Mimicry

We've been teaching Tess to ask for things politely rather than demanding something be done for her. So she is told repeatedly, "How about, 'Could you _____, please?'"

Today when I was reading with her before her nap, she gave me some of my own medicine. I had read Are You My Mother? to her twice. When she wanted me to read it a third time, I suggested that she read it to me. So she did, quite well for the most part. But after the first two pages, she stopped and told me that I needed to close my eyes. And then when I asked if she'd continue, she told me I had to say, "please! Please will you read it? You say that to me," she instructed. After every page, she'd demand that I ask her nicely before she'd continue. She has a very stern voice when issuing commands. I can't imagine where she learned that. ;)

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She also has been responding to Eric and I with, "of course!" We'll comment on something like how nice her drawing is, and she will say, "of course it is!" Or we'll thank her for something she did, and she'll say, "of course!"

I've been wondering about this for the last couple of days, but it was Eric who said tonight, "Tim always says that!" Tim, Eric's cousin, has been visiting us from Germany all last week. And he does say, "of course!" a lot. Just as Tess has been using it.

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The various visiting relatives made lots of impressions this past week. After Ida's visit, Tess was drawing, and she made a tiny little circle and then told me, "that is Ida. She is little." Then she drew a few very long lines next to it saying, "And this is TALL Campbell. And this is tall Natalia. And this is Dada. And this is Tess. I am BIG!" After drawing her lines, she went back to the top of each line and added dots saying, "and two eyes. And two eyes. And two eyes."

The day that Sven left, she drew this picture. She started with a line, saying, "this is Sven. He has a BIG neck." As you can see, he got his two eyes. Somewhere in the middle of the page is also a portrait of Claudie, Sven's girlfriend. Tess was smitten by beautiful Claudie. I think the only recognizable bit to everyone other than Tess, however, are the two eyes. Can you find them?

 This is Sven. Not sure if his neck is really so big, but he might appreciate that Tess noticed his upper-body build.

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And one last photo. This is an egg beater that Tess likes to play with out of my kitchen utensil drawer. She found him a hat.

Thanksgiving 2011

We had 12 around the table this year for one of our best dinners yet.
The menu:
-Turkey and gravy
-Mashed Potatoes
-Green beans with garlic and cashews
-Roasted butternut squash with a cider vinaigrette
-Roasted root vegetables
-Bread made by Eric
-Salad
-Apple and Pecan pie for dessert

Table decorated by Kirsten and Tim. Tess helped me make the turkey name cards.

The guest list included:
-Lenny
-Campbell, Natalia, and Ida
-Tim, Sven, and Claudia from Germany
-Phyllis and David

Tess turns on her camera smile.

The 18 pound turkey--juicy and delicious.

Dessert:

After dinner kisses:

We went to bed full, tired, and happy.

Talking

On Thanksgiving morning, my friend Jenny brought Tess over to her house to play with her girls, Nika and Seyla, while Eric and I cooked and prepped for the big meal. It was a lovely treat for all of us.

Jenny picked Tess up while walking her dog, and they walked the four short blocks back to Jenny's house. Tess chatted non-stop the whole walk, telling Jenny about visiting her grandparents at Christmas, who was coming to Thanksgiving, "her" dog Benedick, and so on. When they arrived at the apartment, Tess turned to Jenny, and while gesturing with her hand said, "Jenny, I have been talking this whole walk. That was a nice little talk we had."

I am still laughing every time I think of it.

Her story recall constantly amazes me.

Tess just picked up a book we haven't read in weeks. She opened it up and could recite several sentences word for word from the first few pages. Once she gets past those parts, she starts to make stuff up. :) She has the intonations just right, even when it's nonsense she's speaking.

Porridge

This morning I had some leftover millet that I heated up and sweetened for breakfast. I told Tess I was making porridge.
"Oh, like the three bears," she replied.
When we sat down to eat, I told her mine was too hot.
"Are you the BIG bear?" she asked, grinning.

Theater Show

Yesterday Tess, Lenny, and I went to see the show White. It was a delightful little piece of children's theater, lasting 40 minutes. Two characters, Cotton and Wrinkle live in a white world. The play opens with their morning routines as they wake up, wash, eat breakfast, and then begin their work--to care for several birdhouses. Whenever they come across a piece of color, they "put it in the bin," and go back satisfied to their white world.

The big event is when the eggs arrive. They fall from the sky and Wrinkle and Cotton catch them, give them little hats, kiss them, and put them in the houses. But then, a red egg falls! Wrinkle insists that Cotton put it in the bin, but Cotton doesn't want to. After they go to sleep, Cotton sneaks out and retrieves the egg and vows to care for it in secret.

It was at this point that Tess got upset. She didn't like the tension in the least. She had been sitting by herself, laughing along, and when the conflict arose, she turned to me and said, "I want to go home, Mommy." I took her into my lap, and we stayed, but so long as the tension built, she was really uncomfortable.

In the morning, bits of color have popped up everywhere. For a while Cotton and Wrinkle try to hide or ignore the color, but eventually they just confess to each other that they really like other colors, and they accept and celebrate them.

Once this resolution was reached, Tess visibly relaxed. The play ended with bits of color exploding from the bin, and Tess ran to collect the pieces of tissue paper.

This is the set after the play was finished:

 Tess wanted to go meet Wrinkle. She was very shy, but wanted to speak to him anyhow. The other actor, however, she had no interest in him. She couldn't even remember his name. When we talk about the show, she talks about Wrinkle and the other guy--even after I told her a couple of times that his name was Cotton. Funny to me.

 Collecting color and giving it to Len:

This is the second show I've taken Tess to see. The first one was in support of a friend who runs a company. Tess still talks about that Coyote show. And, as chance would have it, we ran into that very same friend and her daughter at White yesterday. They were there with another mutual friend from the storytelling world. It was so fun to run into them.

We all really enjoyed the show. I enjoyed watching Tess take it in and respond to the experience. And the theme of this play was really clever and enjoyable.

Late Afternoon Walk

On the days when I don't have to make dinner in the late afternoon, post-nap, Tess and I will sometimes go for a walk around the neighborhood. Yesterday, Tess wanted to take her stroller, and her three special friends: seal, doggy, and red teddy bear.

We set out for a trip around the block.

The "babies":

Doggy needed to be carried for a while.

Then Tess suggested an empenada snack. Red teddy bear thought that was a great idea.

On the way home, we passed a horse. Tess made sure everyone got a ride.

School Time for Seal and Red Teddy Bear