Hold On!!

Okay, okay...I need to play a little catch-up here. :)

First things first - Siena took her very first steps last week!! She has been itching to go for quite some time and has been scooting all over the place. She used anything and everything to use as her "crutch" to get her where she wanted to go.

We had Matt's cousin Lindsey and her husband Matt over for dinner last Wednesday night. As they were getting ready to leave, Siena went over to give Lindsey a hug. As she turned around to come back to me, she let go and took 3 steps! We all were super surprised and laughed at the fact that she just decided to walk!

Since then, Siena hasn't taken more than a couple steps, but she still has every desire to. She walks all over the house just holding my one finger with her hand. It's going to be before we know it that we're going to be running after her all over the place. :) Exciting times! We are so proud of our little girl. Opa predicted early this summer that Siena would be walking by her birthday. At this pace, he could very well be right! :)

It's hard to take pictures of a little one that is just taking a couple steps, but here's my attempt at capturing it.

Other than that, we have just been enjoying our summer. It's been crazy hot and humid, but our little "water bug" loves to swim. That has helped a lot! Matt has been busy with football camps and spending time perfecting the football website. I have been working on my classroom, slowly trying to make it my home away from home. Siena has been happy through it all...

Last week, Matt and I got to watch our little buddy Brady for the week. He and Siena have a major relationship going on. They have so much love for each other and they couldn't stop kissing each other. But the next second, they would be beating up on each other, snatching toys and grabbing hair. It seemed like the "perfect" relationship! :) I think Siena has also learned empathy. Whenever Brady would start crying Siena would start crying for him. It made for interesting moments. We had a good week though. One of the tricky times with 2 little ones is naptime. Trying to feed Brady a bottle and nurse Siena and getting them both to sleep without either one of them crying and waking the other one up was a challenge. Finally, I figured out something that would work. I got Brady to lay next to me on the couch, drink his bottle, and fall asleep. In the meantime, I nursed Siena on the couch next to Brady and she fell asleep on me. I tried to move to put Siena down and/or Brady down, but I didn't get very far with that. So, I gave up, put my feet up, and took a nap myself. I got 2 babies to sleep at the same time...that's pretty good, right? :)

Summer is treating us well...but it's flying by. We're enjoying every moment of it!!

Michigan - Round 2

So Siena and I went to Michigan the end of June, and now this time, Matt went back there with us! There are a couple times each summer that Matt has a week off of football. When those times happen, we try to take advantage of it and go see family. Even though I had just been there, I was still very happy to be up there again. I'll take it when I can get it!
We actually didn't spend any time in GR this time. We stayed half the time with Pappa, Joyce, and Em up north in Mancelona. The second half was with Mom at Lake Leelanau. Both beautiful places!
In Mancelona, we stayed in a darling little cabin deep in the woods. The views were picturesque and the company was wonderful. We relaxed, played games, ate great food, and just spent time together as a family. It was a treat to stay in one place for a few days and not have an agenda. Much needed by everyone! There was a beautiful little fresh water stream that ran behind the cabin. The water was bitterly cold but we waded in it a little, and it kinda felt like I was on the set of Legends of the Fall. I think those few days are just what everyone needed.






A little quality time with Oma...

Opa and his little darling.
On a cloudy day, we headed into town to do a little shopping and brewery tasting.

Hup, Holland, Hup! A great win over Uruguay!
A clean baby is worth it, regardless of how it happens! :)

Midweek, Matt, Siena and I packed up and drove straight west to the other side of Michigan to spend time with Mom at the trailer. We didn't have the best weather, but that certainly didn't slow us down! We went wine tasting, a tradition Matt and I like to uphold. :) There are about 20 wineries up there and they are beautiful. It's fun to visit a few (and take a few "reminders" back with us). We also went down to the beach, went kayaking, and played with the other little ones around the campsite. I even got a tutorial about how to catch crayfish from a 6-year-old professional. I love being up there. I hope Siena remembers fond memories from up there when she gets older.
Grandma and Siena hung out while Matt and I tried all the wines. It was a perfect fit - a chauffeur and a babysitter, all wrapped up into one! :)
Lake Leelanau never felt so nice. And Siena couldn't get enough of the water...or the sand.





