Meeting Santa...

Siena met Santa last night.
Grandma Sharon checked out the entire Kansas City area for the "good Santa"...and we found him at Bass Pro Shop. Apparently word travels fast when Santa is in town, so LOTS of people were waiting in line for a chance to sit on Santa's lap. But, because Siena has the best grandparents (all 3 sets of them!) in the world, we were 2nd in line! Grandma Sharon stood in line for an hour and "kept our spot" until Santa arrived. When Santa came around the corner, sure enough, it was the "good Santa"! What is a "good Santa" you ask...the one with the real white beard, of course! (No worries, I had to ask the same question...I didn't have a clue...) So, Siena got her first chance to sit on Santa's lap. No screams either! She was dressed just like him, with her red and white feathery Christmas outfit, and I think she must have felt comfortable knowing she wasn't the only one dressed up like that. :) She did great! And for her "good behavior", she got a candy cane. It, of course, went right to the mouth...as does everything these days. We had to snatch that from her and we'll hold on to it for a few years and then give it back.
Ha! :)
We stayed at Bass Pro and had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa at the great restaurant inside. Matt and Siena spent lots of time looking at the giant fish tank. Siena was following all the fish around and looking at the lights. A nice little bonding time with her favorite person...daddy. :)
A great first experience for her...and us!




And since we're in the spirit of Santa, this picture is too cute not to share... :)

Happy Anniversary!

I had the most wonderful day on Friday...and I just have to share. I know this blog is centered around Siena - and she is certainly much more interesting than we are - but without us, there would be no blog about Siena...so I guess it all works out in the end. :)
Friday, December 11, Matt and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary! Yep, 5 years have come and gone! And I must say this, as "mushy and cheezy and disgusting" as it sounds...it's hard to remember life without Matt. He is the most wonderful husband. I love him dearly and am blessed to have him by my side as we start our family with a precious baby girl. He is patient, understanding, loving, supportive, hilarious, thoughtful, giving, and surprising. He makes me better and I am blessed to be able to spend the rest of my life with him.
Okay, enough of that...on to the day.
We woke up Friday morning and the three of us went to First Watch (a delicious restaurant that has great food) for breakfast. You can't go wrong when you start out your day with a good omelet! Then, we went to Matt's parent's house and dropped Siena off at the "babysitter" for the day. Then, we went and had massages at a great little place in Lee's Summit. Both Matt and I don't spoil ourselves very often with a treat like this, so it was fun to do together. After we were nice and relaxed, we went back home to get ready for the rest of our day. Then, it was off to the Plaza. It was a beautiful, sunny, cold December day...perfect for walking downtown together. We did some window shopping, some actual shopping, and just enjoyed walking around the Plaza. We had early dinner reservations at 5:00 at Fogo de Chao, a fabulous Brazilian restaurant that is just the most delicious food you could imagine. We enjoyed a 2 1/2 hour dinner together...good conversation and lots of laughs. It was good to look back over the past few years and remember the great moments that have shaped our marriage. We have been very blessed. We have experienced really high highs and really low lows...all of them together...all of them making up who we are right now.
I look forward to spending the next 55+ years with Matt...

PS. Yes, it was as good as it looks...if not better. :)

Snow Day!!

When I was teaching, a phone call at the crack of dawn only meant one thing...a snow day!! I got SO excited for the potential of snow days..."some" would say a little TOO excited. But when your husband gets the same day off and we get to hibernate inside with beautiful snow on the ground...hello!...what's not to be excited about?! That being said, even though I'm not working right now, the same excitement and anticipation for an early morning phone call was in play. And it came! Matt got to stay home with Siena and I on Wednesday due to snow and ice that came during the night. We had such a great day! We played with Siena, gave her a bath, played with Siena some more, had a nice lunch, played with Siena, played Scrabble (I'm not going to go into details about the Scrabble games. I usually dominate on the Scrabble board...I was a little off my game...and someone decided to take advantage of his ONE opportunity!), and brought dinner to a friend and her boys...what a great, relaxing day! The best! :)
We caught a few moments and I thought I'd share...

Bath time is the best - Siena loves to kick her feet and splash around in the water!




Smiles all around! :)



Siena and her daddy playing in the jump-up bouncy seat! She's getting so big!!

Sinterklaas & Reindeer...

On Saturday, December 5, it was Sinterklaas, a Dutch holiday tradition we are passing on to Siena.
This "holiday" brings back many fond memories of when my sister and I would put our wooden shoes out by the fireplace the night before (with carrots in the shoes for Sinterklaas' horses) and then rushing down the stairs the next morning to see if we got coal or presents in our shoes from good ol' Sinterklaas. Of course we never had to worry about coal...we were always perfect little angels when we were little - ha! :)
One childhood memory in particular sticks out. Em and I got to go see the real live Sinterklaas one year! He was sitting on a white horse and he had his helper, Swarte Piet, with him. Now, Swarte Piet is not always nice like Santa's elves are. If you weren't a good little kid, he would snatch you up and put you in his pouch and carry you off on the white horse with Sinterklaas. Em and I were clinched together...if one of us was going, we were both going!! :) Fortunately, he passed us by and gave us papernoeten (delicious little dutch cookies) instead. Oh, the good ol' days...
We put Siena's little wooden shoe slippers by the fire place. Of course, we had no doubt that our precious little angel would get nothing but little presents. Coal?...never. :) I can't wait for her to get older and do this herself some day. Well, I can wait...time is flying by as it is...but you know what I mean. :) It is just the best this time of year - passing on family holiday traditions (and creating our own family traditions) is the most wonderful thing in the world. I couldn't ask for anything more. I am so blessed...





