Santa

WE went to visit Santa at the weekend, and I tried to prep the girls to ask him what they wanted for Christmas. Naomi wants a long list of toys, tumble pup, bitty baby, a sewing kit. Paige wants Cake!

Sisters!

Here is Naomi

Ok so I am not so good at posting the pictures, but you get the idea. Paige was a carebear and LOVED trick or treating, once she got used to the idea and realized she would get candy! Naomi didn't really know what a Cheerleader was, but was convinced that this was going to be her costume! Halloween was a lot of fun, with lots and lots of candy!

Halloween at the Danners!

Paige can talk!

Paige is growing fast, she now talks a lot, and loves to sing! Her favorites are "Twinkle twinkle little star," "Baa baa black sheep" it is so cute! She is really enjoying daycare and can count to 18 and sing her ABC's!!!! She copies everything that Naomi does but has a very strong opinion of her own. Paige loves to play with her babies, she puts them to bed, wakes them up and takes them for walks in her stroller, purse in hand!

October 2008

October has been a busy month for us! Naomi is LOVING school, she has absolutely blossomed! No crying or fussing, she is happy to go and feels connected to her teacher and friends. Having studied Butterflies extensively, this month they are studying Spiders, I have learnt so much about them too! They act out plays like "little Miss Muffett" and make little fact books! Naomi is also very keen on reading, they have "star sight words" for her to practice like I, to me, you the.... Naomi is already starting to get the hang of it, she told me how to spel Like, then figured out, Bike and Pike...pretty smart stuff! It is fun to see her learn so much so fast!

Favorite restaurant

Naomi and her friend were talking;
G: have you ever been to Tandoori oven it is so good!
N yes we go there, but Papa brings the food home to eat. Have you been to Chevys?
G no
N it is so fun, they give you a big Sombrero and sing Happy Birthday!

Paige

When Paige wakes up she is very funny, this is what she said today:

"Paige Awake, all done nap"
"Hello Sun"
She walked into Naomi's room and said;
"Hello Noami how are you?"
So funny she is really starting to put sentences together, and is very opinionated!

First day of school

Elise, Geetangeli and Naomi on their first day of Kindergarten!

Kindergarten

Kindergarten has gone incredibly well. Noami seems to enjoy going to school and has learnt so much already. Lots of new songs, rhymes and games. She also says the Pledge of Alligence and sings the This Old Flag. Lots of the songs have hand gestures, it is so cute to watch! Naomi loves Mrs Vo, who seems like such a fair and caring person.

In the mornings Naomi gets her back pack on and Paige has to take hers too. They have adjusted well to the new daycare and seem to be having fun and made friends.

Kindergartern here we come

After a very quick, stressful summer (I feel like my whole summer was spent searching for childcare) we made it to Kindergarten! Naomi was placed in the afternoon program and we seem to have made this work since the girls are at a neighborhood daycare and Naomi can walk to school with Geetangali and her mom. The first week of school I worked a reduced schedule and was involved in the drop off and pick up. Noami did fantastic! She was a little nervous on her first day, but no tears or fussing, she did great! I was very impressed and surprised! She likes her teacher, Mrs Vo and made friends very quickly. The kinders got dug in right away and are learning lower case letters. All is good and I can breathe again.

Paige talks!

Paige woke up the other night in he middle of the night and said "Mama I'm tired" i told her to go back to sleep.

Then a couple of nights later she woke up at about 4am, and said "mama, sun" and was rubbing her eyes. She was complaining the sun was in her eyes, (she does it in the car all the time) and the sun wasn't even up!

Butterflys

For Naomi's birthday she got a butterfly kit from Adam. This is all very exciting since she has helped with Adams butterfly experience. So we ordered the caterpillars, and watched them turn into chrysalis. During this stage they moved into my room b/c Naomi didn't like how they looked, she said they were scary??? Then all 5 butterflies hatched! we have 5 painted ladies living in a butterfly habitat. Naomi is desperate to "hold" them and has named them "Naomi, Adam, Paige, Sean and Hillary!" cute!

Paige turned 2!

