I know, I'm Slacking...

I was chastised by my mother via email this week with the complaint that I need to update my blog because she and "other family members" need a baby photo fix. I admit - I have been slacking, so I suppose the reprimand was justified.

On Nov. 4th we took Sienna with us to the polls to vote and she even received a "I voted" sticker even though she is not quite old enough to participate. It was a strange experience...I put Sienna in the Bjorn so I would have my hands free, but when we got to our voting location, the woman told me that Sienna couldn't go in the booth with me. She was willing, however, to hold her while I voted. Daniel was there so I passed her to him, but when I mentioned this story to my Dad later, he said that he helped at his voting location and he said there were no rules against bringing kids in the voting booth. So, we concluded that the lady just wanted to hold Sienna just for fun...? I don't mind if it is a rule, but if you are making up stories just to hold someone's baby...well that's just creepy. ANYWAY, here are a few pictures sporting her "I voted" sticker.


Apparently it was a emotional day for her - she ate contently, waved happily, and sobbed sadly all within 5 minutes. It is hard to be a girl. After she was done having her emotional rollercoaster, we went to Reston Town Center for free ice cream for voters :) It was delicious.

Then last week we met our friends Lisa and baby Emma at the mall so the girls could crawl around the play area. Since both girls have mastered the crawling thing, they love pulling up to stand and this play area gave them a great chance to practice. Emma liked to play in a little tunnel under a big tree and she even went down the slide by herself! Sienna, on the other hand spend most of the time crawling away from me. I thought she might want to play with her Mom, but nope! She was up and running on her own. My mom says I was the same way when I was little - I guess what goes around comes around...

Here is a (blurry) picture of Lisa and Emma...

Emma's "Tree Tunnel"...

We tried to take a picture of the girls together, but they fell over. Oops.

Our Baby Bovine...

Sienna was all dressed up and nowhere to go for Halloween this year since we were traveling on October 31. So we had a little Costume Party for our friends, particularly the ones who have kids. Here's our little cow and her friends...

Pumpkin Festival!

Earlier in the month we took Sienna to a Pumpkin Festival in Germantown, MD. Aaron & Corban Paganini came with us (Jess & Charis were feeling a little under the weather and couldn't make it) and Dave & Kerry met us there. We had a great time. The festival had pretty much anything a child would want to do at a festival. Corban loved the Moon Bounce especially and we enjoyed the live music and good food. We walked around, played in the hay and checked out the farm animals. We did pretty much everything BUT picking a pumpkin at the Pumpkin Festival. Oops. Here are a few pics...to see all of the photos, click on the link below.







More Pictures here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=67466&id=515556423

9 Months

Tomorrow Sienna is 9 months old, which is unbelievable. This month was quite eventful. She started eating vegetables & fruits as well as finger foods like Cheerios and Puffs. She eats really well (no surprise, she is part of this family) and even if she hates something she will eat some of it. Even Green Beans, her current least favorite food, which explains the scrunched up face...

She also learned to wave, clap, point and crawl this month. She is starting to pull up on furniture and remembering to hold on, lol. She also likes playing in her crib, with mirrors, and outside.

We've had to do some shopping for clothes now that it is getting chilly. Usually Grandma M. calls me and tells me that she "Went to Kohls" and "she had a problem." That usually indicates that she bought Sienna about 50 new outfits. We pick our favorites and return one or two so we don't feel like we went overboard. Here she is in her new sweatshirt and hat.


A couple of weeks ago I met Kelly Welsh (one of my college roommates) at the Leesburg Outlets so I could meet her newest family member, baby Mason. He is so cute but for some dumb reason I didn't take a picture. Anyway, while we were out, Kelly bought Sienna the cutest pair of pants and a few tops. Here is one below and she is wearing one of the other tops in the I-hate-green-beans picture above. Apparently we opted out from wearing pants during out post-nap playtime... :)


Thank you, Grandma & Aunt Kelly!

The Real Deal....

After MANY attempts, Sienna finally got the hang of crawling last week! Here she goes.... 

Technical Difficulties

We have lots to tell you, but we are experiencing camera difficulties.
Please stand by... :)

ROCKSTAR

Every girl sings into her hairbrush. It's true.

Lunch With Jill!

Sometimes I feel extra brave (or stupid?) and decide it is a good idea to meet Jill downtown for lunch. We have our arrangement down to a science. I call Jill when I am five minutes away from her office to tell her I am close. Then I pull over to a side street and wait for Jill - usually in a "no parking" zone. Then I park there. (I like to live on the edge.) Then when Jill gets to my car, I jump out and get in the passenger seat. Jill gets in the driver's seat and this whole process is necessary because I can't parallel park. From there we drive around the city for, oh, 40 minutes looking for a parking spot. Then we run into a restaurant, wolf down our lunch in approximately 10 minutes so Jill can get back to work before her lunch hour is up. Is it a little ridiculous? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

The first group shot didn't get all of Sienna's little head. Here's take two:

Love you, Jilly!