Wardrobe Malfunction

Tessie has been trying to be helpful around the house by doing small tasks. Today, she emptied the garbage for us.



I have no explanation for the pants. Tessie is normally quite good at dressing herself. Not today.

Linguist-in-Training

Tessie not only posesses a rapidly expanding vocabulary, she also has become capable of stringing together complex sentences. She uses prepositions correctly, not only to describe the relative positions of objects (on, over, below, etc.), but also relationships in time (before, after, etc.). She can follow sequential instructions, like "Put the toys away, then go wash your hands and go to the dinner table," and she can even follow such instructions unsupervised.

She is using her newfound linguistic abilities in concert with her developing memory. Earlier this evening, while out shopping with Mommy, she expressed a desire for ice cream and made a request for a specific flavor. Then, after eating her entire dinner, she made it clear that she had thus satisfied an established precondition for dessert and asked for the ice cream.

Her enhanced language skills and memory are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, we can expect her to more readily understand what we want; on the other, she is becoming more capable of demanding consistency and accountability from us. We have to watch what we say; it's becoming clear that she understands and remembers our words.

Big Girl Bed

A few weeks ago, we figured it was time Tessie moved out of her crib and into a toddler bed (same mattress, but "uncaged"). The move has gone smoothly so far (other than a few unauthorized excursions during what is supposed to be nap time) and she seems quite content in her Big Girl Bed:

Unlike most adults, she generally wakes up in a good mood:

Other days, though, she joins the rest of humanity in being not so chipper first thing in the morning...

... and suffering from bed head ...

... though eventually she perks up.

"Alligator Movies"

Tessie enjoys watching movies. Lately, she's been asking to watch "Tessie movies," videos from our collection in which she plays a prominent role, but the other night she wanted a different movie. We watched some strangers' YouTube vacation videos, but she quickly tired of that (not as quickly as I did, though) and asked for something still different. I popped a "Muppet Show" DVD into the computer and sat with her on my lap for a full half-hour as she watched, enraptured by the muppets, the music and the colors.

Tonight, she asked for "Alligator Movies." I had to explain that Kermit is a frog, not an alligator. Tomorrow night, I'm sure she'll ask for "Froggie Movies."

Archi-Tessie

Simple toys are best. Lately, Tessie's been getting a lot of play out of a set of wooden blocks. She builds towers, castles and train stations, and has a particular and surprising fondness for symmetry. She has also impressed us with her ability to balance blocks on their edges. This tower is entirely her own creation, orange corbels and all:
And while one might expect her to be upset when these towers inevitably collapse, she seems to enjoy getting to start over:

Ice Princess

Saturday night at the Undisclosed Location was "Dickens Village" night in downtown, sponsored by a local community organization. Streets were blocked off and there were horse-drawn carriage rides, photos with Santa, amazingly off-key and rhythmically-challenged carolers, and the lighting of the town Christmas tree. Tessie slept through all of that.

After dinner, though, she was wide awake for her first encounter with snow.

No, none fell here. This stuff was trucked in from points unknown and formed into two chutes down a parking ramp. This lack of authenticity did nothing to dissuade Tessie, nor did the dampness in the seat of her pants, as she repeatedly scooted down the "hill."

Then it was back to the center of town for a close-up viewing of the Christmas tree. Tessie is really starting to pick up some Christmas spirit.