Siennalee's First Recital!

Disclaimer: As you will notice, I am playing catch up on some of my blogging. The month of May just happened to be one of those months fraught with all those extra things (like dentist appts, sicknesses, and other random time thieves) that keep you from blogging. I'll try to add any pertinent dates to the posts that really require them. :)

So on to the fun stuff!

Siennalee's First Recital!

Siennalee's first music recital was Saturday, May 17th! It was precious to see her up there with her little class. Unfortunately a couple kids were out on vacation, but the ones we had there were faithful little musicians and had a lot of fun.

Siennalee is the youngest one out of the class but manages just fine! She danced and played her instruments and did all her little motions just like she should to the three songs they "performed." Miss Mary, the teacher, had the songs cued up on a CD player and played them, along with distributing instruments and props for each song. I went up and stood behind Sienna just like we do in class and so she was right at home and quite comfortable in front of the crowd (who does that sound like? ;0>).

After their performance, I was ready to leave, but Jason thought we should stay as long as we could for the older kids' performances. Amazingly, Siennalee sat very still and all rapt attention on my mom's lap! She took in all the clumsy piano pieces, guitar solos, and musical duets. It was so sweet!

All in all, Siennalee's first recital was a roaring success! Jason and I couldn't be prouder!

(aside: we did get the recital on video, but I seem to be having technical difficulties retrieving the video from the video camera... I may have to call in my IT guy - uh, that'd be Jason...)

The recital was held at The River Center which is the facility owned by a church in Lebanon, Oregon.

Sitting on Grammie's lap, waiting for our class's time slot.



On stage! Just before the first song.
(These pictures turned out darker than we'd hoped.)



Getting ready for "Old MacDonald Had A Band" which is like the original song but with instruments for the animals. Pretty cute.



Old MacDonald Had a Band!



Preparing for the second song of the set.



The second was a Wiggles song (you may remember our ill-fated concert attempt from a previous post) which involves adorable white teddy bears and rocking them to sleep. Siennalee LOVES this song. She's a huge fan of bears...well, anything cuddly, really.



And now for the hard part: Song's over, time to return the bear.



"See how Mommie returns her bear? You can do it!"



The last song of the set was a ribbon song. It involved making the ribbon dance wildly to the fun music and then making your ribbon rest when the music suddenly stopped. Then that wily music would start up again and off your ribbon would go!



Dance, ribbon, dance!



She's pretty good at this.



Music stops. She and her ribbon both rest.



Our family - goofy pic.



We're so proud of our girlie!

Siennalee Snippets

She loves to dance to the Monk theme song!

She has just learned to make the spider for "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and just adores the song!

Siennalee loves to watch Jon & Kate Plus 8 (even more than Sesame Street).

She'll point out all spiders (" 'Pider, Mama!") and bugs ("Butt, Mama!").

She loves pretty things ("Pitty, Mama! A pitty, Mama!").

She's become an earnest lover of animals - we've gotta get her that puppy soon!

She suddenly began loving blankets ("Bankie, Mama!") all on her own. We'd never referred to blankets as Blankies or Bankies before.

She now loves to be rocked before bedtime and naptime. It used to be "rott, rott" and is now "rock, rock" - emphasis on the "k."

Everything is "here" - "Daddy's here" "Mama's here" "More bite here!"

She started saying "up there"

She started saying "herego" for here you go.

Sienna really really REALLY likes purses. Shoes, too. Hey, she's a girl, what can I say?

She is really getting into pretend playing. She gets her baby, her hat, her phone, her bag and/or purse and says "Bye! Bye!" as she heads toward the front door. Then she comes right back saying "Hi! Hi!"

She loves to say hi to people on the phone and blows them kisses.

She LOVES to be outside. It's tough on her that we can't stay outside forever.

She's learning the hard lessons of discipline and timeouts and doing fairly well (as long as she's not overly sleepy!).

Siennalee loves to jabber; she so wants to communicate she'll move right past words so she can talk faster, but each jibberjabber is filled with meaning and she fully expects me to listen and understand what she's earnestly telling me.

She has the same little off center dimple that made me fall in love with her daddy.

She has those same blue eyes of the people I've loved all my life.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Gary's (Jason's Dad and my excellent Father-in-Law) birthday and my own granddaddy's birthday! Since Siennalee has just added "Happy Birtday!" to her word repertoire, I thought it would be a nice tribute to share the little video I took for Gary's birthday.



So happy birthday to two of the best men in my life, as well as in my family! We're blessed to have you!

A Swell of a Day

I find that it's been quite a while since my last post. It's amazing how time slips by, especially for a stay-at-home mom who finds herself suddenly unable to account for several days which have just passed. She has this feeling that she's been terribly busy, and has the exhaustion to prove it, but what, oh what has she been doing? Eyebrows are raised, looks are exchanged.

So whilst yesterday is still somewhat clear in my mommie brain, allow me to recount one of the days that have so utterly taken up my time, energy, and apparently, memory. At least, let me recount it before it gets swallowed up in the new busy-ness that today will bring. And tomorrow. And the next day. ...What was I saying? Oh yes, my day.

Yesterday was a scheduled trip to the dentist.

I got up that morning and immediately began laundry, packing Jason's work lunch, and getting things together for our day out. Siennalee and I made it out the door a little late and rushed off to Anne's house.