This is what our dates are looking like these days. We'll take it!

Trip to Michigan...and Peru

For the past few months, Matt has been preparing and planning a trip to Peru. This time, however, was different from previous trips. This time, he took 11 senior football players to experience life in a completely different culture and take their community service and leadership program to a different level. The boys raised money and worked real hard to get the means (and the attitude) for this trip. From the pictures I have seen and the stories I have heard, the experience they shared is one no one will soon forget. I feel very blessed to be married to a man who has the passion, instinct, attitude and desire to make something like this happen. God's hand was all over that trip. Glad to have him home safe and sound, but so glad he went.
(Check out the boys' blog on the football website: www.bshsfootball.com to see their experience in more detail - it's very worth it.)


While Matt and the boys were in Peru, I took Siena up to Michigan. No one was a huge fan of the two of us driving 10 hours by ourselves (including me), so I bought a plane ticket and she was my "carry on luggage"! :) That was an experience in and of itself. Wow. The one time it would have been very nice to have a peaceful, no delay flight was the one time it was the complete opposite of that. We had a 6am flight out of KC to Chicago (meaning Siena and I were up at 3am). We didn't end up leaving till 9, half of that wait time being in an airplane that held maybe 30 people. That made us miss our flight from Chicago to GR. We were put on another flight that left a couple hours after we got there, which ended up being delayed for 3 additional hours. We finally arrived at 5pm into Grand Rapids. We were a circus. But Siena was a true champ and was SUPER flexible and okay with everything. She was probably more okay than I was! She did great on the flights. So, what was truly important (safety and happiness) gave us no room for complaints.
This shows Siena's excitement (and mine) to FINALLY get on the plane to GR...sheesh!

Once in Grand Rapids, we had such a wonderful time. Early in the week, we went to Holland Beach with Oma, Opa and Auntie Em. It was a beautiful day and Siena thoroughly enjoyed the sand, water, and company. Super relaxing!





Siena and her one and only...Em.
Opa and the little one that stole his heart...





While we were up there, my grandma and grandpa moved into their new condo up in Grand Rapids. It is such a treat to have them up there! Now, every time we go back to GR to visit, we can see them too! It used to be an hour drive. They have such a cute place and they have made it very homey. It was great to be around to help them unpack, set things up, and just hang out with them. Siena helped by unpacking paper, crawling around the boxes, and taking great naps on the floor!!
What a little ham - we all have our hands full!


For the last couple of days, Siena and I went Up North to spend time with my mom. It's been way too long since I've been at the trailer (last summer I was busy getting ready to have a baby)!! We always have so much fun up there, and it was high time Siena got her chance too. That's a really special little slice of heaven up there. Siena was in for a treat...
Avocados - so tasty...and so stinkin' messy!
Siena's first experience with ice cream - she took FULL advantage!



Bath in a bucket!
Em and Siena - two of my very favorite people in life.



Getting back to Missouri was no less eventful. We were delayed over 3 hours in GR. That is not the airport to be delayed in. There is nothing to do and not many people to watch. So we walked back and forth down the one hallway, trying to stay busy. When we finally got on the plane to Chicago, I knew we were going to be cutting it close to make our flight to KC. So, the second we got off the plane, I put Siena in the stroller, stuck her diaper bag on top of her, threw my purse beside her, and held on to my rolling carry on. I pushed the stroller and pulled my carry on while I ran as fast as I could from one terminal to another, trying to get to our gate on time. I couldn't help but laugh out loud as I was running through the airport, knowing that if I saw myself, I would laugh at me. I barely made it and walked right onto the flight. Siena fell asleep before we even took off. Getting off the plane in KC was a much-anticipated moment, as Matt was waiting there for us. (He and the boys flew in a couple hours before we did.)
We both had a fantastic trip. Super great to see family and super special for Matt. But, as we finally sat down at the end of the day, after Siena was in bed, we were thrilled to be home again...together.