Little Lily the Lovely

I guess it's one thing to say that Lily is becoming more expressive. It's another thing to show it.





And... *drumroll* another tooth!


More reasons why Lily is lovely:

• Those teeth aren't costing us in the happiness department. Lil' seems to be able to cut teeth without flinching.
• She's figured out sleeping through the night! Ahhhhhh.
  

Presents and Parties

Just recently, Noah received another mysterious package in the mail. He calls them 'parcels'. I guess there's a certain expectation as to what they'll contain... Carrots!


This parcel didn't disappoint. Noah wasted no time in sampling the Tasmanian goodness. Thanks Granny and Grandpa :)


Speaking of goodness, these little birthday (cup)cakes were rolled out at Noah's pal, Esther's, birthday party this week, along with fairy bread, cocktail savs (aka frankfurts, little boys, or 'cheerios' in New Zealand, I gather...), party pies, strawberry milk - it was a real party, none of that healthy stuff in sight :)

Remarkably, Noah actually went to sleep just fine when we got home.


Here's Lil' chewing on one of her favourite toys. (Sorry for the grainy-ness!)


I think she looks rather a lot like her big bro.

Technophilic Little Buttons

Photo Booth is a marvelous thing.

Here's Lil helping me blog. (She pressed the button on this first one herself - her first photo, I guess).



Noah's pretty keen on taking pics, too. His favourite effect is 'Comic Book'.


Some of the others are a bit freaky, though. So we keep to what's safe: plain photos with smiles :)

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.