Meggie looks so cute in this picture!

At Burleigh Beach yesterday...

what's goin on...

Duncan has 2 wks off work now, for Christmas, which we are so exited for! He loves taking Meg and Lauren to whitewater world at dreamworld (its practically up the road), we got 2 yr passes, so we go there at least every week now. I keep him busy with little building projects for around the house too, right now he is making a kids size valet for their costumes to go on.

He is the first councillor in young mens, and enjoys mucking around with them every tuesday night. He is really great at it. Last sunday we were all at church early together, and i thought it was so nice to watch him prepare the sacrament, made me love him even more!

I dont have a calling yet, they let me just fullfill my motherhood calling for the moment, which i am grateful for, because that is work enough!
I love being in Qld again, near all our family, its great to do so much together.

I was also just with all my extended family on Dads side, as my beloved Grandma just passed away this past week. my sisters and i flew to Sydney for the day, to be at the funeral, and when i went in to see her, she had the most beautiful, peaceful, happy look on her face. i will miss her so much, but know she is with Grandpa again, and that is the most wonderful thing. I look forward to seeing them again one day soon...

Naomi is growing up so fast, she is 9 months old this month. she is crawling fast, and climbing on everything, and walking around the furniture. wont be long until she is walking on her own. she is a very happy baby, and goes along with anything, which is good, because she really has no choice! the is the most easygoing baby i have ever known, she is an angel. she has two bottom teeth, and getting her 4 top ones at the moment. she has her moments at bed time where is seems to bother her, but she is really good. we love her to bits and couldnt be without her, or any of our girls for that matter.

Megan turned 2 in september and is progressing so much quicker now. she is saying sentances, although she has a little lisp and mumbles a little bit, but she is getting better and better. she loves to play with her sisters and her favourite movie is tinkerbell. she recently got a tinkerbell costume, which she loves. she has a typical 2 yr old temper, but is generally bubbly and happy, and has the cutest giggle! she is very shy around people other than her family, and wont stay in nursery yet, but hopefully when our ward splits it will make the nursery smaller, and easier for her to adjust.

Lauren had her buzzy bee concert at the end of November, the theme was disney, therefore Winnie the Pooh for her group. It was really great, and she was so brave and danced really well. We are very proud of her. By the time she had finished all the practices, and the concert, she has had enough of it now, and has decided to choose piano for next year. There is a lovely lady in mum's ward who teaches, so hopefully she will enjoy it, too.

rolling over

Naomi cant be left anywhere except the floor now, she wriggles, and squirms, and rolls over all the time now. she walks backwards in her walker from one end of the house the next, then we turn her around so she can go back the other way. she is getting mobile so quickly, i miss her being a still baby already! she gaggles, giggles, and says mum mum when she chatters. she was 4-5 mths when she started saying it. She loves food, her jolly jumper (boy, does she get some height in that thing). she is truly amazing and developing so quickly, i am afraid if i blink i will miss something!

muddy puddles

my girls lOVE muddy puddles, it hasnt rained much this winter, but we got alot yesterday, so they made the most of it!

Prima Ballerina

Lauren is learning lots and having a great time in Miss Angela's ballet class. She is looking forward to wearing a real tu-tu for her concert at the end of the year.

News

Lauren started kindy, and loves it! I practically had to drag her away from there
on her first day!
Monkey! She has a friend there who she also does ballet with, Isabelle and her 2 year old sister aswell. She is doing great at ballet too, she shows us her new skills when
she is not feeling too shy.

Megan says "ballet" all the time and dances around too, but she has to wait until she is 2, and then mummy will see how long it will take before she will stay there by herself... Its only for 1/2 an hour so we will see.

Naomi slept for 14 1/2 hours last night, a record breaker! at 4 months old she is doing great, over 7kgs now, and 65cm long, giggles alot and just loves being involved with anybody.
Lauren does her best to get giggles out of her, she rubs her belly, pokes and wobbles her until some sort of laugh escapes her. they both love it, although mummy thinks she could be a bit more gentle...

Sonja and her family moved into their house today, the truck finally came - Yay! they are about 7 mins from us, going to be heaps of fun. I have had my family dropping in and out all week, its great!

Lauren's a 'big girl' now!

Lauren started ballet a few weeks ago, she loves it. Its at 8.30am on a Sat, which makes getting organised tricky, but she is picking it up really well.
She has a new ballet costume ready for when holidays are finished next week, she asks to wear it every day, but it's only for ballet class, except for when i let her try it on the day we bought it... practically had to rip it off her!
She is also starting Kindy next monday, for one day a week, which should be great, for her & me!.
Its called Koala Kindy, about 5 mins away. Will let you know how it goes.

Smiles

Naomi is 3 months old already!
She is a beautiful, happy easy going baby, thank goodness, because the other two are hard work!
she sleep from 10-13 hrs a night most nights (occasional 4 hourly) but she is generally an angel.
she chatters away and always has a smile ready.
she has the flu at the moment and is coughing alot, but still has that smile, a real trouper.

"Perritt" Grandkids

My parents enjoyed having ALL their grandkids around for a few weeks, when my sister Sonja came to visit. The Maddens will be moving up to Queensland this year, and we cant wait for this to be a regular event! Sonja will also be adding one more to this group in January next year!
Its great being close by to eachother and making regular visits without a plane trip involved.
We love you Grandma and Grandpa!
Pictured left to right is Greg, Megan(19mths), James (almost 7), Naomi (6wks), Grandma, Lauren(3) and Jack(3 next week).

Our Adventures

We have had a busy year so far, with moving from Tassie in early February, to having another baby, and look forward to getting settled and slowing down a little bit... life is crazy with three children at home, but we hope to find some quiet moments to just enjoy it.

Lauren Eve

Lauren is a beautiful girl, who constantly surprises us with her 3 year old wisdom. She is a very bossy oldest child, but loves to help and takes great care of her sisters. She never wants to miss out on anything and loves to learn. She is looking forward to going school just as much as i am, but her birthday being in the last half of the year, she wont get to start until 2010, which seems like a very long time away...
Lauren loves going to church, although has had trouble staying in primary/sunbeams since we moved and she had to try to get to know alot of new people. Hopefully that will get easier soon, because Duncan and I are having trouble being in 3 different places at once...

Megan Rose

Megan is too cute, and she knows it. She uses this to her advantage, and tries to get away with things just by smiling. She says alot of words now, but has nicknames for everybody.
Lauren is La lou, Naomi is Nomi, then there is Nama, Bapa, Yaya(Sonja), Nimmy(Jimmy), Nana(Alana), essi(Jessie), Moomoo(monica). Its very sweet and we love it.
She is very loving, but isnt afraid to say no, or fight back when she needs to. Her and Lauren play some great games together and miss eachother if they are ever apart.

Naomi TeAraiwini

Naomi is a wonderful baby, but takes alot of work as all new babies do. I am very tired with three kids under 4, but it is fun and has many rewarding moments. She was blessed on the first Sunday in May, which was a wonderful occasion with so much family present. Her big sisters adore her and cant wait for the moments when she is not feeding, sleeping or needing her nappy changed, so they can have a cuddle! She has fit so easily into our family and we love her so much. I am going to treasure every moment of her being a baby, 'cause this is it for us!