Kid Update

It seems like I just wrote one of these!

Tessa and Asher are growing and learning so fast these days, though, that I could probably write an update a week and not get everything!

Tessa got her report card last week.  All A's!  She's such a smarty pants.  

I think she's going to be one of those all-around smart people, too.  Not really better at one thing or another.  

Matt is Mr. Math and Science.  I've always done best at English and History - but Tessa is interested in everything and is good at it all, too!  

She mastered 100 addition problems in 5 minutes over Christmas break, just in time!  When they went back to school they moved on to subtraction.  She's doing wonderfully at it, as I knew she would.  Something about the way she looked at her addition problems told me she'd be great at subtraction.  

They have a book report due each month, so far she's gotten 100% on them all.  This month the theme is Historical Fiction.  She's reading a Magic Treehouse book about ancient China.  She tears through books!  Reads 3 or 4 chapters in a night.  She loves to read :)

Yesterday I did an enhancement with her class - we made Valentine Mailboxes.  It was a fun project, I took a bunch of extra art supplies that the kids don't usually get to use.  They had a good time.  I just love Tessa's teacher - she's so great for Tess.

After the project Tessa told me I was the best mom ever.  This morning she told me that I always do the best enhancements.  

Being Room Mom rocks.

For Valentines for Tessa's close friends and family this year, we made heart shaped crayons.  It was a really fun project, and she's excited to give them to everyone!  If you're reading this and you get one - remember to act surprised!

It's that time of year when Tessa tells me every day that she wishes it was Summer - and I reply "me too, baby."

It's also the time of year that she starts talking about her Birthday.  She mentions it - party plans, etc - every single day.  May 13 is a LONG time away.

Moving on to Asher!

He must still be growing, because he eats like crazy.  Every morning he has some a piece of toast or cereal with Tessa, then a yogurt, then a package of fruit snacks.  After that he has crackers, beef jerky and/or a cookie.  He's also recently discovered orange juice and BEGS for it.  I give him about an ounce and a half at a time in a regular cup.  He'll ask for it twice.  

His morning caloric intake is insane.

He's a smarty pants, too, of course.

Though we can't get the kid to name colors to save his life.  He's able to group together all the blue blocks, the red blocks, etc - but when asked, every color is pink.

I work with him EVERY day.  I think he's just stubborn.

I noticed some time ago that he refers to everyone as a girl and uses all feminine pronouns.  So we started trying to teach him BOY and GIRL.  

First we'd quiz him "are you a boy or a girl? how about mommy?  how about daddy?" etc.

He got them wrong as often as he got them right.

So one night after a bath he was kind of grabbing at himself, talking about his 'bum'

I told him no, that's your wiener.  Boys have a wiener.  Girls don't have a wiener.

---note: I know wiener is kind of a lame word.  I just couldn't bring myself to teach him penis.  Wiener sounded...friendlier, I guess...

I almost immediately regretted my decision - but it's not the type of thing you can take back.

Anyway, now we talk about wieners a lot.  It's great. 

It did seem to help a little with the boy/girl thing.  He gets it right a lot more often now.  But he still doesn't understand who has wieners.  

Yesterday he climbed up to the counter and found Tessa's American Revolution Study Guide.  He asked me what it was, and I told him it was Tessa's study sheet.  

"Oh!" he says "study guide."

then he proceeded to read it to me...

"says mommy doesn't have a wieners.  Asher and Daddy and Tessa DO have wieners."

I was laughing so hard I had to write it down right then - so I didn't forget.

He found a binky the other day.  I've been dreading it.

I was in the bathroom, doing my hair, he was in my bedroom, snooping through Matt's side table (as usual) when he found it.  

He brought it to me, super excited "mommy! a binky!"

I panicked - snatched it from him, screeching "no! it's icky!"

At that, he took a step backwards - ready to run from crazy mommy.  I calmed down in a hurry, "you don't have a binky anymore, remember? you're a big boy! you don't need one!"

All the while, I'm absentmindedly washing the binky in the sink.  Why?  I don't know!

"oh." he says "I'm a big boy..."

He doesn't sound really sure about being big.

"Yep!" I say, brightly "You're a big boy! This is garbage.  Can you throw it away?"

He likes to throw things away, so this cheers him up a bit.

"In the garbage? In there?" he says

So I say yes, and hand it to him.

Remember, it's all clean and wet now, just the way he always liked it best.

Without even a seconds hesitation, he stuck it in his mouth and started to suck like crazy.  

"No!" I cry - but I'm laughing, because he's looking at me out of the corner of his eye, like he knows he's being naughty.

Then he just took it out, said "in the garbage" and threw it away.

I think that's a good sign.

Later, he brought it up.  

"I want a binky" he said

"Oh no," I say, "You're a big boy! You don't need a binky!"

"Yeah." he says "It's disgusting."

I told him no...it's not disgusting...he just doesn't need one...

but he insisted, it's disgusting.  Okay.

I gotta say, I miss the binky.  He still isn't napping well without it.  Almost every afternoon that I try to get him to nap I want to dig one out and give it to him.  But I'm resisting.  It would be so sill of me to give it to him.  He looked funny with it in his mouth.  He doesn't need it anymore.  

Okay...I think that's enough update for now!