Tess at Two

So, what has Tess been up to lately? Here's an update!

• When it comes to getting her own way, Tess is perfecting the art of distraction. If I tell her that she needs to stop doing something (like stop playing with the water in the sink, or stop rubbing lotion all over your body, the carpet and the walls) she'll say, "No, mama, no. Puter." Or "No mama, no. Dinner." Or "No mama, no. Bath." So what do the computer, dinner and taking a bath (shower) have in common? These are all activities I do that require me to ignore Tess, or at least pay less attention to her than usual. In other words, if I'm on the computer, making dinner or taking a shower, Tess thinks she can get away with bloody murder. She may have a point.

• Tess has a truly unbelievable memory, particularly when it comes to associating experiences with certain places. I began to recognize this at Christmas, as she quickly learned every location where a choo-choo train could be found in town. It got to the point where if we walked in the door, she knew if there was a train in that store and exactly where it was. There were Christmas trains in Target, electric train sets in the Christmas store, play train sets at the toy store and the post office, and a train that goes around the ceiling at the grocery store. And she's never wrong. If she says there's a choo-choo train in the store, then she's always right. Well, this past week we went to the library and we were playing with the puzzles when she turned to me and said, "Choo-choo train, Mama. Choo-choo train." And I thought, huh--it's the first time she's ever been wrong. There are no trains at the library, and I told her so. It wasn't until we were driving home that I remembered that Ryan took her to the library at Christmas time to see a train display put on by local train enthusiasts. Turns out, Tess was right again.
  

• Tess has started showing interest in the potty. She likes to sit on the potty a couple times a day. Nothing much happens, but she likes using the "towel" (toilet paper), watching the toilet flush and clapping for herself when she's all done. The main difficulty at this point is that she always wants to use BOTH of our potties whenever she goes to the bathroom. She'll pick one potty, the BIG potty is upstairs, and then want to use LITTLE potty downstairs after. I try to reason with her, "We only need to use ONE potty each time," but she doesn't seem to believe me. "Big, big, big!!!" Good thing we only have two bathrooms!

• Tess has started having more tantrums lately. It's hard to predict what might set her off--it's usually over something very small that she can't control. She gets concerned and anxious if something seems wrong to her (e.g., if there is ice or rain on the car windshield, if she loses the cap to her chapstick, or if she drops a toy in the car). "Uh, oh. Oh no. It happened, Mama, it happened." If she starts in on a tantrum, it escalates quickly and she is not easily consoled. She does not like to be held, comforted, distracted, or bribed. And she does not let a grudge go easily. This morning she cried on the bathroom floor for a half-hour because I wouldn't let her play with my glasses. Stubborn monkey. Often, a tantrum will end when she regains control on her own terms. She'll start grasping at straws, asking for anything I can possibly agree to. The terms of settlement won't have anything to do with the original tantrum--she'll see a doll on the floor, "A doll, a doll!" I give it her, she wins, and peace is restored.

• Tess also gets embarrassed very easily. This usually happens if she gets hurt in front of friends or family and is too embarrassed to cry. She'll turn bright red, hide her head and her eyes and want only to bury into my shoulder. Nana is trying to teach her to "shake it off," but we have some progress to make in that area.

• When Tess colors or does puzzles she likes having all her options spread out in front of her. If I give her crayons in a pencil case, she'll say, "No, Mama. A mess, a mess." Then she'll dump all the crayons out and spread them around.

• Tess loves her friends and is very good at sharing with kids her age. Every kid she meets is a "friend" and she is good at engaging children to play with her. She is generous when it comes to sharing toys and treats. If another child is upset because they want to play with a toy she has, she seems to understand that sharing will help make them happy, and she is good about offering her toy. In sacrament meeting today, Tess had a friend sitting in the row in front of us and one in the row behind us. It was funny to watch the complex offering and exchange of treats over three benches throughout the meeting.

• A couple of her new phrases that I love are "Sure!" and "'Mon guys!" As in, "Tess, do you want to go to the park?" "Sure! 'Mon guys!"