walrus meet Tallulah

Tallulah LOVES walrus. She also cannot stop talking about him. or the owl ornament. or the dog. or emu. or any animal in sight. oh, and Nonni. She keeps introducing them and making sure they all know each other...or so it seems. "ahwis, owl, emu, nonni! doooogg, ahwis! Nice ahwis, ah, nice.(pausing to kiss his head then rocks some more)" She is such a hunny.

She loves animals. We made up our own types of kisses, animal type kisses: Buffalo kiss is touching foreheads. The Moose kiss is touching noses (I like it better than Eskimo kisses, she doesn't know what an Eskimo is). Chipmunk kisses is touching cheeks. Mama kisses are on the lips. Angel kisses are when I kiss her eyes before she sleeps. and her FAVORITE...bunny kisses: making sniffing sounds near her ears and neck. We have so much fun! I love to kiss her. How do you stop?! Well, when she starts throwing a fit or tries to hit you away, helps.

Logan and I are trying to convince ourselves that there is something wrong with Vinnie, so we can be done with him. Like he has some sort of mental issue that is causing him to be such a crappy dog. Tonight we were paying him all sorts of attention and Tallulah was throwing the ball for him, everything was great, then he decides to just stop and whiz in the middle of the living room. No down time, no asking, no pacing, nothing. There HAS TO BE something wrong with him, right?! Sometimes he listens. sometimes he is a good dog. sometimes I like him. sometimes he obeys. SOMETIMES DOESN'T CUT IT! Thankfully (for him) Tallulah LOVES HIM...She gets all upset when I let him out, when he is behind the gate, when he doesn't play with her. SO I guess that IS why he is still here.

I just can't say enough about how sweet my T is. Tallulah was being demanding and I was overwhelmed by so many things, I started crying. Tallulah immediately stops and changes her heart. face as apathetic as can be, says "mama, cry?" rubs my arm, pats it, wipes the tears from my cheeks and holds my face against her tummy. She puts her hands around my neck, holding my face and just looks at me, takes her pacifier out (tries to put it in my mouth) and kisses my face and continues to gently touch my face. She has been my gift here on earth. I never thought I would be comforted by anyone the way my mother comforts me, but here is my daughter, (unspoken) knowing and doing exactly what I needed.

Thank you for this awesome child. my dear friend. my first born daughter. She is my gift...and the worlds.

Christmas Eve eve

We are getting excited for Christmas; we are all done with everything. Logan made Tallulah a rocking walrus and it turned out awesome...I will post the pictures soon.

Tomorrow WE celebrate Christmas when we wake up (christmas eve morning) so we aren't rushed to 'fit in' our christmas celebration between all the others. I cannot wait to see how T reacts to the walrus, she is gonna love it...we will post the video once we do it.

Oh the love we have for this sweet child. We just want to bless her little heart out...makes me think how our God feels for us. Our love is not dependent on how she is or how she acts, but just is; and you can't help but want to love on her every chance you get yet knowing that sometimes we have to be firm or disciplinary because of that love. I am so glad HE was an example for us...IS an example, I should say.

Thank you Jesus for loving our guts.

Hey YOU GUYS!!!!

So one of the shows Tallulah likes to watch on PBS is called "The Electric Company"...when they get into a situation they call to the others in the 'electric company' by putting their hands near their mouth and yell "hey you guys!" and well, the others come and they try to fix/solve the issue.

So yesterday, Tallulah and I were sitting on the couch and her sippy cup spilled a little milk on the couch. She jumps up off the couch and puts her hands near her mouth and yells "hey ya GUYS!"

I had to laugh.

I wish my eyes were cameras

Oh how I wish my eyes were video cameras...

Tallulah pointing to her little dish: I just, I just want some candy right there (clear as day).

Me: (laughing) you just want candy right there?!

Tallulah: (head cocked to the side and nodding) um, ya! ya mama! (like, You are so smart, that is exactly what I said) Me: show me...where is the candy (since we don't give her candy)

she walks me to the fridge with her right arm behind her back, swaying her left one, points to the door, I open it, and she lifts her hand up and points to the chocolate chips...and says "this"...I grab the chocolate chips, still laughing. She walk to the table and sits on her stool and says "Thank you."

Oh how I love this child.

ya see that?!

Tallulah's new thing (for the last week or so), "ya see 'at?!"

It is November 20th and it's snowing. Tallulah thinks it is making a mess. She is very upset at the idea and what it is doing to her playset, the outdoor chairs and table, and what it would be doing to her hair if she were out there...

We turned on the fire and she stood there rubbing her hands together just like her daddy would, even though it wasn't emitting any heat yet.

She is such a girl and a dramatic one, at that. But none the less, a complete hunny, full of compassion and love. A born nurturer. She is so thoughtful. Is finally at a 'stage' that she gets along with others (for the most part). We talk about seeing her cousins or her friends and she claps and says 'happy!' She thinks every time they get together it is a party...and she likes parties.

