Talia Turns One!

This past weekend was dedicated to one purpose: Spoiling Talia. On Friday, Talia turned one. To honor her on her special day, she received numerous hugs, kisses, serenades, tickles, and blueberry pancakes.







Making our celebration even more special, Grandma and Grandpa Poole came to visit.

Talia played with Grandma and Grandpa.



Grandma introduced Talia to the joy of shopping. Mommy also benefited from the excursion.

Talia enjoyed Ikeda's for lunch and lasagna for dinner.

Saturday was a busy day as we got ready for Talia's big birthday party. After vacillating for a quite a while, we decided to have just a family party. The guest list included; Grandma and Grandpa T. (also our gracious hosts), Grandma and Grandpa P., Uncle Eric, Uncle Mike and Aunt Evelyn, Sophia, Nathanael, Luke, Timothy, and Sarah, Peter, and Anna (well, they are practically family).

Here is the birthday girl.



Talia ate her first cake...



Very slowly.



She ate so slowly that her cousins had to help...



And Anna gave her a few pointers.



The kids rode (and drove) the tractor.



Most of us enjoyed swimming and Talia had her first hot tub experience.



Not to worry, the temperature was only 97 degrees. We managed to fit 11 people in the hot tub! Talia didn't displace too much water :).

Naturally, we watched the Olympics after the outdoor festivities ended.

The next day Talia was dedicated to God in church. More accurately, we dedicated ourselves to raising her in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We appreciate your prayers as we seek to be godly parents.



Our cup runneth over!

One last note, Talia's doctor confirmed that she is still in the 99th percentile on length.

Talia's Thoughts

Mommy says she is too busy to update the blog so I thought I would fill in for her.

Mommy and I have fun all day. We play a game called laundry. Mommy folds clothes and places them in drawers. I reach into the drawers and pull out the clothes. Mommy refolds the clothes and places them back in the drawers. I pull them out. We play this game until I get bored.







Recently I got sick. Mommy and Daddy felt bad for me so they bought me new toys. I like my giant Legos.



You can see who likes them more.



Daddy and Mommy build towers. I try to keep them entertained by knocking them down.



The doctor gave me an inhaler for my throat.



I decide when to use it. Mommy and Daddy thought they could make me; they were wrong.



I love to look through albums.





I can point to my favorite person.



I like to make messes.




Sometimes Daddy and Mommy even make messes for me!



I like to go to birthday parties. Here I am with Mommy and my friends.



Here is the birthday girl.



Here are all the people who love her.




I can do lots of tricks. I can wave "hi" and "bye." I can even suck on my finger for laughs.



Daddy and Mommy love to watch me clap. See my dairy rash?



Did you know I have a brown spot in my eye? Look closely and you will see (Mommy marked it on my Flickr picture).



I like to keep Mommy and Daddy entertained, even when I sleep. They say I look like a frog.



One of my favorite activities is jumping really fast in my jumper. Anything to humor Mommy and Daddy...



Well, I better stop now; Mommy says its time for a nap! Please, Mommy, can I stay up?

Talia Tales

Talia is growing and learning so quickly that I cannot procrastinate on a post any longer.

Jon helped me compile a list of Talia's new skills. They are as follows:

* Using her sippy cup by herself
* Giving us high fives
* Giving us kisses (well, she has been doing that for a couple months)
* Blowing rasberries
* Repeating sounds
* Pointing to Mommy and Daddy in pictures
* Signing "milk"
* Turning the pages of books when asked
* Finding the hidden cat in her dog book
* Standing for a few seconds
* Cruising all over the house
* Demonstrating understanding of: Daddy, Mommy, eat, milk, book, come, stop, let go
* And so much more...

Here are some pictures.

Talia enjoys relaxing in the hammock chair from Auntie Angie.





Talia is not enthusiastic about the slide.




She loves to swing!





Talia's first crawl in the grass.



Talia enjoys dinner while Daddy is hard at work.



Daddy prepares Talia for her first run through the sprinklers.



Talia cautiously feels the spray on her feet.



She is always on the go.



But she certainly has time to play with Daddy.



Talia enjoys Daddy's soda bottle...



And his popsicle.



She loves popsicles!



Talia celebrates Grandpa's birthday...



And Daddy's first Father's Day.



She is definitely a water baby!



Talia enjoys the maiden voyage of her new swing.