We also had to snap a few pictures of our little reindeer. The first time we put the antlers on her head, Siena didn't know what to make of them. I was laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face. Those "little" cheeks being pushed out even further by the headband and the look on her face was just priceless. Poor Siena has to put up with it all...we're taking advantage of those moments while we still can. For some reason, I don't see her allowing us to do that too many more years! :) Pictures can't quite capture the essence of the moment, but I tried...

Rockin' and Rollin'

It's official - our baby girl is growing up! I keep telling her to slow down and to not grow quite so fast, but it doesn't seem to register with her. She just keeps right on amazing us with the new things she's learning!!
This past Saturday night, Miss Siena rolled over!! Yep, her first big milestone is "checked off the list"! And the most perfect thing about it...Matt was home to see it AND we got it on tape! This milestone has definitely been a progression. When she was real itty-bitty, she didn't mind being on her tummy at all. She couldn't raise her head off the ground, but she just laid there - and occasionally fell asleep that way. Then, as she got older, for whatever reason, she decided that she hated being on her tummy. I swear if she heard me say "tummy time" she started crying! I would sit there with her while she wailed for 4 minutes and 45 seconds of the 5 minutes she was supposed to be on her tummy. Then in the past couple of weeks, she has warmed up to the idea of tummy time. She didn't do much...but at least she didn't cry the whole time! Then, maybe a few days ago, I started to see her push up off the floor with her arms and she would do what we called the "fish out of water" move - where she would balance on her tummy and kick her legs up and her head back. She would get the rocking motion going and we knew it would be any day that she would eventually roll over. And that's why we got lucky with the video camera. Right before our eyes...there she went! And apparently, she's an "ambidextrous roller" because she rolled to one side, we put her back on her tummy, and then she rolled the other way. I think the little mirror on her jungle mat is helping. She very interested in her reflection and she has to really raise her head up to see herself in the mirror - whatever it takes! Now the catch will be to see if she keeps up her new habit!
(Until Matt and I can figure out how to upload our video footage onto our computer, pictures will have to do. That's the goal now that football is over - figure out how to really use our video camera!)

Thankful for "Daddy's 'Lil Wildcat"

Let me first say that, as a family, we had a really wonderful Thanksgiving. We started the holiday on Wednesday, when I cooked my very first turkey (and all the rest of the Thanksgiving sides) for Matt and his football players. The bird actually turned out pretty good and the entire 20-pound turkey was devoured by 9 hungry boys. Seriously, we had enough leftover meat to make ONE sandwich that evening. Those boys can eat!! But it was really great to have them over to the house and hang out. A great way to start the holiday eating!
On Thursday, we stayed in town this year and celebrated the day with Matt's family. We had great food and it was nice to be with family. Words can't adequately express how thankful Matt and I are for our precious little angel, Siena. She has been such a blessing to our family and we are beyond grateful for her. She makes us smile and appreciate life every single day and I can't imagine life without her now. She brings true joy to our lives and we look forward to many, many more Thanksgivings with her. In fact, the Thanksgiving holiday (specifically the day after Thanksgiving) will always be a special time for Matt and I. It was one year ago this past Friday that we found out that we were pregnant. It's a day I will never forget and a special moment in time that will always be with us. Amazing what can happen in one year...
Then, on Friday, Siena took her very first road trip to see her daddy's team play in the State Championship football game. Friday afternoon, Siena and I drove down to St. Louis to watch the Blue Springs Wildcats compete in the 6A State Football game in the Rams' dome. She did really well and slept most of the trip. Siena has recently found her voice, so now that's her thing - she loves to hear herself chat it up! So, if she wasn't sleeping, she was in deep conversation with herself (or me, I guess) and telling all kinds of good stories! We got to the hotel, relaxed for just a little bit, and then got dressed and ready for the game.
Unfortunately, Blue Springs came up just a little short in the game, losing 35-24 to Hazelwood Central High School. It was sad to see that very special season come to an end in that way, but Siena was still super proud of her daddy and she wanted the world to know that Coach Marble was her daddy. She wore a very sweet homemade outfit (thanks, Cindi!) that had "Marble" on the back - in support of her dad! She looked adorable!!





Friday night, we stayed in a nice hotel. I decided not to take out the pack-n-play (that thing is ridiculously hard to set up and I didn't think it was worth it for one night!), so I got a little creative with the sleeping arrangements. I made up a cozy little bed for Siena in the bottom drawer of the dresser! She was all snuggled up in her blanket and I think she really loved it! She slept like a rock all night and was extremely smily when she woke up the next morning. It was the cutest thing...


