budding pianist?

maybe ... we'll see

she does love to 'play' the piano whenever one is around. she is getting quite good at 'playing' not 'pounding' the keys! maybe some lessons will be in her future?!

getting dressed

Renatah's language and other 'skills' are on growing daily. A favourite activity at the moment is to put on her 'haaa' and her 'kakit'.

It is sometimes just something she does for fun and continues to play and sometimes it is the first step in the expression of the desire to go 'oww' for a 'waaa'.

a story from before

Tim has been away quite a bit for work since Renatah and I came back from Australia. One trip at the beginning of the month was out to Idaho ... on this trip Renatah and I were able to go with him! It was fun to live in a hotel for a few days! Renatah got to enjoy the 'bi-ba' (the big bath).

And she got to eat on the couch while watching cartoons!

And other such 'hotelly' kinds of things.

play dates

Renatah has been enjoying the company of a few little friends as we venture into the world of play dates and other fun activities. I'm really enjoying this age - Renatah is talking and interacting with her world in new and wonderful ways. One new friend is our neighbour. We are making the most of having her close and inviting her over for playdates. It's fun to watch them learn how to 'play' together. We are very much still in the 'parallel play' stage ...

... which they both manage quite well! It will be wonderful to see their relationship grow over the next few years. I'm experiencing new parent 'feelings' as I watch Renatah respond to the other little people in her life. She is quite empathetic and tender. She is also a very strong willed stubborn little thing! As her Nonny says - "she's got spunk!"

It SNOWED!

On Monday morning we woke up to a very modest snow blanket outside. I took Renatah out for a bit of a wander. She liked it at first but had enough after a few minutes - too cold I think!

Renatah's Australia Adventure

we left ... then we came back ...

there has been much inactivity here on the blog for the simple fact that Renatah and I (Naomi) have been travelling the globe (just about) for the past 6 weeks.

i am awake tonight - i don't know if i should blame jet lag or the latte i had after a scrummy dinner out at a nice restaurant with my precious family. it was our new year's celebration as Tim will be travelling for work up in Alaska when the new year begins. we are one travelling family.

i don't think i have the energy or the clarity of mind to organise some pictures and a bit of a story about our trip to Perth and back. but keep checking and on one of these nights when Tim is away I will share the highlights of our visit to the 'home land' with you. to entice your return here is a favourite snap of Renatah on Christmas Day in LA.

doesn't get much cuter than that hey?!
wishing you a very happy new year - hope your Christmas was a blessed time with those you hold most dear.

we finally got a picture ...

... that kind of shows her teeth!!

The bottom two poked through when she was 10 1/2 months old and the top 4 came all at once a few weeks later!

She is having a ball discovering all that she can do with these new things in her mouth!

oh she makes me laugh

we have one expressive daughter ...

my sweet girl makes me laugh every day

thanks Papa for capturing these moments on camera!!

Birthday Bash

We decided to go all out to celebrate Renatah's first year. There have been so many people who have played a significant part in the first year of her life and we were delighted to have them all come and celebrate the occasion with us. We were blessed with a truely gorgeous day. Rain was predicted but this time we were very glad that the weather man was wrong! The kids got to enjoy playing out the back yard.

While others enjoyed food and company inside.

We played a game of "Pass the Parcel" with quizz questions about

Renatah's first year in each layer.

Then there was the CAKE!! Muma and Papa worked together to make a special birthday cake. It was a first time experience for us and we eventually got there after a few adjustments and "redo's" ... in the end it turned out pretty good ... what do you think?!

the kitty cat was chosen instead of a teddy bear to represent her first word!!

Thank you to those who came and joined the celebration.

Renatah had a great time - we hope you did too!

the last sleep

before the big day ... we snuck in when Renatah was sleeping to take a picture of her the night before she turned one!

peaceful slumber

the day Renatah turned one

November 2nd 2007

She was greeted with her Muma and Papa singing "Happy Birthday to You" and then landing affectionate smooches on her cheek ...

We then had fun opening her cards from family. Thank you Great Nanna and G'pop for the birthday wishes and the fun stickers inside!! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for the pooh bear card and birthday balloons ... they were a hit!!

The day went on with our regular routines and a few special treats - like a phone call from Auntie Karina and Auntie Anita.

We had a family celebration the next night which included the presentation of the cake!!

The Birthday Cake - her very own!

Every 1 year old needs a 'birthday cake' exploration experience. This is Renatah's. I should add that it was also her first exposure to 'sugar'. She has already indicated her disinterest in naturally sweet things (ie many types of fruit!) so we were not surprised by her reaction to chocolate cake with frosting!!

I love to ...

walk

I love to ...

swwwwwwing

Time to Update

Have we been in hiding?? No not really - well maybe - it's hard to tell. September was an insanely busy month for us (and for many I know strangely enough) and so life happened and pictures were taken and there were stories to tell but there was no moments of down time to sit and share them with you.

So in one big effort I've found some time to update our blog ... share the pictures and stories with you that have happened over the past month and a bit. Pay no attention to the order in which they come ... I tried to figure out how the posting and order works (thus I'm writing this at the end of it all!!) but in the end it doesn't really matter - just scroll down - read and enjoy some snapshots of our life.

Coming soon will be pics and stories of Renatah's first birthday - can you believe it's been a year?!?!?! Where has all the time gone?! What an awesome year it has been!

The Picture Tells a Story

These captured moments speak to so much more than the still life you can observe. So while the picture probably says enough - I've added some thoughts to help paint a more complete picture!

The Picture Tells a Story (1)

This picture was taken just moments too late to capture our little explorer completely inside the cupboard! We caught her coming out! Not too long ago Renatah figured out how to open cupboards. It prompted the installation of some lock thingo's on the cupboard doors that we don't want her exploring (ie under the kitchen sink - we all know what nasty's loom under there!) and some rearranging of where things are stored.

She does however have free reign over the cupboard that houses the pots and pans and now the tupperware! Now she is forever emptying and I'm forever putting away!! I'm not complaining - it's great to watch her explore her world - bumps, bonks and all!

The Picture Tells a Story (2)

"DADA, HI" ... what does this say about the muma?! I guess I'm on the phone quite a bit with Tim!! Although we refer to Tim as 'Papa', Renatah has taken to the word 'Dada' ... we have discovered however that this word is mostly spoken when she sees or is playing with a phone!! Phone = dada!! It was affirmed the other morning at church when Renatah saw a lady walk past with the same cell phone as me and she pointed and said 'dada'!!

Her face lights up when the phone rings and she sticks her arm up in the air and waves her little hand and says "HI, DADA HI". The greeting is usually followed by an outstretched hand saying 'ta' - asking for the phone so that she can hold it and talk to her Papa ( or just push the buttons and observe what happens!)

The Picture Tells a Story (3)

Everything was very quiet as I read a book on the couch. One of those it's-too-quiet-for-my-liking moments - something must be going on.
Sure enough! She had scavenged through the diaper bag and found my wallet ... emptied its contents and was going for the coffee!! (it was empty thankfully!)

Summer Project

This summer we had Shalom with us for two weeks and we did a few projects together. The favourite was making a dress for Renatah and a shirt for Shalom. Shalom chose the fabric and practiced using a machine on scraps before venturing into her first sewing experience. She did a fabulous job on her shirt and I made Renatah's matching little dress. It is wonderful to see Shalom proud of her accomplishment and eager to do more! Perhaps we won't make any more matching outfits but some other projects will be fun!