2 whole months!

Warning: LONG blog about baby!!!

The difference in a 2 month old and a newborn are just tremendous. Happy 2 months in our world, Sienna! As I type this, little one is cuddled into daddy's chest in the baby bjorn. She has figured out that it is way more cuddly to nap on daddy than in bed. We let that slide at least once a day because she's too cute and when she sleeps (no matter where it is) she wakes up all smiley and happy.

So many growing experiences in the past four weeks little one! In the last month, you've traveled to Boston, Milton, Lewes for daddy's half marathon, made your first trip to Home Depot, started to smile, started to coo more, love toys now (especially ones that light up), giggle as you fall asleep and sometimes when you are really happy if we are lucky. You like to hang out with mommy and daddy after breakfast in the morning on their bed before your first nap and are completely content talking to us and looking at the fan.  You are literally cuter every day. Uncle Matt says you should be a model. GAP is having a baby casting call, maybe we should apply! You love soft stuff just like mama and dada do. I have a feeling you'll never let us put any scratchy wool on you. You love your stuffed pink giraffe that sings lullabies from grandma, a light up toy that our friend Laurie gave you, and a toy that's technically for the car seat but it lights up too so we use that in the house, too. You pretty much love anything that lights up. You now look all around and are starting to control your head better too! Oh and you can roll to your side, but not over yet. You also decide when you're finished eating now by smiling up at me. I love it. The little things in life to a mama.... You're really growing! Just about 11 pounds and 22 1/2 inches. Your chubby legs and cheeks are adorable!

2 month pediatrician visit looking at the doctor!

You loved seeing daddy run his half marathon and were such a good little cheerer! You didn't cry or fuss at all that morning! What a champion baby! Daddy is sort of in love with your smiles and will do anything to get them. He also scoops you up and asks what's wrong when you cry, as if you may just answer (and one day you will). I love watching you two play. (PS Jamie and Emily did awesome and finished with a great time- we were so proud!) Go Walls siblings!

happy baby with daddy!

Sienna is starting to hold things. Not always on purpose and I crack up when she surprises herself that something is in her hand! But she defiitely knows those hands are hers. She takes one and massages my back when we nurse, also making me laugh every time. She grabs my shoulder when I am carrying her and grabs onto toys if we put them in her reach-- though again not purposefully.

Holding bunny blanky watching the fan!

Sienna also sort of loves laying against the boppy now that she has some control of her body. It helps keep her upright after she eats too (stupid reflux) so that makes everyone happy. I can walk around the room and put away laundry and talk to her, as long as she can see me she's pretty content there.

I mean, those lips and those eyes- the cutest baby there is! And oh hi kitty!

One day, grandpa came to be the grandpa-nanny. Sienna loves grandpa because he plays with her past her nap times and bed time (already a pattern starting, just wait until she's two and can really play with him!) He also sings her James Taylor and irish lullabies. Lucky kid to be loved so much.



Her shirt says I love hugs from grandpa :)

Okay, now, I just have to admit, I am obsessed with sleep. Maybe it's because pre-Sienna I literally slept 10 hours per night some nights. The very least I ever got was 8 but that was pushing it. Along comes baby and at month one, I literally prayed to God for a 3 hour stretch at night. I'm happy to say we are falling into a better pattern and getting 4-5 hour stretches every night, sometimes 6 if we are extra lucky. Bed time has naturally moved itself up from 10 or 11pm to about 8:30-9:00 pm (this means mama is in bed as soon as you are!) Before Sienna was born, Laurie told us to get the Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child book. I read it and read it again the first 6 weeks- during which it keeps saying, "this is your baby's most fussy period". Yes, thank you book, I knew that. Now that we have reached (almost) 9 weeks! it is telling us to start gentle sleep training. You know, putting you down awake and seeing if you can fall asleep yourself yourself, etc. I maybe went overboard with my reading and then I found this chart, someone brilliant whipped this up according to HSHHC.

Okay fine you can't see this. It basically tells you how long to keep baby up between naps, what to expect of overnight sleep, and how may hours "night time" should be.