Yesterday was Paige's birthday, I cannot believe it has been 2 years already! The time has gone fast which we always say, but phew, that was fast! We did not plan a big celebration, Barry and i took Naomi and Paige to pizza and games at a local joint, and spent the evening together. i didn't even have a cake, which I felt bad about, but we will have friends over for a BBQ and party and a cake then! thankfully Paige was pretty clueless about her birthday and so the expectation was low! Naomi pointed out that Paige was only allowed 3 presents because that is how many she had! Score keeper!

Paige Peed!

As noted in previous blogging Paige is pretty obsessed with the toilet and going potty. On Sunday she was sitting on my lap and peed a little bit, and said "potty" and held it. We rushed to the toilet, mainly to avoided getting even wetter, and she sat for a minute and did a massive pee! Yippee, just before she turns 2!! She was very surprised and was looking around thinking "Where is that coming from?" I must point out this was her only successful time actually peeing in the toilet, for now there is a lot of sitting and not much action, but this is a start!

Swimming lessons

I have been wanting to sign Naomi up for swimming lessons for so long, , about 2 years, and for one reason and another it has not happened. Anyway I finally got it together and she had her first class on Saturday! Naomi can be a little reluctant in new situations, but since we got there right as her teacher called her name there was no time for silliness. She went right on on and had a great time. To begin with it was just Noami and another little girl and they became friends. She learnt "eyes in, big breath" and "Bunny ears"...she did such a good job. After her class she played with Vadja her new friend and she was such a sweet little girl, also very excited about her first swim class, so a hit all around. Poor Paige was dying to get in the pool and swim, she kept pulling me saying, "agua Paigie!" She is going to have to wait for now!

Fun to Paige

Paige's current pastime is to "go potty"...it is the most frustrating thing, she takes her diaper off, constantly and wants to sit on the toilet. She is definitely ready, but has never produced anything and REALLY REALLY likes to try! watch this space for more info, i am hopeful that she will gt it soon!

Who are you going to live with?

N: Mamma who are you going to live with?
L: You
N: nooo, when I am bigger, who you going to live with?
L: I want to live with you, so that you can take care of me.
N: Ok I'll check with my husband, Adam! I have to marry him b/c I promised!

Naomi's favorite's at 5

Favorite:
color ~Pink
food ~pizza/wendy's
book~Junie B Jones
Best friend ~Adam
activity ~art, oh and swimming with Adam

Paige

Paige is really starting to show her personality, she loves to sing. Her favorite songs are twinkle, twinkle, and Naomi's song from school, God we love you. She is so funny she kind of sings to herself, like a hum, so cute. Her other favorite thing to do is play with her babies. She puts them to "night night" and tosses her into her bed! She also loves to color, just like her big sister!

Naomi Graduated reschool!!!

Naomi is 5 years old!!!!!

On June 1st Noami turned 5 years old, I cannot believe she is getting so big! We had a fun morning opening presents at home. This year she asked for a 2 wheeled scooter, a hopper ball to bounce on, and Paige bought her a large doll with a change of clothes. Naomi was very happy with her gifts and got to work riding on her scooter, she is very fast already, and brushing her dolls hair.

Noami spoke to Grandma and Grandad and after lunch was her party. We had it at Pump it up, and Naomi had complete control of the guest list. She invited children from our neighborhood, her class and friends from daycare. The party went really well, Naomi played with everyone and i think they all had a great time. We enjoyed cake and singing in the party room, goodie bags, and everyone went home tired. It was a really nice party! I was proud of how Naomi juggled all her friends and everyone felt like part of the party! naomi wa very proud of her goodie bags, they had the usual junk; candy, yoyo's, a pencil, a balloon, a wand and other such rubbish, she wants to pass the extra's to those that couldn't make the party!

Mother's Day Tea

On Friday i left work early so that I could go to the Mother's Day Tea at Naomi's school and jim was nice enough toi come home early and stay woith the sleeping babies. it was a treat not o have Paige, and she got her rest! A room in the church was decorated and each mom had a place setting nest to their child's with a name card and photo!.. we had tea, and fruit salad and each mom had a specially prepared bagel cut in half and put together like a butterfly. it had cream cheese, decorated with olives, a carrot for the body and parsley for the antanae. I later found out that naomi had made it for me! (each kid made one for themselves and their mom!) She also made a picture frame with buttons glued to it and a lot of glue, Noami's style! "Cute as a button"! And a heart with her hand prints stretched out wide - this is how much I love you. When the kids came in, they lined up and sang some special songs they learnt, Naomi looked very self conscious, but joined in the singing and hand movements. it was a very fun afternoon, the Naomi was happy to have me at her school and it was nice to chat with her teacher and the other moms!

