Our Dancing Diva

It is a rare occasion that Renatah does not ask to dance in the morning after her breakfast. Our girl loves music ... but may need some help refining her 'moves'. It's good for a laugh every time though!

Home Improvements ... Phase 1: The Attic

Here's the story ... we moved into our new home just over a year ago and quickly discovered that the design of the house (the garage in particular) had a significant flaw. The garage was positioned at a 90 degree angle to the driveway. This meant that while we managed to get our little white car (which is ours no-longer) into the garage and close the door without too much difficulty ... it took 5 minutes and 200 little turns to get the little white car out of the garage.

SO - without too much deliberation we decided to forget using the garage for a car and turn it into a multipurpose room for our family and community of friends that use our house regularly. As with many 'bright ideas' this one is taking quite a lot of planning and purchasing to make a reality.

First things first was to find somewhere else to 'store' all the stuff that was being stored in the garage since we moved in. Our oh-so-wonderful-oh-so-talented-oh-so-generous neighbour helped us discover that our attic space could 'easily' be turned into effective storage space.

Hence began the construction of the attic. I lost track of exactly how long it took to convert the space into storage ... well ... truth be told ... I don't think they are done up there just yet. But it is being used for the most part.

So all our 'little things' are now out of the garage and in the attic thanks to these three wonderful men.

Stay tuned for the next phase!!

Puppy Love

We are thrilled that they are getting along so wonderfully! It is nice to have a child who is not terrified of pets.

It could be argued that she loves on them a bit too eagerly! She has plenty of 'war wounds' to show for her affections but it doesn't stop her from coming back for more!
Dalbea is a lot more tolerant than our cat, Icabod, who flees from Renatah's gleeful attempts to catch and cuddle her.

Enjoy the show.

Pig-Tail Princess

Her hair is now long enough for Muma to 'play' with.
Renatah loves to have 'pretties' in her hair.
The front is now hanging down to the bridge of her nose so most days she has a clip to hold the front back ... and then there are the pig-tail days.

This is the typical 'after nap' look.

where is your ... ?

Our little Poppy loves to point out our facial features as well as her own. Like may other video moments ... the highchair is just the easiest place to get her to sit still enough for long enough to capture a bit for you! She also loves to pray.

Where's Renatah?

a new baby ... a new puppy ... and now ...

a new car

needed to transport the new baby and the new puppy!

We had always planned on one day getting our 'family car' and well one day came last weekend! We have had our eye on the Honda Pilot for quite some time and things kind of just fell into place as we searched for our family car. So here it is. An 8 seater to hold us all and more to come (and those that visit and friends etc). I miss my little white car and my aussie sticker on the back. I'll have to 'order' a new one. Renatah loves being up high and seeing a lot more out of her bigger window. Tim and I both enjoy the smooth ride and panoramic views!

So - when are you coming to visit so you can meet our new puppy, baby(at the end of the yaer) and ride in our new car??

The invitation is open to all!

some news

Renatah doesn't quite understand what's going on ...

but we are thrilled to announce our growing family.

The grand event is due to happen two days shy of Renatah's 2nd birthday.

(October 31st 2008)

Papa's favourite Party Trick

SAD

HAPPY

now that you have seen the 'still' pictures ... here's the video

Introducing the newest member of our household

meet Dalbea

Dalbea arrived last week, 6 weeks old and full of 'puppy life'. He is half dalmation and half beagle ... quite literally ... a dalmation body with a beagle head.

Renatah loves the puppy but gets a little overwhelmed when Dalbea tries to play with her. Like all puppies he likes to jump and bite ... Renatah can be heard saying 'no bite, puppy no, muma hold me' many times a day!

Naturally he misses his brothers and sisters so we gave him a little toy puppy to keep him company! I wouldn't say it's his favourite - he loves to chew on just about anything!!

Monday at Freyer Park

A couple of weeks ago Tim had the day off so we made the most of the gorgeous early spring day and went to the park for a bit of a play. We captured so many beautiful moments. It's been hard to choose which ones to show you... I might have to add more later. Enjoy the next few posts.

weeeeee

Papa and his girls

three girls on a swing

if at first you don't succeed ... try ... try, again

there's not much more to be said!

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!