Sledding!

This winter we have had a number of days off of school due to the lovely snow! It is so pretty when the sun is out and it makes outside look like a winter wonderland! When school gets called off, we get to be together as a family, which is the best perk of it all!
This last snow we got about 9 inches and it was that really pretty, fluffy snow. It wasn't too cold, so Matt, Siena, and I headed over to our friends, the Meyers, to go sledding with Bryce and Brady. It was a beautiful day!! We weren't out there very long, but the kids had fun! They were bundled from head to toe in everything we could gather! Siena definitely had that "snowsuit walk" going on, but it didn't stop her from having fun! The first of MANY dates in the snow!
Taking the "monster" hill in the innertube...


Siena and Brady trying to use their fingers to play in the sandbox. Brady had more luck than Siena with that, seeing that Siena's hands were stuffed into her coat, under mittens!
A swing ride will get giggles every time, no matter the season!!

17 Months!

Our sweet little Siena is 17 months old and not missing a beat! I find myself looking at her, wondering where in the world the time has gone and how on Earth I have a toddler running around?!

It's hard to think about all the things to write for this entry...I feel like there's a million things she's doing and it's been a long time since I've updated her "status". But I'll try my best at putting her in a nutshell for a minute and give some highlights.

I think we really lucked out and we don't have a picky eater. On any given day, she'll eat just about anything! Her absolute favorite right now: corn. But she eats naked nuggets, mac and cheese, beans, carrots, peas, pasta, bread, cheese, eggs, avocado, oatmeal, toast, bananas, yogurt, applesauce, graham crackers, craisins...really, just about everything. In fact, Grandpa fed her avocado sprinkled with pickle juice (Siena's request) the other day...now that is NOT hereditary! She has the biggest "poochy tummy" ever - very evident that she likes her food! :) It also helps that more and more teeth are coming in. She has her 4 front teeth and 2 molars on top and 4 bottom teeth and 2 molars on bottom. She needs them for all that food she puts in her face! Some fun bath pictures after a meal...

Siena is running around everywhere...truly. She doesn't walk anywhere. She trots. She still has a major "bow-legged, diaper walk" going on, but it doesn't slow her down for 2 seconds. She loves to explore and find things in cupboards and drawers. Best of all, she loves to empty them all and quickly move on to the next adventure - without taking notice of the tornado of things everywhere on the floor behind her! Figures! She is kind of obsessed with the trash. She loves to throw trash away, which is great, but then she finds new "treasures" to take out of the trash. Disgusting! She crawls up and down stairs with little problem. We still leave the gate up because, well, just because... :)
There are lots of favorites around the house. Siena is naturally a mother at heart. She cares for her babies as if they were alive. She feeds them, rocks them, talks to them, and carries them around everywhere. It really is funny how instinctive it is. She didn't learn that from either of us, except how we treat her. The first time she saw a baby, she just knew. God has wired girls to love on little babies! Ya-Ya is still the front runner and the animal she sleeps with every night. Ya-Ya has company now - her "kie". A purple furry blanket is with her every night when she goes to sleep. She has a toy puppy that she walks around the house. And just recently, Siena has decided to include ALL animals and babies in her daily activities. She lines them all up and they go everywhere. She strolls them around in her stroller, rocks them in her chair, puts them in the baby bed, all of it. Oh, and that baby Jesus from the nativity scene...was not packed away with the Christmas stuff. Baby Jesus still travels everywhere with Siena. As you are seeing, when we leave the house, there are at least 2 friends that go along with her and when she goes to bed at night, they ALL get kisses. (Part of that is a ploy to not got bed quite yet; the other part is she just loves them all!)

Here she is trying to fit all her friends AND herself into a bitty baby bed.
A pow-wow on the couch with all her buddies...
...which Daddy got to pick up and transport!


