The Talens' Tales

This past Sunday was the birthday of Wilbert's mom. His brother created a fun photo scavenger hunt for the family to do in downtown Charlottetown on Saturday. The weather was great and we had a good time. Here are some highlights   Joash by the bronze mouse "It's fun to bank the at the RBC..."  Our best attempt at the "Jump Shot." Joash stayed pretty stationary. Joash trying on a t-shirt at Cows. The day also invovled lunch at Cora's and desserts at Mavor's, so it was a great afternoon. Happy Birthday!

This past weekend had some great weather that assured me that spring is thinking about coming. We spent a bit of time outside, which was great. One thing one must do every spring is clean up the yard. We have a lot of trees around our house which meant a lot of sticks to be picked up. And since this is our first spring here, we were wonderfully surprised by these: There is a whole area that is just full of flowers coming up, which is so nice. And there are some tulips and daffodils in other places. I am looking forward to seeing what this place looks like in other seasons.

M(om): Joash, can you believe you are 6 months old already? J(oash): Sure I can, Mom. It feels like I have been around for a long time. M: So, what is new with you these days?  J: Well, I love to play, eat, sleep (sometimes) and roll over. I find it funny how excited you get when I roll over in front of you. I wish I could touch more things with my hands. Don't you see me always reaching for stuff, Mom? How come you push so many things out of my way? M: I don't quite think you are ready to handle plates, glasses and silverware. I think you need to start smaller, like with a sippy cup or something. What are eating these days? J: I have started eating rice cereal, which is really yummy and today I had oat cereal for the first time and that was really good too.  M: Any favorite toys or activities? J: I love going to different places and seeing all of the different people and things around me. I also like playing with many of my toys, but my favorite right now is either the Ex...

"Do you like my hair cut? Mom sure want me to look good for my grandma and aunts." Well, I did it. I trimmed Joash's bangs. If his hair was all swept forward, it was getting in his eyes. So, rather than have a child that looks like belongs in the 50's, we pinned him down and did a quick trim. He was not a fan of it at all, but it makes him look brighter. I am noticing that this picture makes it look like it is really crooked, but I think it is pretty straight when his hair is all swept forward.  I would also like to trim around Joash's left ear, but that scares me a bit. I don't want to cut his ear. Any advice? Just a few more days until my family arrives. Hurray!

"I am super excited to see my grandma and my aunts in one week!" All of us our very excited for our visitors that are coming next week. I also hope that next week brings good health. I am so sick of being sick. I still have a cold and it is now migrated to my nose. I can't decide which is better - a perpetual cough or a runny nose. Joash is struggling with a cold as well. Yesterday he coughed so much that he spit up most of the meal he had just finished. That only happened once though. So, we are both trying to get as much sleep as we can and doing all of the other stuff you do when you have a cold. On another note, mostly for my sister in California, we are bracing for a nice bit of snow today. But don't worry, it will probably be gone again tomorrow. Come on spring! We are ready for you.

I can't wait to see you! It is April 15th, a happy day for my mom and all other in the US accounting world. Hurray! You have survived another tax season!

Here is Joash's latest sleeping position - his bum up in the air. I personally don't know how it can be comfortable to sleep on your knees, but I know he is not the only baby to ever do this. As for Joash's sleep (are you sick of hearing about this already?), his nights are still rather unpredictable, but he seems to be more consistently only waking up once during the night, which is still pretty good. Though now when he wakes, he doesn't really seem hungry, so I think I am going to have to try some other things to see what he needs to calm back down so he can sleep. He finally seems to be falling into a more predictable nap schedule as well. He typically takes two 1-1/2 to 2 hour naps and then a 1/2 hour cat nap in the late after noon. It nice to know what to expect now when he goes down for a nap, since I am a person who likes routine.

Here is Joash reminding his dad about where his nose is. Joash has a little cough lately and every once in a while it gets in the way of his eating. Twice now while drinking his bottle, he has had a little coughing attack that has led to him spitting up and then milk coming out of both his mouth and his nose. The poor little guy. Here is works so hard to eat and then a bunch comes back up and in a way that doesn't feel very good considering his reaction to it all.

In the ever going debate about who Joash looks like, I am pretty certain that he looks a lot like my dad. This picture is a pretty good example, I think. Speaking of pictures, Joash had his first professional portraits taken and he did a great job. We are all counting down the days until grandma and the aunts come. We can't wait!

"Do you like the lion on my bib? I like it because when I wear it, it means I get to eat cereal!" Well, with my illness the last few weeks, I just needed some more sleep. So, I started Joash on some cereal  before bed. And he LOVES it! Now, as soon as he swallows his bite, he has his mouth opened waiting for the next one. He leans in to get to the spoon faster and just gobbles up the cereal. And it does help him sleep a bit better. He now gets up on only once in the night again between 4 and 5 AM. So that has certainly helped this mom to feel a better.

Family is one of the most important things in our lives and especially in the life of a young child. So what child, when her family is broken for one reason or another, wouldn’t dream of a happy reuniting of her family? Promises to Keep by Ann Tatlock is the story of two young girls who become friends and then learn that they each have the same dream—to be reunited with their fathers. They promise to pray each day that they will be able to be with their fathers again. Both of the girls learn eventually that their dream cannot ever be fulfilled as they truly hope. This was a very engaging story to read. I loved the small town setting and the characters that all knew each other from way back. I also appreciated how the Christian themes where clear, but not overstated or pushy. I found the voice of the Roz, the eleven year old narrator, to be very realistic. Sometimes children as narrators can seem too old or too young. But Roz was very skillfully written, bringing both the innocence ...

Sorry to all of you who check frequently for updates. It has been a while, I know. Probably my longest break since I got back to blogging after Joash was born. There are two really good reasons for my vacation from blogging. First, I was sick. Feverish for four days. All I did from Sunday until yesterday was sleep, eat (because I knew I should, not because I was hungry) and feed my son. Oh and I did laundry, because the poor boy needed some clothing. It was pretty bad. Had I still been teaching, I would have needed a sub for at least three days. The most I ever missed while teaching was two days in a row. But finally now I am feeling so much better. I think I had a combination of things, but I will spare you the details. I did try out the walk-in clinics here on the island, since I couldn't get into see my doctor, and let me tell you, I learned a lot that day. But, I did finally see a doctor and got some meds which have greatly helped my recovery. Second, our internet was actin...