Gifts From Greece

We received a delightful package in the post in September, 2010 - gifts from Aunty Jeni and Uncle George on their return from holidaying in Greece! Neal got some ouzo and shot glasses, I got some perfumes in beautiful little pots, and the girls got a doll dressed in their regional costume - gorgeous! Both girls adore their dolls, and wanted them out of the packaging so they could play with them, but I don't want them to get damaged - I've told the girls they are for looking at, not playing with, and they live on the top shelf of their bookcases in their rooms, with their fairies and other special "pretties".

I told Kira who had sent the boxes, and as soon as she opened hers and saw the doll, she yelled out "THANK YOU, AUNTY JENI AND UNCLE GEORGE!!" I wonder if they heard her?!

Even now, Kira still wants us to get her doll down for her so that she can have a good look at it. She knows it's very special, and each time she holds it, she says "Thank you" again to Aunty Jeni and Uncle George, and says "I really love it!"

The Show, 2010

We took the kids to the Royal Adelaide Show this year. And despite the miserable weather, we all had a great time. Kira had her face painted...she saw a boy getting a "dinosaur" (looked more like a dragon!), and she wanted one, too! I didn't mind what she got (you're only young once!), but the artist managed to convince her to choose something more suitable - she chose a butterfly. This is her full-face painting! She's only had face-paint once before, and it was just a little flower design on her cheek. Kira loved this one - it looks like the girl on the posters in the city that she's often admiring!


The kids loved petting the baby animals:


And Kira adored the rides! We went on the Ferris Wheel - our first ride together as a family (Erika slept in my arms all the way through it, waking up as I put her down in the pram afterwards!):


Daddy took Kira and Erika on the carousel. Last time Kira went on it, she was Erika's age (18 months), and not too thrilled about it once it started moving. So it really wasn't a surprise when Erika started to panic...Daddy cuddled her for the entire ride. But Kira loved it this time!! Here she is, riding a "sea horse":

All day, Kira had been eyeing off the "Dragon Wagon" ride - a roller coaster for older kids. We thought she'd be too little, or too scared (parents couldn't ride with children), but she was determined.... she'd loved the other rides, and assured us that she'd hold on, and be brave (since once she was on, she'd have to stay there til the ride was over), and so I let her go (Neal still had his reservations)... She had the BEST time!! She was so excited at the ride, and so proud that she could go by herself! Unfortunately, this was the only decent pic I got. I couldn't get a pic of the ride as I didn't want to be too far away - if I moved back, there'd be too many people in the way of the shot, and I'd lose sight of my daughter! But there she is, the little girl in pink, riding with the "big" kids...

Starting "Monti School"

Kira started attending Montessori ("Monti school") on Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - the beginning of Term 3. Monti is at the Early Learning Centre of St John's Grammer, Belair (Neal's old primary school - which is now preschool through to year 12). Kira has been SOOOO excited to start school....we'd finally gotten her used to the idea of waiting til she turns 5 before starting school, but then we got the call to say a place had become available at Monti, just weeks before she was to start! She was THRILLED!

This is Kira on her very first day...

On arrival, each child is asked to find their name card (by the door) and post it into the wooden "letter box" - Kira had no problem finding hers, and takes great pride in announcing "This says KIRA!!" each time! The children also have a name card placed on the table - again, Kira delights in finding her name (always in a different location). Now, at the end of her first term, she is starting to recognise the name cards of some of her class mates - "This says Austin!"

This is Kira on her first day, just after finding out where she is to sit that day (she was already off and running to find an activity to do!):


At the end of the day, the mums wait quietly just out of view of the children. Then Mrs Galaz will hold up a name card, and say "This person's mummy is here", holding up a name card. When Kira sees her name, she gets very excited, and very nearly forgets to shake hands with Mrs Galaz (and Mrs Pfitzner!) and say goodbye to them! But she does, then races over to me, yelling "Mummy! Mummy!" It's so sweet - and a tad embarrassing. She's probably the loudest child there! She's definitely not shy!!

More Random Photos

Thought I'd add some random photos of the girls, showing some of the antics we deal with here!

This is Erika, at lunch time, displaying other uses for food. Did you know that a piece of bread makes an awesome moustache?!


Erika, at another lunch time, showing off her vampire fangs!


Erika managed to squeeze herself between my airer and the wall, and Kira thought she'd better join in:

Kira has long, under-the-bed plastic storage containers for her toys - she decided to turn one into a bed! Here she is, resting in front of the telly:

Erika standing!! She was only up for a moment, so didn't get to take a photo with her standing AND facing the camera (yet):

I thought Erika was in the lounge, til I heard her getting frustrated....that's when I saw her big blue eyes peeping at me over this chair! She'd gotten under the table from the other end, and was now blocked in by these chairs. Silly girl!

