Monday, December 8, 2008

Two Months and Counting...

Several people have asked if we plan to maintain our blog. Indeed, we do. Procrastination has left me wondering where to begin. Now that I have broken the ice, let the avalanche begin!

A few have commented on the lack of Talia pictures. There is no true lack, you just need know where to look. Try the Flickr album on the right. We update it every week or so.

Until next post, happy perusing...

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Erin's Waterskiing Adventure



Jon insisted that he post some of my water skiing adventure in Tahoe last weekend. We had an "emergency" vacation (more on that in a future post) and Jon spoiled me with this fantastic opportunity. The last time I water skied was in high school and I had been eager to try again. In Tahoe, a wet suit is customary attire for the casual skier (lake temperature ranges from 41 to 68 degrees). My wet suit was pretty baggy so the initial gush of water filling the suit was the most challenging aspect of the outing. I had so much fun I stayed on the water for 45 minutes (with a short break after the pictured face plant). The boat driver said that the average newbie skis for about 20 minutes. I understood why after several days of sore muscles. We hope to go again in the future.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Talia's first steps!



While Talia has occasionally taken a few steps, this was her first true walking experience.

Please excuse Talia's lack of apparel. She decided to start walking right after Mommy had removed her watermelon dribbled shirt.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

God Bless Texas

Talia and I (Erin) just returned from a vacation in Texas to visit Joy and Joel. We had a fantastic time! I made the mistake of taking our camera without the memory card so I was only able to capture a few pictures. Here are a few highlights:


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Talia loved being with Joy and Joel. They treated her like a princess, even giving her a crown to prove it! The above picture shows them at the Dallas Home Show.


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Talia loved many things about the Marlowe's home, especially the dogs. She loved to pet them...


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Relish their wet kisses,


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And play with them.


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Talia enjoyed a Potbelly sandwich, where we happened to run into Joel's dad and his wife. They helped spoil Talia, too.


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Joy and Talia became good friends. Joy taught Talia how to use a fork.


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Joy gave Talia plenty of walking practice.


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Talia also made friends with Sofia and Brenden. Here she is calling Daddy on the phone (she really said, "Hi Dada").


Talia calls Daddy


We casually looked for a Stetson for Talia. Not finding one before the flight home, I bought a rather inexpensive "Made in Mexico" hat at the airport. It may have cost $6, but she makes it look like a million bucks.


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We are still working on her "yee ha."

Talia ended the trip with a big kiss for Joy. I think they will miss each other, but you should have seen her smile when she saw Daddy waiting for her at the airport!

Now for my thoughts...

Texas has it's own amazing personality. State pride is evident just walking down the street. Many houses flew the state flag or had the lone star ensignia was everywhere. Even the commercials advertising a Texas beer alleged that if you can't find their beer, you must be in a foreign country.

The Texans I met were warm and friendly. Joy and Joel's neighbors waved as they passed by. The owner of the local Chick A Fila spent probably 20 minutes chatting with Joy initially about an inquiry and eventually about life in general. A Texan couple offered to help me at the airport. I got a kick out of the woman at the drug store asking, "Are y'all kin?" Probably one of the nicest evidences of the town pride was an enormous playground that the community built for their children. It was the biggest playground I have ever seen and was financed solely by community donations.

The best part of the trip (and the primary reason for going) was visiting my good friend. Joy reminded me that we met 16 years ago and have been great friends since. We remenisced about our old antics and adventures and spent many hours discussing our lives since then. As is tradition, we played cards and drank Martinelli's sparkling cider. The three girls went on several walks, and Joy and Joel introduced me to Wii Fit. I am very grateful to Jon for allowing me to fly to Texas. It was a selfless act and I truly appreciate his encouragement in making this trip happen. Perhaps we will make a family trip to Texas in the future.

Why the title? The whole time I was in Texas I had a variety country songs running through my head. Songs about yellow roses, Felina, exes, and the promised land created a fitting backdrop to our trip. While Texas has its faults, as do all earthly homes, there is a charm, warmth, and ruggedness that pulls at the heart. So I say it again,

God bless Texas!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

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.

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See Food

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

Talia played with Grandma and Grandpa.

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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.

Birthday Girl

Talia ate her first cake...

Getting ready for cake

Very slowly.

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

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And Anna gave her a few pointers.

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The kids rode (and drove) the tractor.

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

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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.

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Our cup runneth over!

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

Friday, July 25, 2008

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.

Game: Mommy puts clothes away

Talia reaches in

Talia pulls clothes out

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

Talia inspects her new toys

You can see who likes them more.

Erin plays with Mega Bloks

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

Talia's tall tower

The doctor gave me an inhaler for my throat.

Talia tries her inhaler

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

Talia uses her inhaler

I love to look through albums.

Talia looks through the albums

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I can point to my favorite person.

My favorite person

I like to make messes.
I wonder what Talia is doing

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Sometimes Daddy and Mommy even make messes for me!

Practicing Climbing Skills

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

Talia is unimpressed

Here is the birthday girl.

Birthday Girl!

Here are all the people who love her.

Capturing the birthday girl!


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

Finger trick

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

Dairy contact allergy

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

See Talia's Brown Spot

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

Talia takes a frog nap

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

Talia still loves her jumper

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

Too precious!