Anne and I had long ago scheduled our appointments back to back in hopes of saving time and gas money. I think we had visions of leaving the children in the care of a beloved babysitter and scurrying away to the dreaded appointments and afterward rewarding ourselves with some sort of non-child treat.

Alas. It was not to be. No babysitter was available and, fearing we would not be able to get back in for quite some time, Anne and I chose to take the girls with us to the dentist’s office and take turns watching them while the other had her appointment.

My appointment was first. As I lay nearly upside down in the dental chair, absurd Paris Hilton safety glasses firmly in place, mouth pried open, and six shots of Novocaine later (that's right, six), it occurred to me that I really was grateful for the dentist and his abilities, but I'd almost rather give birth again (yes, even cesarean) than have this experience repeated. Visions of Sweeney Todd with a Novocaine needle and dental instruments danced through my head.

Then we were done. Half my face and most of my nose and mouth numb, I sat woozily on the edge of the dental throne and considered passing out. But alas, again, it was not to be. It was time to go watch the three girls while Anne got her time with Sweeney Todd.

The girls were corralled in the play area of the waiting room. I stumbled back there and managed to sit, drooling and swollen, while they played around me. Details are blurry, but I do remember breaking up little toy and territory skirmishes, repeatedly trying to reply to Isabella's repeated "Where Mommy?" queries (difficult to talk with no working mouth & tongue), retrieving toys dropped behind the couch of said waiting area, intercepting a long distance call to my grandmother in Texas after my daughter got a hold of Anne's phone and then having to quickly hang up when Gracey fell and received a nice head bonk, and feeding the girls lots and lots of raisins, homemade granola bars, and crackers - just to keep them happy, quiet, and away from each other’s sippies (warning: this can backfire; they begin to mob you and then you have to fight them off yourself, as well as each other - so use with caution).

Finally, Anne returned and we packed the girls up and drove away.

Somehow I made it home to Albany, fed my kid, and put her in bed.

And that was my day.

I probably won't remember it next week when you ask me what I've been up to.

Siennalee's First Hike

Last weekend the weather was perfect for heading up to one of our local mountains for an early day hike. Jason and I packed up a lunch, our gear, and our baby and headed out! It was to be Siennalee's first real hike out with us.

Mary's peak is the highest point in the Coastal mountain range which frames the east side of our beloved Willamette Valley.



The Coastal mountain range is (typically) much more temperate than the Cascade range, which borders us to the west.



Not only was this Siennalee's very first hike, but it was also the maiden voyage of the new Kelty carrier we bought for her (and the other teeny persons who join us down the road).



I was very happy to be out in the gorgeous mountains, smelling the pine needles warming in the sun...



...and again hiking with Jason under the BIG trees!

(We didn't get to do any hiking last year as Jason was serving in Kuwait for most of the year.)



Daddy and Siennalee at one of the trailheads we thought we'd take.



It's a family tradition to get our picture at the trailhead signs of the trails we take... Siennalee, through no fault of her own, couldn't make it past Daddy's head and into the picture.



Ah, there's my pretty girl!



Jason and Siennalee. Snow field in the background. Thaaat's right. Snow.



Remember how I said the Coastal range was usually more temperate? Not this year. We hit snow. And lots of it.



Daddy shows Siennalee some of the marvelous textures found in nature.



He picked her some moss at which she delightedly parroted "Moss!" and held on to for most of the hike.



Yup. Snow.



We tried to make it as far as we could down a trail not snowed in, but alas. SNOW.



So we hit the road. And let Siennalee do some hiking of her own, in her little sparkly pink tennies. (We'll do some proper outfitting of her hiking/camping wardrobe in the coming years.)



C'mon sparkly pink tennies! Don't fail me now!



Oh I LIKE this hiking stuff!



Siennalee kept spying things.



And collecting them. "Would you look at this pine cone? Oh yeah, it's a keeper."



"Hold the phone... there's another one!"



"Care to help me pick up all these pine cones, Daddy?" He declined. He'd found us a spot to eat lunch.



Siennalee was enraptured with the trees and the birds and the bugs and the winds and the pine cones...



"They keep going up and up and up, Daddy!"



Happy mouths full of peanut butter and honey sandwiches.



Siennalee found a friend.



She really likes bugs. And he seemed to like her... til she tried to feed him a cranberry and he fell off...



"What...? We were having such a good time, I thought..."



"Where bug go, Mommie? Daddy?"



No matter. Work to do. Pine cones to be picked up.



This was cute for awhile...



But Daddy must bow to the call of the hike... he wanted to see if another trailhead was accessible.

Alas, it was not. So after a vow to return on a more seasonable day (and less snow, hopefully), we turned back and headed homeward.


Good times in the great outdoors!



And many more good times to come!

Continuing Endeavors...

I thought I'd scrap some fun pictures that my sister-in-law Anne made my brother (her husband) take of us right before we ditched him with their kids and took off on our wild Girls' Night Out. (Note for those concerned: I'd already ditched my own beloved husband back at home with our child. Oh, and our "wild night" out consisted of going to Costco, Borders, and the mall. So, no rumors, please.) Anyway, next time we'll be sure to get the other Ditcher-of-Husband-and-Leaver-of-Children-at-Home Jaymie in on the fun picture taking. See you next month, girls!

Endeavors in Photoshop

Yesterday I got my Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 in the mail! We got it installed today and I spent a bit of my precious free time playing around with it (and some free digital scrapbooking downloads). My endeavor thus far: