Lana's Domain

Lana has got another website, her very own www.lanagardner.com.   Daddy has been grateful for the songs and stories that Lana watches every day (or more than once a day) and since she learns plenty of things from them, he thought it'd be nice to share them.   This can be Lana's personal website and she can do whatever she wants with it when she's big; for a school project or for anything.   The songs and nursery rhymes are currently what the site has got. Russ adds a few songs every now and then.   All About Lana will still be updated when Mummy gets the chance. And hopefully, readers will find both websites useful.

Rock A Bye, Baby

Lana's now 21 months and she's been sleeping in her cot. It's nap time and I'm on the bed while she waits for sleep to visit her.

Daddy says I could leave her by herself in her cot but I thought I'd keep her company until she drifts off to sleep. I'm multi-tasking anyway; putting her to sleep while tapping on my laptop keyboard updating her blog after weeks of being non-existent on the world wide web.

When she's asleep, I will iron my work clothes for tomorrow and start getting dinner ready. Yesterday, I had a nap with Lana but I don't think I'd do it today. I'm having fun writing about stuff. I've got tons of pictures to upload and it will take some time before I can do them all.

We didn't go out today as it was wet and cold outside after a storm. We spent the day just playing, watching In the Night Garden, reading books and riding her car.

Just another fun day!

Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

Farewell Party for Kuya Ludger

Kuya Ludger’s Farewell Party
Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

All In A Day's Work

I had a day off on Wednesday and since everybody at work was asking about Lana, I decided to bring her to work to show her off.

Everybody loves her eyes, her frock, her curls and chubby cheeks and they wanted to take her home, too! MY!

She had fun playing on the phone and pretending to work and didn't care if everybody was watching her.

She's so much fun!



Visit to Mummy’s Office

Afterwards, we had lunch at the New China with some friends and went to the Marketplace.



My BMW
Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

Partying Again

Lana had a lot of fun (and a lot of food) yesterday at Uncle Gavin's house. It was Lola's and Shaina's birthday celebration. There were plenty of people and provisions. She had a few pieces of spring rolls, a small cupcake, marshmallows and noodles. She loves eating.

I let her eat a few naughty food when we're at parties. We left the party after 8pm. She went straight to sleep when I put her in the car seat. She had a big day and she usually sleeps until we get home.

I normally put her to bed after I get her out of the car but last night she asked for some water. She must be really thirsty as she almost finished a cup of waterWhat a day!

Visit to Nonna's last weekend

Another Visit to Nonna’s
Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

My Beautiful Girl

It's a beautiful day today so we had lunch in the pool.

Lana likes to walk so we went for a stroll down the driveway armed with my iPhone to capture Lana's moments.

"An ant, Mummy!"

"An ant!"

Lana walking around the pool before lunch.

"Opps, the naughty wind blew my hat away!".

"I'll just put it back on."

"There. Easy peasy!"

Click play to watch more pictures of Lana today.


Mi Unica Hija

Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

Happy As A Bee

"This is my cup."

Lana having her morning breakfast with Mummy.

"Can I have more toast, please, Mum?"

"Mum, I know you like your iPhone so much, but I want my breakfast! And stop taking pictures of me!"

Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

My iPhone...I love...

It's been a week since I got my oh-so-wonderful iphone. I love this gadget. I don't hve to worry about taking my camera with me to take Lana's pictures as I can use it to snap our little angel's happy moments.

It's just AWESOOOOMMMMEEEE!

Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

One year and 6 months old

Our little angel was 18 months old yesterday. Time does fly!

We watched her baby videos on my mobile and she was fascinated by the baby saying goo-goo, ga-ga on my mobile phone screen. I told her that it was her when she was just a little baby.

Here's one of the videos that we watched:



4mosgoo
Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

Brekky with Mummy

Lana has breakfast with Mummy in the morning. She usually has half slice of toast with butter and half cup of milk on weekdays and has porridge on weekends. Mummy has coffee and two slices of toast.

She loves her food and likes to drink water, too.

Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

Lana's Weekend Walk

It was a beautiful day today so we went for a walk before lunch in case the weather change again:



Weekend Walk
Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

Beautiful Lana By Roy Orbison

I heard this song about Lana over the radio the other month and thought it'd be nice to post the video here. Lana likes listening to it, too!


Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

What Lana says:

1. "Up, please". When she wants to get on the chair or on Daddy or Mummy's lap.

2."Again". When she wants us to do the same thing again like, sing the same song, clap some more, play with her, etc.

3. "Isa pa". She says this, too. A Tagalog for "again".

4. "More, please". When she wants more food.

5. "Hop off". When she wants to get off the chair or Daddy or Mummy's lap or the car.

6. "Hallo". She says this when she picks up her toy phone.

7. "Cooking". She says this when she sees Mummy cooking in the kitchen. She stays with Daddy and doesn't dare go to the kitchen, as she knows that Mummy's cooking. She's really very clever.

8. "Hot". She says this when she sees that something is steaming like a cup of tea or the fireplace or the oven. This is one of the first words she learnt first.

9. "Wait". When she knows she was told to wait especially if Mummy is going to get more food or water.

10. "Poo". She says this when she thinks she has soiled her nappy.

11. "Bear, bear". She loves her stuffed toys. She gives them hugs and kisses when she sees them. She is one affectionate baby!

12. "Kitty". I think her favorite is Kitty Cat. She always gives her lots of cuddles. She went crazy one day when she saw a wild cat outside the bedroom window.

13. "Pretty". She loves pretty things like flowers, clothes. I gave her one day a pink bangle to put on her wrist and she looked at it and said, "Pretty!” Isn't she adorable?

14. "Aaron", Hannah". She can say names already when it's said to her.

15. "Ta". This must be the first word she learnt from us. She says this when she wants something to be given to her or if she wants to give us something. If memory serves me right, she started saying this before she was even 1 year old.

16. "Book". She likes to look at her picture books. As soon as Daddy puts her in the car seat, she asks for her book. She points at the pictures while saying what they are.

17." Sit". When she wants to sit.

18. "Bread". She loves bread. I always take with me, half a piece of bread cut in small cubes to give to her after I picked her up from childcare. She usually eats it on our way back home.

19. "Bikkie". I was surprised one day when she asked me for a bikkie (biscuit) after I picked her up from childcare. Maybe one the kids there asked for a bikkie.

20. "Dede". She asks for her 'dede' when she wants it. It's actually a Tagalog term for "bottle or milk" but that's what she calls her dummy (or others call them pacifiers).

21. "Milk". This is the first thing she says in the morning. It's MILK as soon as she wakes up and she wants it right away! She lays herself down on her mat while she waits for her bottle to be ready.

22. "Chair". She knows what a chair is. As soon as she sees me set the dinner table up, she knows it’s dinnertime and would want to be seated in her high chair.

23. "Clock". She learnt this word when she visited Nona's house and saw a pretty clock on the wall.

24. "Lana". Of course, one of the things she has to learn first is her name aside from the words Mummy & Daddy.

25. “Din-dins”. Word for ‘dinner’ that Daddy taught her.

26. “Car”. She likes cars. She always watches the cars passing by before we get on our own car after I picked her up from childcare!

27. “Moon”. I was surprised one night when we got off the car and pointed at the quarter moon. I didn’t even know that it was there that night!

28. “Brush”. She ‘brushes’ her teeth in the morning with Mummy.

Names of In The Night Garden characters though not very clearly, we can tell, if she's referring to Makka Pakka, Upsy Daisy, Tombliboos, Iggle Piggle, etc.

She can also says water not but not very clearly, yet although we know what she means.

She nods her head when asked about something like, "Are you ready to sleep? Or "Do you want to go home?"


What else? Well, I can’t think of any other words that she can say at the moment. Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

Terrible Tot

Lana has started being our little helper. She can do numerous tasks already when asked to. Some of them are:

1. "Throw it in the bin". When she picked something off the floor, I usually asked her to throw it in the bin. She happily obliges.

2. "Show it to Daddy or Mummy". She shows pictures or toys to Daddy or Mummy when asked to. One of my favorite

3. "Get your shoes or hat or anything". When we go out, we usually ask her to get her shoes. She knows where to get them anyway. That way, she learns what she has to do in order to get ready to go out.

