, "Do you remember this?"

Eric reads the card, "Scorpion. They bite."
Tess, "No, they sting. And they have pinchers, too."
Tess takes a new card, "And this is...I don't know this is."
Eric, "an aphid."
Tess, "Yah, aphid. Ladybugs eat aphids."
New card. Tess, "and this is a grasshopper."
New card, Tess, "and this is a roly-poly bug."
Eric, "no, it's a pill bug."
Tess, "NO! It's a roly-poly bug." (emphasizing each word to correct him.)
Eric, "it says pill bug."
Tess, "No! It's a..."
I jumped in, "I tell her it's a roly-poly bug, because that's what we used to call it before we got the cards."
Eric, "oh. It's a roly-poly bug."
Tess, "Yes." and she takes a new card.

****

Tess continues to attach to various toys, just as she's been doing since she could first pick up toys and scoot around two years ago. Every few days it seems to change, but she'll settle on one or two small toys and they must go with her everywhere, be present when she's falling asleep, and in general hold all kind of special imaginative powers for a while.

Lately she really likes a small little book. It's one of those 3 inch books that they sell at the cash register of bookstores. This one is a pop-up book that says Congratulation in about 5 different ways. Tess has kept this book close for almost two weeks now. She reads it to herself all throughout the day, and I love to listen in to what she is supposedly reading.

Often I catch snippets of others books she knows. I'll hear passages or dialogue from a book I recognize. Other times she is thinking through something.

One day she would say, "I love Lenny." Then turn the page and say, "Lenny loves Tess." Another night she read it to herself in the dark in her crib saying, "Mama said NO hit Nika." (She had hit a friend that day.) And she continued to talk through what I had told her. Other times she will make up dialogue, often forceful or angry dialogue. "NO do that." etc.

I always have to keep track of these beloved objects, trying to remember where they have been left, because without fail I need to be able to find them when it's time for bed.

July 4th Weekend

 Last year, 6 of Eric's high school friends planned a reunion. It was the first since high school for this group of seven friends, and it became this wonderful weekend of connections, old and new. This year, we attempted it again, though only four of the seven friends made it this time. It happened to be the four with children, though, so it was still quite a gathering. Mara (at the far right in the photo) has a large home on several acres in Vermont, and she generously offered to host this year. We arrived on Friday, left on Tuesday, and in between spent many happy hours lounging, cooking, eating, visiting, laughing at children, and just laughing in general. Roger took the following pictures, and we all pretty much let him take over as weekend photographer. I've downloaded his pictures to share with you here. Perhaps I'll add a few of my own in another post.

Mara owns 2 dogs, 3 cats, 4 horses, 5 goats, and ever so many chickens with a whole crew of baby chicks. Tess was in animal heaven.

The group on the 4th of July:

On Mara's yard on a hot day. The girl is Rebecca, who turns 10 this month. Tess adored her beyond measure.

 Tess wanted a turn getting dunked like the older kids.

 Face Painting! Tess wanted to be a cheetah.

 Dinners:

 Tess and Alaia watching the goats:

 Roger's kids, Alaia and Griffin:

 Tess riding the miniature horse:

 Perfect size!

Tess wore the band-aid on her forehead for 7 days! All weekend. (Nothing was wrong, though she got a lot of sympathy.)

 The kids gathering around the ever-so fascinating Ipad.