Sienna's first Christmas!

We've had so much fun with Sienna this holiday season, and she's been such a good girl through all the functions we've attended! Here's a rundown of all the fun we've been having in the past couple weeks.

Gramma's birthday (Scott's mom) is right before Christmas, and we always celebrate by having dinner at Houston's. Sienna got to help Gramma open her presents this year and sing happy birthday! :)

A couple of days later, Scott and I took Sienna down to see the Plaza lights. (Both Sienna and I have loved having daddy around more this past couple weeks, as he has taken some time off work.) While we waited for a table, Sienna was the star attraction drawing a lot of attention from fellow diners. What a cutie! We got a window table, and Sienna was enthralled with looking out the window at the lights.

The following day, Nana (my mom) came over to make sugar cookies. This is a tradition my mom, sister and I have had since I was a kiddo, so it was fun to 'include' Sienna this year. She helped us by holding the cookie cutters. Ha. Next year she will be helping cut out cookies and eating cookie dough. :)

We started our Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve with Gramma & Tompa (Scott's mom and step-dad). We went to Christmas Eve service together at our church, and then had a great Italian dinner and opened gifts. Gramma and Tompa got Sienna her first laptop and purse, which she loves! So cute to watch her hit the buttons on her little toy laptop. She also got a ton of cute clothes and other fun toys. She was a little ham... just chattering away that night.

On Christmas day, Scott, Sienna and I spent the morning together. We continued our tradition of cooking breakfast together, reading the Christmas story from Luke, and opening our stockings. Again, Sienna was just precious. My parents, Grandpa, Grandma (Dave & Susan) and Aunt Anne came over that afternoon to hang out with us. Sienna opened a few more gifts, and we had a fun and relaxing day together while the snow came down outside. Yeah for a white Christmas! Aunt Kitty and Uncle Matt came in town that evening, and we spent a couple hours with them before calling it a day. And what a great first Christmas day with Sienna it was!

The next morning, we headed over to my parent's house to celebrate Christmas together as a family. We barely made it to their house since we had gotten so much snow, and most of the roads weren't plowed. We spent the day at my parent's house. Again, Sienna was spoiled with lots of toys, clothes and 'bee' articles. My sister made her/us this awesome book that has pictures of Sienna along with scripture references... such a neat book, and such a great keepsake. I can't wait to show it to Sienna when she is old enough to understand. My mom sewed a cloth book for Sienna, and also made her this tiny beaded bracelet. We had our annual crab leg dinner, and it was delicious. Sienna played in her swing by the table while we ate. We had gotten another 3 - 4 inches of snow that day, and we were concerned about making it home. So we decided to stay the night at my parent's house, and we all had a slumber party! Sienna slept great in Nana's crib! Uncle Matt and daddy decided to go sledding at 11 PM, which made for a funny and interesting night!

We still have one more celebration to go with Dave, Susan and fam after the New Year. We are looking forward to it! Hope you all had a blessed Christmas with your family!

Sienna goes to school

For the past week, Scott & I have been teaching Sienna how to fall asleep on her own in her crib. We have jokingly called this teaching time, "Sienna's school". Ha! Anyhow, I'm happy to report that she is an A student. (But we all knew that already, right?) She has quickly mastered the art of self-soothing, and we are so proud of her! She really does catch on to things quickly, so I guess we shouldn't have been surprised how quickly she learned this.

Sienna is also getting so big. I took her to the doctor last Friday because she had a rash and high temp (turned out to be nothing, though), and they weighed her. She was 14 lbs 1 oz. That is more than double her birth weight. She has the cutest little belly, chunky thighs and cheeks.

Jenny gave her the most adorable Santa Claus bloomers for Christmas, and we had a photo session this morning. Enjoy! (And thanks, Aunt Jenny!)

Another milestone

Sienna hit another milestone today after her morning nap. She began batting the toys above her crib gym and bouncy seat. It was so cute!!! She was studying them intently (as always), and then she just started swatting at them. She was so serious about it... just kept hitting them over and over. She is officially beginning to play now - how fun!

