Thursday, November 1, 2012

Better To Give Than To Receive


Isn't this a classic halloween picture?  I absolutely adore it.  And luckily for us, Sienna warmed up to her monkey costume, and we enjoyed a lovely evening.  My mother-in-law Cindy had us over for her famous spaghetti and meatballs to kick off the night right before we jumped in to the trick or treating.  


Once we were outside with all of the other costumed kids, Sienna LOVED it!  She started out in her little car, but quickly wanted to walk herself, so as not to miss out on any of the action.  She strutted up and down the sidewalks and porches with her little paunchy monkey costume continually wrestling with her hood, so she could see.  : )




Sienna's favorite part of the night though?  Giving out the candy.  Whenever she heard a knock on the door, she would run as fast as her little legs would carry her to the door, hand out the candy, and then wave for 15 seconds after everyone had left.  Eventually we moved her out to the porch where she sat on the stoop, doling out candy in to the buckets, and staring at each costumed child.  She was very insistent upon placing the candy in the bucket.  Some kids attempted taking the candy from her hand, but she would not relinquish it to them.  She wanted to put it in their buckets.  : )  Some of the frightening costumes upset her, but even as she would begin to cry, she continued to give even the scary kids their candy.  What a gal.  This halloween experience has given me cause to look forward to next year's.  Watching her wrestle with her costume and throw a fit and climb on to porches and look in her bucket and give out candy was better than I ever thought it would be.  

Friday, October 12, 2012

Sienna's First Birthday Party, etc...

I continue to put off writing this blog because in all likeliness it's going to be extraordinarily long!  When you are updating over a month's worth of events, thoughts, and pictures it could get lengthy.  I vow to be more consistent...maybe...hopefully? : )

Let's play highs and lows...
My high of the month: Matt is home!!  The last game was October 3rd and I expected him home the the evening of the 5th (Friday).  Instead, he chose to go the incredibly romantic and sweet, but dangerous and possibly stupid route by leaving Cleveland after the game and driving 16 1/2 hours straight through to surprise me at our house on Thursday afternoon.  It makes my heart smile to think about it again.  Relief and delight just filled my soul when I saw him walking up the driveway.  He is home.  We are home.
My low of the month: Matt has to have another hip surgery and four months of rehab this offseason.  This is a huge bummer for many reasons.  First and foremost, he is 27 years old and feels like he is falling apart.  He just wants to be able to run around with his kids and hopefully even his grandkids, so when this happens, it's deflating.  Secondly, we were so looking forward to a "normal" offseason filled with long bike rides and free time and relaxation.  It's not to say that this still won't be possible, but hip surgery and rehab definitely puts a damper on the whole thing.  Thirdly, it seems like every year is a "big year" in baseball, but this year is too!  He really needs to be 100% by spring training and have a bit of success to make the team and hopefully go on to have a productive season!  Any kind of injury makes those goals the teensiest  more difficult.  
Even this low can't bring me down though.  Our home is almost complete (the master bathroom is being worked on at this very minute), Matt is home, and there's no baseball in sight!  Truly, I feel so blessed and content and joyous over the beginning of our offseason.  

Sienna is still an absolute delight.  About two weeks ago, she started walking everywhere!  She waddles like a little penguin and I can't get enough of it.  She eats like a champ, still loves to climb (stairs are her favorite), has begun to snap her fingers when she hears music (courtesy of her Granny LaPorta), and smiles with her whole body.  

Things I'll Never Get Tired Of:

1. Sienna toddling up to me book in hand and plopping down in my lap ready to read.
2. Very often after Sienna takes a delicious bite of food, she does a little dance by shaking her little shoulders and head from side to side.  

The weekend Matt got home, we had Sienna's first birthday party.  It was hot air balloon themed  with the tagline "Sienna's First Year Flew By!".  Her party also served as her baby dedication, a welcome home Matt party, and a house-warming party.  It went beautifully, but I'm sorta happy it's all over!  Here are the pictures!


Birthday Invitation


Front Door

Dessert Table

Sienna By the Month!




On Sienna's actual birthday, she dominated a cupcake!
She wasn't as sure about this!





Thursday, September 20, 2012

Life in Pictures

Too much has happened to write it all, so this will be a picture blog!  

