Answers

1. Theresa, here is howe you can solv your problom.  

1. s1 you can loke  in plasis  you  won't ekspect it  to bea. 
2. s2  or  you  can  loke in a plase rily hard  to  find. 

2. Nana it is  100/200 

3  Amanda, you  haf to  bring  me  thar.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     aka  talulah

Ghostly Gossip

• write youwr problems down and we will help you.                                                                                                           canada .                                                                                        saskatoon.
•                                                                                     hollywood.                                                                                     new york.                                                                                   your choice                                                                                     mystery                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   add  you  in                                     i love helping you.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        mistry                                                                              44o3-5965-0                                                                                             goste                                                               gost                                                                                          

Talulah's First Day of School EVER!

Waking Talulah up this morning was pretty darn sweet. I started with some back rubs to which she replied, "I'm trying to sleep Leia." thinking it was one of the dogs at her Dad's house. Then I sang her the good morning song, while she listened she just kept rolling around with her eyes closed not interested at all in waking up. Then I said, "Good morning school girl."...... She sat up so fast you would have sworn she'd been pinched!

She asked, "Am I going to school today?" and was THRILLED when I said yes. She told me that she's very big now and even her hands are bigger. (And showed me by measuring them with my hands.) Breakfast was just not happening this morning. Talulah was too excited to eat more than a bite... I hope she made it to snack time without withering away!

Daddy & Jodi came to our home so we could all go to her new Out Of School Care (OOSC from now on, to keep it easier) and to walk to school together. She asked if we could all go together every morning. 

So, Talulah and her crew all headed out. It was chaotic and exciting and sad (for her Dad and I at least) and wondrous all at the same time.

Our baby started school. SCHOOL! How on earth did she grow up so fast and can't we have our baby back for just a little while? Soon she'll be a grown-up. *gulp*   *sob*

Here are some photos to document the ever-so-exciting occasion. You can tell by Talulah's GIANT smile that she was over the moon about this whole school business. 

There may have been a few tears once i got to work (like, lots of them)... But all in all, I'm so very proud of our sweet, brave girl.

It's official, Talulah is a Kindergartener!

Gus & Mary Come for a Visit

Talulah and I were thrilled to have an almost two week visit with Auntie Melissa, Uncle Jay, Gus and Mary. They took a road trip out to see us and we had a great time!

I love seeing the cousins all together. Gus and Talulah are SO close it warms my heart. Watching them say goodbye however is a little heartbreaking. Talulah was sad coming home yesterday and not having Gus and Mary there. She said she wanted to play a game with Gus and then had a cry. When I asked her what game she wanted to play she sobbed, "I can't tell you. It's a secret - I can only tell Gus."... So sad. A few minutes later she said quietly, "I wanted to hold baby Mary today."

Despite the tears saying goodbye, they all had a blast together! Talulah watched fishing videos on YouTube with Uncle Jay and told him all about the princess fishing rod that her Dad got her. Uncle Jay surprised her with a princess tackle box before he left.... He even put some lures in it! She was THRILLED. But, of course, Uncle Jay forgot something. She said that he has to get Gus a prince tackle box... Because she's going to marry Gus someday so he has to have a prince tackle box to go with her princess tackle box.

Gus was upset yesterday morning when they were packing to leave. He asked if they could go pick up Talulah from daycare and when his Mom said no he shed some tears. We found him a few minutes later standing in the kitchen holding a picture of Talulah and Santa (that he got off the fridge) staring at it quietly.

Seriously, these kids are just spectacular.

I obviously had an amazing visit with them and was thrilled when Mary started to recognize me and be excited to see/hear me. :) Also, I made her giggle. It's pretty much one of the best feelings ever. Lucky for me, Uncle Jay caught one of the giggles on video!

Melissa and I tried to get some more giggles, but it looks like Mary takes after her cousin Talulah and keeps it all under wrap when the camera comes out.

And seriously.... How adorable is Gus? I can't even take it.

I got to enjoy a ridiculous amount of snuggles from Mr. Gus, who's not normally a fan of them. I was so spoiled this trip. He asked me to pick him up when we went for walks, whimpered for snuggles when he was feeling down and just plain old went along with it when I asked him for snuggles.

