Zoo, Farm, Apples, Standing & "Uh-oh!"

Sienna has been doing SO MUCH lately, that we can hardly keep up with all her changes. She started pulling-up this Friday. Ever since she has learned how to pull up to standing, she's been obsessed with pulling-up on everything... toys, chairs, window sills, piano benches, etc.

Also starting this past week, Sienna says "uh-oh" every time she drops something... usually her food or sippy cup from her high chair. It is the cutest thing ever. I know our smiles & laughter are encouraging her to continue to intentionally drop things, but we just can't help ourselves. And she is so serious when she says, "uh-oh", but we know that it is all an act! She knows what she's doing! In fact, today she started saying "uh-oh" right BEFORE she threw her cup on the floor. Stinker.

Sienna has had a lot of fun with her grandparents lately... a trip to the zoo with Gramma Kuehn, a trip to the farm with Nana & PaPa Jones, and a spaghetti dinner with Pops & Grandma Williams (while Scott & I went to dinner to celebrate our 7th anniversary).

Gramma and I going to see all the African animals

Pointing at the animals... and trying to stay cool in the heat!

Watching the zebra, giraffe and hippos with Gramma

"I can stand up on my own!"

Helping with the dishes after breakfast

Sienna loves pizza... she wanted Scott to share with her, even though she had already had dinner!

Her top teeth are coming in, which means her ice cube holder is back in full force. Look at those eyes!

Sienna playing with her new, favorite "toy" - a snack holder. Hilarious! I think she ate too much candy that day. Ha!

I was eating an apple for lunch, and Sienna insisted on trying it, too. As you can see, she became obsessed quickly.

A montage of Sienna learning how to pull-up. Plus, an especially cute moment of her playing with Scott at the window.

Video

Here's the video from the 4th of July weekend that would not upload in my earlier post. I had to make it a lower resolution, so hopefully you can still see the content. The fireworks footage is a little hard to make out since it was night time.

A kitty-cat visits and other updates

Grab a cup of coffee & settle in for this update. We've been busy, and Sienna is changing faster than ever.

Our family of three is coming off a high after my sister, Karla, (Aunt Kitty to Sienna) came to visit for nearly a week. We had such a great time hanging out, shopping, watching fireworks, swimming and laughing together. Matt wasn't able to come with Karla, and we missed him! So, Matt, thanks for letting us borrow your wife for a week - we had the BEST time!

Showing off her cute 4th of July swimsuit...

Sienna stayed up late to watch fireworks with us

Clapping for the fireworks - she LOVED them!

Happy 4th of July, blue eyes

10 months.... and looking sassy

Visiting the calves... not so sure about them. They are much bigger than Maddie!

Daddy and Aunt Kitty both caught fishes for Sienna

I put together a video montage that captures some of the fun we had over the holiday weekend. (I'm having technical issues getting it to upload - imagine that - so check back later.) Sienna watched her first fireworks show; she loved it! For most of the 30 minute show, she leaned back into my arms & just watched. She was up WAY past her bedtime, but she did great. PaPa bought Sienna a singing Bee, and she loved playing with it all weekend. We also visited Pops and Grandma, where Sienna picked her first tomato! (And promptly took a bite!) Pops also took a dip with Sienna in her pool at their house. Lastly, we made our first trip to Deanna Rose Farm. Sienna loved the animals, especially the goats.

The fourth of July also marked Sienna's 10 month birthday - wow! Also, I meant to update everyone on her stats at her 9 month doctor's appointment a few weeks ago.

22 lbs - 90th percentile

29" - 90th percentile

At 10 months old, here's a glimpse into a day in the life of Sienna.

6:30 AM - Wakes up for the day

7:00 AM - Scott & I get her out of bed. She is normally 'singing' and up on her knees waiting for us with a big smile!

7:00 AM - Breakfast (Oatmeal w/fruit, yogurt, bananas, Cheerios, bottle --- but she's starting to drop the bottle)

9:30 - 10:30 AM - Nap

12:00 PM - Lunch (Sienna's a great eater, so we have a lot of different things for lunch like deli meat, sweet potatoes, ravioli, string cheese, pizza, hamburger, chicken breasts, apple sauce, pasta, and oranges. We top off lunch with a 4 oz. bottle)

2:00 - 3:30 PM - Nap

5:00 PM - Dinner (Again, she eats most anything. Her favorites are pizza & hamburger - go figure! Starting to drop the bottle at dinner time, too.)

8:00 PM - Bottle & bedtime

Some of our favorite Sienna-ism's lately...

- She loves her sippy cup! She drinks without the suction valve, likely because she has drank out of a 'real' cup for so many months. She loves to drink water out of her sippy cup while she has her meal.

- She has had a fun time learning how to feed herself. It's hysterical to watch her eat pizza. After a couple bites, she has cheese & sauce smeared all over her face. (We went to dinner at Spin Pizza a couple weeks ago, and she started throwing a fit when Scott and I weren't giving her pizza bites fast enough. LOL)

- She can verbally articulate her excitement in a new way. Anytime she sees something that catches her eye, which is quite often, she puckers her mouth in a tight 'O' and says "oooooooohhh". Just precious.

- She understands when I say, "Sienna, clap your hands". She smiles & claps her little paws together.

- She loves to intentionally 'face-plant' in the swimming pool. Seriously. The first thing she does when she gets in a pool (baby pool or big pool) is dunk her face in the water. And every time she gets this surprised expression on her face & sputters the water out of her mouth; but 15 seconds later, she is dunking her face again.

- Karla taught her how to 'high five' this weekend. All week, Sienna has been obsessed with high-fiving people. However, she only will high-five when she initiates. If you initiate, she just looks at you like, "What are you doing? You look silly with your hand up in the air."

- She is a speed crawler. She is burning off those rolls and her tummy is getting smaller. Incredible how fast she has started to thin out.

- Sienna is pulling up on everything. So far she will just pull up to get on her knees. She will pull up to her feet when I'm holding her hands. She also loves to practice walking while holding someone's hands. I assume she'll be walking by her birthday.

- Her hair color is getting lighter everyday. Her hair looks highlighted with brown & blond streaks when it's all down, but her hair looks very blond when up in a ponytail and you can see her roots. In a ponytail, those blue eyes pop, too. She's beautiful.

- She loves the heating & cooling vents on the floor. She visits them daily, often when we have been outside and she needs to cool off!

Sporting her new bee backpack. She'll be ready to travel one day!

Sienna loves playing in our pantry

Daddy's Day

Today, Sienna and I got to celebrate Father's Day with Scott, our dads and grandpas. We had a fantastic day!

Sienna started sitting up on her knees this afternoon. She was so excited that she kept pulling up onto her knees in her crib this afternoon and did not want to nap! Who can blame her -- what an exciting new skill to learn and practice! (Plus, we had a party going on downstairs, and all the grandparents kept going in to 'check' on you. They love you too much to stay away too long.)

Sienna, your daddy loves you very much. You made daddy's day when you kept laughing so hard at dad in the pool and when you would cry if daddy swam away. Sienna, you are the biggest blessing in our lives! We feel so honored to be your mommy & daddy.

Scott and his girls

All the dads we celebrated today!

(John/Grandpa (my paternal grandpa), Bruce (my dad), Knox/G (Scott's paternal grandpa), Dave (Scott's dad), Scott)

Pops reading his card with Sienna... how grown-up does she look?!?!

Pops and Sienna doing the Indian warhoop (Ah-yah-yah-yah-yah-yah)

PaPa (my dad), Sienna and myself

Sitting up on her knees! (And chewing on her xylophone stick... her favorite teething toy.)

Baby Foodie

In the past week, we've been giving Sienna 'real' food. She loves it! Some of her favorites so far are sweet potatoes, new potatoes, green beans, spaghetti, chicken, donuts and ice cream.
Scott and Sienna had an ice cream date with Pops, Grandma (Dave & Susan) and Aunt Anne. Pops let her taste her first bite of ice cream. Starting the sugar addiction early... I know, we are bad parents. :)

And she's off!

Sienna started crawling today! (9 months and 4 days old) Baby go-go is officially on the move. :)

This morning before I left for work, I sat down on the floor to play with Sienna. She immediately got on her hands and knees, and she took about 10 little, timid crawl "steps"... forward! I was shocked! Earlier this morning, she had been playing in our bathroom while I was getting ready, and she was just scooting and rolling around like normal. Ten minutes later, she was crawling!