1. We went to Cleveland to visit Daddy!!






2. While in Cleveland, we did Sienna's one year pictures!  Elizabeth Videc also took her newborn pictures!  It's going to be hard to narrow it down...







3. Sienna turned one...and had her first cupcake!





4. I went to my 10 year high school reunion, which completely exceeded my expectations.  I had a blast!



5. I went to Texas to see Mattie and left Sienna for three days!  Although I missed her immensely (so much so that I just had to NOT think about her), it was really wonderful to have some "Dara" time...oh and "Matt and Dara" time.  Of course I have zero pictures from that trip. 

6. Sienna is completely weaned and rarely even eats baby food.  She loves real food.  Including spaghetti.





7. In between these exciting events, I have been working on our new house.  I am busier than I have been all year, but I'm loving it.  From repainting Matt's childhood oak bed and organizing closets to finding the perfect rug and throw pillows, I am completely immersed in Project: Lake Magdalene House.  I love this house and am so grateful that it's ours.  Now if I can just get my husband home...


Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Sienna's First Birthday...And Other News

The day has arrived.  I will no longer be counting Sienna's age by months, but by years.  I am not nearly ready.  My only consolation is that I can have more perfect babies. : )
If I'm being honest, after having Sienna sans drugs, I wasn't so sure about her.  I was utterly exhausted, my body felt ravaged, and for the first few weeks, I wasn't sure I was capable of being a mother to this little girl.  Sienna felt like a stranger to me...a miniature stranger.  I loved her, but I didn't feel close to her.  She didn't feel like a part of me.  Does that make me horrible?  I hope not.
What a difference a year makes.  That blue eyed girl is the highlight of my everyday.  I miss her at night when she goes to bed.  I rush to the church nursery after we have been separated for only an hour.  I hate when Matt and I get home after going out and she has already gone to sleep.  She is my delight.  I can no longer imagine my world without her.  She is the sweetest, funniest, friendliest and most beautiful person I know.  I could not have dreamed up a more perfect baby for God to send me and I can't believe she is mine.
 More on Sienna...
She took her first steps on August 22nd (just over 11 1/2 months old)!  
When I say "Oh no!", she puts her hands on her head.
She holds a cell phone up to her ear.

More on Us...
Matt got called up to the big leagues about a week and a half ago!  (This news is equal parts exciting and absolutely nerve racking!)  Sienna and I went to see him in Cleveland for 6 days, but now we are back in Florida and will mostly remain here until he gets home (which can't come soon enough).  We miss him.  All the time.
I have been busily working to get our house ready!  Putting Sienna's furniture together, picking out wall decorations for her room, looking at tile for our master bathroom, unpacking, getting cable installed, cleaning, etc!  It's been extremely busy, but unbelievably exciting!  Every time I walk in to our house I think about how much I love it and how blessed I am.  

It's hard to believe another baseball season has come and is almost gone.  Sienna's birthday will always represent the end of the season which gives double reason to celebrate.  : )  Sienna's presence this season has created such a perspective shift and injected joy and light in to even the hardest of days.  What a gift she is.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Baby Book Bust

I am nearing panic-mode as everyday brings us closer to September 4.  Sienna will turn one year old.  Turns out, I am that cliche mom.  I am not ready.  I truly wish I could freeze her in time today at eleven months, two weeks, and four days.  The same way I truly wish she never had to get teeth (lucky for me, she STILL only has half a tooth).  The same way I wish she would fall asleep on my chest (she gave that up months ago).  My mother also gave me reason to panic when I saw the baby milestone calendar she filled out for me.  The calendar ended at a year, but my dear mother continued it on a piece of notebook paper describing in detail facial expressions and habits and funny moments.  Don't get me wrong, Sienna's baby book is mostly filled in (I am not completely inattentive), but not nearly to the detail that mine was.  So my guilty conscience has inspired me to describe in detail Sienna's personality, traits, etc.