Addition to this post... we got a video of Sienna playing, talking & pooping this morning. It's pretty hilarious.

I love my...

Since this blog is mostly serving as Sienna's baby book, I thought I'd list a few things she really loves at 3 months old.

- Paci. It signals naptime and bedtime, and it does a great job in helping her wind down.

- Daddy. Scott plays this really cute game with her. His eyes are wide and he has a huge smile, and he says "I'm going to get you!" She smiles and coos every time.

- Maddie. She loves staring at Maddie and watching her run around.

- Bouncy seat and crib gym. These are her two favorite "toys". She loves to stare and talk at the rings and stuffed animals hanging overhead.

- Mirror. Loves looking at herself, and she becomes quite the chatterbox in front of the mirror.

- Stuffed animals. Again, she loves talking to her stuffed bears and puppies. We just put them down next to her, and she strikes up a conversation. Cute!

- The color red. We think she has just started seeing red because she stares at anything that has red... clothing, cups, my hair dryer, etc.

- Christmas tree. She is entranced by all the little white lights on the tree. It's fun to hold her and let her stare at the tree.

- Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles. Sienna lights up when her family is around.

3 months

Wow... here we are already at 3 months. Sienna has really cranked up her talking lately. She loves talking to her bears, her mobile, the ceiling fan, and all her favorite people. I also think she's really close to start batting the objects hanging over her crib gym and bouncy seat. She loves to kick her legs and swing her arms... just know she's trying to figure out how to grab them!

Every month, I take Sienna to Target to get her picture taken. This month, Sienna wore her Santa outfit and Christmas dress. She was so good, and we got lots of great pictures. Enjoy!

The littlest Chiefs fan

We love the Chiefs, even in 're-building' seasons like the current one. We are training Sienna to love the Chiefs, too!


Our little Chiefs cheerleader

Who knew 6AM could be so enjoyable?

This morning around 6 AM, Sienna woke up and started talking to herself in bed. She babbled on for about 30 minutes. It was the most adorable thing! She varied the intonation of her speech from low coos to high pitched squeals. Scott and I just laid in bed and listened to her. So precious! Thankfully, she fell back asleep for another 30 minutes or so before getting up for the morning. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today was a great day!! We got to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families, and Sienna was a doll... like normal. :) These will also serve as her 12 week pictures, as she'll be 12 weeks tomorrow. She is growing so much and getting to be so much fun! She talks a lot, and she is a happy baby. She has been stretching out her night sleep... going like 7 or 8 hours without waking up. Good girl! She also has found her hands recently, so we've been experiencing lots of drool since she has them in her mouth constantly! Just the other day, she started sucking her thumb pretty consistently. We've been swaddling her hands in a blanket when she sleeps, but I think we're going to start unswaddling them so she can use her thumb to self soothe.

Isn't she a doll?! I loved her sparkly tights, dress & mary janes. So fun to dress little girls!

Proud grandpa, grandma, mom & dad

Sienna's namesake - both her beautiful grandmas!

First Santa Visit

Scott took the day off work on Wednesday, and we headed to the mall to do a little Christmas shopping and to visit Santa Claus. Sienna loved Santa! She told Santa for Christmas that she wants a cousin to play with... any takers, siblings? :) In the 'professional' picture, she has the hugest grin on her face. I don't have the digital of that picture, but I'd be happy to show it to you in person!

Right before Sienna saw Santa. Scott is a pro at getting her to smile. She adores her daddy.

Hi, Santa!

10 weeks

Here is our baby girl at 10 weeks old. She is smiling and talking more than ever. She also continues with her 45 minute naps, but I have found a few tricks to extend those naps. The one that works the best is called "Wake to Sleep". Essentially, I jostle her body about 30 minutes after she has fallen asleep to re-start her sleep clock. (Don't worry... I'm gentle.) Sometimes I jostle her too much, and she wakes up. Bad! But other times, it works like a charm and she snoozes for almost 2 hours. Anyhow, we are just learning more about how Sienna ticks, and I really do love it. Some days I want to pull my hair out, but I am learning that is just part of being a mom. :)

Classic... Sienna wears her spit-up multiple times a day. :)