Our dear Enna-Marie has turned 22 months old. Below are the things she does and says now. We are so happy for all her milestones achievements and we look forward to more accomplishments. To see her grow into a little individual with her own character, likes and dislikes, brings us such great joy, and a greater realization and appreciation of the greatness of God's creation! Of course, there are also the tantrums and the occassional challenges she presents to both mommy and daddy, but these quickly fade into insignificance when she gives us a happy smile.
Enna-Marie...- can count from 1 to 10 in Dutch, Tagalog and English
- can name 5 to 6 colors in Dutch and Tagalog
- can name a lot of animals when you point each of them in a book or flash cards
- knows 3 children's prayers by heart (O God, Guide me; He is God, O God my God; and Blessed is the Spot) and 2 or 3 more but just the beginning or ending part
- knows most of the Bahá’í songs in the Australian album cd "Love All The World", her favorite one is "Tread Ye the Path of Justice for this Verily is the Straight Path"
- can remove her jacket
- can put on a skirt
- can put her shoes on with velcro
- can tell where her family and immediate relatives are (Holland, Philippines, Haifa)
- can already say her complete first name "Enna-Marie" as previously it was just "Enna"
- can show us how she should behave or pray, see a photo below with arms folded.
Vocabulary:
saying goodbye at bedtime: "Love you Mama" and "Love you Papa"...weltrusten (sleep well)
can also say: "Mahal kita" (I love you in Tagalog but it is mostly "Mahal tika")
when we are out and Mama drives: "dami auto" (there are lots of cars)
when Mama is driving and breaks abruptly: "careful auto"
inside the house playing a ball: "dami bola" (there are lots of balls)
at night when she sees the moon: "Enna...scared moon"
when she hears the sound of the ambulance car: "scared ziekenauto" (scared of ambulance car)
when she wants Papa to look what she just did: "see, see Papa"
when Mama holding a camera or taking pictures: "Enna...look pictures"
when asked what breakfast she wants: "am..am...(thinking)...oatmeal, please"
when she wants to sit on a dining chair: "Enna-Marie climbing chair"
when she wakes up in the morning and Mama picks her up: "Enna-Marie...cry"
when she wants to draw or write something: "Enna sulat" (Enna writes)
when she just woke up in the morning or from afternoon nap: "Enna-Marie wakker"
when passing the street of a friend's house: "Bahay ni Lillian" (house of Lillian)
when she doesn't like a kind of food: "Enna-Marie no nike..." (she means Enna no like :))
when she hears the phone ring, she says gently: "Mama...get...phone"
when asked who passed on/gave a pair of shoes to her: "Aliyah"...then she says: "thank you Aliyah"
when we are out in the street and a car is coming: "car...car coming...Enna tabi" (car is coming...Enna should stay at the side or stay beside mommy)
When she asks for a drink or snack and ask her in return what will she say: "thank you" or "salamat".
...and here are some shots of her taken yesterday in Bahji at the gardens and the Mansion...
Siila Knight with husband Jabez and daughter Fetaui recently visited us at home. They were here for their nine day pilgrimage. Just a flashback, when I came to the World Centre more than nine years ago, Siila from Samoa and Jabez from Barbados were serving here as well. That same year, I had a privilege to be part of the "Pacific Night", a presentation of different dances and songs from the Pacific, thanks to Siila for teaching me this traditional hawaiian dance, very simple but a beautiful dance. I kept with me the practice tape, traditional costume and video that she gave me as souvenirs. I remember before they finished their services, they had a beautiful baby girl named Fetaui. Now she's 8 1/2 years old, people she meets get attracted to her sweet, happy and gentle personality. Enna-Marie and I for instance didn't want her to go when it's time to leave our place after we had lunch together (Maarten by the way couldn't join us as he was busy meeting with some consultants who were in town). You can see from the photos below that they really played/liked each other. Thank you for that short visit Siila, Jabez and Fetaui and for the parenting experiences and advices you shared with me.
Siila and I at the Pacific Night more than nine years ago...
Our family together with Vanysha joined a group of friends boarded on two sheruts to Beit Alpha and Gangaroo trips last 20 October. Because of our very busy schedules in the past week, we are only able to post these photos now. Anyway, we did enjoy looking at the koalas and feeding the kangaroos, our first time ever to see them so closely. They are jumping and eating everywhere in the kangaroo area. Enna-Marie and Menchie have also been to the zoo in Haifa (photos were also posted here), it's nice as they have a variety of animals there, but here in Gangaroo you can touch and feed the kangaroos, you can buy the food and it costs one shekel. We also have seen and taken photos of sheep, cockatoos and few other animals, but have deleted them by mistake, oh well unexpected things can happen sometimes. We recommend this trip to families with young children. Enjoy the following photos:
Beit Alpha Synagogue National Park is an ancient fifth century synagogue with a splendid mosaic floor. (photos didn't turn out so well as the room was so dark due to the film showing)...
Gangaroo is a beautiful park with all things Australian––kangaroos, cockatoos, flying foxes, koalas, laughing kookaburras, cassowaries, wallabies, and emus. There are 38 types of eucalyptus trees and other plants grace the grounds. They have a gift shop with all things Australian as well.
We had a welcome lunch gathering last weekend at Diane and Lonnie's place for the new family, the Rychetniks: David, Grace and Kira.
Also recently, we had a privilege of meeting Dr. Parvaneh Farid from Hungary who shared her knowledge about homeophathy with the mothers. Our special thank you goes to Barbara, Sahar and Desiree who babysat for us.
