Omaha

This past weekend, we went to Omaha with the Miller fam --- such a fun weekend!! We had such a great time; I think we're both planning a return trip this summer. Everyone says the Omaha zoo is good, but man, they are underselling it. That place is AWESOME! The kids loved it, and so did the adults, which is a rarity. This trip totally took me back to my childhood days. Don't you remember when you'd get to stay at a hotel, and it was such a fun & exciting thing? You'd get giddy thinking about jumping on the beds and having a swimming pool right down the hall? We did all those things, and more! Fun, fun time. And bonus - the kids slept great and were an absolute joy!

The whole crew enjoying dinner in the Old Market on our first night, complete with balloons for the kiddos. After we stuffed ourselves here, we just had to go for ice cream. :)

Sienna in her cover-up after our late night swim. Ordering room service, of course.

"Baby Sienna" and Caden at breakfast.

On the swinging bridge inside the jungle exhibit. Sienna was not walking by herself across this bridge for all the cookies in the world!

With Daddy inside the jungle.

The most unique animal we saw at the zoo - a tapir. Looked like a cross between an anteater and a giant pig.

Getting a good look at the ducks.

Aliyah (Lee-La, as Sienna calls her) and Sienna. These two are buds. And I love it.

In the shark tank!

One of the silver back gorillas. Daniel had a stare down contest with this gorilla. After a few minutes, the gorilla beat his chest and attacked the glass. Intense and fun!

All the kiddos

No trip to the zoo is complete without a ride on the carousel, especially on the cheetah. :)

Our last day, Sienna was very into imitating me. So precious!

Wearing my shoes

Trying on my jacket

Using my flat iron (not turned on, don't worry!)

Happy Mother's Birthday Weekend

No, the title is not a mis-print. My birthday was the Saturday before Mother's Day, so we had a FULL weekend of celebrating me. I loved it. :) Scott did a great job making me feel special; he's so good at that. Here are just a few sweet pictures of the day that I want to capture. Buglet, I love being your momma.

Playing in her sandbox. Sienna's not such a fan of sand, which could throw a wrench into our upcoming beach vaca. Eeks!

Sweet girl enjoying her popsicle. I really do just want to freeze her in time these days.

Brain freeze!! (And a clothes pin is a miracle for push-up popsicles when you little one has not learned how to squeeze up the ice!)

Making homemade ice cream for me; my ultimate indulgence!

New York, New York

Scott and I left the little munchkin at home with the grandparents for a trip out to NYC to visit Kyle and Hannah. We had a great time! The weather was awesome; as Kyle and Hannah said, Spring is the best time in the city. The cherry blossoms were in bloom in Central Park, the city felt clean, and New Yorkers seemed to have a bit of extra pep. Kyle definitely has the hook-ups with his chef status; we enjoyed a couple free dinners, got into this really great speak-easy (BEST mixed drinks I've ever had -- coupled with a great atmosphere), by-passed an entrance line for a bar, and somehow scored free drinks at that same bar. Love rolling with my bro. :)

We took in a Yankees game - great seats and beautiful weather. Scott loves the Yankees, so it was fun to see their new stadium.

We went to a rooftop bar one night that had an amazing view of the Empire State Building. Isn't my hubby such a cutie? :)

Sibs! (Grant & Mel live in NYC, so we got to see them, too!)

Central Park with the Plaza Hotel serving as a backdrop

Brothers enjoying a favorite pastime of cigar smoking, while Hannah and I take one for the team and endure the smoke. :) Minutes after this picture was taken, we saw breaking news on TV about Osama bin Laden being killed. Scott suggested we go down to Ground Zero; we didn't know such a huge crowd was gathering at that very moment.

This was the crowd gathered at Ground Zero to celebrate the death of bin Laden. Since it was 2 AM, the crowd was pretty young & boisterous. New Yorkers were celebrating that night-- definitely a sense of unity in the city.

Another shot of the crowd -- you can see the World Trade Center memorial under construction in the background.

This guy climbed a street sign to wave an American flag high over the crowd. And my favorite sign of the evening is in the bottom right hand corner of this picture. "Obama 1, Osama 0."

Easter

We had a great Easter! We went to church on Sunday and had an amazing worship experience led by our good friend, Daniel Miller. Afterwards, our little family of three enjoyed lunch together. That evening, we had our family over for dinner and an egg hunt. Sienna loved everything about Easter... her new dress (picked out by Scott before she was even born), her Easter basket, the music at church, and her egg hunt.