So sweet.

Talulah the swimmer... I mean dancer.... I mean swimmer...

Hmmm... Where to begin this story?

Talulah's been taking swimming lessons at the same time that a friend of mine (Megan) has dance practice. Megan is a fancy-schmance salsa dancer and practices with her partner right after Talulah's swimming lessons. We've been at the same place at the same time for AGES and have never known. When we figured it out I decided to take Talulah to Megan's practice so she could see Meg's sweet moves.

Talulah was in love. In love with Megan and in love with salsa dancing. She didn't want to leave the practice, but having her there wasn't very conducive to Megan's productivity so I promised Talulah that when we got home we could watch a video of Megan performing in full costume and watch it. 

When we got home, before I even had a chance to find the video, Talulah wanted to show me her salsa dancing. 

I searched on Megan's facebook and found a video of her performing last summer. (Megan's the one that starts on the left, with blonde hair https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151955447915722) As soon as it was over Talulah said, "Again!" so we watched it again.... And again.... And again. This started to be a daily request - to watch "Megan's moves". While watching Megan's video Talulah had the following things to say:

"Is it summer? I want to be her partner in the summer. Her dance partner. But she'll have to spin me 'cause I'm very little."

"Is that a flower in her hair? Is it her costume? I have flowers for my hair so I can dance in the summer."

"I want to dance with her there on the stage!"

"Why is Megan at your work? Can I go to your work so I can see her?" (I said yes.) *clapping* *GASP* "Work Party!"

 Then Papa came to town! One of the VERY FIRST things that Talulah told Papa was that Megan came to watch her swimming lessons, followed very closely with, "I'm going to be Megan's dance partner in the summer. You can help me practice."

Aside from all of her salsa dancing... She passed the Salamander level at swimming lessons! Megan came at the very end of the class because she was stuck in traffic (and because she's SUCH A TROOPER coming to see Talulah's swimming class). Talulah was worried that Megan would be sad that she missed her lesson so I promised Talulah that I would make a video of all of Talulah's swimming moves to show Megan so she wouldn't be sad anymore. That seemed to make her happy.

Oh my girl. She's so sweet and has such a big heart. :)

Until next time... :)

Catch Up!

Aaaand it's time for another catch up post. :)

Here are some links to photos from the past few months. Enjoy!

August 2012 - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151127466055726.487886.678560725&type=1&l=d0753faf8f

September 2012 - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151220142285726.502619.678560725&type=1&l=c953157ded

October 2012 - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151244288430726.506872.678560725&type=1&l=569714b464

November 2012: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151289858460726.513838.678560725&type=1&l=97ed77b276

December 2012: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151289858460726.513838.678560725&type=1&l=97ed77b276

January 2013 - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151373404450726.525158.678560725&type=1&l=5cb78dbb0d

Talulah's New Cousin

On December 7th Talulah welcomed a new baby cousin... Gus's little sister Mary Sarah Nance Colbeck. I got to fly out for one night on December 8th to meet little Mary while Talulah was at her Dad's house. (I may have shed a few tears when I found out her middle name.)

Man-oh-man Mary's a little doll. I got to spend the night at the hospital with Melissa and Mary, snuggling that little baby so her Mom could catch a couple hours of sleep. What a special treat that was. Talulah insists that Mary is her SISTER and not her cousin.

Talulah and I went out to Winnipeg on Christmas day for a visit! She was immediately smitten with Mary (even before we met her actually) we were all smitten with her. How could we not be?

Without further ado, here's sweet Mary...

Squishy new baby!

Gus and his baby sister! :)

Auntie Sarah and baby Mary.

Mary Sarah Nance Colbeck :)

Mary with Jim & Nan.

In her hat from Auntie Sarah... It was a little big.

Awake time!

A little blurry, but Talulah's first time holding Mary!

Talulah helping give Mary a bath.

Cousin snuggles.

Kisses for Mary!

Talulah & Mary

Mary's very first New Years celebration!

Snuggled up with some spectacular girls!

