November 2010 Tidbits

Tess was so excited to see Lauren during her Virginia visit!

Tess: "Mom, I give Lauren a BIG hug! Wait--she have runny nose?"

Me: "Nope, I think she's all better."

Tess: "OK, I give Lauren a BIG hug!"

It's November 8th and Santa was at the mall today. Tess & Lauren spotted him in the distance and they were both instantly terrified. Tess kept staring at him out of the corner of her eye and both girls would start crying if we even headed in his direction. Tess later informed Ryan: "It's Christmastime!" Tis the season.

Tess: "Mom, what dogs eat?"

Me: "Umm...donuts?"

Tess: "No, Mom! They eat dog food! Mom, what cats eat?"

Me: "Umm...dog food?"

Tess: "No, Mom! They eat cat food! Mom, what people eat?"

Me: "Umm...cat food?"

Tess: "No, Mom! They eat dinner!"

"No, Hank You!"

"I have white hair, mom has brown hair, Daddy has chocolate hair. Meredith and Lauren have black hair."

Inspired by the early-November Christmas decorations, Tess was singing loudly a song she made up at the store today:

"Christmas, Christmas, Christmas! Christmas trees, and a Santa! Be nice to Santa and he bring you presents! And his reindeer! Happy Birthday! Christmas is early!"

"Straw-ba-ba-ba-berry Shortcake!"

Tess has her own take on my oft-used phrase "a few more minutes." Her version: "A two-four minutes."

"Mom, how you doing? Yes good or no good?" Tess asks me this several times a day.

"Mom, your name is Miriammom."

Tess has been insisting that I call her "Thing 1" from Cat in the Hat. Lauren is "Thing 2."

Tess sang me (Ryan) a song of her own creation tonight:
"Glasses, you need a haircut
Get a present for a baby
And nice to see you."

Ryan: "Tess, who comes to visit you on Christmas?"

Tess: "Minty." [Minty is the star of the My Little Pony direct-to-DVD animated classic "A Very Minty Christmas," which I had the misfortune of watching once.]

Ryan (determined to correct this sacrilege): "Tess, is Minty real or pretend?"

Tess: " 'tend--like Santa."

Ryan: *laughing*

Tess: "Dad, why are you laughing?"

Ryan: "Because you're cute."

As Tess and I sat at a table in a smoothie restaurant a few days ago, she picked up my hand and began kissing it.

Ryan: "Tess, why are you kissing my hand?"

Tess: "Because I love you."

As Tess and I (Ryan) left the grocery store the other night, I stopped the grocery cart so that she could exit the toy car attached to the cart's front. She jumped out and then, without warning, began hopping back and forth like an animated elf, loudly yelling, "Merry Christmas, everybody!"

Last night Tess insisted on putting on her own diaper--a difficult trick. While attempting this trick on the floor, she suddenly exclaimed, "Hanukkah, Hanukkah!" (I have no idea where she heard the word.)

After Tess left from visiting me in the hospital following Drew's birth, she told Ryan, "I worry about Mommy and baby brother."

Drew: Set 2

Drew Ryan

Set 1--More to come!

Bosom Buddies and Bonkbeds

Meredith and Lauren have been staying with us for the past week.  Tess and Lauren have become quite the bosom buddies.  They were separated for a couple hours on Wednesday when Tess went to playschool.  From the squeals, hugs and jumping at their reunion, you'd think they'd been separated at birth.  Three incidents in particular signify how close they've grown. 

#1--Meredith came downstairs and caught the two of them with big wads of paper towels, attempting to clandestinely clean up paint water they'd spilled all over the kitchen floor.  Buddies cover for each other.

  

#2--When I heard Tess say, "Lauren, STOP SINGING!"  That phrase pretty much sums up my childhood with Meredith.

#3--The fact that now Lauren is gone, Tess keeps calling me "Lauren" instead of "Mom."

While Meredith was here, we took on the task of turning Tess' room into a space for 2.  I've been kind of dragging my feet with it, mainly because I loved Tess' room and was sad to change it.  Luckily, with Meredith around, there was no shortage of creative ideas!

After much deliberation, we decided to try putting bunkbeds in her room and turned the top bunk into a play loft for Tess.  The bunkbed can also break down into two separate twin beds.  

Tess hasn't wanted to sleep in her toddler bed since her new bed arrived.  She calls it her "bonk bed" because we taught her that she'd bonk her head on the top bunk if she tried to stand up or bounce on it (it's a low bunkbed).

She's been equally enamored of her "play loft."  Mer found a "bed tent" that forms a little tunnel over the space.  I had a board cut to fit the bed (we were most creative in fitting a twin-sized piece of plywood in my car!) and covered it with foam mats and a car rug.  She loves practicing the ladder and knows that for now she can only go up there when Mom or Dad is in the room. 

We also found a line of bedding and fabrics at Ikea that I totally fell in love with for the room.  I was ready execute the Curious George idea when we happened on this bedding with whimsical cars.  It's accented with blue and white stripped fabric that looks like it was made for the room.  

I just saw that the designer's name, Silke Leffler, is on the fabric and it turns out that she is a German children's book illustrator.  I would love one of her books if anyone needs a Christmas present for me or Tess!  

       I Have a Little Problem, Said the Bear     The Flower Ball      Andersen's Fairy Tales    

I love that they sell coordinating fabric, which I plan to make into a valance and bedskirts for the beds.   Maybe a couple of pillows for the "loft" too.  (Here's our project, Mom!) 

They even had a coordinating baby quilt, but I may make a baby blanket out of the cars fabric.  I can't decide if the baby quilt is a little too feminine.

They have the cutest coordinating accessories--I had to restrain myself!  Still, we got all of it for what we would've spent on just the Curious George valance and bedskirts (I still would've had to buy separate bedding).  Gotta love Ikea!

I'm so excited to see it all put together!

And I think we're settling on a name for Baby Brother.  I think.