Here's a short video of her crawling tonight. (She also gets her sippy cup, which she just started using yesterday.) You can also hear the excitement in my voice! I had a proud mommy moment.

Before today, I was so excited to see her start crawling. Tonight, I am almost sad that she is crawling because that means our baby is growing up. Tear!

Let the baby proofing begin!

Another half marathon

This morning, Scott finished his second half marathon! It was a humid morning and an incredibly hilly course, but he still managed to better his time and run an excellent race! (His time was 2:02 - go, Scott!) Sienna and I went down to the finish line at Crown Center to celebrate this huge accomplishment! I am so proud of him and inspired to get my butt back out on the road, again!

So proud of daddy!

Finish line kisses

Happy baby! (With Shawna, a friend of ours who also had a GREAT 1/2 marathon!)

Laughing with Caden

This is Sienna at 5 weeks - her age during Scott's last half marathon! What a change!

Memorial Day Weekend

What a weekend! We were on the go constantly, and we had so much fun! Scott and I have slowed our pace of life since Sienna arrived. Now that Sienna is older and able to interact more, we thought we'd try to do some fun family activities this weekend. We had a blast!

As usual, I was off work Friday, so Sienna and I had our mommy-daughter hang-out day. We had fun playing with our neighbor and just hanging out. Scott joined us later that afternoon, and we had a great night with our baby girl!

On Saturday, the three of us went on a morning walk, and then we spent the afternoon at the zoo! Sienna loved watching all the kids and people just as much (or maybe more) than looking at the animals. She loved the birds best... probably because they are bright colored, move around more than all the other animals, and make noises that keep her attention. She also loved hearing the sea lions bark. She was content just sitting in her stroller, watching everything around her, and sucking her ice. (Sienna has a mesh feeder that we put ice cubes in for her to suck. She went through a HUGE cup of ice that day. She was staying hydrated, cooled and numbed to her teething pain.) At the end of the day, we experience a close-up elephant encounter. We were about 20 feet from this gigantic elephant. Sienna just starred at the elephant. I would give a thousand bucks to know what she was thinking!

Elephants!

Watching the gorilla with daddy

Loving the birds!

That night, Chris & Alicia came over for dinner & drinks. They brought Preston, and he and Sienna just sat and played together on the floor. They were so cute together. Sienna kept trying to steal Preston's paci from his mouth, even though she had her own paci in her mouth. Hilarious!

Sunday morning, we took Sienna to breakfast at Panera in her pj's. She looked so cute sitting out on the patio with us sporting her pink & green frog pajamas. :) After her morning nap (which was over 2 hours... unusual!), we went to lunch and then to the park. We had to strip her down to her diaper because it was so humid at the park. We also learned that Sienna's face turns red when she is hot, which is just like me! Sorry, sugar! :) We only lasted about 30 minutes at the park before we headed home to the air conditioning. After nap, went to the pool with Nana & PaPa. Sienna LOVED the pool. We started her out sitting in the zero entry where she splashed and played with her toys. We moved her a little deeper, and she just splashed even harder. Then we moved her to where she was about waist deep, and she started jumping and shrieking with laughter. Seriously - I was not helping her jump at all, she was just springing up & down like Tigger. So, so, so cute. She loved the water and is quite the water dog, as we say in my family. She's going to be TONS of fun in the pool this summer.

So happy!

Look at those thighs!

How cute is the back of her suit?

Hanging out with daddy after the pool & showing off her tanned cheeks!

