Pretty as a Princess

Look at her beautiful french braid, too!!! It may have took blood, sweat, and tears, and holding her down to finish the braid... but boy oh boy did her hair look cute!

Christmas craziness

Just a few more pictures to represent our holiday celebration. I fell in love with the picture of Logan and Talullah. Doesn't it look like he must be whispering secrets in her ear?

A day in the life of Miss Talullah

Rarely is there a dull moment with this girl around. She keeps us on our toes and often has me in tears...laughing, that is. Her new phrase is "I don't know." Example: "Talullah! WHY did you pull all the bulbs off the Christmas tree?!?! You know better than that!" Talullah's reply as she sits in her princess dress up clothes, shrugging up her shoulders, serious as can be... "I dun knew."

Peek-a-boo

Holiday Cheer

What a fantastic Christmas. First we celebrated with my parents, then spent the evening with the Downey clan. My brother and his family came over the day after, so we had two complete Christmases. Talullah is definitely into unveiling gifts, tearing open the wrapping paper and getting animated about the gift inside. Berlyn was much more subdued, sleeping through much of the excitement. Logan enjoyed pounding on a box more than playing with any toy. As for all of the 'grown ups', we all received much more than we needed or expected and we just sat back and enjoyed the festivities. Christmas fills the air with such coziness and comfort. What a wonderful way to end the year.

*T thinks her new baby should play Jesus in the nativity scene.
*We were opening present and T snuck off to enjoy the gingerbread house.
*Berlyn loves her new baby doll.
* Hooray for millions of tiny toys for mom to clean up.

The best medicine

No matter how bad a day is, hearing your baby laugh just makes everything better.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Visiting Nicks family for the holiday was well worth the 12 hour drive to go see them. They always welcome us with open arms, and we love spending time with the Aunts and Uncles and Cousins. Talullah had a blast playing with all of her cousins, being quite spoiled by all the attention from Grace and Audrey and Jason. Jason took a special liking to her, holding her hand and guiding her around the house with care. Grace and Audrey were trying so hard to get Talullah to sing kareoke with them, but she was a bit shy with the mike. When you're having this much fun, surrounded by so many great people, it's so hard to say goodbye. We'll also miss the walks to the beach and the sunny days since we were greeted in Humboldt by a storm. Oh, Carlsbad. If only your homes weren't priced so high, we would surely be packing our bags and heading south.

Beautiful Baby Berlyn

She is growing so fast. Already she is so alert, holding her head strong and giggling now and again at her dad or sister. I'm always afraid Talullah will be too rough with her, but Berlyn just seems to love the attention. I want her to stay small forever, and at the same time I can't wait to see her personality develop as she changes from newborn to infant to toddler. She's so precious and we love her endlessly.

Visit to great grandma and grandpa Perry

We had the chance to stay a couple days with my grandparents the week of Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, Berlyn was suddenly a very fussy baby. Grandma gave me all kinds of tips on how to stop the fussing though. Grandpa taught Talullah how to sharpen pencils. She was fascinated! We only see my grandparents once a year, so it's always so special to spend time together.

T's first sleep over!

Cousin Gillian came to stay the night! The girls were so silly chasing each other around, and it was the perfect opportunity to practice the much dreaded idea of sharing. Looking forward to many more of these as the girls grow up.

The Perry side, plus Nick :)

Really?

This was not what I had in mind when I bought Miss T a toy box. I thought... Ooooh. A nice big box to store all of her toys in to keep my living room nice and tidy. Of course, Talullah just thinks it's an additional toy. All other toys out, and Talullah goes in.

Such a mess...

Josh and Emily gave us two huge crab, and I was so excited I could hardly wait until dinner. When Nick got home, I put them on our plates and we dug in. Splattered in ocean muck and smelling of the sea, we quickly decided that we're more 'imitation' crab kind of folk. All that biting and picking and flinging crab guts all over the kitchen was a work out.

Skills

I wish I could take all the credit, but Dallass did the hardest parts. Together we made this new car seat cover so Baby B can have her own little princess seat while we drive. I'm making a matching blanket, too. ;)

Like father, like daughter

Awhile back...

Here are some cute pics I had on my phone.
*The day we watched Mr. P. He was SUCH a good boy!
*Precious moments. I caught Miss T reading all by herself in the nursery.
*Baby B not so happy about bath time.
*Berlyn, the very good sleeper!
*Me and T smiling for the camera.

Potty training time!!!

Miss T has been watching the Elmo potty training video. It must be working, because while she hasn't showed interest in using the potty chair herself, she loves practicing with her babies. She put her baby in the bumbo seat and said "pshshshshsh". She ran and grabbed the wipes out of her cupboard and....

Walk This Way

We went for a walk on the wild side through the Avenue of the Giants for our weekly Family Fun Day. Talullah was so excited about being outdoors, I think she ran the entire walk through the woods. I forgot the Ergo at home, so Nick and I took turns cuddling Berlyn in our arms to keep her warm. We finished off our adventure with a picnic and then headed home to let Miss T take her nap. More wonderful memories created.

Nighty Night

I enjoyed the most fabulous morning last week. Surprisingly, I woke up at 6:30 and both girls continued their dream state until 7:30! I showered by myself and enjoyed some quiet time, enjoying a full cup of coffee while it was still hot. Very, very rare.

Rain or shine

Rain or shine, Talullah just loves to be outdoors. The sun broke for just a short while, so I let her run out in the grass. As soon as she got through the gate, her clothes were coming off. She headed straight for the pool and hopped in without hesitation.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins everywhere!

We finally made it to the pumpkin patch. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, we were told they were closing in ten minutes. We rushed through the field to pick out pumpkins and then we dashed through the corn maze. I'm not much for Halloween, but boy do I love the Fall! The cold, brisk nights. The bold colors of gourds and pinecones that decorate my house. Hot coffee... the woodstove burning. What a wonderful time of year.