Eliza's Dedication

On November 30th, we decided to hold Eliza's dedication. It was a lovely time with family and friends coming together to stand with us and support James and I as we raise Eliza (and Daniel). We held a little afternoon tea followed by the dedication at church. It was great to have Malcolm and Julie fly down from Hervey Bay to join us. Daniel and Eliza had a great time with Nana J and Boompa over the weekend.

Chatting with Grannie, Aunty Shirley and Great-Boompa

Daniel and Oscar had a great time playing together

4 generations of Noble

 After the afternoon tea we headed to church so Eliza's dedication. After a few songs and announcements we were invited up onto stage by Andrew. It was lovely to have him dedicate her. Eliza did so well. She had been awake since 3 (normally she wakes up at 4/4:30) so I was very surprised that she hadn't cracked it. 

Jenny came up to pray for Eliza. Just like Daniel did, Eliza was very interested in the microphone. She tried to eat it while Jens prayed for her, and managed to pull off the cover.

Daniel found this hilarious! "La is being cheeky" he repeatedly said, whilst laughing a lot. This also had people in the congregation look up and see her and also joined in with laughing. As Jenny prayed for her, we do thank God for her cheekiness.

She then went for the microphone again as Andrew prayed for her and blessed her.

A future worship leader in the making maybe?
I do hope and pray that Eliza will grow up to know how much God loves her. I pray that she will feel his love and care through James and I as we raise her. I pray that as she grows up, that she will come to the stage where she will choose to love God with all her heart, soul, mind and strength. To know that Jesus loves her so much that He died on the cross to save her from her sins and that he rose again from the dead 3 days later. I pray that she will choose to have a relationship with Him and that she will grow to love and serve God each and every day.

Please God, help James and I as we raise Eliza and Daniel.


 

November catch up

Yet again it has been a while between blogging. I have been busy most nights with doing the quiet book so haven't really sat down to do the blog. Anyway, here is another catch up of what has been going on.

Daniel has been growing in confidence when doing actions while we sing different songs at the library and at home. He enjoys clapping, singing and dancing. Here he is doing actions to one of the Playschool songs.

Wahroonga Park is a place that we have enjoyed going to for many years. Recently they updated the playground and the new equipment is great. Daniel just loves the swings. He was started to learn how to swing himself. He doesn't do it all the time and he mostly needs a push but I'm very proud of him for giving it a go.

Eliza hasn't been on a swing before so we thought it would be good to have a go as the swings are made for babies. 
Daniel first wanted to give Eliza a hug on the swing.

Then we decided she could try sitting on his lap for a bit of a swing.

Then we decided to give her a go on her own. She absolutely loved it!

Daniel then decided that he wanted to have a go at pushing Eliza. He was pushing it a lot stronger than we were doing but she still really enjoyed it.

Daniel and Eliza both love going for walks and I have loved being able to go for a walk and a chat with my friend Anne each week. Unfortunately she heads back to work in the new year, but I am hoping to still go for walks with the kids (come on motivation!). I am very fortunate that Daniel and Eliza both love being in the pram. Daniel enjoys looking up to Eliza or playing with her feet. Here he is doing 'This Little Piggy' to her while she is sitting in the pram. Normally when she isn't in the pram there are lots of giggles and smiles.

Whilst eating dinner Eliza has started to do the cutest little head tilt. She can sometimes do it on cue, but she also just enjoys doing it while eating. I just love it!

I just love watching Daniel and Eliza play together. Sometimes Daniel's quite possessive and tells Eliza "No, Eliza. Don't touch that". Or "Eliza, that's mine" but then other moments, he is great at sharing with her. In this picture Daniel just got one of the books and sat down next to her and started to 'read' to her. So sweet!

The love of playing the keyboard is continuing with Eliza :-)

We headed back to Wahroonga Park with the Howies, Kate and Sam. It was a lovely lunch time. Jenny decided that it was time for Eliza to have a turn on a large swing with Daniel and Oscar. She did hold on for dear life but seemed to love it.

Eliza just loves getting hugs from Daniel. She also loves it when Daniel puts his head on her lap. She always grabs a handful of his hair and pulls. Fortunately Daniel doesn't seem to mind at the moment. Her grip already is pretty strong. Hopefully it doesn't get too much stronger.

Eliza has started to be a tummy sleeper. After months of not rolling over, she started to learn the skill in her cot. I don't know if it's easier because it's on a mattress or what, but she rolls over each time we put her down, the same as Daniel used to do.

Eliza is growing up too quickly! We finally got around to going to shop for a new car seat for Daniel. This way Eliza can move out of the capsule, into Daniel's seat - rearward facing. It's pretty crazy how quickly she is growing up, but it's good. She is happy in her new carseat and so is Daniel. She is also happy in the pram seat.

The new pram look

Happy in their new carseats

Eliza has increased her babbling. Her main word (or sound) to say is "Dadda". I have at times said "Dadda's at work". Now Daniel responds to Eliza saying "Dadda's at work, Eliza". Pretty cute.

We had moved Daniel from brushing his teeth in his bedroom to the bathroom. He is so excited to stand up on his stool (which he sets up on his own) and brush. The most exciting part though is to spit into the basin. I was nervous that the spitting would move to food or drinking, but fortunately he just associates it with brushing teeth.

I was playing with Eliza by throwing a ball/block to her. I was quite impressed by her reflexes to catch. Clever girl.

Daniel has started to play his keyboard while singing different songs. I just love watching his development and growth. As you can see at the end of this video, he's pretty happy with himself.