Tessa - September/October

Oh my silly Tessa girl, what a summer we had.  Now it's definitely fall and school has started and I am way behind on letters.  We finished out the summer with a few more trips to the pool...

and playing so hard you zonked out in the car more than once.

You have decided since starting school that you love books even more than before.  I love to see you guys falling asleep with books in your hands.

I had a wedding to go to in northern Utah in August, and initially it was just going to be me and Aunt Lisa going.  Then we decided to invite grandma who told thought we should invite you.  It was fun to have you along, and you had so much fun staying in the hotel and just doing girl things on our "girls trip."  We stopped in Manti to see great grandma Hillier, and I had to take a picture of you sneaking a candy out of her pumpkin candy dish.  That was always my first stop at grandma's house when I would visit her when I was little (and probably even now).

The next morning our first stop was KrispyKreme for your very first hot donut.  You also thought it was fun to see how the donuts get cooked and glazed.

One day after dad had left for an assignment in Idaho we were sitting around the house pretty bored, and I decided it was time you learned to ride your bike without training wheels.  We attempted it once right after you got your bike, but you weren't a fan.  This time I probably only had to run with you 2 or 3 times before you had it down pretty good!  You still use your feet a lot to start and stop, a trade off with learning balance on your Strider bike, but you ride like a pro now and are so much happier without the training wheels (like I kept telling you you would be!).

You started school the first week of September and absolutely love it.  When I took you on the first day you didn't have any problem leaving me at all and were ready to have me leave the minute you walked in.

I wasn't quite so ready and took your picture while you sat down to write your name.

You make me laugh every day when I pick you up because the first thing out of your mouth is always, "Today was the BEST day!"  Usually when I ask you why you tell me it was because you had ______ for snack.  That always makes me laugh.  I'm so glad the little things in life make you so happy.  It's a good quality to have!

I had a great compliment from one of your teachers when I saw her at the park a few weeks into school.  She told me that she had just been telling the other teachers how rare it was to see two siblings who were so good.  She said that you and Logan were respectful and handled issues with other kids well and were well disciplined and smart.  I couldn't help but get tears in my eyes as she was talking because it means more to me than I ever could have imagined to have someone say such great things about my kids.  She said she had watched you dissolve a conflict with another kid in class just perfectly.  I sure hope you keep up your peacemaking skills.  I think with your two brothers you are going to need it.

We have spent a lot of time this summer with Meridee and her girls, and you have so much fun playing with them.  It's fun to get you out with some girls and see how you play and interact.  I've even let go of my distaste of the rubber chips at the park and let you fill your shirt and act silly with them.  It's been fun to hear you talk about the kids at preschool that you play with too.  The other day I asked if you had played with a little girl you had mentioned a lot at first but hadn't for a while.  You looked at me with this shocked look on your face and said, "No, Mommmmm, she's MEAN!" like I was supposed to know.

Sometimes I think our brains are on totally different wavelengths and I'm not sure I'll ever understand what's in that head of yours.  I like to be silly, but silly is a part of who you are!

We love it, but it does make us wonder if we're going to have to worry about what your future roommates will think if they find you asleep in your laundry basket.

You have a fun sense of style and love to pick out your clothes, and I try not to mess with that too much.  Yesterday you came out of your room with an animal print on top and a flower skirt on the bottom.  I told you to change either your shirt or your skirt, so you came out with the same flower skirt with a different and equally wild flower top!  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with you, but I sure do love having a girl to buy fun things for.

I admit that we struggle sometimes to get along, and I hope that I can try harder to connect with you so that when you are older you will still want to talk to and do things with your old and moldy mom.  Who else are you going to commiserate with on the bad luck of having thin hair and no bum?  (Every time you wear these pants we all crack up - mostly because we end up seeing your crack all day!)

We love having you in our family, and our house would be completely different and probably very, very dull without you.  We love you so much Tessa Bess!

Love,
Mom