She is a beautiful girl and we are completely blessed by her; she has already lived up to her name...'abundant gift of God'. She is truely a gift to me. I am excited to see what the Lord has planned for us regarding Sophia (meaning= wisdom). HE makes the BEST of girls.

summer or fall?

We are going to CA this weekend for a full weekend of fun. Nick and Tiff's tonight (giving them a massage) for dinner and a bed, Apple Hill on Saturday, seeing an ol' friend Saturday night, a wedding on Sunday, brunch with Logan's family on Monday...then home. And then post the pictures :)
The 'idea' of summer is always long awaited here, sun, water, beach, camping, etc...but it is always CRAZY busy and we have to cram the 'relaxing and enjoying' in when we can. I so look forward to fall. Crisp air, sunny days, cool nights, great smells, tea, Narnia, tradition, changing colors, family, and time. As well as going into overdrive getting presents done for nieces and nephews, since everyone is born in Nov and Jan, with Christmas smashed in the middle...but I LOVE IT. All that inspiration and thought coming into being.

God brings change to make all things beautiful again. Why are we so against 'change' in our own lives? It looks like autumn to the God of the universe. A beautiful transformation. Maybe THAT is why I love fall.
sigh.

Jehovah Jirah

My provider. I am so thankful to have a God that provides and answers prayers. He is ever faithful, and not in the way we expect Him to be. But He knows best. He has continued to bless us and meet our needs. I will not be surprised when He continues to meet our needs.

I will continue to be thankful for my parents and the gift they are to us. Mom gave us peaches so I can make some baby food for T and they are delish. (fresh from a guy my dad works with).

and...I got a $50 tip yesterday at work...because of his wisdom and provision.

We must be faithful. and know HE provides.

T and Paisely Dec 2008

I had to post the youtube link of a video we took at my brother-in-law Jordan's house. I cannot get enough of this baby and her laugh. I could watch it everyday. I wanted to put it here so I can have it archived somehow...enjoy my child that HE has blessed us with.

Watch T and Paisely laughing

like mother, like daughter.

So I think I can see what my brothers meant when they said I get 'crazy eyes' when I eat ribs...

U...me!

It is so neat to watch Tallulah at this stage, growing and learning so quickly. She likes to take care and nurture EVERYTHING. Becoming more like a 'mama'...now she wants to change everything's buns (don't lay on your back on the floor!). She always wants to play with the wipes, (what child doesn't?), so the other day I let her play with the container, knowing it was empty. It has the word HUGGIES in the lid. Tallulah pointed at the H and so I said "Ay-ch"and she repeated, then she pointed to the S and so I said "Esss" and so did she, then the U, so I said "u" and T responds with "ME!"and points to herself. That's right! Ahh, so sweet watching her connect the dots.

on a similar note, during the summer, we would go out front and watch the bees on the lavender bushes...Tallulah loved watching the bees and it was a good way to teach her to say "BEES" and know what they were. She said it the most darling way 'bees' can ever be said, "beebs"
...we would praise her and she knew we loved it. I would try to get her to say it for other people and sometimes she wouldn't, so I would distract her and say "chochie, i love you...(pause) say BEES"...and sometimes she would. Well one morning when she woke up, i said to her "I love you" and went to kiss her and she responded, "beebs" (like OKAY Mom! I will say it, are you happy!?)
...the other side of the 'bees' coin is this...(gears turning, dots connecting) We have taught T her body parts- head, eyes, feet, tummy,....boobies...as well as all different animals and things. We would ask her where they were, what sound they made, and so on. Well, when we asked her "where are the bees?" she grabbed her chest and said "boo...beebs"...I guess that IS a type of bee.

bubbles

Bubbles...it means different things at different times. We play with bubbles alot, outside, you know, the classic bubble wand and bubbles. It's all Tallulah wants to do. She LOVES bubbles. Last week I gave her her first bubble bath. Putting them all over her body, splashing around, breaking up the bubbles, listening to the bubbles... again, LOVED. She likes to shake up a water bottle and watch and hear the bubbles. Well, as of recently, she grabs her diaper area and says "bubbles!" Come to find out, that is what she calls her toots now...makes sense...if you think about it.

Tallulah's first painting

So last night, before T's bedtime, we sat down and painted her first painting. She had a cold. She loved it. Logan said, 'painting just with water on the brush won't cut it anymore'...but sure enough, after she saw Mama dip and clean the brush off in the mug of water, that is all she wanted to do, again..."hey Choochie, would you like to use the red?" "NO" "how about the yellow...green...blue...?" "NO." Painting with water. Maybe it is the ability to put it in and out as SHE pleases and feel like she is getting away with something. So I asked Logan if he would use my watercolor pencils and draw some simple things on watercolor paper so tonight she can see results from painting with water...we will see how that goes.
I will post some pictures of the 'event' soon.

So, I have realized I don't remember many things...I want to, and I think they are SO important that I could never forget, but I do and WILL. Hopefully this is an "easy" way for me to write them down so they can be found and remembered somewhere other than my "mama" brain. We will see if this works and I continue...