Bunny Lovin'

Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD. (Zechariah 10:7)

I just had to share these pics of Naomi petting a bunny rabbit for the first time...


It was Owen's 3rd birthday last weekend so Naomi got to ride a train to the pumpkin patch, where they had a petting zoo. I think it might have been the first time she's ever pet an animal. (My parents usually keep their dog Jordan in the garage when Mimi comes over and Craig's dog Casey isn't really allowed around the babies either.) Anyway, there was a pony and some chickens but it was the bunny that got her attention the most. Naomi really enjoyed petting the soft fur... can you tell? =)

From Owen's Pumpkin Party

Sit - Mimi - Sit..

You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. (Psalm 139:2)

Don't take this the wrong way, but sometimes, I feel or sound like I'm trying to teach a dog a new trick... or in Mimi's case - a cute, cuddly baby with puppy eyes =)

Sit, Mimi, Sit...
Siiiiiiit...
Good Girl!

Okay, now Roll Over...
Roll Over?...
Roooooll Over...

Good Girl! Good job Naomi!

From Sitting

HA! Shame on me! As you can see, Naomi can now sit up, unassisted =) She's actually been doing so for almost two weeks. The weekend of Mimi's Christening, she was hanging out with her cousins... it was mostly Weslee crawling, Bella sitting and Mimi laying on her tummy. Or I would hold her up while she sat. The following day, I tried to sit her up again, and she began balancing on her own! They must have gave each other lessons, because Bella began crawling soon after, too! Now, I get a thrill out of showing other people how she sits. Here she is on the couch, sitting for Grandma Lily:

Another thing that she does a lot of lately is touching her feet. The funniest time has got to be when she was sitting for Richie on the bed. She ended up falling over onto her back. That's when we discovered that not only does she like to touch her toes, but she's been trying to taste them, too!



EVERYTHING goes into her mouth now! Naomi chews on her security blankies and her sleeves. It seems that she enjoys eating the toys on her activity center the most. Lately, she's been trying to eat my hair.

Now if only we could get her to eat/drink out of her bottle! We've finally been able to get her to tolerate it in her mouth. She'll actually reach out and grab the bottle and put it in her mouth, but she makes a funny face and doesn't actually drink. The milk will drip into her mouth and most of it ends up dribbling down her chin! She only really swallows the milk when she's frustrated and crying... and that only seems to get her more upset that she actually had to ingest some of it!

Naomi is already 5.5 months old and pretty much ready to have "solid" food, especially now that she'll be able to sit up in a highchair. We tried giving her rice cereal one time for Auntie Leia and she did fairly well, but we will officially be feeding her solids starting next week. Should be lots of fun!! Here's a sneak peek of what's in store:

Pumpkins with Bumpkin =)

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. (Ephesians 3: 14-17)

In our family, like most others, we like to give each other nicknames. Naomi has already gathered a few of them in her tiny sleeves. We were already calling her Mimi before she was born. Some of the other names she's been given (and the nicknames of who first called her by that name):

Noemi ~Spanish version of Naomi~ (Grandpa Candy)
Mimi-Ganda / Baby-Ganda ~Beautiful in Tagalog~ (Grandma Mrs. D.)
Mimi-Girl (Ninang Catz)
Mimster (Cousin Dean-Dean)
Mimerz (Ninang Jaz / Cousin Dre-Rei)

Well, the weekend that Naomi Hope was baptized, cousin Arabella came to visit. So Mimster, Bumpkin and the boyz (Dean-co-Dean, Joshaway-way & Owee-O) went to the pumpkin patch (minus cousin Wellee...yes the 'S' is missing!) It was kinda overcast, but still lots of fun taking pics.

From Pumpkin Patch

I can't believe that it's already going to be Naomi's first Halloween! I have a couple of cute costume ideas for the baby... stay tuned!

Welcome to God's Kingdom!

Baptism, which is symbolized by that water, now saves you also, not by removing dirt from the body, but by asking God for a clear conscience based on the resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah (1 Peter 3:21)

Naomi was baptized this past weekend, on Sunday, October 11th at St. Joseph's Catholic church. It was a joyous occasion that was shared with our beloved family members. Richie and I are honored to have our siblings Craig & Cathy and Jasmine & Ken as Mimi's godparents.



We chose the name HOPE for Naomi's baptismal name. Her first name is already Biblical in nature and we wanted a virtuous name to represent this special sacrament. I presented Richie with a variety of names (Faith, Grace, Mercy, Joy, Love) but I had a feeling that he would choose Hope, and I was right. We especially love what it means: "A desire of some good, accompanied with an expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable; an expectation of something which is thought to be desirable; confidence; pleasing expectancy." We have so much hope for our little girl to fulfill the desires of her heart and carry out the plan that God has for her life. We plan on keeping Hope "alive" by continuing to call our daughter her given name AND baptismal name as well... Naomi Hope... it has a nice ring to it, don't ya think? =)



Naomi did really well when it came time to baptize her with the Holy water. Mimi even smiled back at the priest... she really likes bath-time =) Naomi Hope wore the same gown that Richie and all of his three siblings wore when they were Christened. All five of her cousins also wore the gown for their baptisms before her. Although she looked like a tiny angel in her long flowing outfit, it started to get hot and Mimi started getting fidgety. Once we removed the gown... and her shoes... and her socks... and her tights!... she was smiling again =) Look at how big Naomi's family is!



We were fortunate enough to host the reception at her Grandparent's lovely home, just down the street. Uncle Peteman cooked up a delicious feast of prime rib and seafood pasta. Auntie Virgie baked a beautiful cake that was picture perfect =) Later on we served some Thai food to kick off the evening. Thanks to everyone for making Naomi Hope's Christening Celebration a wonderful day to remember!

From Christening Celebration