Smiley Girl: Sienna started smiling around six weeks, and it seems like she never stopped.  Of course, she has her fussy moments, but so many people have said to me something to the effect of "I've never seen a baby smile so much" or "Is she always this happy?"  I remember taking her to spring training games and she would look over each of my shoulders and smile at all the strangers surrounding us.  Often, she won't stop smiling at you until you acknowledge her.  This also happens in grocery stores, target, etc.  Of course, it's a bit of a trap because as it turns out, if you DO acknowledge her, she expects you to continue to engage with her.  She's a bit pushy, I must admit.  This is the first smile I caught on camera on October 20:


The Scrunchie Face: I will never forget the scrunchie face.  I can't pinpoint when it began, but at around 7 months, I took a picture of it.  There is no other face like it, and she would do it all the time while simultaneously breathing very rapidly through her nose.  I loved it, and though there are remnants of it from time to time, she no longer makes the scrunchie face full out anymore.  Sad day.  Luckily I will always have this picture to remember it by (as a matter of fact, Matt turned this picture in to our credit card): 

The Jerk: Sienna began doing this head jerk thing when I would feed her solids.  I have no idea what it meant, but she would violently nod her head and blink her eyes, sometimes accompanied by smacking her lips together.  For a good few months, she did it on demand.  Now she doesn't do it as often, but thank God does occasionally.  I have tried uploading a video of the jerk, but it won't work.  Check facebook.
Sienna began waving, clapping, and crawling around 7 1/2 months.  Her wave was just priceless.  She waved backwards like she was beckoning you forth.  She mostly waves normally now (boring), but every once in a while she will regress to her original wave (the best).  Now she waves at everyone all the time.  Not necessarily for specific hellos and goodbyes, just all the time throughout the day.  I've said it before, but I'll say it again...Sienna has never met a stranger.  
If there was a prize for clapping, she would win it.  You need only to say, "Yay!", and she will drop whatever she is playing with and clap those sweet miniature hands together.
Sienna loves to be chased, and now that she is such an efficient crawler, she will give you a run for your money. "Sienna, I'm gonna get you!" will have her speeding off in a hurry.
Sienna has a huge mouth.  Maybe it's because she doesn't have any teeth, but nevertheless, it is oddly large.  At around 8 months, she put a whole ping pong ball in her mouth.  Slightly frightening, but hilarious.  She mostly sticks to water bottles now.
Sienna plays hard.  If she is not eating or sleeping, she is moving.  She pulls herself up and down, looks at her books, crawls to the window, climbs the oven, pulls tupperware out of the cabinets or tissues out of the box.  If she will let you hold her in your lap for 10 seconds, that is a small victory.  If she actually relaxes her body or lays her head on your shoulder, that is a huge victory.
Sienna loves to climb.  She first figured out how to pull herself up on our oven.  I posted that video in a previous blog.  Now she tries to climb everything.  At baseball games, she climbs the seats by either putting her feet in the cup holders or the slits in the back of the seats.  She can hold her own weight while hanging, so she will grab on to her pack n' play and lift her little feet in the air and try to gain a foothold on the meshed netting.

Sienna refuses to walk.  She stands on her own, cruises, and even climbs, but will not take a step.  What a stinker.
Sienna loves buckles.  In her high chair, she stares at the buckle and holds each piece, breathing very hard (which she always does when she focuses hard), trying to figure out how to put it together.
Sienna adores remote controls and cell phones.  She even points the remote at the TV trying to change the channel.
Sienna dances whenever she hears even a hint of music or melody.  She sways her tiny body and head from side to side.
When Sienna finds a pen, she looks for paper to write on.  
Sienna is as nosy (and noisy) as they come.  If she sees people laughing, she will very loudly yell out this very fake laugh just to be a part of the joke.  When she is nursing, she takes breaks (obnoxiously often), sits up, and waves and smiles at everyone in the room.  If she hears a noise out of place (a toilet flushing in a different room or a door opening and closing), she stops what she is doing, looks in the direction that the noise came from, and listens very attentively to figure out what or who it is.
Sienna has her mommy's (and daddy's) appetite.  I could have just fed her, but if she sees me eating, she crawls over, pulls herself up at my knee, and whines and fusses and demands until I give her some.
Sienna gets her fingers caught in the same drawers she insists on opening and closing in the bathroom nearly everyday.  I don't know if this makes her brave or foolish. 
Sienna has recently begun to imitate monkey sounds "ooooo...ahahah" initiated by her Granny (Matt's mom) and Aunt Nina and encouraged by all of us.
In conclusion (finally), I often forget Sienna does not talk yet because she is so incredibly expressive and I know her so well that I usually understand what she wants or needs.  Sienna is a force to be reckoned with.  She will either unwittingly charm your pants off with her big blue eyes and sweet smile or demand that you acknowledge her and be her friend.  What a gal.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Blog Snafus