Monday morning, we were up bright and early (Sienna's normal wake time these days is around 6 AM). We spent the night at my parents, so my dad & Scott went back on the boat to fish, and my mom, Sienna and I walked to the park. After her morning nap, we went back to the pool for more fun. Again, she loved it. Afterwards, Sienna took her first boat ride on PaPa's boat. The trip started out a little rough because we put on her life jacket, which she absolutely despised! I can't blame her, though. She couldn't even sit down in the life jacket because it was so bulky. She was so uncomfortable. Once we took her out of the life jacket, she enjoyed herself. :) We drove home from the boat dock (I thought she'd fall asleep in car, but instead she just talked the whole way home), and it was nap time. I put her down for nap, and 20 minutes later, she was still rolling around up in bed playing and talking. I went in to tell her to go to bed; 10 minutes later she was still playing. So I went in her room (she was on hands and knees playing around in bed), 'spanked' (a very light tap...) her bottom, rolled her over onto her back, and in my sternest mommy voice said, "Sienna, it's night-night time. Go to sleep." She gave me the most surprised look. I promptly left the room before I busted out laughing. It was so cute. We didn't hear another peep out of her; she went right to sleep. Glad that worked... this time!

That night we met up with Daniel & Gretchen for a cook-out and more pool time. Their kids are so good to play with Sienna... it is fun watching them interact and 'grow-up' together. What a great way to end the holiday weekend! Thanks for all the sacrifices our men & women in the armed forces made (and are making) to keep our country safe and protect our liberties.

Weepy, Happy, Mommy Moment

Sienna is becoming mobile! She crawled/scooted backwards across our living room on Saturday, and I started crying. It was such a happy moment but also a sad realization that our baby is growing up quickly. It is so fun to see her learn how to move. You can tell she's confused as to why she is going backwards, but she just loves that she is at least moving! Tonight, she started rocking back & forth on her hands and knees.

Also on Saturday, she stood up on her own (not holding on to anything) for about 7 seconds. (That is a long time for such a little person!) I was holding her, and I let go to see if she could stand alone... she sure could! She is so determined!

Sienna is just babbling away. Her current repertoire includes "ba", "da", "ta", "ya" and "phhhh". Her babble has slowed in the past few days, as she is concentrating more on crawling and standing.

This video montage is from her babbling while playing with her toys about a week ago and from her crawling on Saturday.

(Sienna rubs her feet together when she is comfortable/happy, just like me and her Uncle Kyle. Just precious.)

Best weekend EVER!

I just had the best weekend in 2010!!! Friday was my birthday, and my husband planned quite the celebration for me. The entire weekend was a surprise; I had so much fun!

On Friday, Scott and I spent the day hanging out with Sienna, Kyle & Hannah (they were in town from NY this weekend). We went out to breakfast together and just enjoyed the day. Around 4:00 PM, our doorbell rang. My friend Becky was at the door. I was shocked - Becky lives in Texas!!! She told me she was here to spend the weekend with me. I was so excited to see her! Scott had made dinner reservations for us at 5:30 PM, so we made our way to Houlihan's for dinner. My mom and dad stopped by to say 'happy birthday' (also a convenient excuse to hug on Sienna!). Shortly afterwards, my friend Tara walked into the restaurant. Again, I was shocked - Tara lives in Boston! Scott had arranged for both of these close friends to be here for my birthday!! I was so overwhelmed with happiness... had to hold back the tears of joy! To make the night even better, my sister finally arrived from Indiana. (I knew she was coming!) Scott had arranged to spend the night with his brother, so we had a girls night / slumber party on Friday night! We spent time talking, drinking skinny margaritas, watching a movie and leg wrestling. Yes, leg wrestling. Somehow we started leg wrestling, and everyone was shocked by how strong my legs were! (People, have you seen my daughter? Where do you think she gets that strength?) Anyways, I beat everyone! Becky kind of beat me on her third try, but I was laughing hysterically and couldn't give it my all. We had a great time just being silly girls together. Loved it!

Birthday pic with my baby girl

Unkie Kyle and Aunt Hannah reading "Good Night New York" to Sienna at bedtime

At dinner - all the surprise guests have arrived!

Leg wrestling - oh yeah!

Enjoying a birthday fruit pizza made by my mom!