4. "Ask Daddy to take you to the car". She says to her Dad, "Daddy, car" when we're ready to leave in the morning. She'd be waiting by the door then eager to go out.

5. "Clap your hands". One of the things she loves to do. She does this whenever we are, in the car or out and about.

6. "Close your eyes". When I'm driving in the morning and the sun is in her eyes, I tell her to close them so it doesn't get in them.

7."Drink water or eat your food". Lana loves her food. She started feeding herself with a spoon. It’s messy but she’s gradually learning. It would great when the time comes when Mummy doesn’t have to feed her anymore.

8. "Sit down". Lana is actually a very behaved girl and does what she’s told to do.

9. "Get your mat". She sits on her mat when she plays with her toys or drinks her bottle in the morning. I usually ask her to move the mat in the kitchen (except when I'm cooking) so I can keep an eye on her.

10. "Kiss". Mwuah! That’s her kiss. She gives us lots and lots of kisses! She’s heaven sent!

11. "Hug". With arms open wide, she gives the lucky receiver of the hug, a BIG hug as long as you tell her to give that person a hugs or plenty of hugs.

12. "Pick it up". Lana’s doesn’t put stuff in her mouth anymore. She just picks them up and gives them to you. Which is a very good thing because she once picked up at a friend’s house a fine staple wire. She gave it to me and praised her for not putting it in her mouth!

13. "Ta". As I’ve earlier, Lana is very polite. When you give her something, she says ‘Ta’ (Aussie slang for “thank you”) and vice versa.

14. "Switch on or off the light". She likes doing it. She switches the light on and off when we get in and out of the room.

15. "Stay here". Of course, if we want her to stay put, we tell her to stay put. Like when I had to unload things from the car, I told her to stay outside the door.

16. "Wait". I usually tell her to wait when I have to do something, thus she waits.

17. "Lay down". When she needs a nappy change, I tell her to lie down so I can change her bum.

18. "Sleep". She knows when it’s time to have a snooze.

19. “Close the door”. It’s her job to close the bathroom door before I give her a bath while I fill her bathtub with water.

We always say "please" whenever we ask her to do something for us. That way, she learns to be polite, too!



Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

Marketplace Moments

Since the marketplace has been reopened last year, I haven’t been there to visit until today. I was surprised by the transformation. The Bendigo Marketplace is now huge and has got plenty of big shops like the ones in Northland, where I shop.

After I picked her up from childcare, we go there for a quick visit to Ninang Jing and a quick ride in the car.



Marketplace Moments

Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

Book Worm

On the way to Bendigo, where Lana goes to childcare and where I work, Lana usually 'reads' her favorite book in the car.

It keeps her busy and she babbles and chatters as she turns each page. Sometimes she looks at the same picture book but sometimes I swap them from time to time.

Pictures will be added when I get the chance to upload them. I have been really busy lately so this is just going to be a short post.

Ciao!
Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

More Words

Our little sweetie has now a small collection of words including the names of the 'In the Night Garden' characters Upsy Daisy & Tombliboos.

She's learning a lot from the sing along music DVDs that her Daddy compiled for her.

Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

Lunch with Nona

We went to visit Nona and had a pre-Mother's Day lunch with her and Graeham. Lana had a play at Nona's garden ignoring the cold weather outside. She likes to touch everything: flowers, stones and anything she finds interesting:



At Nona’s House
Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!

A Lovely Little Fairy Lana

Lana had another big day on Aaron’s party. She was dressed as a beautiful fairy girl! She had a magic wand and a shimmery headband. Everybody loves her outfit, courtesy of Ninang Jing.



Fairy Cute

It was also a very big day for me. I did some organizing and cooking for the party. My efforts paid off when the guests enjoyed my scalloped potatoes and had some of them complimented my fruit bouquets. They also enjoyed my crudités and some had asked for the recipe of the cream and chili dip!

I also enjoyed making the curry-deviled eggs (stuffed eggs), which I have added some black olives for topping and some parsley to make them look attractive and colorful.

I’m sure the kids have also enjoyed my cocoa puffs, as they were only a few left after the party. I couldn’t make sushi because of lack of time.

My potato salad was also enjoyed so was my trifle.

To sum it up, the party was a hit!


Enjoying every little hug, from our little snuggle bug!