Magrilless

So I’m behind in my posting schedule. For Tessa and definitely for Maggie. So we’ll just put them together today and revel in their sisterhood. They love each other. Tessa is absolutely enchanted by Maggie; she looks to her already for cues on what to do and how to react. If Mags gets close in to Tess and interacts in some way, you can just watch Tess open up and sponge it in. She crawls to be closer to her, to follow her, to get her attention. Maggie has started to pick up on it and will say things like “Tessa wants to bounce up here on the couch like me, Mommy.” Yes, she does.

Maggie is proud of her little sister. When Tess is at school and all the kids come over to talk to her or play with her or pet her, Maggie tells them (again) that it’s her baby sister and then gives them tips on how to interact or lets them know boundaries. “You have to be really gentle. Only touch her toes. You know what she calls me? GiGi.” Mags likes to help me change diapers and pick out Tessa’s clothes and gives her a goodnight kiss on the lips every night (if she misses, she repeats until she hits her target).

But they also fight over toys already. Tessa, now mobile, will go over to Maggie’s project and steal something. And Maggie snatches things back and gets nearly hysterical when Tessa comes for her toys. We talk a lot about trading and negotiation and patience. And Tess has learned from her vocal sister the art of the scream. Mags is still sometimes too rough and Tessa still likes to pull hair. But usually we just hug it out and so far everyone definitely still loves each other.

Tessa is getting braver and stronger and steadier every day. I hardly think about her standing up at the couch or the little piano or the hearth anymore. Even in socks she’s really reliable. And she has discovered that she can travel actual distances. We’ve begun to keep the bathroom door shut as a matter of course and if I take my eyes away for a few minutes, there’s no telling where she’s ended up. Her traveling skills have created a bit of conflict, though. Maggie and Tessa could be playing in the same room before and their toys would stay separate. Now Tess sees Maggie having fun and goes straight for her. And oftentimes, no amount of new toys and fun-seeming play will distract her from her goal of stealing big sister’s toys. She sure loves her big sister. A couple mornings ago, Tessa was sitting on the floor playing and heard Maggie yawn in her room. Straight away Tess started crawling toward Maggie’s room and talking all the way. “I’m coming big sister! I hear you! Here I come!” Very sweet.

Is it just us, or does Tessa suddenly look old? She’s really just shy of one year old; how did that happen? She’s turned into this upright, squirmy, opinionated, directed little kiddo. She will, in no certain terms, tell you when she does not like what’s going on. When Maggie snatches away a toy, when you put her down on the ground, when you take your time giving her another bite, when you let go of one hand while she’s standing — these things elicit a squealy scream and arched back and even teeny scratching fingers. She pretty much always wants to be standing somewhere. The hearth is her favorite place still, but she is now exploring the bookshelf, her piano, the couch, the oven. She is uninterested in signing, unlike Maggie at this age. I think it would help ease some frustration on her part, but she does not seem to want to learn them yet. Occasionally she makes noises that sound like “more,” but they usually come after screaming. She is super social and socially aware. She laughs at jokes when other people laugh; she copies sounds and intonations in conversations; she’s experimenting (I think) with nodding her head “yes;” she gets disappointed when Eliza moves away from her advances; she waves “hi” and “goodbye” when appropriate. When we touch fingertips, I always make a “bzzzzzz” sound, and now she does it too, with this big smile. She really is getting old.