The latest

I have not blogged for a while, and it seems like the summer is just around the corner. The girls have been having so much fun at Heather's. Naomi and Adam are firm friends and seem to keep very busy playing in the water, doing art projects, playing at the park and watching TV!!! Paige is in love with Adam and also has her compardre Sean by her side, they give some lovely hugs and kisses to each other. We cannot thank Heather and Jim enough for caring for them so well!

Noami is now fully riding her bike on two wheels without training wheels. She really took off last night and is so pleased about it. She is growing fast and loves to jump rope (she practiced that one so hard, b/c one of her friends, Jackie, at school could do it!)

Paige is also getting to be a big girl, and is talking much more. She answers "a-ha" for everything, instead of "yes" and wants to do exactly what Naomi does. One of Paige's fave things to do is get her step stool or drag a chair over the the counter to see what is going on. That kid does not like to miss out!

No more Training wheels!!

Noami has been asking to have her training wheels taken off her bike and we weren't sure if she was ready. Last night we bit the bullet and took them off. She did so well. Barry was runny up and down behind her, catching her if she tipped, but she did a really good job of riding and had pretty good balance. She is going to need some practice, but is on the way and will pick it up really fast I think. She was SO proud of herself! It felt like a milestone!

Another milestone is Naomi's playground skills! She has really practiced hard at the monkey bars. This is the only thing she wants to play on. Now she is able to swing the whole way across, like a monkey...about 10 bars! I am so impressed, I could never do this as a kid!

Yesterday Naomi counted to 100, all by herself...she did so well, and has figured out the 10's!

N: Mummy was Grandma alive when Dinosaurs where here?

Sorry Mum, she has no concept of time!

Naomi and Adam

N: "Adam, so are you till going to marry me?"
A :"sure!"

I was asking Naomi is she liked seeing Adam everyday, and playing at his house instead of Tia's. She said "don't you mean my husband?" She was dead serious!

We love the beach!

I love happy Hollow!

At the weekend we went to Capitola beach with the Murphy's. The kids loved it, the big kids were so happy to strip down to their swim suits and splash around. Paige did not like the ocean, but loved the sand once she got used to the gritty feel of it on her feet! Heather was talking to Noami and Adam and saying how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place where we can go to the beach this early in the year. Naomi piped up, "Happy Hollow is a beautiful place too, we are lucky to live close to that too!"

Paige's vocab

Paige is speaking more and more, mainly Spanglish, it is hard to understand most of the time, but she is really trying to communicate. Yesterday Barry said "when she does finally make sense she is going to talking non stop!!" He is so out numbered with 3 women in the house!
Hello: Hola! EEIya (hiya)
Goodbye: Adious, wave
Water: Aguar, always
Mamma, Pappa, Mapa (if she is not sure who to call for!)
Wow wow for Hillary
more..she always is looking for more food, she says it in kind of a deep growl!
Balloon: Ballff~ a favorite toy
WOW, for lots of exclaimations
Baby:bebe

She doesn't have a real word for Naomi, I am trying to encourage Mi Mi, or Sisty as Naomi likes to be called. I am sure she says more but these are the ones that are the clearest!

Valentine's Day

This year was a tough Valentines day because Paige had to go to the ER the night before and spend the night and V-day in the hospital. Not fun. She was struggling with her asthma, and need extra oxygen and fluids, meanwhile making the rest of us worried sick! She bounced back very quickly and was very soon ready to be out of the hospital bed running around!

Naomi was home with Barry and got a box of chocolates from our neighbors little girl, Geetanjali. Naomi shared her candy, but the following morning, she told me that she had to hide them from Barry. When I asked her where they were she whipped them out from under her pillow! They were all crushed from sleeping on them, but at least Barry didn't polish off the box! Smart girl!

Naomi and her shower buddy!

Paige in her boat!

more questions...