The world always seems a little brighter on Easter Sunday, as we focus on the sacrifice & resurrection of Jesus Christ that brought hope, peace, love and salvation into our lives.

Sienna LOVED dying eggs. We had it all set-up when she woke up from her nap, and she was so excited.

She liked to throw the eggs into the dye. We predicted throwing would happen, thus the tarp. I love when we're able to think ahead like that.... not often, but love it when it happens. And turns out there's a bonus to thrown eggs. They crack and make a cool design when dyed.... almost like a stained glass look. :)

Scott & Sienna. She loves her daddy. Scott bought this dress for Sienna before she was born, when we found out we were having a baby girl.

(Sienna is playing her Toy Story harmonica... she would not part with it.)

LOVE this picture... our little musician.

She requested to have her picture taken with Maddie.

Egg hunt. Sienna didn't really grasp the concept. Once she spotted an egg, she would drop her basket, run to the egg, open it, eat the candy, throw the egg on the ground, and run to the next one!

Putting her eggs back in the basket after the candy is all gone.

"It's Just Another Day...

.... with you and me in paradise." That Phil Collins song has been playing over and over in my head as I sit down to write this post. While we do have trying moments with Sienna like any parent, we have really been loving this phase with Sienna. Here are a few moments of paradise we've been sharing together lately...

Sienna's first popsicle made from grape, sugar free Kool-Aid

Had to move outside b/c the popsicle was dripping everywhere. She was making sure Maddie did not get a lick!

Cheers! (Pardon the white legs... those are brutal.)

Pops came over for a visit one evening. Sienna ran up to him, turned to Scott and I and said, "bye mommy, bye daddy." When Pops said he was here to play, she about had a major meltdown. So, Pops put her in the car & took her to Hy-Vee to get a cookie. You'd think she was going to Disney World because of her excitement!

Sitting on the step with Pops after their trip to Hy-Vee. Happy, happy!

Speaking of paradise, Scott hiked the Grand Canyon with a few of his buddies last weekend. The pictures and stories are incredible!

Sienna and I had a make-up session today. I put a few of my old cosmetics in a bag for her that we now call "Sienna's make-up bag". Her favorite cosmetics thus far are lip gloss (mint flavored, of course) and powder. Go for the basics, girl! Ha, ha. She LOVES putting on 'meek-up".

Pouty lips

So excited!

We had an exciting moment at our house last night. Right before bed, Sienna told us, "poo-poo potty". She has never specifically asked to go pee/poo on the potty, but we took her downstairs to her potty chair since this seemed different. She started tugging at her pajamas, so we took them off & she sat on her potty. After about 2 tries, she peed about a teaspoon in the potty! Woo hoo!! We are not starting potty training, but it looks like she is getting more interested. Go, Sienna!

Happy birthday, Scott!

Scott celebrated his, um, err.... 27th birthday today! Happy birthday to my favorite person in the world! We took a lot of great pictures today (and a video, too) - enjoy!

Unwrapping presents with Daddy

We had fun playing with the hose outside before dinner. (It was sunny and 80 degrees today... hooray for a sneak-peak of summertime!)

Sienna was super excited when she got to hold the hose!

Immediately, she took a drink and began to soak herself.... much to her great delight! (Her dress is tucked into her bloomers... that's not some weird onesie outfit.)

"He-ye-go, Daddy." (That's Sienna-speak for 'here you go, Daddy'.)

So excited about the water and about Daddy's birthday!

I adore you, Sienna.

So happy!

Sienna was literally shrieking out loud!!!

Love this picture of her!

A fantastic family picture -- too bad we don't have any mass mailing/cards to send out! (And this is Sienna saying, "cheese!".)

Earlier this week, my mom-in-law (Marilyn) came over to help me make Scott's Grammy's cherry pie for his birthday. This is not such a great pic of either of us, but it preserves the fun memory! (And BTW -- you MUST cover your pie in an air-tight container. Otherwise, you will likely take the non-air-tight lid off and find that ants have overtaken your pie. And then you will be up very late the night before the celebration making another pie. Just sayin'.)

This video was shot post-water hose fun... Sienna has taken off her soaking wet dress and is mesmerized by the sprinklers! She also tells Scott happy birthday! (Big stuff, saying those 4 word sentences at 18 months old!)