Mary in one of Talulah's old outfits. :)

She's starting to SMILE!

The Sweetest Thing...

- Yesterday I was home with Talulah while she was sick with a cold. Out of nowhere she came up to me and said, "Mama, when I was in your tummy I couldn't see your heart. But I could hear it singing me a song."

MELT.

She asks a lot about when she was in my tummy, and she loves to put her head on my chest and listen to my heart so I'm sure she was putting two and two together. But wow, she knows how to melt her Mama.

- While FaceTime-ing with Uncle Jay and Gus, Talulah declaired that when she grows up she's going to marry "Baby Gus". Gus happily chirped, "Yeah!" when she told him. Cutest. Cousins. Ever.

- Talulah told me that when she grows up she wants to be a mom and have a baby. I said, "That's great! I always wanted to be a mom too. And if you have a baby, I will be the grandma." So she said, "NO! You'll be the SISTER!" and also assigned the following roles:

• Daddy will be the dad
• Grandpa (Wes) will be the step-dad
• Grandma (Gwen) will be the grandma
• Jodi will be the step-grandma
• (And, of course, she'll be married to her cousin Gus)

Talulahisms

- I told Talulah she could open a piece of mail for me and she started to rip it apart like a crazy person. I took it away and said, "Talulah, you can't open my mail unless you do it carefully." to which she replied, "Ugh Mom... It's my DESTINY!" I told her she was destined to open mail carefully or not at all.

- Talulah sat me down on the bed, took my face in her hands and said (very seriously), "Mom, you are my mom. You have to take care of me. If you don't, I will take things out of my bum." I laughed REALLY hard and said it's a good thing I take care of her then!

- Talulah: Knock knock
Mommy: Who's there?
Talulah: Banana
Mommy: Banana who?
Talulah: Banana on paper (fit of laughter)

- Talulah: Knock knock
Mommy: Who's there?
Talulah: Banana
Mommy: Banana who?
Talulah: Banana and glasses (fit of laughter)

- "I'm baby Gus's cousin. In sixteen I'm going to take him to Naba Scotia to see the ocean. And a mermaid. 'Cuz he's my brother and I'm his sister. We'll go on Thursday and fourteen. We will eat a monster."

- Talulah: Mom, my bum is getting bigger.
Mommy: Oh great! That means you're eating all your vegetables and growing up!
Talulah: Mom, do you have a big bum?
Mommy: Yes. It's very big because I'm a grown up and I eat good food to make me big and strong.
Talulah: I'm gonna have a big bum like you someday Mommy.

Wow...

I'm sure most of you have heard me talk about my "babycenter moms". Well, two such moms that are very close to my heart live so very far away from us. We've developed relationships since we "met" online in January of 2008 when we all found out we were pregnant. At that time we all had one thing in common - our babies were due in October 2008.

Well finally, after FOUR AND A HALF YEARS of chatting online almost every single day, of texting and emailing, of snail mailing.... We finally got to meet in person!

Mandy, who lives in Ontario, and I decided to pack up our girls and head out to meet Em and see her brand new home in Nova Scotia! What a treat it was to get to hug these true and genuinely wonderful friends of mine! And seriously, seeing the photos of the kiddos don't do them any justice. I mean, they're ADORABLE in photos, but in person?? There aren't any words to describe their sweet little voices, the sound of their laughter, their facial expressions and the oh-so-special inflections that Phinner (specifically) has mastered.

It was an amazing trip with some amazing friends! I'm normally pretty detached with goodbyes. Like, "Bye! See ya later." then gone and I'll be sad on my own on the plane or whatever. I know, it's strange since I'm such an emotional person normally.... But this time? No, this time I was a blubbering mess. A. MESS.

But you know what? I'm thankful to have had an experience that actually brought me to blubbering snotty tears.

Talulah had an amazing time too! Ever the incredible camera-dodger... I'm sure you can see some glimpses of her where she isn't making a funny face and is genuinely happy. This kid LOVED the ocean (times a trillion), LOVED all of the land that she could run free on at Em's place, LOVED getting into trouble with Phinn, LOVED taking care of Seamus and LOVED having a "sister" (Shae).

