A BIG Thank You!

Talulah and I wanted to share our appreciation for the time we spent with some special peeps yesterday! Her great aunt Carol & great uncle Rick (actually… I suppose it's great great aunt & uncle, but that's just a mouth full) organized a horse drawn wagon ride and invited us along! (It was supposed to be a sleigh ride, but there wasn't enough snow so it was a wagon ride, lol!)

It was so much fun! Talulah was hilarious, totally not shy and she had to be rescued by Ryan on numerous occasions. My no-fear kid was all over the place and leaning WAY over the side of the wagon to see the dogs, horses, snow, purple wolves, bears, unicorns, foxes…. etc. etc. etc. Well, she didn't see purple wolves, bears, unicorns or foxes - but it wasn't for lack of trying! (Thank you Ryan for keeping her safe!) Talulah rewarded Ryan with a nice snuggle while she drank her hot chocolate.

She was so in love with her cousins Jayden, Riley, Shayna and Saskia. Like seriously, she LOOOOOOOOVED them! 

We roasted hotdogs and marshmallows, made s'mores, ate LOTS of treats (Talulah's got her Daddy's sweet tooth, that's for sure), sang some Christmas carols, played in the snow…. Such a Christmas-y event, filled with family! (Or ex-family-in law?? Whatever…. FAMILY.)

Anyway, just thought I'd share the message of thanks that we sent to all of them. Because, they're all awesome and the kids are fantastic and it was a really really special time. 

So, all y'all reading this… Be sure to send some extra love to your families this holiday season!

With that, here's a big public THANK YOU to Rick, Carol, Tracy, Rob, Ryan, Chrissy, Shayna, Saskia, Jayden & Riley - We love you!

Hey Everyone!

I just wanted to thank you so much for an awesome day yesterday. Talulah and I had a BLAST! It was so unbelievably nice to spend some quality time with all of you. You have no idea. :)

After we got in the car Talulah cried for a good ten minutes because she wanted her "friends". She kept interrupting her cries with, "What's da big one's name again? Oh Shayna…. I waaaaaaant my Shaaaaayyna 'cause I looooooove her!" and repeat with all names. I had to tell her we'd go to Jayden and Riley's house all the time (couldn't include Shayna & Saskia's house because China's a little too far to promise) and then play some Raffi on the stereo to calm her down. Also, the promise of a REALLY big snuggle when we got home seemed to help a bit. And then she passed out HARD for the rest of the drive. 

Shayna & Saskia are so grown up! Not to mention so sweet, polite, friendly and thoughtful. They both helped Talulah without hesitation many times and it seriously warmed my heart like you wouldn't believe. Saskia helped Talulah navigate the snow and climb through the rope fence. Shayna made sure she was safe in the deep snow and when Talulah went over to her (nice and warm by the fire) and said, "Do you wanna go play wiss me?" Shayna, without hesitation, said, "Sure!" and popped her gloves on to head out to the snow. Both girls were excited to see her and were more than happy to read her the book she got from everyone for Christmas! (Which we forgot at your place, of course. Because I forget everything since becoming a mom.) Saskia was having trouble getting her gloves back on after the wagon ride so I stopped and asked if she wanted help with her gloves. She replied with a polite, "Yes please." and a "Thank you." after each glove. SO POLITE! If I was struggling with my gloves when it was that cold I would have replied with a "GAH, YEEEESSSSS PLEASE! HURRY!" So seriously Tracy & Rob - what's your secret??

Jayden & Riley are just as I remember them from a couple of weeks ago. ;) So sweet. I love how happy Jayden was to hear about how much Talulah missed (and loved) her from their last play date. Jayden's always so outgoing and FRIENDLY - I love it! It was so nice to see how close she is with her cousins - it's exactly like you told me Chrissy - they want to be together all the time! Oh, and Riley with his "donkey-horse" comments? They don't get much cuter than that! I laughed so hard. I loved watching him sometimes play with the other kids and sometimes off to explore by himself (rearranging the HUGE wood pile was priceless.) And, I think he even started talking to me at the end of the visit! Usually he just plays with Talulah & Jayden and ignores me the whole time. I like to think we're just communicating telepathically… But sure, I guess he's "shy". Hee…

Rick & Carol - being the lead in the entourage, organizing the whole wagon ride and hotdog/marshmallow roast, goodies for the kids, and inviting us along was so awesome! The kids may not have been into the Christmas carols, but I sure was! It was SUCH A GREAT TIME! And we really really do need to get together more often. :) Thank you so much!

