The Talens' Tales

Well, Joash's second tooth finally came out. It had been very loose for a long time, but it hung in there. We were hopeful that since loosing the first tooth was not a very dramatic event, loosing teeth would be  breeze. This was not quite the case. It was just before supper time and Joash and Mataya were on the trampoline together. Mataya came running to the house to say Joash needed me, so I went to him and he is crying and saying his mouth hurts. I am still not sure what happened exactly, but I eventually figure out that his loose tooth hurt. I had a good look and could tell it had just been pushed out of where it normally sits, causing the pain. I told him it just needed to come out and then his mouth will feel fine. But he would have nothing to do with it. No one, including himself, could touch his tooth. He could not push it with this tongue and also he refused to close his mouth. This meant droll was pouring out of his mouth. Then it was time to eat supper. This, of co...

Yes, it is snowing again. There was school yesterday, but that might turn out to be the only day this week, depending on how long today's storm lasts.  Here is Gideon to bring a smile to you by showing off his latest trick.

We had a quick moving winter storm move across the island last night. It was an already scheduled day off of school, so we all stayed nice a cozy inside.  Joash decided this was a great time to made the craft that came in his latest issue of High Five magazine - the shoebox guitar. So then, of course, Mataya needed one too. And when Wilbert came in for coffee time, they thought they should all play their guitars together.  Gideon was a fan of the music, too, once he woke up from his nap.

If you are friends with us on Facebook, you have been seeing a few videos of the kids learning how to ice skate. It has been fun to see them be so excited about this and Joash especially has been very motivated. Now, I have ice skated, but I am not confident enough on ice skates to teach the kids. This is Wilbert's territory. But today was such a lovely, sunny and calm day that Gideon and I went along. I did have on my skates for a bit, and I can do it, but I am no where near comfortable enough to teach the kids or do all the things Wilbert is able to do with them. Talking about it with Wilbert the other day, he asked, "So you didn't have skating parties with your school or anything?" "We had roller  skating parties," I replied, and a flood of memories came back. We did all of our roller skating party at The Grand Roller Rink. We had roller skating parties with church and school growing up. I remember learning to skate in the kiddie rink. And t...

Gideon has been having fun testing out his voice lately he. He has now mastered the "growl" and he does it all the time. We always laugh when we hear it and I think he must like that reaction because it often leads to his laughter and the more growling. Here is a taste for you.

What has Gideon been up to lately? Being an incredibly good baby! He is pretty content to eat, sleep, smile, coo and roll over. I even managed to catch a smile on camera this morning. He is starting to really play with his toys and he loves to see his siblings. We sure love this little guy!

Mataya has certainly been growing up lately and showing us that she is three and she means it. "I do it myself," is a constant chorus we hear all day long from her. This includes picking out her clothes, which ends up some great outfits like this: We are also working on mastering using the potty. She is doing pretty well over all. She can be a bit hit or miss and is not totally accident free, yet, but she is well on her way and I am enjoying only changing one bum around here. She also had started to like to play with the play kitchen food a lot and like to make lunches and picnics and takes snacks everywhere. She is also starting to care for her baby doll a bit more than she used too. The other day when I was feeding Gideon, she plopped down next to me and started to feed her baby.

Just a few quick, "heard around the house lately" from here. These are some we want to make sure we remember. ********************************************** Mataya loves to swing. She has also learned from her brother that twisting on the swing is fun. While twisting, she always shouts, "My busy, my busy." She mean, "I'm dizzy." *********************************************** Mataya must live in opposite world lately, or something. It seems like so many of the things she says, she really mean the opposite. Walk into a dark room. "Me turn light off." Standing by the sink to wash hands. "Me turn water off." Spending a day at home. "Me want to go home." While she can speak clearly enough, this is certainly making it a bit more challenging for us to figure out what she wants. ************************************************ Joash trying to convince Mataya to taste her ice cream. "Ice cream...

Mataya has a lot of things to say. And we are fairly impressed with her vocabulary. Here is a little video of her "reading" a book. Sorry for my lack of camera skills at certain parts and rather loud brother in the background, but I do hope you can catch what she is saying. 

Oh to be 4. Some of the things Joash says and does really make us laugh. Here is a little smattering from the last few weeks. Joash has suddenly decided that "working" at the desk in his room is really cool. Now when he wakes up in the morning, he looks out the window and then sits at his desk and draws me a picture. Yesterday he said,"I maybe a little late for school tomorrow, since I have to draw you a picture when I wake up in the morning." ************************************* One day Wilbert let Joash sit on his lap in the tractor and help move the loader and steer. He then declared, "I am all growed up to be a man. I am great helper now for Daddy!" ************************************* The other day I was getting after Joash for climbing on top of the kitchen table.  "When can I climb up on a table, Mom?" "When you have money and buy your own table."  "But that won't work. There isn't any roo...

I am very much enjoying how Mataya is learning to recognize things and she is quickly grasping the idea of pointing things out in the pictures in books.  A few days ago, we read this story in the children's Bible for devotions after lunch.  Mataya quickly pointed at Abraham and said "Opa!" She was very excited and we all found it rather funny. Opa and Oma are away right now, so I guess she misses them.

