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. :)

2 month check-up

Sienna had her 2 month check up last Thursday. She weighed 11 pounds and 4 ounces, which is in the 65th percentile for her age! This is great, considering she was in the 25th percentile at her 2 week check up. Also, the doctor says her motor development is that of a 4 month old already! She can hold her head up, turn it from side to side, and she has been cooing and smiling since week 6. She also started blowing bubbles at about week 8, and the doctor said that normally doesn't happen until around 4 months. I knew we had a smart kiddo! :)

Sienna also got her first round of shots on Thursday. Scott held down her arms while the nurse stuck her three times in the thigh. With the first shot, her eyes got really big when the needle went in, and then she started bawling. Rightly so! I hate shots, too! She cried hard for about 5 minutes, but then calmed down and sacked out for a quick catnap on the drive home. Not too bad!

We also talked to her doctor about her sleep. He said that she could possibly be waking up at that 45 minute mark because of acid reflux. He said the interrupted naps, plus the fact that she spits up and hiccups after every feeding could be a sign. I'm not convinced she has it (because she'll sleep for hours at night without waking), but we've got her on Zantac to see if there's any improvement after a week. The medicine tastes nasty (like bad Peppermint Schnapps), so it's hard to get her to take it. We essentially have to squirt it in her mouth, and hold her mouth & nose shut to force her to swallow. Some times are more successful than others. Ha!

But we are likely going to start the crying it out bit after the Thanksgiving holiday. The doctor said that he believes strongly in the method (used it for each of his three kids), but not to employ it until 3 months. He said the part of a child's brain that can make the connection from day-to-day about sleep habits isn't fully developed until 3 months. I'm not looking forward to doing this, but I know it's best for her. I've been trying to put her down in her crib awake now, so she can be partially prepped for falling asleep on her own. Now I'm just going to have to quit putting her paci back in, patting her little chest or putting her in the swing to help her fall asleep. (Most of the time...)

45 minute napper

So if you've talked to Scott or I recently, you know that we've been struggling with getting Sienna to take long naps. Ever since she was born, she has always struggled with taking a long nap, outside of her morning nap. She'll usually sleep 1.5 hours for her morning nap, but then the rest of the day she can only go for about a 45 minute nap. For the first 4 - 6 weeks, I thought she was just a short napper. But she was waking out of her naps fussy/crying, so I knew she was either hungry or still tired. Well, she's been gaining weight like a champ, so I've determined it must be tiredness. Did you know that every baby goes through a 45 minute sleep cycle? You can time Sienna's to the second. Literally 45 minutes after she's fallen asleep for her nap (which she does, in her crib, on her own quite nicely), she will wake up. She just can't seem to transition from one sleep cycle to the next. It's the most maddening thing ever, I tell you! So I've started to employ various methods to get her over the 45 minute hump:

1. Sneaking in her room to put her paci back in when 45 minutes comes up. I've had marginal success with this method.

2. Picking her up and re-doing the naptime routine. More successful than method 1. Sometimes I have to do this 2 - 3 times, though. (Just did it for the nap she is taking, and she is sleeping again for another 45 minutes. Hooray!)

3. Sneaking into her room, placing FIRM pressure on her chest and legs at about the 40 minute mark to keep herself from moving too much and waking up. Hardly any success -- she is a strong little girl and likes to wiggle A LOT! This might have worked better when she was younger, but I wasn't aware of this 'problem' back then. :)

4. I've heard of going in to their room at about the 30 minute mark and gently patting them to wake them up, hoping they re-set their clocks and start the 45 minute cycle again. I haven't tried this one because I'm afraid to wake her up!!

5. Cry it out. We haven't tried this one yet, but I think we're only a matter of weeks away.

Okay all you parents out there, has anyone else dealt with the chronic 45 minute napper? Any advice or other suggestions?

8 weeks and Halloween pics!

Here is our little pumpkin at 8 weeks old! Sienna helped us answer the door for trick or treaters, and several of our neighbors got to meet her for the first time. It was a fun night. Halloween also marks the day that Sienna started taking longer naps during the day and only waking up one time at night. I sure do hope that pattern continues!!!

I love my bear

Aunt Jenny, this one is for you!! Sienna LOVES to 'talk' to the bear you and Andrew gave her in the hospital. I lay her on the floor with the bear, and she will coo and smile at him for 20 minutes or so. It is so cute! I have a video of it that I'll have to edit & upload when I get a chance.

Smiles at 7 weeks!

Below is Sienna's 7 week picture. It's technically of her when she's 7 weeks and 3 days. Sienna and I went to Holiday Mart on Friday with Nana, so I didn't get her picture taken. Plus, Sienna has been keeping us awake during the wee hours of the morning over the past few days. We're not sure why she's been doing this since she used to be a pro during the night. But lately once she's woken up to eat, she hasn't wanted to go back to sleep. Lucky us! :) We've been trying to keep a positive attitude, but it's tough to be happy from 2 Am - 4 AM when all you want to do is go back to bed!

Also, I captured Sienna smiling today. Enjoy her cutie smile! We sure are!