You Are My Sunshine

I love the sunshine, and I've been so blessed to have had so many opportunities to get to the river this summer. My tan is coming along quite nicely, and little Miss T. just LOVES being outdoors. We were so excited to try out her array of swimsuits and to try out her new floatie. We were afraid she would cry once her feet hit the cold water, but she was such a good girl and she floated around for quite awhile. I had to head back down to Miranda today since I forgot my camera down there, and I was so glad that my mom and the kids decided to come with me for another chance to hop in the water. We drug down the kayak and jumped in the river to cool off. Nana held the baby while I played with Mike and Genesis for a bit. Ahhhhh. I could do this every single day and not tire of it.

Cherry Pickin' Time!

Buying this house was one of the best decisions, and the cherry tree in our backyard was definitely a key factor in the purchase. It's gorgeous year round, with the dark limbs in winter and the buds flowering in the spring. Thank God it's summertime and we're outside picking off those plump, juicy cherries and eating them 'till our bellies ache. Michael and Genesis climbed up on the tall ladder, despite the gusts of wind to help me fill our bucket. After our hard work, Talullah rocked Genesis to sleep while I started dinner before Nick got home.

Dinner time!!!

The bumbo seat has been such a life saver. For the first three months of my little girls life I held her while cooking every meal. No... really. Lucky for me, Laura found me a bumbo seat at a yard sale for $5 and it has allowed me to cook with two hands once again. Much, much safer now that she's grabbing and anything and everything. Talullah is such a mommy's little girl; she wants to help in any way she can. Here she is getting ready to grate the cheese!

Father's Day

It was Nick's first Father's Day! Every day it seems I find yet another reason to love my husband, and being a wonderful dad tops the list. Sunday started out in a rush, barely waking up in time to make it to the early 9:00 service. We had an hour to kill after church before we were scheduled to meet the rest of the Downey clan for lunch and my eyes had still not fully opened. Nick took Talullah and let me squeeze in a cat nap before we headed out. I know, I know... it's HIS special day and I'm the one getting special treatment. We enjoyed a nice lunch at the brewery and then headed to my parents to celebrate fatherhood some more and give my dad a little TLC. I love taking Miss. T in the hot tub since she's enjoys the water so much. Nana bought her a little suit that we just had to try out, so I hopped in with the kids and endured some face splashing and bickering... how will I ever handle Talullah when she reaches her teens?! We're all hoping that God pours down buckets of patience before we get to that point. It was a busy, busy day, but I'm hoping that the dad's in my life had a good Father's Day. They surely deserve it.

Precious Moments

It seems like there is always so much going on, I could post three blogs a day with a photo for each. But, I'll refrain and keep it short. Michael and Genesis are staying in town and it's been such a blessing to spend so much quality time with them. Attempting to keep them busy, we're getting out of the house more than usual and taking advantage of the great photo ops. We have taken a picnic to the park, gone to the river and cheered for Nick at his Monday night softball game. And awww... look... she's getting her first taste of coffee. Good thing it's decaf! I just LOVE summer.

SLEEP

Oh my gosh. I forgot to mention this, and this news is SO big, I just couldn't wait to post it. It's huge. Talullah had her last feeding at about 9 pm last night while we were sitting in the front yard gathered around the fire pit w/ the Downey's making smores and fantastic conversation. Nick finally put her in the crip at about 10, but she had been fast asleep for awhile. I must have woke around midnight and went to check on her, as I usually do. Paranoid, over bearing mother, I am. She was fast asleep with a little smile on her face dreaming of milk and her mothers arms, no doubt. I went back to my bed and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. The next time my eyes popped open was at the sound of my baby's cries from her room down the hall. First thing I noticed... it was light outside. I shook my sleeping husband to have him check the clock and found that it was 5:30 in the am. By FAR the longest stretch of sleep I've gotten in months. I mean, I've been getting up three times a night since three months into the pregnancy... to eat, to use the restroom, to find or never find a more comfortable position, to feed the baby, to make sure she's breathing, to pat her back to sleep, etc. My sweet little girl went a full 8 hours without eating. She's growing up so fast.

I love weddings!

Today was Matthew & Sarah's wedding, and I absolutely love weddings. They just make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and I always hold my husband just a little tighter after attending. Not only are weddings a joyous and blessed event, it's one of the only excuses to get a little dressed up in Humboldt County. And I'm all about anything girly. So, congratulations to Matt and Sarah and all of our love and prayers for their future together. They are such a sweet young couple with so much happiness ahead of them. And, for the scrapbook, here are some pictures of The Downey Jr.'s on our way to the ceremony. Dang it, we're cute.