We really had a spectacular time. There are no words to describe the joy that both of us feel. So.... enjoy the pictures from our trip to Nova Scotia!

June 2012 - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150992508100726.473163.678560725&type=3&l=849e5c7086

July 2012 - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151062282110726.480831.678560725&type=3&l=bca2405b09

Sweetest. Kid. Ever. (Lucky Mommy)

On Mother's Day weekend Talulah and I went to the zoo both days! Saturday with Papa, and then Sunday (Mother's Day) with just the two of us.

Saturday when we went with Papa it was just a quick visit - mostly only to renew our expired passes. During the visit, he wanted to take a picture of Talulah and I, but instead he was recording a video. Good thing too! The tiny bit he caught was pretty darn sweet. Take a look (it's literally like 2 seconds long):

Here are some photos from Mother's Day (I didn't take many, we were too busy enjoying each other!):

Talulah making a craft at The Calgary Zoo's Mother's Day Brunch!

Busy being an artist.

The final product! (Along with the plant that they planted at daycare!)

Trying to see the zebras! (They were hiding.)

Running around and burning off the sugar from brunch.

At dinner with Grandma Gwen! 

Grandma playing with Talulah.

Off for a Mother's Day ice cream cone after dinner!

 We had a blast all weekend... And the stellar weather was a welcome treat too!

This morning we had the following conversation:

Talulah: Mommy? You're a good mom.
Mommy: Aawwww, thank you Talulah!
Talulah: I'm going to tell Nora. (Nora is a friend at daycare)
Mommy: Okay.
Talulah: You're NOT a bad mom.
Mommy: Did Nora say I was a bad mom?
Talulah: No.
Mommy: Oh. Who said I was a bad mom?
Talulah: Nobody... 'Cuz you're a good mom.
Then, a few minutes later, I was kneeling down to help her put her shoes on. She walked over, put her hands on either side of my face, leaned in close and said...
Talulah: You're MY mommy.
Mommy: Yep! I'm your mommy and nobody else's.
Talulah: All mine. (BIG smile followed by BIG hug)

I'm an insanely lucky Mommy.

Check out a few other videos we made last night. In the first one my lovely friend and co-worker Claire got a chocolate "T" for Talulah so I was giving it to her. (Ssshhh... Don't tell that I also got a chocolate "S" from Claire. If Talulah finds out, she'll eat that one too!)

This next one is a video of Talulah in her new shirt. She loves it because it's sleeveless and shows off her tattoos. She asked who was on her shirt and I told her it was "Captain America" (Mommy might be a teensy bit obsessed with The Avengers movie that just came out *blush*.) She kept trying to say it, but was having lots of trouble... instead saying things like "Capkim Amanananana" and the like. It was so funny! Well.... until I started recording. Of course once I hit record she could say it fairly well. But the video's still cute. :)

After we watched that first video, Talulah thought she was HILARIOUS! She asked to make another "movie" and then proceeded to full on belly laugh at herself while she watched it. .

One last note I almost forgot to mention... We got WORMS!!! We bought a vermipod from Miss Karla Cox at www.provisionspermiculture.com so we now have under sink compost! Buuuuut........... Talulah and I are loving our worms something fierce so I'm pretty sure they're our pets. She named them Cece. She had come up with some other names, but we can't remember them and they all look the same so they're all Cece. Yay for red wigglers!

Daddy's Little Girl

The three if us got to go for breakfast after Talulah's Hapkido class today. It was fun and so nice to get to see some special moments between Talulah and her Daddy. :)

Death, Lies and Stinkyheads

- Talulah called her Dad a stinkyhead the other day. When he told her it wasn't nice and asked her where she heard it from she said that I call her a stinkyhead all the time. I assured him that I don't. When Jodi asked where she heard it from she said it was from swimming. When she then called me a stinkyhead yesterday and I reinforced that it's not a nice thing to say and asked where she heard it from..... She said that her Dad calls her a stinkyhead all the time. : |  So, basically - she's trying to master the art of lying............. And we're pretty sure she heard it from the older kids at daycare. She has yet to confirm this.

