Slacker

I'm a slacker. I swear, I have the best intentions of writing more often - it just seems I never have the time!!!

Tessa's 6th Birthday has come and gone. I think this was the first year that I haven't cried about how big she's gotten. It was close a couple of times, but I never shed more than a tear or two (which does NOT count!)
May 13 fell on a Tuesday this year, so Matt stayed home in the morning to make her waffles for breakfast. She had an embarrassingly large pile of gifts to open - mostly because I included ever piece of summer clothing I'd gotten her up to that point as a gift, lol. There were a LOT of clothes - 4 pairs of shorts, a dozen shirts, a dress and a romper. She also got a movie, a couple of computer games, a tinkerbell and friends charm bracelet, roller blades, and a foam hopscotch puzzle pad from Asher.
We had her friend party the following Saturday - we rented a bounce house this year! It was shaped like a castle and had a big slide off the front - the kids loved it. It was very fun, and the easiest party we've ever had. I planned no activities, we had it at 1:00 and did not serve lunch, only a table of Tessa's favorite snacks (popcorn, apple slices and cheese.) Halfway through we broke for cake and ice cream and to open presents, then they went back out to play until their parents picked them up. So easy! Natalie came to help out, as usual, which made it even easier :)
Sunday we had her family party. We went bowling and invited all of her adult friends and family. Nana, Grandpa, Joey, Becki, Colby, Jessica, James, Killian, Andrea, and Natalie all came. Grandma, Papa and L'Jean showed up an hour late. They told Matt they were coming, but didn't mention that they had church first. Oops! No big deal, they were still able to say hello and hang out for a bit.
After bowling we came back to the house for a BBQ. I didn't plan on lunch until last minute, and I didn't tell anyone in advance. I didn't want anyone feeling obligated to come if they had other plans. Becki, Colby, Natalie and L'Jean came to eat - it was a nice, small group. Tessa played in her Fairies tent that Kill and Andrea gave her and the grownups played guitar hero. L'Jean started out on Easy, but upgraded to Medium to keep up with Matt and I - she's awesome already. She'll be better than me in no time, I'm sure. Damnit! LOL
Anyway, the afternoon party was pretty mellow, very nice.

Also in Tessa news...
She's very close to the end of school, now. Two weeks to go! We're all looking forward to the Summer. Becki has promised to take one additional weekday off (in addition to her regular Monday, that is) and we're going to try to something "fun" once a week. We're also planning swimming lessons, again, and possibly gymnastics. It really felt like a LONG winter, and we've had such a slow warmup that we're all anxious for some warm weather!
She's still doing wonderfully in school, and she loves it. I've bought a bunch of workbooks for the summer to keep her fresh with her math, spelling, reading, etc. The plan is for her to spend one hour every day doing "school work" - which will also include any time she spends writing to her pen pal, Karissa. She loves to read, so I'm also planning one hour per day of "quiet time" this summer - time she can spend reading, doing puzzles or just resting in her room.
Hopefully I'll actually stick to the plan, lol!

Asher is growing like crazy and talking up a storm. He repeats everything and is just starting to string two words together, like "Indy, allie" or "more drink" or "hold me".
His hair is still that crazy dark blond color - and it grows like crazy. He needs a haircut every 4 weeks, I swear! His eyes are more brown now, but still lots of grey left. I don't know how much more they'll change at this point. His little birthmark is very faded now, even when he's angry. His little lips are still all plump and kissy...though he often has a binki in his mouth! He's tall and thin. He's such a beautiful boy. I don't get nearly the comments about him that I did with Tessa, but I think much of that is because she was a girl in frilly dresses - people are drawn to pink ruffles, lol.
He's much clingier than Tessa ever was. He loves to be held and often asks to be picked up. I get tired of carrying him around, but I also love that he's more my baby than Tessa was. She was independent! I still don't trust her to walk by herself at a grocery store - she has no fear and will wander off in a heartbeat! I can let Asher walk almost anytime, he stays within about 10 feet of me :)
He's going through a growth spurt. He still prefers baby food to regular food, I think only because it's faster and easier for him to eat - and God knows the kid is lazy! He never would breast feed. Anyway, he went from 3 jars at a meal to 4 in the past few weeks. He has a yogurt and one or two jars of fruit for breakfast, then half a granola bar, some cereal, a muffin or a pancake...whatever we're eating. For lunch he eats 4 jars of food, or table food like chicken nuggets and french fries. For dinner he either eats real food, like macaroni and cheese, if he had baby food for lunch - or baby food if he had real food for lunch.
All together the kid goes through at least 6 jars of baby food a day. He's getting expensive to feed, lol!
I weighed and measured both kids on May 5th, and then again today. Asher went from 24 pounds and 33 inches to 25 pounds and 33.75 inches in 3 weeks! Tessa went from 45 pounds and 43.75 inches to 44.25 inches, same weight.

Asher is playing a lot more with Tessa now - he's very interactive, though not always in a good way. He grabs at her and claws her sometimes, leaving marks on her face or chest. About half the time he does it in a mean way, but the other half of the time I think he just does it without thinking.
She's almost always very patient and sweet with him. I don't know if any kid ever had a better big sister.
She still asks about another baby...we still haven't made any decision.

I think that's enough update for now. Matt and I have lots going on, too, but updating about the kids has already taken up too much time. More later!!!