I notice that the pressure to write brilliantly keeps me from writing at all.  I'm pretty sure that is NOT the point of chronicling your life via blog.  I want this to be a good balance between personal thoughts, noteworthy happenings, pictures, and the everyday details of my life.  And if I just so happen to have a wise or witty moment, that's all the better.  But the point is to write.

I actually had posted a blog on July 29th, but the layout was warped, and after several attempts to make it right, I unfortunately deleted it.  (Sigh)  It was a long one too, dangit!

So it seems after weeks of monotony and little writing inspiration, the last few days have been action-packed enough to write ten blogs.  So...we may have a mini-series on our hands.  

One week ago, we received the sad news that Matt's grandmother, Rose, had passed away.  Vince's mother, the same "Rose" Sienna's middle name comes from.  It was not completely sudden, but her passing was not exactly expected "any day now" either.  That Saturday was just the beginning of a whirlwind of events that only ceased yesterday.  Matt and I quickly realized that if Sienna and I were to fly down for the funeral (which was a given), it made the most sense for us to stay in Florida for the remainder of the baseball season because the Clippers only have six more home games this month.  The results of this conclusion equal packing up our entire Columbus apartment, wrapping up all the loose ends (canceling cable, gym membership, shipping packages out, etc), packing the 4Runner, and of course flying home with the maximum amount of luggage and a baby to boot...alone.  Needless to say, it was an exhausting two days. Mattie was incredibly helpful, which was a blessing because often in these types of scenarios, the "husbands" are not always able to help.

After we both arrived in Tampa, we drove down to Port Charlotte for Rose's wake and mass.  Despite the sad circumstances, it is always nice to see family and have a mini reunion of sorts. The time went fast and before I knew it, Matt was waking at 5:00 am on Friday morning to catch  his flight back to Columbus.

Besides the physically draining aspect of this week, there of course was so much emotional exhaustion, as well.  In baseball, this is the time of year, where players might get called up to the big leagues, so in all of the packing and planning, often that is lingering in the back of your mind, no matter how much you try not to think about it.  Then of course there is the fact that Matt had just lost his grandmother, which is an incredibly emotional time.  She was his last surviving grandparent, and I believe that fact alone made her passing all the more difficult. 

It's been a long, tough week and while Sienna and I get to stay here at home spending time with friends and family, doing projects around our house, and relaxing a bit, Mattie has to re-enter the daily grind of baseball during what I think is the toughest part of the season.  I can't tell you how often I have prayed for him in the last two days and wished that I could take his place, if only for a few days.  However, I don't think the Clippers would find that appropriate (even if I am more athletic than Mattie)!  And so I continue even through blog our ongoing debate about who is more athletic.  

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

All-Star Week

The all-star "break" has never left me as weary as this one did.  Matt, Sienna, and I traveled to Buffalo, NY for the Triple-A All-Star festivities.  I am certainly not unappreciative for the opportunity to have experienced the endless luncheons, galas, pre-parties, after-parties, and of course baseball games, but three sleepless nights will color anything (no matter how fun) a bit negative.  Our dear Sienna mastered night time sleeping months and months ago, a fact that I will be eternally grateful to her for.  However, she will not sleep in the same room as us.  She woke up 2-3 times a night all three nights.  I thought I was ready for another baby, but those sleepless nights have me doubting that optimistic idea.  Wow, were we tired.  
There is a silver lining though.  The second night we brought her in to bed with us, she would not be content unless she was completely draped over me, which was kind of frustrating because I can not sleep like that.  Twice during the night, she had almost dozed off apart from me, but then she woke up, crawled over to me and tenderly laid her head on top of my head, cheek to cheek.  In those moments, complete heart-bursting love replaced any frustration that was left in me.  I will never forget her sweet desire to be as close to me as possible.
In spite of our exhausting nights, the all-star events were fun and we were treated wonderfully. But the best part was the time we spent with family!  Matt's Uncle Rick and Aunt Denise came up with their daughter, Bianca, Denise's brother, Bob, and his son, Michael.  Also, my mom's family lives in Buffalo, NY!  So my Aunt Elizabeth and cousins, Tyler and Nicole attended the home-run derby and then brought my Grandma to visit one day.  I can sincerely say that this experience would not have been the same sitting in the stands by myself.  Matt and I felt so blessed to celebrate his outstanding season with loved ones.  
Nicole, Tyler, and Aunt Elizabeth