Naomi is getting so big, she is asking so many thoughtful questions these days. Yesterday a gas tanker overturned on the freeway, and the freeway was closed. Naomi and I talked a lot about the marine animals being affected by this b/c the fuel leaked into the drains that flow to the bay, and how they firemen couldn't use equipment to clean it up b/c of sparks and risk of fire. She was fascinated and wanted to see pictures of it on the intranet. She asked if our drinking water would be affected, or if people were hurt...so smart!

I love Shoes

Paige loves shoes at the moment, her own and anyone else's! She likes to put on one shoe and wear it around the house. It has gotten so bad that I can never find a pair of shoes together...usually the other one is in a stroller or in the bathroom!

Whats that?

One the way to work Naomi saw a church steeple and asked me what it was. I told her it was a church and it opened the door for all kinds of questions.
N: What do people do in church?
L: Talk to God
N: who is God?
L: he lives way up in the sky and makes things happen, like the rain fall and the sun shine. We cannot see him.
N: how can people talk to him if they cannot see his eyes?
L: good question, they close their eyes and use their imagination.
N: Why do we need the rain?
L: so that food grows and we can eat.
N: Leanna had a candy calendar like the one Cheryl gave us about God. Ours was abut Christmas, was it about God too?
L: Ours was about Christmas, and Christmas is about God, b/c Jesus is God's child.
N: I know about Baby Jesus
The conversation went on and i was telling her about stories from the bible and all the miracles that Jesus performed. I def need some books to help with this. It may be time to get a children's bible.

Mine!!!

Paige has discovered the word mine, and will make sure she is heard if she wants something. If Naomi has something Paige wants she shrieks "mine!" at the top of her lungs. It isn't usually hers, but gets out attention which really what she wants.

Naomi's 1st parent /teacher conference

So after 3 months of preschool I met with Naomi's teachers to discuss her progress so far. They are so incredibly nice, and said some lovely things about my joy! They talked a lot about being ready for kindergarten, and that Naomi has really made some good progress since starting preschool. They mentioned that the other kids like her and she mainly plays with Chris, Jaymin and Mathew. The art table is her favorite place to play, but she also likes to play outside in the sand a lot. I felt so proud of the nice things Teresa, Nancy and Diane said about Noami, they seem to really enjoy having her as part of the class, and called her a "sweetheart" many times! Naomi is right on track for Kindergarten and showing an interest in reading and writing! Yay, such a smartie!!!!

Naomi's First....

I am reminded today at how big Naomi is getting. this weekend we met our neighbors across the street. they are an Indian family with 2 girls aged 5 and 10 years. Gitangilli (sp?) is such a sweet little girl. She played at our house for most of Saturday afternoon with carebears, the kitchen, making beads and earrings. On Sunday naomi went to her house for a playdate, and had a great time. it was her first real playdate without me, (not including Auntie Heather and Auntie Traci's which is like home to her!!) She had a wonderful time and wants to play again!

Barry took all the paperwork to Bagby School today and waited in line for 2 hours to register Naomi for Kindergarten! It gave Barry a chance to chat with all the other moms, and we are excited for her to go to such a great school!!!

Paige these days

Paige is 18 months and really showing us her personality. She is a very easy baby and is starting to really play more. She likes to sit and colour with Naomi at the table, it is quite messy, a lot of marker on the table, her hands etc, but she does seem to enjoy getting some ink on the paper too. Also lately Paige likes to look at books (especially the ones with flaps from the Randalls!), and play with her cars! She is getting so big!

Naomi's tired

Last night Naomi fell asleep in the car on the way home. She was carried in and slept on the couch, then I put her on the toilet, and then into bed. She slept all night, missed dinner and woke up at 7am hungry! 13 hours of sleep! Sounds good to me, maybe she is growing!

Paige LOVED all the attention and her very rare taste at being an only child!

I want a brother~!

Noami has been asking a lot about having a brother. The other day she asked , almost demanded when was I going to have another baby so that she can have a brother! I thought Barry had put her up to it!!! He said he hadn't and we both responded, "well if we did have another baby it would probably be another sister!" That was not so appealing!

Favorite toys this year

Naomi on Christmas Day with her letter from Santa about the missing Ariel doll. Santa explained that the Ariel doll needed extra sparkles and would not be arriving on Christmas Day...he made a special trip the next day!