Now on to the best, and most progressed, part about Siena...her talking. I can't tell you how sweet it is to be able to understand her and ask her things - and she actually answers! The things that come out of her mouth and the things she does are pretty stinkin' hilarious! I know I'm not going to do it justice trying to type it up...you just have to spend time with her to get the full picture and personality! :)
Here are the things (that I can think of) that she is saying these days (I know I'm going to forget some):
- "Rock-a-baby" (she'll sit in a rocking chair and rock herself or her babies) - it might be my favorite thing at the moment that she says...it is precious!
- "Whoa baby" (it's so stinkin' cute when she says that! And she totally says it in the right settting - when she falls down, something cool happens, etc.)
- "Bucky" (monkey), "Elmo", "puppie" (for any dog), "book", "mana" (banana), "muk" (milk), "wata" (water), "cown" (corn), "nack" (snack), "Coe-kee" (cookie/Cookie Monster), "Oh-ee" (Zoe on Sesame Street), "fuh-ba" (football), "tak-oh" (tackle), "bah-ket-ba" (basketball), "toots" (passes gas), "bite" (bite), "nose", "eye", "teeth", "bow-bow" (elbow), "shoo" (shoe), "sok" (sock), "bite" (bright - when she sees the sun), "noh" (snow)
- "Momma", "Daddy", "Bapa" (Grandpa), "Gamma" (Grandma), "Em" (Auntie Emilie), "Aumma/Auppa" (Oma/Opa), "Gammie" (Grandma) "Way-ney" (Laney, her little BFF), Scott (Laney's dad), "Mat" (Mavrick), "Bye" (Bryce, her friend), "Baedie" (Brady, her friend), "Mandie" (Amanda, my dear friend and Bryce/Brady's mom), "Ruh-tee" (Rusty, Amanda's husband), "J-tee" (JD, Matt's uncle), "Inda" (Linda, Matt's aunt), "Poppy" (Matt's cousin's dog),
- "buh-bye", "hi", "wha-ree" (sorry), "go!", "no" (surprise there?), "yeah", "otch" (ouch), "peese" (please), "wuh-you" (love you), "uh-oh" (uh-oh), "ouwie" (ouwie), "stuck" (stuck), "row-row" (Row, Row, Row song),
- "Na-na" (Siena) - she has just recently given herself the name Na-na!!
Siena still sleeps very well! She's taking one nap in the afternoon and she goes to sleep at 8:00. Almost always she goes down right away and we don't hear from her till the morning. Every once in a while there's a little hiccup, but no complaints here!!
She has been really healthy too, knock on wood! She just recently got a little cold that bothered her some. Not enough for meds or doctor visits (thank you!), but enough to cramp her style a little for a few days.
To recap Siena's overall personality, I guess I would say that she is a loving little girl who always wants everyone to be a part of the action. She doesn't cuddle tons (that requires a slow in pace, which she doesn't do!) but you know she loves you. She loves giving kisses and hugs, high fives, and knuckles. She includes everyone in the room in what she does. If she gives a high five to one person, everyone is getting a high five. Same thing goes for just about anything. I hope that continues when she gets older and she makes everyone feel included and welcome, like she does now. She's almost always happy, which is a blessing. Her laugh is contagious and her smile is light. Her faces are hilarious!

Her hair is crazy! Completely straight up front, all curls in the back (her version of a "business in the front, party in the back mullet" ha!). Her hair keeps falling into her eyes, and she won't keep bows in, so recently we have tried to pull it up with hair ties. You can see our progression...

This was Daddy's version...that she actually kept in!
She got her way and pulled one of them out, but had 2 more that stayed in for a while!
This photo was taken at the end of the day...meaning, she left her pigtails in ALL day! :)

She plays pretty well by herself and can keep herself occupied more and more. She reads books, loves to point things out on the pages, put things in and takes things out of containers...

The child also has a very strong head on her shoulders. Nothing passive about her AT ALL. (I confess, she comes by that naturally.) She voices her opinion very clearly and will let you know if she's not "havin' it"! She has been introduced to Time Out many a times. At this point, it consists of us sitting her on the ground, holding her arms, and counting to 10 (recently we've upped it to 20). After 20, she stands up, says sorry, and gives hugs and kisses. She actually seems to take to that pretty well. Don't get me wrong, she will go back and do it again (and again), but at least for a minute, she's sorry! :)
I feel like I could go on forever. I guess that's what Moms do. Just in writing this, I think over and over how lucky, how fortunate, and how blessed we are to be the parents of our sweet Siena. She means the world to Matt and me. She keeps us busy, on our toes, conscious of our actions, laughing, and most of all, enjoying life. We love you, sweet angel!

Christmastime Is Here...

