The Talens' Tales

With the new baby, one of the most common question I get is how is Joash handling it. And to be honest, I think he is a pretty awesome big brother. He loves Mataya and he tells her that. He loves to get her to smile or coo at him, and she does it for him all the time. He always keeps an eye out for her and tells me when she spits, or rolls or touches him. And she eats up all of the attention. They are quite the pair. This is Joash's idea of "getting a few toys for Mataya to play with on her blanket. I think she has enough. The only differences I have seen in Joash is that he is a bit more moody and little things can turn quickly to tears, especially if he is tired. He doesn't like to go to nursery any more. And he has developed a fear of the dark. But, it is hard to say if these things are due to Mataya entering our life, or just the fact that he is almost three. So, if anyone has any good tips on how to get a child through his fear of the dark. I am all ears. R...

Mom: Well, Mataya, you have been three months for a little while now, but we still haven't done your interview. Now that the computer is fixed, let's do it! M(ataya): Sounds good! Mom: So what is new Mataya? M: Lots of things are new, mom. Where should I start?  Mom: Well, what new things have you tried? M: I have tried the exersaucer, which is a lot of fun. I have also tried rolling. I worked really hard on it for a week, mastered it, and now I am pretty content to be on my back again. But, I am sure glad my arms are free from my swaddle now. It helps me take better naps.  Mom: I can tell. While it may take you a bit to fall asleep for you nap, once you are asleep, you usually take a nice long nap. What else do you like to do? M: I like to play on my gym and hang on to the legs of the monster and frog that dangle from it. I also like to watch my brother and smile and coo at him. And I really like to smile for my dad. I really like him. Mom: I know. I ...

No pictures today as the computer is still out of order. It hasn't actually made it to the repair shop yet, but I don't really want to start to put pictures on the farm laptop. I would rather keep everything in the same space. But, I do have a few fun stories and Joash quotes to share and some notes on what is happening Mataya's world.  Yesterday, Joash was asking me a question. I don't remember what it was exactly, but it was something that either did not know the answer to or a question that didn't really have a "right" answer. I asked Joash what he thought. His responded, " I don't know. I will figure it out when I am older." Last night at supper I said to Joash that Mataya and I were going to read the Bible for devotions. He said, "Mataya can't do that!" "Why not?" I asked, expecting to get an answer like she is too little or she can't read yet. But Joash confidently stated, "She can't turn the pa...

There is going to be a small lag in blog posts while our computer gets fixed. I can write all I want yet, but I am not able to post any pictures at this point in time. So, I will try to keep you all up dated, but it will be a little bit before there are new pictures.

Well, there is another US citizen in the world today. We headed down to Halifax this week to report Mataya's birth and get her US passport. Our appointment was at 9:30 in the morning, so we decided to make a little family trip out of it and head down on Tuesday and stay in a hotel. As you can see, Mataya was excited about the trip...  The trip down went pretty well. We have learned though that Mataya does not like her car seat as much as her brother did. So, we made a few more pit stops than we normally would, which was probably okay with a newly potty trained two year old. We spent the night in a hotel that was right downtown and connected to the building the US consulate is in with the ped-way system, which as pretty awesome. We got settled, found some supper and then Joash and Wilbert checked out the pool and I put Mataya down for the night. Joash was quite fond of the "logs" to sit on in our hotel lobby. We also learned on this trip that sleep in the same r...

Joash loves to play hide and seek. He is not very good at though yet. First of all, when it is my turn to hide and his turn to count, he counts way too fast and I hardly have time to get into a decent spot to hide. Second, when it is his turn to hide he does a pretty good job of finding a place to hide in the house. (Outside, he thinks if he is near the trees, he is hidden, even though he is plainly in view.) But as soon as he knows you are looking,  he starts to say, "Here I am! Over here!"  Today after supper, we prayed as we always do. We always have to remind Joash to close his eyes and fold his hands. He is pretty good at doing it, but he often covers his eyes with his hands. Tonight, after we said "Amen," Joash had his hands over his eyes. "Where are you?" he asked. Wilbert asked the question back to Joash and he replied, "Over here!" Then he took his hands off his eyes, giggled, and said, "My eyes were hiding!"  Here is ...

Joash talks...a lot. I love him to pieces, but I am thankful for nap time and bed time so my ears can have a rest. But, I was thinking today how some of the phrases and things he uses now are quite funny, but they are also phrases he will not say forever. So, here are a few of my favorites. 1) "Get Blood" = "This may start to bleed." 2) Screwdrivers screw things, so a pliers must ply things, right? 3)"Broom it up" = sweep 4) Hippo Cereal = Special K Red Berry (I have no idea why, but that is what he calls them.) 5) "What say?"= "Can you repeat that please?" 6) Slide Fast and Swing = his favorite activity with Wilbert where he holds Wilbert's hands, slides between Wilbert's legs and then swings back up into the air. 7) "You can __________, if you want too." = I really want you to do this. And here a cute picture of Wilbert with a full lap at coffee time.

It was my birthday on Saturday, so Wilbert asked me what I wanted to do. Since it was nice weather, I decided to have a picnic in the park. We opted for the easy picnic and picked up Subway and headed to the Elliot River Dream Park. It was a lovely day. After our lunch, Wilbert and Joash explored the park. They found musical instruments...  played a bit of hide and seek...  and tried out the slides. Joash did pretty good in the park, but he is still pretty timid and cautious over all. He never really dared to go down a slide by himself, but he was running around on his own by the end. After we were finished at the park, we stopped for dessert at Cows Ice Cream since we didn't get an ice cream cone we went earlier in the week. It was very tasty! In the evening, we had a bonfire and invited lots of people over. At 5 in the afternoon, we had a crazy thundershower pop up right over us and it rained like crazy. But by 7, the weather was great and once it got dark...

Yesterday and today we said good-bye to Jander and Tiffany. They heading to Uganda for the next year where Jander is teaching music at school in Kampala. You can follow there adventure here .  We have been enjoying seeing them so much this summer. Joash and Mataya love their oom and tante (uncle and aunt for you non-Dutch speakers). Jander and Tiffany are really great about spending time with them.   The boys also had to get in one last trombone duet before they left. Mataya was sleeping inside, so they opted to play outside. So our neighbors got a nice recital as well. (Nice borrowed red crocs Wilbert!) Joash gave the trombone a try too! It is a bit big for him right now, but he will grow into it. It will be interesting to see which instrament he picks some day. We will miss you Jander and Tiff, but have an awesome time serving the Lord in Uganda!