- While driving to her dentist appointment earlier today Talulah said, "Mommy, if the monsters get you and you die - Shannon can be my new mom." (Shannon is one of her teachers from daycare.) I'm not sure how this came up in that brain of hers... But she felt it was important to share. I asked her if Shannon knew about this plan and she said, "Not yet." I was sure to tell Shannon when I dropped Talulah off at daycare later in the day. Shannon laughed and said she'd be happy to be Talulah's new mom if the monsters get me. Phewf... Now that we've got that cleared up. Although, I'm not sure where she learned about dying from. That might be something else we'll have to talk about soon.

- Last night at dinner Talulah said, "Do we get to go to the dentist tomorrow?" I confirmed and she cheered for joy! This sent Papa into a fit of laughter because... How many three year olds do you know who LOVE the dentist?

Family Visits

Family visits are so nice.

Auntie Melissa was in Calgary for a fellowship (I dunno... Some big fancy-schmance thing for smart people) for a week. Baby Gus and Uncle Jay came for a visit half way through the week too.

Oh it was a glorious time! Lots of playing and smiles and snuggles and fun. Talulah and Gus are seriously two peas in a pod. They LOVE each other SO MUCH. It melts my heart seeing them together. I just want to squeeze them! And you know what? I got to squeeze them together a lot! They thought it was a great idea for Talulah to sit on me and then for Gus to sit on her... So I got to snuggle and squeeze both of them to my heart's content.

Gus and I took the bus to Talulah's daycare to pick her up because they both LOVE the bus. When we went in (it was the first time they got to see each other) Talulah's eyes got wide and she had a HUGE smile! She said, "Baby Gus!" and her daycare teachers said, "Oh, we've heard so much about Baby Gus but we didn't know if he was real!". We had a good laugh and all of Talulah's friends gathered around to see the cute little Baby Gus (even though he's not a baby anymore). Talulah stood at his side looking so unbelievably proud, showing off her cousin. I'm pretty sure I shed a few tears at that point. She was so excited to take the bus home and to take care of Baby Gus. She was sure to hold his hand to "keep him safe so he won't get away".... Even though Gus had no intention of going anywhere that Talulah wasn't going. So. Ridiculously. Sweet.

Sigh.

Now they're all back home and while Talulah and I very much enjoy our alone time together... We still miss them. She's been asking constantly if Baby Gus can come back to her home "tomorrow". She knows that he's in Winnipeg, she just doesn't like it. I assure her that we'll be going to visit in the summer.... But it's not the immediate gratification she's looking for. Poor Lula.... Missing her little cousin.

It's a wee bit too much work to upload all of the pictures from the visit onto here... So, please click >>> HERE <<< and take a peek at our fun times with Auntie Lissa, Uncle Jay & Baby Gus.  

Little Swimmer

Here's a very low quality video of Talulah during play time after her swimming lesson last week. (She's the one in purple with the ponytails.)

The kid's FEARLESS with water. Seriously. Her teacher always had to keep a close eye on her because she was always trying to venture off into the great beyond (read: deep end). I'm pretty sure she thinks she's a stellar swimmer... And she IS.... For a three year old with only one un-parented swimming lesson under her belt. But, still not quite up there with the "I'm able to stay alive if I'm alone in a pool" folks. 

Anyway, here's a little peek at Talulah doing her thing. Some of her stellar swimming is close to the end of the video so you'll have to be a little bit patient. :)

Enjoy!

Another "First"

Usually these firsts are something exciting to announce! Something to cross off of an ever expanding list.

Well, Talulah had another first last night. Two of them actually... Unfortunately, they are two we could have done without. Her fist trip to the Emergency Room and her first (two) stitches.

I got a call at work from the daycare saying that, while playing outside, Talulah was pushed by another kid. She fell off a ledge and gashed the back of her head. I left work and got to daycare as fast as I could. They had cleaned up her blood and tried to get her to relax until I got there, but Talulah (being Talulah) didn't need to relax. So, they put a dressing on her head (with a toque over top) and she went back to playing. It was still bleeding a bit when I got there, and it was a big enough gash that it needed to be looked at.