For Christmas, the Marbles packed up (everything but the kitchen sink, it seemed) and headed North. We were really excited to go back and see family and friends. I was picked up from school by Matt and Siena and we were on our way. It's never a super enjoyable drive up there, but it truly wasn't bad. We got in GR about 2:30AM. However, when we got there, Siena woke up and was ready to play. Pappa and Joyce had a snow sleigh under the tree that was meant to be used in the snow during the break. Siena had other plans. She had both Pappa and Joyce pulling her around the house in the sleigh, stopping to say hi to the fish, pick up toys along the way, and get a tour around the place. She was loving it! Finally, about an hour later, we called it a night and slept like rocks. We had a day before Christmas Eve, so we ran around GR looking for last-minute gifts and also just to go to some stores that I love going to while back there.
Christmas Eve day was spent with Pappa and Joyce. Siena has affectionately dubbed them "Auppa" and "Aumma" (Opa and Oma, which is Grandma and Grandpa in Dutch). It's just the most precious thing. We had a wonderful meal prepared by Pappa and then a Christmas Eve service at 7th Reformed. When we all made it back to the house, The Event began. You see, Christmas Eve with Pappa and Joyce does not just consist of some quick opened presents and then calling it a day. No, no. You have to gear yourself up for it, and it's a marathon of events. It's so absolutely wonderful. We started about 9:00PM and were still opening our stockings at 3:00AM. We're sharing stories about our gifts, everyone opens them one at a time, we break for food and drinks (many times), fire in the fireplace...it's magical. I hope that never changes. Siena got some very wonderful little gifts from her family. Dutch wooden blocks, Lego Elmo, a dress, large plastic blocks, a mini vacuum and lots of other little things. She loved ripping the paper off and finding new treasures.


The nurturing, "mother" instinct is natural.
I hesitate to put this in, but what the heck...why not. A funny gift that really has no words...

Christmas morning we woke up and had to do a little sledding on Siena's new sleigh. It wasn't too cold out there and we just HAD to break it in. It was precious. It was short-lived, but we all had fun, especially Siena!

Christmas Day was spent at my Grandpa and Grandma's house. Since they now live in GR, it was a simple drive down the street to their house - so wonderful! The rest of the family filed in throughout the day, and the condo was finally filled with 26 people...just the way we like it! Saturday, Sunday, and Monday was spent doing what we love most - playing games, watching sports, eating TONS of food, making fun and delicious drinks, and just being together. We had our yearly gift exchange, which is always fun. I can't say we DID tons more those next few days, but we were all happy to just hang out. Some of our favorite times...ever.
Four generations of girls!
My grandpa is so special...

Siena was very fond of my cousins...and liked her too! They loved not being the youngest anymore, I think! :)

Monday was spent returning/exchanging a few gifts and of course, stopping at Yesterdog. Siena had her first Yesterdog, and that was a monumental day. I promise that will not be the last Yesterdog you have, my darling. Treasure those moments!! Monday evening we had Christmas #3 with Mom, Peter, and that crew. It was a loud whirlwind, but oh so nice. It was fun to watch all the kids open their gifts and toys. It was even funnier to watch Siena try to keep up with the whirlwind. I think she was a little bit overwhelmed, as 7 kids ran around all over the place, playing and laughing...Siena just tried to stay in the mix and get in her laughs and quirks when she could. :) Siena got some very nice things there too! A wooden Noah's ark, some puzzles, a book, DVD, a hat, shoes...some really wonderful little keepsakes! After everyone left and Siena went to sleep, Ruth, Rene, Kari and Heather came over to play cards. I laughed REALLY HARD that night. You girls make me laugh...and I love it!

Tuesday, our last day before heading back to KC, was spent with Pappa and Joyce. The girls broke off and the boys went their separate way. I don't know why - shopping doesn't sound appealing?! We met all together for lunch and then again back at the house for dinner and Dominos. Great way to end the trip.
What a wonderful Christmas. It's such a blessing (and treat) to spend time in GR for the holidays. It's a special time for my family to spend quality time with Siena (and us too). I treasure that. We are blessed beyond measure and it's a wonderful time of the year. Siena was a trooper! We didn't slow down once while we were back there, and she just held on tight! She probably did better than I did, at times! Everyone loved little Siena - who wouldn't!? :)
Wednesday we headed back to KC. Sure, it's not a great (or entertaining) trip, but we knew we had a wonderful Christmas #4 ahead of us with Robert and Sharon. We were so excited to get back there and spend some relaxing time with them. Thursday morning we came down the stairs, as tradition has it, and came down to presents and stockings. Again, it's so fun to watch Siena open gifts and get excited about presents and wrapping paper. There were a couple of presents under the tree bigger than Siena, so that was a treat for her!! We had a great morning exchanging gifts. Siena got a play kitchen, a music station, her new favorite thing, Elmo, and some other fun little treats. We were given the newest member of our family...Betty. Betty and I are going to get along very well together. She and I will most likely spend a lot of time together. Betty is a Garmin. I will no longer get lost in downtown KC coming back from the next jury duty. I will also no longer miss the exit coming home from Michigan and add an additional hour to an already 10 hour drive. Betty might be my new best friend for life.

