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!

Kira's Art

Kira drawing a picture of "Daddy and Kira". Daddy has spiky hair, and ears - Kira has eyebrows! And this is the first time we've noticed her draw arms and legs, as well as hands and feet - no body yet though!

This is a picture of "Kira, Aunty Jeni, Daddy, and Uncle George"! Kira has pig-tails and a fringe, Jeni has long straight hair, and Daddy and George both have short spiky hair.

I'm not sure what/who this is, but the fine motor skill required to draw it amazed me!

Naughty Barbie!

Kira loves to play with the Barbie Aunty Virginia gave her for Christmas, but like the rest of her toys, Kira tends to leave her laying around. And this is what we find:

She's going to get a name for herself - we've already nick-named her "Hooker Barbie"!

Erika's Birthday

Erika turned ONE on Tuesday, February 16, 2010. We skipped playgroup that morning (we'd had a bit of a rough night anyway!) and hit the shops! I also weighed Erika - 7.3kgs, and 69cm long. She's long and skinny, like her Mummy. When Daddy got home from work, we opened some presents:


Erika got lots of lovely things....

Kira had fun helping her little sister unwrap the gifts:


This one was from us - a shopping trolley! Kira thinks it's hers, though. It plays music, helps teach counting, colours, shapes, sorting, role-playing...the girls love it!

Here's Erika getting into it (on another day) - she's starting to get up on her knees more now! She can even stand for a few seconds whilst holding onto something (if you put her on her feet to start with).

I made cupcakes for Erika's birthday, too, but these ones were chocolate "Cherry Ripe" ones (choc, cherry and coconut), and they were HEAVENLY! (If I do say so myself!) Kira helped Erika blow out her candle:

Erika wasn't too sure what to make of the cake. Not the same texture as her usual food (still not a fan of bread at this stage, but getting better with it now), but fabulous for making a mess with!

More Random Pics Of The Girls At Play

Cheeky mischief-makers, getting into Erika's drawers:


"Help! I'm stuck!" Kira in the ball-pit, under the trampoline (which is covered in toys!):


"Do these glasses suit me?" As if Erika's blue eyes weren't big enough!


Kira and Erika having a cup of tea:

Erika found "snacks" under her chair!

Erika loving on "Angela" (the baby doll Kira got the day Erika was born!).

Erika at the playground:

Kira (and Teddy) on the swing at the playground (Kira has only recently taken to sitting on the swing, AND letting it swing!):

Kira clopping around in Daddy's shoes:

Erika talking on the "phone" (not sure why this pic keeps uploading sideways - it's up the right way in my file!):

Erika "reading":

Kira taking care of a sick Teddy (she's using her pillow as a mattress):

Kira playing with her Barbie in my cupboards! Who needs a dolls' house?!

Potty-Training

Kira is doing very well with her potty-training. She's essentially toilet-trained for day-time - she even manages to go on the potty independently (to do wee and/or poo) during her "quiet time". We even go out on lengthy drives or shopping trips, and she'll tell us she needs to go, AND holds on 'til we find her a toilet. Yay!! Now we just need to be brave enough to stop using nappies at night-time...

Kira has the best seat in the house, parked in front of the TV! No excuses for not going - she still gets to watch her show, or read a book. Plus, it's not as cold as the bathroom, and Mummy gets to continue with what she was doing, as well as keep as eye on both kids.


We put the potty in Kira's room for her to use during quiet-time. I put the tissues handy, but Kira wanted baby-wipes, too. Kira often does a poo during quiet-time, so wipes are good for her bottom as well as her hands! So I left the wipes with her, too. When I came to get her up, this is what I found:

She put the ENTIRE contents of a NEW pack of wipes in the potty, along with about half a pack of tissues!! And she'd only done a wee!

Bath-time Fun

The girls LOVE bath-time. Sometimes it's a challenge to get Kira into the bathroom, but once the girls are in the bath (or shower), there's lots of giggles and splashing - and then it's hard to get them out!

Kira undressing herself: "Help! I'm stuck!"


Kira and Erika in the bath:

Splish, splosh, SPLASH!!