She was excited for swimming lessons that night because Daddy was going to watch too! So, I called Daddy to tell him there would be no swimming lessons because we were heading to the hospital. I filled him in and he decided to come and meet us.

The nurse in triage took a look and said it would probably need to be closed so she put some numbing gel on and bandaged her up for the wait to see a doctor. The bandage went all the way around Talulah's head... It looked pretty darn cute - and Talulah was super happy because they let her keep what was left of the roll of gauze to play with.

We only waited a couple of hours before we got to see the doctor. Talulah was stellar, but definitely bored. We had to bust out the Netflix on my phone to keep her from climbing the walls. The doctors came and put two stitches in the back of Talulah's head and she didn't cry or struggle at all. Such a tough little cookie!

Here are some photos to record two more of Talulah's firsts. She's so funny. I'm sure these situations are much harder on us than they are on her.

Watching the fish in the waiting room.

 Happy Lula! (So tough)

Cutie.

The scene of the crime.

Right before they stitched her up.

Snuggling with Mommy after we got home.

TMI? Maybe... Funny? Heck yes!

Talulah and I frequently shower together. Or rather, I have a shower and Talulah stops whatever she's doing to strip down and join me. (And, by "join me" I mean monopolize all of the hot water so I get to shiver in the corner trying to lather myself clean.)

Anyway... one particular shower (this is where the TMI comes in - brace yourselves) it had been a while since I shaved, well, anything. Talulah noticed in her own little Talulah way.

A couple of days later we were grocery shopping. More specifically in the crowded produce section of our grocery store and Talulah pipes up loudly, "Mommy, you have hair on your BUM?".

FREEZE... Panic.... I reply out of sheer humiliation and also to clarify to the complete strangers who could care less about the state of my bum, "No I don't!".

Silence. I'm blushing but trying to act cool as a cucumber.

Then again, just as loudly as before, Talulah pipes up for round two.

"On your paaaaaaaa-nis?"





Sigh.




And the rest of the conversation went as follows:

Mommy: No Talulah. Mommy doesn't have a penis.

Talulah: Just baby Gus?

Mommy: Yes, baby Gus has a penis because he's a boy.

Talulah: And how 'bout my Dad?

Mommy: (Seriously? This is what we're talking about while grocery shopping??) Yes Talulah. Your Dad is a boy too.

Talulah: But not me. I'n a girl. I don't have a penis. (then VERY loud and proud) I have a 'GINA.




And that was that. Oh, wait. Forgot one thing... Later while we were standing in line (probably with some witnesses to our previous conversation) Talulah had a teensy little toot, looked at the cashier and said ever so sweetly, "S'cuse me. Dat's my bum!"

At least the girl's got manners, even if her filter's broken.

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. 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Sweet Talulah had a visit with Santa over the weekend. She was excited to see him, but when they actually met face to face she was SUPER shy and just a little scared of the big guy. He was very patient and friendly, as usual - It's the exact same Santa she's had her picture taken with every year since she was born.

She ended up sitting on my knee next to Santa and I just leaned waaaaaaayyy out of the picture. If you look closely you can see my fingers in the bottom left corner by the Christmas tree. Hee... Didn't think about moving my hand out of the way.

Anyway, Talulah answered his questions very quietly and then gave a teensy smile once the big guy handed over a candy cane. That kid's, always got candy on the brain. :)

We watched Santa visit with some other kids (who SCREAMED BLOODY MURDER the minute they got close to him) and then Talulah told me that she's very worried about Santa. I guess she can see that it's taxing to have a good portion of kidlets scream and cry when they get close to you. She doesn't want Santa to have a broken heart.

Sweetest girl ever.

And... she looks like a grown up here! I swear she doesn't look this old in real life. It pulled at my heart strings a little. My baby girl is actually going to be a grown up someday!! (Time - feel free to slow down whenever you're ready.)

Happy holiday season everyone! I'm not normally ready to say that until at least December 1st, but with a little one around - I can't help but get into the spirit a little earlier!