A little under-the-weather...

Last week Sienna got her first real-life, big-girl, totally disgusting stomach flu. It was pretty awful, but she is definitely feeling like her old self now. The thing that was so surprising was that she was so cuddly! I am not saying that I was glad that she was sick, but since she rarely snuggles with us, we had to take advantage. We even broke our "no TV for Sienna rule" to let her watch a DVD with Daddy, but she didn't make it very long before she was asleep. 

I think she weighs more than the safety limits on her infant bouncy chair, but we were breaking rules left and right so what's one more?

I called the doctor on Monday because although Sienna hadn't been physically "sick" since Friday, but I was afraid she might be dehydrated. Surprisingly, the doctor suggested giving her some yogurt. Something about the cultures in yogurt would be good for her system...? Well I followed the doctor's suggestion and it seemed like a good idea. Sienna seemed happy when she was eating it...

But then...

When I was putting Sienna to bed she started to make a gagging noise. I turned her around to face me so I could see if she was ok (bad bad idea) and she was not. She lost her yogurt and most of her purple Pedialyte ALL the front of me. All over my face. Unfortunately my mouth was not completely closed. I have to admit that the whole vomit-on-Mom experience was new to me and I'm not sure about the yogurt suggestion (Perhaps I had offended her Pediatrician the last time we visited?) Next time I'll stick with old fashion toast and chicken noodle soup.

The good news is that all bodily functions are back to normal and miraculously, I never got sick from Sienna although Daniel did. Daniel mentioned that perhaps he shouldn't been kissing Sienna's face when she was sick. (Ummm, yeah - I would agree.) However, even though Daniel was achy, feverish and nauseous he whispered from under all the blankets to tell me that it was totally worth it.  :)

Clemyjontri Park

Aunt Jessie and I took Sienna to the park last Saturday. It was warmer than it has been in months and there is a new GREAT park about 15 minutes from our house so we took her there to run around. It seemed that every parent in the Washington DC metro area decided to go the the park on the same day, but it was fun anyway. I always worry about taking Sienna to crowded play areas because she is so tiny & most of the time the other kids tower over her as you can see...

Here are a few of our favorites from our girls day out :)

The park has a Maze for the kids to run through. One particular wall has a hole in it so that you can cut through to a new part of the maze. Sienna saw the hole and started "toddling" towards it...and then she just went right through it. Partially. Her belly was resting on the inside of the hole on her tippy toes on one side and on her fingertips on the other side. It was so funny! Here I am...Mommy to the rescue!

Thanks for the pictures, Aunt Jessie!

Here She Goes...

Well, since she started her "zombie" like steps about two weeks ago (arms out in front, eyes focused straight ahead, steps slow and carefully measured) she has definitely picked up some speed. She loves walking and rarely crawls anymore. I was actually trying to capture her crawling in this video. She used do this funny move where she would crawl around the room, stop mid-crawl, wiggle her head and bottom back and forth like she was dancing, then continue on crawling. We never got it on video so I am trying desperately to get it before she gives up crawling entirely. However, I LOVE that she is walking. We put a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs so she is contained to the kitchen and living room and I can get a lot more done. It is so fun watching her little head bobbing through the furniture. 

For those of you who read the blog about her first birthday, Grandma & Grandpa M. bought her a balloon with Little Nemo on it and she is obsessed with balloons...particularly her Little Nemo ("fishy balloon" as we call it). It is STILL floating around our house but the string fell off so she always wants Daniel to get it for her off the ceiling, as you may have noticed in the video :) She is so much fun!

Alfalfa

I couldn't help it - I think this bedhead is even better than the last...

Our little Valentine

Valentine's Day was quite eventful - mostly because Sienna started to walk! She has been taking a step or two here and there, but on Saturday she walked back and forth between Daniel and I while we sat across from each other. She only had to do about 3 or 4 steps to get between us, but she did it continuously for about five minutes. She has been practicing every day since. Yesterday she walked across the room. She is so funny because she looks so proud of herself - she looks at you as if to say "look what I am doing!!!" She should be proud of herself - we are!  I haven't had much luck getting her new skill on video, but in the meantime, enjoy a few pictures of her waking up from her nap the other day. She gets the best "bed head"...

Birthday Girl!

It's been a week an a half and I am just posting the pictures from Sienna's birthday...! I am using a new computer these days and for some reason I have a hard time working with the blog layout. But whew - here they are. We had her birthday dinner at my parents house and we took waaaay too many pictures, so I tried to keep it under control. Here are a few!

Her Birthday Outfit - Thank you Aaron, Trang & Izzy!

Grandma & Grandpa gave her this "Fishy Balloon." It is still floating around out house and she loves pointing it out when we have visitors - they ALL have to check out the fishy balloon.

Dinner - Sweet Potatoes & Ham. (She threw most of it on the floor - I think she knew to save room for dessert.)

THE BIRTHDAY BLANKET!!!

She got the best gifts! She got some books, clothes, toys, stuffed animals. She also got a "Bongo" music set from the Okawa's that she loves! It was really fun.

Then, we moved on to her Birthday Cupcake! By that time is was about an  hour past her bedtime, so she was beginning to zone out...

...until she got to eat frosting.

She is in a share-everything-in-her-hand phase so she even shared her frosting. Doesn't that look appetizing?

 That's my girl - sometimes you have to have your dessert even if you are REALLY tired. :) 

I can't believe Sienna is one year old today! SERIOUSLY - where did this year go? It has been a blur of drooling chins, sticky hands, never-ending laundry loads and dirty diapers - in an amazingly entertaining and enjoyable way that probably only Moms and Dads can understand. What a wonderful year :) Here are a couple of photos from the day she was born...

January 31, 2008 @ 8:29am

When I was first pregnant, I started to write down in my journal specific prayer requests I had for Sienna. This week decided to look back on to see how I began praying for her so today I wanted to share how God has already answered so many of my prayers. Some are those prayers are ongoing and I have so many more that I know God will answer in His way throughout her life. 

_______________

From my journal:

Pray for when the baby comes...

For a smooth and safe delivery, for the baby's health & for a quick recovery from labor - for the baby and me.

For Sienna...

That she will be Healthy, Happy, Joyful, Peaceful & Intelligent. That she will have good sleep habits, good eating habits and no food allergies.  That she will be beautiful inside & out

Beautiful, fun, friendly, have a good sense of humor. That she will be loving and lovable.

________________

Daniel and I are so grateful for the blessing that she is to us. She is our good and perfect gift.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights" James 1:17a

Happy Birthday, Sienna!!

Snow Day!

Yesterday was Sienna's first snow day so I bundled her up like a purple marshmallow, took her out into the front yard and sat her down in the snow. She stayed sitting up for approximately three seconds. It is hard to sit up when you are a marshmallow.

I noticed right away that she didn't seem to be enjoying herself. (I have strong a maternal instinct like that.)

Finally she just laid there with her eyes closed (while snowflakes landed on her face) as if she had accepted the predicament that she was in.

I got the sense that she didn't like being out in the cold. Is she my daughter or what?