I'm so thankful that Donovan and I remained close and have an amazing co-parenting relationship. It means I still get to have a friendship with him and I still get to be involved with  all of you! It really is so wonderful to have all of this. And, Talulah's lucky to have so many people who adore her. Amazing parents who love her, a stepmom who ROCKS (sometimes when I tell Talulah she's going to Daddy's house she says she doesn't want to see Daddy, just "Dodi" (aka: Jodi). It warms my heart that she loves Jodi so much, that's how I can tell she's a wonderful stepmom.), grandparents who are crazy about her and a plethora of aunts, uncles and cousins who are nothing but happy to see her!

Anyway, I know it's just a big mass of email mush… But I really really had a great time yesterday and loved seeing the kids all together. You brought the love this Christmas season, that's for sure!

The only thing that was missing? TRACY!!! I was really sad that I didn't get to see you (and that you didn't get to join in on the fun). It would have been so wonderful! Talulah and I are heading to Winnipeg on boxing day and won't be back until January 5th - I don't suppose you'll still be in town? Next time you're here, I'd really love to see you too. It's been way too long. Someone - please give Tracy a BIG HUG from Talulah and I! 

So, thank you, thank you, thank you a million times over!

Love,

Sarah & Talulah xoxo

Talking With Talulah

Talulah talks all the time. All. The. Time. There is never a moment of quiet when Talulah's around.

It's pretty adorable. I love listening to her, especially now that she's doing more make believe play. I love it. 

There are certain things she says, some sweet and some sassy, that make me laugh. Even when I'm trying to be stern... I'm howling inside. Here are a few:

- When Talulah hears something she doesn't like (usually "no") she'll sometimes reply with a, "I not your friend anymore!" in a huff. Yesterday? She didn't like what I had to say so then pulled out the big guns with, "Auntie Lissa not your sisser anymore!"

- Most of you know that Talulah has a birthmark on her bum. It's so cute. You know where the Care Bears have their hearts?? That's where Talulah's birthmark is. She always asks what it is and I tell her it's her birthmark. The other day she was naked and posing in front of the mirror. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "Looking at my market." Yes........... market = birth mark. SO. CUTE.

- I was laying in Talulah's bed with her at bedtime. We had finished reading a couple of books and she was coming up with excuse after excuse to keep herself awake. (I thirsty. I s'got someping... etc.) She rolled over and looked at me and we had the following conversation:

     Talulah: Mommy? We're better friends.

     Mommy: Better friends?

     Talulah: Yeah.

     Mommy: Do you mean best friends?

     Talulah: Yes................. And cookies.

     Mommy: (blank stare)

     Talulah: (loving smile)

     Mommy: Yeah, we're best friends and cookies. 

     Talulah & Mommy: (hug)

- Remember Penn? Talulah's elf on the shelf that we introduced you to last year? Well, Penn's been back since the beginning of the month keeping an eye on Talulah so he can report back to Santa each night and tell him if she's been naughty or nice. When she's being particularly naughty I remind her that Penn's watching and he might not be giving a good report if her behavior continues. One night in particular we were at the dinner table and Talulah was being particularly uncooperative (read: having a fit because she wanted cookies for supper not actual SUPPER for supper!). I reminded her that Penn was watching and she sat quietly for a few seconds.... Then looked at me and with a little attitude said, "Penn's not eating his supper."        : |         That's right Talulah.... if you get Penn in trouble then maybe you won't get in trouble, right??

- We were watching one of the Land Before Time movies and as you may or may not know... There are some scary dinosaurs in it (T-Rex... otherwise known as "Sharp Tooth"). In one scene a sharp tooth came out and let out a huge ROOOOOOOOAR!! Talulah said, "Dat's my daddy." then on the screen all the little kid dinosaurs screamed and ran away. To which Talulah followed up with, "He scares my friends." all the while having her sweet little grin on her face.

- Last night laying in bed with Talulah and she was again practicing her staying-awake skills. She sat up and said in her squeakiest little voice, "You're so cute! Look at you my little Mommy... So cute!" while pinching my cheeks. 

Sigh. My sweet girl has literally no "baby" left in her. (I remember this frequently when hauling all 29 lbs of her around when she wants to "nuggle" while running errands.) She's such a kid now. It makes me happy - because she amazes me every day with her awesomeness... But it also makes me kinda sad. We often look at baby pictures of Talulah together and it makes me weepy every time. How did my baby get so big?!

A good friend of mine wrote this today. Melt. I'm pretty sure she's been reading my mind again.