A Tooth!

So Lil's got some news. She managed to sneak a tooth out without even flinching! Tough little mite.

I don't actually think you can see tooth in this picture. But it's on the bottom gum on the left.


Since she's such a big girl now, we've moved the kiddies in together. Now we have a 'Kid's Room'. Very exciting. (It also means we have a 'Parent's Room' again!) I think Noah's making a great roomie.


It seems Noah's going through a growth spurt. Clothes look smaller. Shoes don't fit... and he's now taken to wandering outside to talk with his friends on the phone. Here he is talking to Jos.


In other news, up at Merroo (where we had our church camp) there were a bunch of animals. It was mostly sheep in the paddock near our room.


Noah had to endure the camp food along with us. I think he coped better than either Katie or me.


Check out Lily's wanna-be rolling skills. She's nearly there :)

Dotty Dresses and Dresses and Dresses

Lily continues to grow and grow and grow! For Katie, that means new outfits to dress up her little beauty in :)


Polka dots. Lily's become very good at sleeping, really, and if things aren't going her way, then her favourite pacifier is always at hand... er, it's her left hand. She loves gobbling on it. If she can get her hand, she's happy; if her hands are lost, she's devastated.


Yellow frills. Lion-rattle-crazy-toys are also pretty good. You might remember this one from Noah's younger days. We dubbed him, Duke Lion.


Pink, with flowers. We went to a nearby (ish) park last weekend to feed the ducks (and swans, and eels, and massive fish, and the turtle!) Lily watched patiently while Noah threw the bread in.


Purple corduroy. These kids are crazy about each other. The admiration and interest in Lily's eyes as she watches he big bro is just adorable. It's nice that Noah has other friends to play with when Lily's asleep, otherwise Lily might find herself an infant insomniac.


Note the hand-holding!


Mmmmm. Vegemite sandwiches.

Family Time Away

Thanks to some close friends we had a family holiday to Mona Vale on the Northern Beaches (as mentioned here). I think it was just what the doctor ordered for a pleasant conclusion to our last Summer holidays here in Sydney... for the Bible College years, anyway. (Yes, we're still planning on coming home at the end of the year. So close now!)

Noah loved playing on the rocks and in the sand. Digging holes, building and then squashing sand castles, watching crabs, collecting shells, hiding things in the sand... you name it. He's still a bit freaked out by waves, but loves water-play, so this place was perfect.


And while we spent almost every available moment at the beach, there were other things to enjoy, too. Like this play ground.


Then back to the beach :)


But the boys love cricket. So we tore ourselves off the sand and spent some good time in front of the box.


I'll get some photos of Lily on holiday up here really soon.

Happy little Vegemites

This is just before bedtime. Stories have been read, and (cool) baths had; it's almost time for sleep. But first, it's time for brother and sister to say goodnight. If anything, Noah is a little too enthusiastic. A cuddle becomes a squeeze, one kiss becomes three, and sleep drops right off his agenda: he just wants to go and hand out with Lily some more.


Giggling is cool. But I still like smiles, too.



And here she is, fresh from the bath :)


Two quick things about Noah:

1. He's basically fully toilet trained now, which is spectacularly good.
   
2. He likes a good conversation. The other day Noah asked Katie to sit with him on the back step, and - when they'd both sat down - then said this: "Mum, let's talk about God". He then proceeded to say stuff like, "God... and Jesus... and Jesus Rocks the World!!" (a Colin Buchanan reference). He's suggested God as a topic for conversation several times since: once around the dinner table, once at his play table over coffee. Classic.
   

Reading and Costumes

Lily's neck is now strong enough for reading while lying on her tummy.


Obviously she came across a rather interesting bit here...



Lily has also started giggling, which is just beautiful. And for the first time, today I discovered that she'd squirmed around so much in her cot that she was bumping her head against the side. She's growing up!

This guy, in other news, loves pretending. Here we're being Jack and Jill.




And here's Noah in Mr Potatohead's glasses. He loves putting them on, and he loves putting them on his parents, too!

Today we discovered that Noah's tonsillitis has resurfaced (he had it while we were in Tassie). But it's pretty mild at the moment. Hopefully it'll clear up soon.

Lily the Sleeper

As you might expect, Lily 's pastimes remain few. Sleeping is one that she's doing pretty well at these days.


Lily is still sleeping well at night, thankfully! Noise often wakes her from her day-sleeps. (And no, I don't mean just Noah-noise!). But generally she'll settle again with her favourite settling CD (sounds like a vacuum cleaner).


Dreaming about reindeer, maybe? Actually this is a classic wake-up stretch. She has quite a repertoire.

What about the heat? (It's been in the thirties for much of this week, and stays hot at night). Fine. Sleeping like a baby :)

The Zoo and Inklings of Christmas

Uncle Tim accompanied us to the zoo last week. It was, of course, Lily's first time to Taronga. She did very well. Lily is generally pretty easy to transport, so long as you don't expect her to sleep.

We took the ferry, this time, which Noah rather enjoyed.


And it provided ample opportunity for touristy shots.


We visited the Australian animals and the new(ish) Southern Ocean exhibit, including the seal show. But you can't really go to the zoo without visiting the tigers - at least that's what Noah and I reckon. Tigers are our power-animal.


Lily has very good neck-control, really, though you wouldn't know it from these photos.


Noah has made great progress on his toilet-training chart. In fact, he has a second chart now! Today he even asked for the toilet when we were away from home (twice!). Well done, Noah.


In other Noah news: The question 'Why?' has entered his conversational arsenal. He used it twice on me today. I laughed the first time; it sounded like someone else's child! I guess this signals new times ahead in our parenting :)


The other day we enjoyed Christmas with the Sydney-Hansards at Unca Bruce's. It was great to see those guys again. It's been a while, I think. Bruce cooked up a storm as usual. And it was the first wave of the Christmas tide of present-unwrapping for Noah. He found it hard to stop at one ;)