Being introduced to Betty...

Our little Santa.
This picture deserves a little explanation. Or maybe not. Let's just say that Siena's facial expression describes our thoughts about her outfit perfectly. :)
I love our little reindeer!

December is always a whirlwind and things go so fast. But, looking back on it, we are so incredibly blessed. Spending time in Michigan is always such a special time. Fond memories are made every time. Siena gets the chance to be with her Oma and Opa, Grammie and Grampie, and Auntie Em. I love that. Then, coming back to KC, we get to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa, the best in-laws ever. What more can I ask for? Merry Christmas.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Yes, we got ready for Christmas over a month ago, but hey...better late than never. (Do I start out every blog apologizing for not being "on my blogging game"?)
Each season becomes more and more fun as Siena gets older. Last Christmas I could have set Siena in a stocking and she would have just curled up in it...this year, well, not so much. We decided to get our Christmas decorations out and up right after we got back from Thanksgiving. We knew we were heading back to GR for Christmas, and we wanted to at least make it worthwhile to decorate a tree and put up our decorations. So, of course, Siena was all over that! She unraveled the lights, dragged them across the house, pulled out ornaments, and basically made herself right at home in the decorations. With Charlie Brown Christmas in the background and Christmas carols playing...who wouldn't get in the spirit?!
We bought a small, live tree this year to place on our fireplace ledge. That way, it's off the ground a little (and out of Siena's way) and it also gave us a little more (much needed) space on the floor. Siena's toys and things have taken over our living room. Surprised? Here's our little helper, hard at work...



This nativity scene was Siena's favorite thing. Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and wise men were all her new friends. She played with them all the time and moved them about the stable on a daily basis. However, they all paled in comparison to baby Jesus. Baby Jesus went everywhere with us. He got kisses every night before bed, he was put in the manger to take naps, he was introduced to friends, the whole bit. As a matter of fact, we just found baby Jesus in a bag a month later...we thought we had lost him! We were all happy she "found Jesus"! :)

Siena even got her very own tree. Last year we put her tree in her room. This year, we decided to place it somewhere where she could play with it and still be in eyesight. She put the decorations on herself and she took very good care of her tree. Cute!


Another holiday tradition is Sinterklaas. On December 6, Sinterklaas comes to put coal or treats in your wooden shoes. We wanted to make sure Sinterklaas didn't pass us by! We took out Siena's little wooden shoe slippers and put them under her Christmas tree. Usually, you're supposed to put carrots in the shoe for Sinterklaas' horse, but since I didn't have any, we decided green onions would have to do the trick. Siena was very insistent on trying the onion to make sure it was good for the horse. Apparently it passed the test because she wouldn't take them out of her mouth - gross! Needless to say, we set out the shoes that night, with plenty of green onions, and Siena received a little book and toy from Sinterklaas the next morning. She has been a pretty good girl this past year! :)


As I mentioned before, baby Jesus is Siena's BFF. Inside the wooden shoe slippers was where Siena felt baby Jesus should take his nap. Precious, really. (I hope she really feels that way someday about Jesus!)


Another very important part of getting ready for Christmas is meeting the man in the big red suit. We met Grandma and Grandpa at Bass Pro Shop to see the "best Santa in town", dressed in Sunday best. Last year, Siena and Santa were buddies. She told him what she needed for Christmas and he gave her a candy cane. Oh, what a difference a year makes! Siena wanted NO part of Santa. From far away, he was quite intriguing. The closer we got, the tighter the grip. Before I knew it, I was sitting in Santa's big chair, Siena was crawling up my neck trying to escape her reality, and Santa was behind us in the chair, posing for the picture. It was quite a moment.
Check out the first picture - I really look like a terrible mom...but I just couldn't help it. :)





Spending time at Grandma and Grandpa's house every day, Siena really got to help set up TWO Christmases! She had lots of fun helping decorate the tree. There were tons of ornaments to play with and watch move around! I think Grandpa and Grandma liked having help from their little winter princess! :)