Grandma, Sienna, and me.  Three generations!


Uncle Rick, Bob, Aunt Denise, Michael, and Bianca

                                               

The fun didn't end in Buffalo!  Matt, Sienna, and I then traveled to Indianapolis for the Clippers five game series.  Matt had to play a double-header the day we arrived after four hours of sleep, a 7 am flight, and 2 1/2 hour lay-over.  Gotta love triple-A baseball ; )  
But lo and behold, Sienna slept through the night all three nights we were there.  No, she didn't just miraculously figure out how to sleep with us.  Don't give her that much credit!  I had the brilliant idea to shove her crib in to the bathroom and close the door.  The magic of the closed door kept Sienna asleep all night.  And thank God because I am pretty confident Matt would have sent us packing back to Columbus, if not.  So now we know to only stay at hotels where the closet or bathroom is big enough to put Sienna in.  The best part is Matt peed in a cup twice and I had to hold it since Sienna was in the bathroom.  One day we will look back and laugh : )
Matt's dad, Vince, came to Indy and had an adjoining room, so we had a lot of fun spending substantial quality time with him.  As wonderful as it was to see family and travel and spend extra time with Matt, I've never been so ready to get back to Columbus and back to our so-called "normal" life.


Sienna gouging out Grandpa's eye


A new scrunchie face!  How exciting!




Saturday, July 7, 2012

Sienna Climbing

Now maybe this is normal for a 10 month old...I really can't be sure.  But normal, average, or not, I was impressed!



Thursday, July 5, 2012

Happy 3rd of July?

Here in Columbus, Ohio they put on a huge event every year called "Red White and Boom" for the 4th of July, but the funny/odd thing is that it is on July 3rd.  Nevertheless, Sienna and I took part in the festivities, July 4th or not.  Matt was out of town, and so again I found myself incredibly grateful to be a part of such an amazing team of baseball players who just happen to have awesome wives!  Even better, most of the other wives have babies!  As it turns out I am not the "old wife with a kid" as I had feared several months ago. : ) 
So on July 3rd, Sienna and I trekked (if not for the energy-sapping heat it would be a leisurely stroll, not a trek) over to Alice Ray's apartment where the 4th of July parade would be coming by.  Sure enough a bit after six o'clock, here they came.  Now "they" consisted of a couple of marching bands, a few beauty queens, an absurd number of semi trucks honking their obnoxious horns, and my personal favorite, a real life bearded Jesus atop a hill overlooking the earth as "God Bless America" played in the background.  Alas, I have frequented better parades, but Sienna especially enjoyed the marching bands, as did I.  We went home before the fireworks started, but definitely heard and even caught a glimpse of them from our downtown apartment. Sienna reacted a bit apprehensively towards the fireworks, but was not terrified either.
So July 4th rolls around, and I thought to myself, "Certainly, there will be some festivities going on downtown.  Afterall, it is ACTUALLY the 4th today."  Nothing, nada, zip.  Downtown was empty.  It strikes me as so funny...even now as I write this.
The 4th of July is my favorite holiday and though the 3rd was fun, how I do crave a good ole' fashioned 4th of July BBQ in Florida with friends and family.  But I do have something to look forward to...Matt told me when he was out of baseball, we would make up for the 4th's I've spent not celebrating my favorite day of the year.  I hope he knows what he's promising...boats, beaches, lakes, watermelon, cheeseburgers, sparklers, jet skis, and sweet tea.  That is what the 4th of July is to me.  As my friend, Chris Breslin so eloquently stated on his facebook status yesterday, "Freedom tastes like watermelon."