The best thing about this? It tells me what to expect developmentally. And in three more weeks when you hit 12 weeks, you should start to be awake and happy longer periods! Woohoo! For now, it says put baby down one hour after waking from the previous nap- that's FAST. We have time to feed her, cuddle, play a little, and rock her back to sleep. I have to say, as much as it is sometimes hard to work this around life, in the past two weeks she is so much happier during awake time! I don't expect miracles, but the importance of consistency and sleep times/awake times is making a difference already.

You're a happy baby, little one. And that makes a happy mommy and daddy. Here's to another fantastic month! It's getting more fun every day!

I feel remiss: A Vacuum review.

I talked about getting a new vacuum on this blog so many times. And then when I got one I never mentioned it. Maybe it's because I didn't get the bazillion dollar Dyson. Instead, when there was a sale, we ordered the Hoover Windtunnel Pet Rewind. I have to say, considering it is worlds cheaper, it does a really good job. I am more of a clean freak and less of a neat freak since baby arrived (meaning I'll clean the floor, bath tub, or counters before I pick up my clothes). The downside of the vaccum is its weight. Soooo heavy, which makes lugging it up and down stairs a few weeks post partum literally impossible. I wasn't supposed to lift anything heavier than baby. I broke this rule carrying the car seat, laundry baskets, etc. But I didn't want to break the rule toooo much. So here's the bottom line. Yes, this thing sucks up cat hair (and our orange furry cat has a lot during sprinig shedding). Yes, it cleans well. The attachments are great. It has both a hardwood floor and carpet surface. I wish the extensions were longer and it was lighter. But overall, a budgeted vacuum that gets the job done. I just thought you should all know.

PS thanks mom for doing most of the vacuuming for us when you're here with Sienna :)

A good reminder

This morning, after I put Sienna down for her nap, I rushed to the kitchen, put the dishes away, took a shower, dried my hair, and paid a bill. I've learned to move quickly with chores because when she wakes up, she wants mama! And I was reading a few emails (she's still asleep, what a good little napper!) and blogs, I came across this poem. And it's so true. The little baby Sienna moments won't last forever. My days in her glider singing the same James Taylor songs my dad sang to me will fade away quickly. After all, I feel like it was yesterday I was living in Ohio, and it was almost three years ago I moved out there- so much has changed since then! So I took this to heart before I have a three year old Sienna here, and a few minutes ago I put down the dishes, and I whipped out Sienna's baby book, plopped myself down on my bed to write about her latest and greatest while I wait for my baby to wake up and want to be cuddled some more.

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

Off to soak up some mommy-hood. XoXo

Baby Sienna sleeping on mama's lap after eating.

What's better than one baby?

TWO babies. Not mine of course. I think if we were pregnant again I'd pass out. Not happening yet! But, Sienna got a cousin last week! Stella Rose is gorgeous and we made the trek up to Boston to meet her last weekend.

Our little Sienna is a true champion traveler for being not even 7 weeks old during the journey. But, we definitely learned a few things on our trip. Like, don't take a 7 hour car ride- even divided into two days- with a 7 week old! The problem is, we failed to really realize that we could only drive for 2 hours before having to stop for an hour to feed our little bunny. And she was sick of the carseat.  But she did well and we made it! She had her first stay in a hotel and actually did relatively well that night! Now that we are back home she's back on track for the most part and happy to be in her room, with her white noise and to have her baby bath (J had to get halfway into the tub with her in the hotel to bathe her without a drowning baby- sort of hilarious).

So the whole point of the trip was to meet Sienna's new cousin.. and visit with family. It was fantastic. Sienna had a great pre-easter with her cousin and grandparents on Saturday. She even dressed up in an easter dress and bonnet! We got to spend time with J's family on Sunday too! A great (but extremely tiring) weekend! Happy Easter!!

With our new niece!

Matching pink leopard print onesies!

Cousins!

Easter-ed up!

Cousins in easter outfits!

Schedules + Car Trips

Everyone keeps telling me that babies don't have schedules yet. But my little Sienna is a champ. She naps 3 to 4 times a day around the same times. I think she is super baby. What? I swear I'm not biased. She even sleeps at the same times when grandma is here watching her. Then again, grandma is super grandma. An extra big thanks to my mom for watching Sienna two days this week already as I merge back into the working world. She's my hero (and I think Jamie's too because when she is here she always cooks us dinner- YUM!)

Heading up to Boston this weekend to meet our new niece, Stella! She arrived a bit early because she couldn't wait to meet us. So excited! It is also Sienna's first real road trip. I better pack lots of snacks and games like road trip bingo... oh wait, she's only 6 weeks. I think she will survive with a pacifier, a blanky, and her mama's singing.

And next weekend daddy runs a half marathon with Aunt Emily! We can't wait to go cheer them on and give lots of love when they finish! Lots of fun coming up in the next few months and hopefully we will all figure out our routine more and more.

Happy Spring! xoxo

How did that 6 weeks disappear?

In the throes of week 2 of parenthood, my days were all melding together. I didn't know which way was up. And suddenly those days seem so long ago! 6 weeks have (almost-Monday is 6 weeks) passed and this week I return to work. I hate the thought of going back but I know I need to do it for now. Come September, I am hoping I'll be part time and can spend more time with my little one. Sienna now holds onto my shirt when I carry her around the house and it is something so small but it makes me melt and I am jealous that the nanny and my mom will get those moments instead of me!

She is changing SO much every day! I was walking through Babys R Us (a weekly or daily visit) and saw a little tiny infant. I asked how old she was, and the mom said 15 days. She looked half the size of Sienna. I can't believe how big she looks to me now! We started to get our first REAL smiles this past week, around 5 weeks old! We got a few in the 4 week time, but now there is no doubt she is smiling when she does it. She loves to stare at mommy and daddy (and sometimes the wall or the fan or the window still) and it is so rewarding to have an interactive smiling face greet me after our morning feeding.

We are getting in a more normal sleep pattern too. It is not by any means perfect, but we made the move from our room to her room for sleep times. She seems to sleep longer because I'm not picking her up with every noise she makes and mama and dada don't wake up to every single little grunt. We have a video monitor, so of course I wake up and peek at it all the time to make sure all is well. She is starting to sleep from the time we go to bed (around 10:00) until 2 or 3 am, and last night went back to sleep from 4 to 7:30! It was amazing, but I realize probably won't be the norm for awhile!

We love our little one and really are amazed at how much she is growing. Today I picked her up and she actually felt heavy. I weighed her (you know, weighed me first, then her with me- and prayed she didn't pee on me) and the scale told me she is almost 10 pounds! That's some major progress from the beginning days of not gaining enough weight!

We are really looking forward to continuing to enjoy Sienna growing, changing, and of course becoming more interactive with us. She is so fun, and my heart hurts that on Monday morning I will have to leave her. But I do love what I do and am lucky to have supportive coworkers. Sienna and I will both survive, I guess!

Happy Weekend! Here's some recent photos of our little love:

Sienna will now go in the Baby Bjorn!

Mornings with Mama

Morning nakey time on the bed!

"My daddy is the FUNNIEST there is!!"

Baby Days

Sienna will be one month old on Tuesday! Time is flying by but also seems like the day she was born was forever ago! It is crazy how the days meld into one, and yet are individually so different.

I'm more in love with her each day and when she gives me any sort of semblance of a smiley smirk I melt. Jamie and I are still learning more and more about her- what makes her happy, what makes her give us those little smiles (they aren't full on yet, but we are getting there), and how to get her on the best "routine" we can to make her happy. She loves bath time, walks in her stroller, trips in the car, and she even has made her way to Target, Starbucks, and Marshall's with mommy! Okay, fine, this may have been a bigger feat for mommy than Sienna!

I have only two full weeks of maternity leave left and my heart hurts about that, but luckily I have a great husband and a great mom who are both so wonderful and will be taking care of the little one those first few days back. But Sienna and I have worked out a schedule together that seems to get her to eat, sleep, and smile... and I don't want her to lose that- or her cuddle time with mommy at 2pm when both of us can't keep our eyes open and end up on the couch or bed snoozing together.