In the morning, Scott and Kyle came back over to cook breakfast for all of us. Scott told me I needed to be ready by 10 AM. All the girls knew what was happening, but I was in the dark! I am not a person who loves surprises because I like to be in control (it's my type A, first-born personality shining through), so I was pretty anxious. At 10 AM, a black limousine pulled up in our driveway! SO FUN! Yes, Scott arranged for a limo to drive us around all day. We snapped a few pics outside the limo, I kissed Sienna & Scott good-bye, and we popped the champagne to toast my birthday! My sister (a.k.a Cruise Director), pulled out the itinerary Scott had developed for our day. We were headed to the Plaza for a morning of shopping. Even better... he had given $100 to everyone, with instructions to spend the money on ME! Yes, I do have the BEST husband!! We started at Anthropologie and managed to spend most of the money there. It was so fun to try on clothes and feel uninhibited by prices. It was like I had my own What Not To Wear credit card. :) Next we stopped by Francessca's, a little boutique, to look for accessories & other clothes. Afterwards, we decided we needed lunch, so we cruised in the limo over to Baja 600 (many memories at this restaurant...) to enjoy sangria and excellent food. We all agreed that we could get used to shopping & a limo on Saturdays! We felt like royalty or celebrities! After lunch, our Cruise Director announced another surprise. Scott had made spa reservations for us! Yes, seriously! The day just kept getting better. We had a little time before our appointments, so we cruised around in the limo and stopped by Starbucks for coffee & tea. We then made our way over to Shine Spa in Westport, where we enjoyed facials and massages. It was perfect timing... so relaxing and rejuvenating! Afterwards, our Cruise Director told us we could either grab a drink together or do more shopping. I still had money burning a hole in my pocket (ha!), so we headed over to Banana and spent the rest of the money. In total, I got 2 dresses, a jacket, several shirts, skirt, necklace, and bracelet. My wardrobe has new life! We piled back in the limo, poured more champagne, and headed back to Lee's Summit. When we arrived at our house, a bunch of our friends and family had gathered for a surprise party!! It was a BLAST to have everyone I love gather together. Scott had catered dinner, bought an ice cream cake (my fav!), and worked with my mom and friends to get a bunch of old pictures of me to put on display. Some of those pictures were a crack-up! As the night winded down and the crowd thinned, the skinny margaritas came back out and the fun continued! I had such an incredible birthday celebration! And the next day was my first Mother's Day... Scott had not finished with the surprises!

Headed out in our limo!

Cheers!

Thanks for the money, sugar daddy! :) Ha!

And the shopping begins...

Lunch at Baja!

Being silly before our spa session

Waiting for our spa treatments to begin

Cosette, Sienna & me

Roommates reunited

Preston, Alicia, Brooke, myself & Sienna

Scott, Tara, myself, Becky & Sienna

Sisters! (And the bottle is for Sienna... right, sis?)

Uncle Matt putting Sienna to bed in her Colts socks. Too cute!

Hanging out with the girls at the end of the night. What a day!

The next day, Sunday, I had a great Mother's Day. Scott, Sienna and I just hung out together that morning and had brunch. We all were tired from the day before, so we just enjoyed a low-key morning. It was perfect. We went over to my mom's house for lunch and to spend some more time with Matt and Karla.

Scott surprised me yet again that day, with a beautiful sapphire ring (Sienna's birth stone). The ring is beautiful; it has two sapphire stones & diamonds. If we have another baby, I can put his/her birth stone in the ring. Or, I might just keep the ring as is and pass it along to Sienna one day.

Mother's Day this year had obvious new meaning to me this year. Not only am I a mom, but this year I fully realized the love my mom and Scott's mom have for us. When I became a mom, an overwhelming love exploded from my heart for Sienna. I love putting her first, sacrificing anything for her, and figuring out how I can best meet her needs. Besides Scott, she is the biggest blessing in my life, and I will do anything for that little girl. I look forward to many years of loving her little heart.

This year, I also learned to lean on my mom & mom-in-laws in ways I never had. They have all been such a help and encouragement to me, as I am figuring out this motherhood gig. I love embarking on this new season of my relationship with each of them.

I hope all you moms had a great weekend and were reminded of the important role you play in your children's lives!

Clapping for mommy

My mom with her sons. Along with my dad, they cooked lunch for us!

Love!

Nana and her (teething) girl

Sienna loves her slinky

A new onesie for Sienna that says, "Nana Rocks" on the bum!

Me hugging Scott and a great shot of my ring and name bracelet (made by mom!)

Sienna drinking water out of a cup at lunch. She LOVES cups!