Kira just LOVES her Princess Belle (Disney) raincoat and matching rainboots! She HAD to try them on as soon as we got home...


...getting them off her was another story!! We can't wait til the wet weather becomes more permanent!

Erika

Here are some very short videos of Erika (14 months), doing her thing....

Erika spinning:

Scooting:

Mummy Erika:

Erika talking:

Boo!!

Easter Fun

Easter morning.....Kira and Erika discovered the Easter presents from Mummy and Daddy - a "Dora The Explorer" bug-catcher with 4 chocolate eggs for Kira, and for Erika, a plush pink bunny (you can see it's feet!) with 3 chocolate eggs. Of course, this meant they had to sample the chokkies before breakfast!


Then it was off into the garden to see if the Easter Bunny had been.....and he HAD!!


There were eggs EVERYWHERE! The Easter Bunny dropped chocolate eggs all over the lawn, in the garden beds under the pergola, and even in the vegie patch! Kira had heaps of fun finding them all - and she showed Erika every single egg, one at a time, before placing it carefully in the basket. Then, when Kira turned to go find more eggs, Erika would scoot up to the basket to take out the eggs for closer examination....Kira would come racing back to get Erika to put the egg back in the basket. It was a LONG morning!!


Check out the loot!! A chocolate bunny each, plus a baby chicken toy each (they "cheep" when you hold them), plus a basketful of dropped eggs. Kira was thrilled! (So were Mummy and Daddy - there's no way we were letting the kids eat all that, so we secretly "helped" when they were sleeping! Shhh!!!)

Do you think Kira likes chocolate?!


The kids got other prezzies, too. Here's Erika reading a story she got:


Kira was SO excited to get "Dora The Explora" pj's, she just HAD to put them on, over her dress!


Silly Kira!

Short Videos Of The Kids

Kira loved watching the Winter Olympics, especially the "slide" (bobsleds, etc) and skating - especially the figure-skating. Whenever that came on, she'd rush to put on her fairy skirt (from her fairy party), and then try to copy the moves the skater made! I think the skater on the TV in the background is the Aussie girl (can't think of her name at the moment though, for shame!).

Kira loves to sing, and will spontaneously burst into song at any moment. If she sees a diamond or star (in any form), she will start singing "Twinkle, twinkle, little star"; if she sees a spider or rain, she'll start singing "Incy, wincy spider", and so on!

Erika loves to play with Kira's dolls. She gives them lots of cuddles and kisses, and talks lovingly to them. She's such a Mummy! She likes to play next to me, so it's hard to get a good video of her playing, but you'll get the idea:

Kira knows her ABC's! She seems to have it almost perfect now, but I wish I was able to get her earlier version on video. It went like this: "A, B, C, kids, E, F, G...H, I, day care, L-N-no-no-P, Q, R, yes...T, U, V...W, X, why you Z. Now I know my ABC kids, nex' time won't you sing wif me,"! Can you tell she likes ABC Kids (TV)?! Not sure why she's singing with her fingers in her ears, though....

Farm Day At Playgroup

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010, was a very special day at Playgroup - we had a visit from "Old MacDonald's Farm"! The kids were treated to a visiting petting zoo, courtesy of profits made by our fund-raising efforts. They got to pet chickens, hens, ducklings, guinea pigs, rabbits, piglets, sheep and goats, and even got to help feed them. Kira and Erika had a blast!!



"Awww, soft!"

Erika adored the rabbits!

Amococo

The Adelaide Fringe Festival was on again in February 2010. It's an arts festival that runs over several weeks, and acts from all over the world attend - comedians, theatre companies, stunt groups, and more. In the past, we've seen Hale and Pace (comedians), and the Shaolin Monks (martial arts/stunts). This time, we went to Amococo. It's a huge grey "tent", though it doesn't look like any tent you've ever seen before. It's made from 86 interconnecting domes, with small coloured panels added here and there - it's the sunlight streaming through these panels that gives the interior such awesome colours. Walking through it was like walking inside a balloon - or a huge beach-ball! It's air-conditioned, but it was still quite warm in there (it was also very hot outside, though!). We found a dome with an air vent, and sat down for a bit while we watched the girls explore.....

Light shining on the centre column, looking through several domes:


Kira and Erika having fun:

Kira and Mummy (and Erika dashing out of view!):

Evil Erika!!

Kira chatting to one of the volunteers; and the top of Erika's head!

Erika's First "Social"

Erika was invited to a birthday party for a friend from Playgroup. This was the first social invitation that wasn't for a family member! Here she is, sitting next to the Birthday Boy (Nicholas (Nicky) Adams, in the middle). He turned one, about 3 weeks before Erika's birthday. They love to play together!