We drove home Saturday morning and the rest of the weekend was spent just the three of us. We enjoyed just hanging out...the past few months have been extremely busy with football and everything else. It was nice to just relax and be together. In fact, Sunday evening was the first Sunday that Matt has been home since Siena was born! No football meetings anymore. Crazy how quickly time flies...when you're having the time of your life! :)

Baby Houdini

Well, it's official - Siena has been dubbed "Baby Houdini". Let me give you the story...
Ever since she was first born, SIena has been swaddled up to sleep. She loves to be snuggled and whenever she sleeps at night or takes naps during the day, we wrap her up tight. She feels comfortable that way and she doesn't jerk and wake herself up. We even got these special swaddle blankets that have velcro to make the process easier for us and harder to unravel for her. Well, Siena has decided that sometimes, she doesn't want to be swaddled. Another "latest obsession" of Siena's is putting her hands/fists/fingers/whatever in her mouth. I can't keep them out! So, that being said, sometimes, during nap time, she somehow wiggles her way out of the swaddle! Both Matt and I wrap that girl up so tight and I even stick her hands way down the pouch...it doesn't matter! She can get her little fists out of the swaddle and into her mouth like nothin! It's amazing. And she plays it off like she's not going to do anything while we are putting her down. Then, as soon as I close the door, I look at the monitor, and sure enough, she's already wiggled her little fist out and has it halfway down her throat! :) What a sneaky little thing she is! We can't help but laugh...what a goofball! :)

This first picture I snuck up on her when she didn't know I was in the room. She found her fist and was sucking away!


These next pictures are of her showing off her "skills"...




I think now she's a bit upset she got caught red handed! Busted!! :)

Playing Around...

It has been so nice outside lately! Siena really likes to sit in her bouncy seat and look out the back sliding door window. A change of scenery is always nice! She also really likes the fact that she can use her own hands to move and play with things in front of her! :) She is getting so big - 3 months old already!! Boy, how time is flying by...
These are some cute pictures of her "basking in the sun" and playing with her little turtle friend...

"What is this thing attached to the end of my arm?! You mean I can use that to move things around and play with things? Amazing!!"


Siena and her new friend, the turtle. She was obsessed with "batting" him around with her hand - she loved it! Who knew a turtle hanging in mid-air could be so much fun! :)



Let's just hope this doesn't become a habit...(but for the moment, how stinkin' cute!)


"This is hard work...this eye-hand coordination thing! Just promise me the turtle will stay put while I take a little snooze..."

Be Blessed.

Sunday, November 1, was a really special day for our family...Siena was dedicated at church. In other words, we wanted to show our family, friends, and church that we want to raise Siena is a Christian home, where she is loved unconditionally by her heavenly Father and where we will do our best to raise her to know Jesus as her personal Savior. It was also a chance for the church to commit to helping us raise her in this way.
All of our family was there to support us. All of my family came in from Michigan and all of Matt's family was there as well. It was great to have them there to support us in what we are trying to do. I think we took up almost 2 whole rows at church!
Siena did great up in front of church. The three of us went up there with Joey, our pastor, and he said some nice words and then prayed over us and our family. Siena was perched in Matt's arms and was happy as could be. She looked beautiful in her new knit outfit - a homemade gift from Oma. :) She was so content...she fell asleep up in front of church...precious.
After the service, the "paparazzi" (better known as our family) followed us out into the hallway and snapped tons of pictures of us. We had a half circle surrounding us and for a second...we felt famous! Ha! But it was nice to capture the memory.
We all went back to our house after church for coffee and dessert. It was again very nice to have all the family around and celebrating with us. And the weather was beautiful - we took advantage of it and captured a few nice shots of the family outside. I hope we can look back on this day and remember all the love and support we felt for our new little family member. She is one lucky girl to have the family she does - we feel pretty blessed too. :)

Happy Halloween!

Well, Siena's first holiday (aside from Labor Day, which...who counts that?!) was quite a success!! What a day it was! Little Miss Siena was a pumpkin for Halloween - and a very cute pumpkin at that! She got good use out of that costume...lots of people wanted to see her and there was a lot of family in town.
My mom and stepdad were in town to see us so they spent the morning hanging out at the house with us. We played and relaxed and got Siena ready for her "big day". She looked so cute in her costume - I was laughing out loud while I was getting her dressed...the little stem hat gets me every time! Then we went over to Matt's parent's house to celebrate and have a little lunch. All of their family was in town and over at their house - so Siena got to enjoy some time with them too. Then, we came back to our house in the evening because my dad, stepmom, sister and sister's boyfriend came into town as well! We greeted all the trick-or-treaters with candy and had a nice evening at home, enjoying the company. Needless to say, it was quite a day...a circus at times, but all in all, a very special memory!
Siena wasn't always a fan of her costume...but boy, was she cute! I figured I might as well take advantage of the opportunity when I can dress her how I want to. For some reason, I have a feeling that won't always be the case. :)
Here's some cute photos of our little "baby munkin"...