Despite holding a stretch of sickness and misery for our poor baby, this was a good month. Tessa's first tooth finally (just barely) poked through a few days ago. She has delighted herself with her newfound clapping ability. She gets in and out of a sitting position with ease now; we often find her sitting in her crib with her stuffed animals all shuffled around, having played with them thoroughly before deciding to complain loudly to be retrieved.
This spring we added an upper garden (because clearly we must grow enough fresh produce to feed 12 adult men through the winter); having both an upper and lower garden has meant lots of working and LOTS of time outside for Tessa. Very little makes her as happy as being outside, which is saying something since she's generally so happy anyway. The kids and I were eating a picnic lunch out under the apple trees the other day. After they finished the boys cavorted like little goats, showing off their sprinting and leaping, while Marnie gleefully rolled down the hill. Tessa stared so hungrily at their displays of Impressive Athleticism, punctuating her intense gaze with little grins whenever they did anything especially remarkable. She's already the leanest baby we've ever had, and her skinny little self will only get skinnier when she's capable of all the acrobatics she's so desperate for. She's hyper and friendly and active and loves a good joke; she loves getting her siblings, and she loves being gotten just as much. She's a highly gratifying little girl for Rundy, who gets as much of a delighted response as he could wish for from his crazy antics.
The kids all love her dearly, and it's so much fun to watch how each relationship with her looks a little different. Marnie's newest habit with Tessa is to sit near her and rub her back, murmuring, "P'ecious baby. So p'ecious."
What a gift you are, Tessa Lou.