Mataya is a pretty independent kid already. Much different than Joash not only when he was 1, but even now at 3 1/2. Joash still want help for all sorts of things, while Mataya would much rather try them on her own. One thing she really likes doing by herself is feeding herself. She enjoys using a spoon and even wants to try a fork every once and while. While this is nice, mealtime is by no means a clean event. So many times this summer so far, especially during supper we have just let Mataya eat in only her diaper and then put her right in the bathtub after supper.  This is what she looked like after supper a few nights ago. I think she enjoyed rubbing applesauce all over her belly a bit too much.

We have been busy the last little while, but I don't have any pictures to prove it. So, you will just have to take my word for it. Two weeks ago we were on a vacation with the extended Talen family to New Horton, NB. We stayed at the New Horton Lake Inn and used the vacation home they have there so we could all stay together, have a spot to cook, etc. It was lovely and we knew a bit of what to expect because we had stayed in the same spot 4 years ago. But this time around there were more in-laws and the two grand kids to throw in the mix, so it was a bit different from the last time. But it was a lot of fun. New Horton is located on the Fundy coast right in between Fundy National Park and the Hopewell Rocks . So we did some hiking and things like that. Since the kids needed naps in the afternoon, we went to a destination in the morning, were back for lunch and then the kids napped and we could do what we wanted in the afternoon. There was a lot to do with on the Lake and lots of...

First, a joke from Joash (who didn't even really know this was a joke, but I thought it was pretty cute.) J: Knock, knock Mom: Who's there? J: I Mom: I who? J: I love you! That was a nice joke that certainly made me smile. And now the reason I haven't been posting much lately. This sick little girl. She has been so sick this week. Super sleepy, no appetite, a fever for a day and super congested. I did take her into the doctor and she is on an antibiotic for a sinus infection. Her ears were clear, so that is good. She seems to be slowly getting better, but I am eager to have my smiley, giggly, energetic girl back. 

That's right! We have moved on to pigtails as well. She looks pretty cute! And here she is doing one of her favourite things, crawling through the exersaucer. Why just sit and jump in your exersaucer when you can crawl through it? Another think Mataya likes to do these days is dance. If you say the word "dance" she does a little wiggle - her version of dancing.

This week a stomach flu bug visited our house. Mataya was first, though I had convinced myself all of her symptoms were teething related. Then Joash got sick in bed during the night. I was sick the entire next day and it hit Wilbert this morning. Thankfully, it seems like a 24 hour thing, so you bounce back pretty quickly. The kids are great, and I am pretty close, so hopefully Wilbert is back on track tomorrow. I am thankful  for a husband who has the flexibility to stay home for a good chunk of the day if needed, in-laws across the road to take the kids for few hours and that Wilbert and I were sick on different days. God is good! But needless to say, this was a pretty low key Valentine's Day. But thanks for the fun package, Grandpa and Grandma! And here is a smile from Mataya for you: That's right, we are sporting a ponytail now. Her front section of hair is quite long and was starting to get in her eyes all of the time. So we are now doing the side ponytail, which i...

There has been a lot of laughter in our house lately and here are a few of the stories. Mataya is much different from her brother and LOVES bath time. She has recently learned how to splash in the tub. I have just have her sitting up in the tub and she will splash and splash the water with her hands. She gets so excited that she starts to move her feet too, which has caused her to tip over a few times. So, I watch her pretty close and love the smiles and laughter from my wet little girl. Joash often has funny things to say. Yesterday, I was put on a pair of tights at home and noticed they had a hole in them. Joash said, "that is too bad, Mom. Where can you get some new ones?" "Probably Target," I said, "I looked last time, but they didn't have any my size." Joash replied, "Well next time maybe one of those conveyor belt ladies can find some for you." I guess he is figuring out what a cashier does!

Joash loves boxes. At Christmas time, he tried to hide in the box our fake Christmas tree is stored in. Anytime a box comes in the mail, he snags it and uses it to play with for several days. We had a box kicking around yesterday. I was working in the kitchen, when I heard Joash say, "Mom! I am hiding!" And this is what I found.  There he is! He also pointed out to me that he had used his keys to make an air hole in his "house." You can see it in the picture above. I am glad he is so concerned about being able to breathe!

A little video of some super cuteness for your Friday! Enjoy!

Well, if feels like fall is coming to a close. It is time to get out the winter gear.  We have even had a bit of snow. Enough even that Joash and Wilbert made the firs snowman of the season. I didn't get a picture of it, but Joash was so excited to play in the snow. In other news, Mataya has started cereal and she loves it! And a little funny story for you. Wilbert most often shaves with an electric shaver. Joash has watched the process numerous times. The other day Joash comes over to me and says, "Mom, do you like my shaver?" I look and in his hands his is holding his small battery powered tow truck. It has buttons on it that play music, made various tow truck noises and ones that turn on the motor that drives the truck either forward or backward. "Your shaver?" I ask. "Yes. See?" And he proceeds to push the button that makes the truck self propel forward and holds the spinning wheels on side of his face. His shaver. Too cute!