Alara, Jessa, & Tessa
They did pretty well together. All 3 are "only" children...Alara has older almost-step-siblings, and Jessa has a much younger sister....so as you can expect, there's some pretty strong personalities. I think Alara felt a little left out at times, just because the older two have such a nearly-unspoken rapport & are around one another constantly. But Tessa, ever the peacemaker, did a good job mediating when things did get tense. She chose activities they'd all have fun with, like playing Band Hero:
They call themselves "Past, Present, Future"....a girl band in the making...look out Bangles!
They watched some movies, snacked on pizza and stayed up til 10:45. The room was a disaster by the time they were done playing in the morning (I have a picture, but it's scary) but they had pancakes for breakfast and played some more. Both girls helped clean up before they went home.
Pancake breakfast!
It was fun, and exhausting, and we'll do it again....when I've forgotten how tiring 3 little girls can be!!
I will say this: it often amazes me, the maturity level and grace with which my daughter can conduct herself. In addition to her peacemaking skills, she also displayed the ability to compromise, to follow through with instructions, to be a good leader, and to be a good hostess. Before her guests arrived, and without prompting, she cleaned her room; set up places for her friends to sleep; created "goody bags" out of her own belongings (little erasers, silly bands, pencils, and the like); took a bath, and dressed up in a skirt "so I'll look nice & be a good hostess." She's an amazing kid.
And then she does something like today, when she got paint all over the counter, had to change her clothes 3 times because she got stuff on them, and wiped her egg-covered face on my hand-knitted couch throw. You know, I don't even really mind stuff like that. It's good to have the reminder that she is, after all, only 9, and she has a lot of growing up to do.
**************
I've moved on from knitting baby hats to knitting a baby sweater with no particular purpose in mind. But I've not gotten very far. Jeremy bought me Plants vs. Zombies for the xbox for my birthday (which is tomorrow), so I've been latching on to that like some sort of twitchy crack addict. I can only play a level or two at one sitting though because my eyes get tired. But it's very fun.
