Hanging out

This past Tuesday, Sienna and I hung out on the front lawn waiting for Daddy to come home from work. The weather had been amazing earlier in the week and it was starting to change-the clouds were rolling in. It was still relatively warm and we enjoyed being outside together. She loves looking around and being outdoors. Here are some pictures of our sweet Sienna and the sky, which ended up giving us an amazing sunset!

I love this picture because in the background you see Garth chasing after Colby! Colbster is the little while dot above Sienna's forehead.

Now he's listening to Garth...only because Garth has food and Colby is hoping for a bite (which he never gets...yet he tries to look so sweet and innocent, hoping we'll give in).

By the end, we were down one sock-Sienna loves taking off her right sock and inserting it straight into her mouth. Then she plays with her foot.

Gorgeous sunset

Valentine's Day Wreath

Once Sienna was born, I found that I was sitting on the couch a lot, while nursing her. It would take 30 minutes and I would be doing it every 2 hours in the beginning! I realized I had a lot of time on my hands while I was sitting there. So I started reading blogs! I would start reading a friends blog and then click on someone they follow...and it would go on and on. While doing this, I started finding some of the most creative women out there! There are several blogs I look at regularly now, while feeding Sienna. So they have definitely inspired me to be creative again and I have also found some amazing and easy recipes on these blogs. Well, I decided to make a craft I found from the idearoom.net. I made a felt heart wreath for Valentine's Day. Click Here for step by step directions on how to make this wreath.

5 months

5 months already! Wow! Sienna just continues to be such a joy to Garth and I. We love her little personality that is showing more and more each day. She is so incredibly sweet and lovable. We love how she smiles and giggles all the time. However, I have noticed that she is starting to figure out this whole camera business. I can have her smiling and giggling, but as soon as I bring up the camera, she gets so serious. Every time I go to snap the shot, the smile is wiped away and it's serious time! So, you just have to trust us that she's full of smiles and giggles that just melt your heart!

Sienna has found her feet and boy does she love them. She touches them, grabs them, and likes to play with them in her bath, while playing on the ground, and she attempts in the carseat-but, after many struggles and grunts, she finds that cannot reach them! She also is rolling over a lot more now. She hasn't rolled from her back to her tummy, but every time I put her on her belly for tummy time, she rolls right over.

Another new thing for Sienna is any time we are holding her, she leans over to the side or backwards with her arm stretched wide trying to touch anything she sees. She wants to touch everything. If Garth is holding her, she's reaching and leaning towards me. If I'm holding her, she does the same thing for her daddy. It's cute, but we really have to be holding her tight because she obviously has no sense of fear and just leans all the way back. She is a strong girl and she is loving finding the ways her body moves and what she is capable of!

For many of you who do not know, Garth has changed jobs. He got an offer from Citizens Business Bank that he was very excited about and therefore resigned from Merrill Lynch last month. Garth is now the Vice President of Investment Services for the Central Valley. He is doing the same thing, being a financial advisor, but he does so for 12 banks in the valley-from Bakersfield up to Stockton. He is really enjoying it so far and as I type, he is on his way to North Carolina for some training for 4 days. I am already missing him!

Here are some recent pictures of our precious little one with her serious face :)

Nana and Sienna

love her

Loving those feet

Showing off an adorable tutu outfit from Auntie Heather

4 months

We can hardly believe that our little girl is 4 and a half months already! She is such a joy and we thank God for this amazing blessing every day. Right when I think it can't get any better, it does! Sienna has become so aware of everything around her. She wants to touch everything and put everything in her mouth. When I feed her, she reaches up and strokes my face, plays with my hair, and touches my mouth. She loves her play gym and is so interested in playing with the dangling toys and putting her feet up on the sides (I'll have to get a picture of that soon!). She loves laughing and giggling. We tickle her and she loves it when Garth kisses her neck-she squeals with delight. Sienna also LOVES her bath! She sits on her little chair and kicks her legs around and if we hold up a bath toy in front of her, she concentrates so hard to grab it with both of her hands...and then it goes up to her mouth. Her favorite bath toy is a washcloth-she tries to grab it from me when I wash her.

At her last doctor appointment, things went great. She weighed in at 12 lbs. 15 oz. and was 23.5" long. She is doing great and was a trooper taking those shots. Poor baby! I hate seeing her cry in pain. But she did great afterwards as well. She was a little fussy that evening, but slept for 12 hours that night!

I'm back at work now and things are going well. I miss my baby so much, but I am blessed to only have to work part time, 2-3 days a week. Once I'm at work, the day flies by, so it's not too bad. The hardest part is getting us both ready in the morning. She is being watched by either my mom or my friend Alexus. I feel so fortunate to have their help!

Here are some recent pictures of our little love:

She's getting bigger on her chair!

Sienna and her daddy

Sienna just started reaching for the mobile last week. It is so sweet to watch her.

She loves her soft books! Hopefully she'll love books as much as I do when she gets older!

After bath last night, I was trying to get a picture of her snuggling with daddy, but every time I went to take a picture, the flash made her open her eyes all huge, it was so funny!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! We wish you many blessings in 2011!!

~Garth, Vanessa, & Sienna

Christmas time

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks! We've had a busy December, but it's been full of laughter, friends, family, and good times. Also, Sienna's become very active lately. She can now lift her head and shoulders off of the ground, she giggles and laughs a lot, and loves playing with her toys. She grabs them and puts them in her mouth. We think she is teething, because she has started drooling like crazy and everything she touches, she wants in her mouth. We have a doctor appointment in a little over a week and we'll see what he says. She's still so sweet and we continue to dance, sing, and act crazy non-stop to see her huge smile and hear those precious giggles.

Here is Sienna lately:

Hanging out with cousin Kimu

Lily and Sienna (BFF's)

Sweet girl

Look who can lift her head now!!

bundled up

bundled up to go out and do some yard work with mom

precious

visit with Santa

cuteness (thanks to Nana)

Christmas Eve

Loving her sleepsack from daddy

opening gifts on Christmas Day

Best gift ever!!

Gipson family

loving her new giraffe toy from Santa

3 months

Here are some pictures from this previous month. We are so looking forward to the holidays and the beginning of new traditions, now that Sienna is in our lives. Just having her in our family makes the holidays more exciting and I know it's going to get even better. Hope all is going well during this fun, busy season.

Our baby girl is 3 months old now! Crazy how time flies by. It's amazing to look at her "monthly picture" and notice how she's grown since last month and even how much better she holds up her head. Last month is was bobbling all over the place and this time she sat up against the chair with a lot more stability!! I'm so proud :).

Every time I am feeding or holding Sienna, Colby comes and lays down right next to us...often on my lap! He loves to get in on the action and likes to be wherever Sienna is. It's pretty sweet.

Garth decided to try on the Bjorn...with our dog, not our baby. Although Colby didn't care for it, Sienna loves it!

Our precious Charger Fan

Great-Grandma and Sienna on Thanksgiving Day

Sienna's first time wearing a skirt and tights...so darn adorable. I made her the Turkey onesie, it was my first sewing project. I love how it turned out and I think she looked just adorable. However, as soon as we showed up to our second destination that day, with Garth's family, she had a massive blowout-up to her shoulders! So we had to change her clothes. At least we got a couple pictures of her looking cute!

Bundled up for a walk after all of that yummy Thanksgiving food

This month, we also had my 10 year reunion. It was a great time to visit with old friends and catch up. It was way better than I thought it was going to be, we had a great time!!

Garth and his little girl hanging out.

Sienna hanging her first ornament. It's a little glittery baby "peanut."

Putting up our Christmas tree. We had hot cocoa, watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and decorated the tree. It was a perfect night with our little family.

Sienna's stocking

Much love during this Christmas Season!

XOXO