Feed Me!!

Siena has finally been introduced to the wonderful world of food! I think "me milk" was getting a little boring to her...so we're spicing things up with a little rice cereal! (I know, watch out...big flavor there!) Matt and I decided we wanted to wait to feed Siena solid foods until she was 6 months old. She has been very content with the "me milk" thus far and well...it's free! So, might as well take advantage of that...it won't last long, I'm sure!
She was ultra curious about all of it. I put her in her high chair, strapped a bib on her, and away we went! She didn't really make any gross or weird faces, but she did give a rather puzzled look as to what that could possibly be in her mouth. What I thought was the funniest part was the fact that she already was proving her independent nature - she wanted to do it all herself. From the very first spoonful, I had to hold her hands down so I could get the spoon near her mouth! Cracked me up. After the first few bites, I gave her the spoon and let her experiment. She knew right where that spoon went, that's for sure! She would get really excited and squeal "da, da, da" and little projectiles got me in the face. I'll let it slide right now while she's learning...but after that, it's on! :) I don't know what most babies eat their first go around, but she almost ate the entire little bowl of cereal. She was a champ! She really seemed to enjoy the food and she didn't mind that it got up her nose, in her hair, and behind her ears. :) That's all part of the fun of eating, right? Matt's still working on perfecting that part...ha! just kidding. :)
She's eating a couple bowls a day for right now. I am planning on making her baby food, so we're going to do the cereal bit for a few days and then introduce some fun flavors...bananas, avocados, squash...mmm, yum. I can't wait to see what that all looks like!
It's crazy to think that Siena is eating food already! She's getting to be such a big girl. It's fun to witness the little milestones in Siena's life. Their little bodies and minds are fascinating! She is still super content, super happy, and she certainly loves her daddy. Her latest "tricks" are: turning her head when she hears her name, rolling all over the place (both ways now!), sitting up with assistance, bringing everything to her mouth - even if she's just doing the motion with her hand to her mouth, squealing, laughing when tickled (and when she gets scared or when people jump around in front of her), and beginning to put her arms up when someone comes to pick her up. Another thing she has been doing lately which is very interesting to us is the backwards wave. Matt and I have been showing her the sign for milk/food before she eats. Basically, it's just the motion of milking the udder of a cow. Lately, she has been doing that a lot. We're not sure if she is copying us or if it is just a coincidence that she is making that hand motion. But all the time, she'll put her arm out and make that hand motion with her little fingers. It's super cute. Maybe we'll just say that she's super smart and is signing to us already that she wants food. :) Ha! Wishful thinking...
Life is good!!!

Love.

Love takes on so many different meanings as we move through life. When you're a little kid, you love everything...the grass, your toys, your teacher, your family, the bugs, etc. Love seems to have no limits when you're little. The innocence of the word at that age is sometimes humbling to those of us who try to put limits around it. They just love. No questions asked. We think we know so much more about love as we get older and yet, maybe we just make it so much more complicated? But then again, as we get older, we learn to love in different ways. I may still love laying in the green grass in the summer but it doesn't compare to the love I have for my husband and my daughter and my family...
And then I think about how much I love Siena and I can't imagine anyone loving anything else more. And yet, God loves us with an unconditional love that I can't even wrap my mind around. He loves Siena more than I'm even capable of. His love for her is unmatched. Blows my mind...
I don't know. I found myself thinking about love and how that word (and all it stands for) has shaped my life. I'm pretty blessed to have love in my life...to love and be loved in return.
Speaking of love, these pictures capture a few people I love a lot...

Grandma and Siena.


Auntie Em and James with a very happy little girl...



Siena, showing off her vocal cords.


Splish-splashin' in the tub...


My precious little Valentine...

Meeting Great Friends

This past weekend, Siena got the opportunity to meet some really great friends of ours. It's been a long time coming and we were very excited to spend the weekend in Columbia. Derek, one of Matt's best friends from college and a football teammate, and Kelli, Derek's wife and a basketball teammate of mine, live in Columbia. We drove down there to visit for the weekend. Tameem, another one of Matt's best friends and football teammates, and Julie, Tameem's girlfriend (and a new friend of mine!), drove down from Iowa City. We all got to hang out and catch up. It was really great.
Matt, Derek, and Tameem are great friends and have a very unique sense of humor when they get together. Us girls just smile and shake our heads while the boys laugh, crack inside jokes, and catch up with each other. I do have to say, it's really fun to watch them all together. I can't ever get Matt to laugh as hard at me as he does with his boys. It's good to see that and really great for Matt to have such great friends. (I can't complain either - Kelli and Julie are wonderful and I always love hanging out with them! We have to stick together when those boys get together!!)
Derek and Kelli had a little son born just a couple months before Siena. Joshua is a sweetheart and it's always fun to put babies together. Siena snatched Joshua's binky a number of times...but don't worry, Joshua stood up for himself and pulled her hair. :) They played with toys, got lots of love from all of us, and made the weekend that much sweeter.
Time goes by way too fast when you're with great friends. It's always hard to say goodbye. Tameem is in residency for orthopedic medicine and is extremely busy. I have complete respect for him and what he's doing right now. He will be a great doctor when all is said and done. So, for now, any chance we get to see him and Julie...we can't pass up!
Thank you Tameem and Julie for driving down to meet Siena and see all of us! Derek and Kelli, thank you for hosting us. Your little one is precious - a great friend to Siena already!

Tameem and Julie with Joshua and Siena.


Tameem and Julie brought down gifts for the little ones...one of them being a Iowa Hawkeye beenie...so cute! Siena loves it!

Mom Moment

I am assuming this will be the first of many of these moments, but I had a major "mom moment" the other day.
I was at a friend's house playing with the babies when I felt a little pea-sized bump underneath Siena's skin. I asked Amanda to feel the bump to make sure I wasn't crazy. Sure enough, she felt it too. I didn't know exactly what it was, so I thought I would just call the pediatrician to see if they could give me the answer. When I called, I guess I must have expected them to just give me an answer over the phone...because when the nurse asked if I would like to take her in to have it looked at, it totally caught me off guard. "Do I need to??" was the only response I could think of. The poor nurse, with a small chuckle in her voice, said, "Well, if you would like to have someone look at it, you probably need to bring Siena in so we can see her!" Duh, right... :)
So, I decided to just go ahead and run up there so they could put any concern to rest. My next thought was Matt. He would probably really like to know that I'm taking his daughter to the doctor. It was during school hours so I texted him, asking him if he could call me. He texted back, "Emergency?" I wasn't sure how to answer that. I didn't want to scare him but at the same time, I wanted to talk to him. So, I texted him back saying, "Well, not really bad, but it would be great if you could call me." So, after some conversation, he got someone to cover his class, and he drove up to the doctor as well. The drive up to the doctor was not my favorite. Your mind can play VERY MEAN tricks on you. But for the most part, I was good. I wasn't too worried at all. I prayed driving up there that I would have peace in my heart and that Siena would be fine.
After waiting for a bit in the waiting room, we met with Dr. Dean, who was really great. She put all concern to rest and said it was probably just lymph nodes that I was just now noticing. She made me feel a lot better when she said she was super conservative and a mom herself, and if she thought there might even be the slightest question, she would check it out with an ultrasound or something. So that was really great to hear. Everything was all good. :)
However, while Dr. Dean was talking to us and I was asking questions to make sure I understood "doctor talk" (ha!), all of a sudden, I looked at Matt and whispered, "Get up, I need to sit down!" He was sitting in a chair next to the doctor table where Siena was laying. I was standing up next to Siena, blocking her barrel rolls that she is such a big fan of. I thought I was going to pass out! I broke out into an immediate sweat. My face was sweating, my stomach was sweating, my legs were sweating. I felt all the color leave my face and I got real light-headed. I was wiping my forehead of the sweat, still trying to play it off and talk to the doctor. He gets up, I sit down, and put my head between my legs. I was certain I was just going to fall right off the chair. Dr. Dean leaves the room, assuring us that is all is great and Siena looks happy and healthy, and I had to sit there for a few minutes to compose myself. Fortunately, I didn't actually pass out. Matt joked, asking if he needed to call the doctor back in to look at me! All was fine after a couple of minutes, and we walked out of the office, thrilled that everything was okay.
Apparently, the doctor visit and the slight concern I had for Siena must have gotten to me. I didn't think I was all the concerned or anything...I guess I was wrong?! I can laugh about it now...how ridiculous! I guess, even subconsciously, you don't realize how much you really love your little one. Boy, do I...
I'm sure that is only the beginning of what life with children will be like. As a parent, you feel responsible for another human's life, and all you want for that little life is happiness and health. Thank God, I have both of those things...

Watch Out...Siena's Mobile!

Well, it's official...I no longer have the freedom to leave Siena in a room by herself, playing nicely on her jungle mat. She has decided to start exploring - by rolling everywhere!!!
Ever since she learned how to roll onto her tummy, we haven't been able to keep her on her back! She flips over on her tummy so stinkin' quick! But, she hasn't been able to figure out how to get back onto her back...until now! I think the "thought process" started a couple weeks ago. We had to be super careful when we were holding her because she would randomly just throw her head back (and assume we were going to catch her momentum). That was the first step. Then, she would be in her exersaucer, and she would do the same thing. She would throw her head back over and over and rub the back of her head on the chair. Fortunately, we caught her and the exersaucer didn't allow her to flail back too far. So, we watched her do that for a little while. Then, all of a sudden, she figured out that if she does that same sort of thing when she's laying on her tummy, her head and momentum will flip her onto her back! That must have been a revelation for Siena - she does it all the time now! It's really funny to watch - and she hits the floor hard with her head! But it doesn't seem to faze her...she just keeps on rollin'! Matt and I now play "catch" with her by having her roll back and forth between us. She really gets going after the first couple rolls! And if you don't stop her, she'll roll right into the couch, table...or as you'll see in the pictures, the CD player. :)
I'm going to attempt to show her rolling through pictures. It's hard to capture when you take still photos, but I think you'll get the idea. She's sure growing up fast!!!








Other Siena updates...she is making lots of new sounds! Unfortunately, I can't take a picture of that, but she is saying "Da, da, da..." and "La, la, la..." and "Ba, ba, ba..." and she has come back to her initial sound, the "Bbbbbb" (blowing raspberries with spit all over the place!) sound. It's so fun to hear her! She is laughing and smiling all the time. She grabs my face and tries to eat my eyes and nose and mouth. (I'll continue to believe that she is giving me kisses!) She recognizes her name and turns to Matt and I when we say it. She totally recognizes Daddy when he comes home from work. She is sitting up fairly well with help. She reaches for toys and plays with them in her hands and mouth. She has recently found her "piggy toes" and likes to play with them. She loves the bath - and her new bath toys. Lots of accomplishments this little one is making!! She's an absolute joy and brings a smile to my face every day (about 100 times each day!). I'm sure the updates will have to be updated soon, as she is learning new things all the time!

On a complete side note, Matt loves bedtime. It's "JAMMIES!!" time. Siena is always so playful and happy with Daddy when he puts her jammies on. Who says bedtime can't be fun? Here's a little proof........

"Get 'em, girl!"

A New Friend!

Siena is very excited to welcome a new GIRL friend to her growing number of buddies! Laney Marie was born on January 16. She is a beautiful little girl and has a very proud mom and dad. (Scott and Lauren Sterling are great friends of ours.) I can't wait to see Siena and Laney playing together here before too long! Maybe this is the beginning of a special friendship... :)
We wish Scott, Lauren, and Logan all the very best in the upcoming days and weeks as they start the journey together in raising a darling little angel. And to Laney...we can't wait for play dates and sleepovers! We love you guys!!

New Discoveries...

Siena is becoming more and more aware of her surroundings and is doing so much more by herself and with her toys. It's so fun to be in the other room and hear her chatting away to her monkey or squealing at her ball or ring or giraffe...you name it, she talks to it! It's just the best sound ever...to hear your little one talk, giggle, coo...melts your heart.
After the Christmas tree was taken out of the living room, we replaced it with Siena's exersaucer. The living room isn't very big and Siena's stuff is overtaking our house! We have to introduce new stuff in shifts...otherwise we wouldn't be able to walk anywhere! The exersaucer makes all kinds of noises - it's already teaching her her ABCs and jazz and salsa. It has a play microphone on it and every time Siena grabs it to put it in her mouth, it says, "Sing it, baby!" It cracks me up when I hear that...
I caught her laughing and smiling away the other day - here's a few darling little pictures...




She also loves to look at her reflection in the mirror. If I am getting ready in the morning, I'll lay her on the bed and she just stares at herself and at me in the mirror. It's cute. When she gets out of the bath, I'll stand her up in the bathroom and she giggles at herself in the mirror. There's also a mirror on her little play mat in the living room. This afternoon I came into the room to find her wrapped around the mirror, trying to put her reflection in her mouth! I guess she wanted to give herself kisses. :) I love to see her pretty little face...and I guess she does too! Can't blame her! :)