She is growing every day! She is really sweet and happy most of the time. We play during the day and she's beginning to focus on things, especially people's eyes. She also loves the sunlight and always turns her head towards it when she's on her changing table. At night time we've been having some fussy time- totally normal for babies, but I think it may be due to some tummy issues and reflux. We have our one month appointment with the pediatrician Tuesday so will ask. I don't want her to be in pain!

She has seen more and more of her family members and lately has spent some good quality time with her grandparents, she's met her great grandmas on mommy and daddy's sides, her great aunt Sue, her cousin Kimmy, and some of her Yardley family. She also has met some of mommy's AXO sorority sisters who fondly refer to themselves as aunties. She is so lucky to have so many people who love her.

We are loving having visitors now and find it much easier to navigate the whole visitings/feedings thing... And Sienna is (usually) amused by all the voices and noises. She's a trooper. We're lucky.

Back to the world of the baby! xoxo

whirlwind weeks

Sienna is over 3 weeks old now... and we are all still figuring each other out! It is a lot of just trying new things each day and seeing how she does!

I've learned that I can live on about 3-4 hours of sleep per day and still function. I've learned that some days skipping a shower is worth avoiding the screaming tears from the little one. I've learned that I can eat lunch one handed- and left handed. I've learned Jamie and I can pretty much handle anything thrown at us (even when it is 2 am and I look in the mirror and think it's a goooood thing no one else can see me in that moment. I've learned not to put Sienna down when she is still moving her arms, even if she looks sleepy because she is not. I've learned sometimes babies just cry, no matter what you do (I hate this lesson, it makes me sad when she cries!) I've learned being a mom is the hardest and best job there is. And I have become more and more and more thankful for my mom every day, both for her help with the little one but also am able to appreciate what being a mom is all about. I've learned my friends love my daughter like she's their own and that it makes my heart happy. And each day I learn a little more about my new little one. Today the lesson is this: thrush is the worst- for mama and baby- and the diaper rash that comes with it makes babies scream. ouch. google it if you don't know about it- or don't-  it's probably better not to!

The little one is taking a quick snooze now before it's time to eat again and any minute I'll hear her little squeaks and grunts and need to grab her, so off to do the laundry (because you know, this morning Sienna decided to pee on our bed- she just was trying to spice up our day here).

Sorry for the blog silence- taking care of baby is literally a 24 hour a day job! xoxo

First Walk!!!

Cuddling with my loves!

She's here!!

Sienna Grace arrived on February 20th at 3:08pm!!

Labor and delivery was really not bad and when little Sienna got here I forgot the pain and was so overwhelmed by her and how quickly I fell in love- and how absolutely amazed I was that J and I made this gorgeous little baby.

It's been 8 days now and I'm still in an absolute daze (I apologize to anyone I have not emailed or called back) both from emotions and the 4 hours of sleep I've accumulated in those 8 days! We are all tired but in love. Seeing J with Sienna makes my heart do leaps and bounds. I can't ask for a more supportive husband. And a big thanks to our families, especially my mom who has been amazing at making sure I eat drink and shower. We are infinitely lucky to have so much love in our life with our new little member of our family- and for the friends and family who have poured out their love to us over the past week.

And since really all you want is pictures... here are some favs.

That's all for now! holding baby in one hand makes typing hard!

love from Sienna!! xoxo

Nursery Finished!

Loving our nursery and it's all ready for baby. If only baby was ready to be here. Wanted to share the "finished" product. I say finished because we all know around here there are always little things to be tweaked in rooms, paint to be touched up, more shelves or book cases to add... 

I know I know, we can't have bumpers once we have baby but they look pretty. There is also an adorable dust ruffle for the crib which has yet to be ironed. Oops. See what I mean "almost" finished. Here she is, in all her glory, with some of my favorite details!



Love our RH crib & PB bedding close up!

Etsy Framed Art from my best friends, Embroidery hoops, Ikea mini vases.

Pottery Barn Kids Bedding, Restoration Hardware Crib,Ikea DIY quote Frames, Curta

Babys R Us Dressing Table with Anthropologie Pulls, Glider, Hamper, and previously owned pillow.

Love this pillow. Blanket from San Francisco from my parents visit there this summer.

Oh PB kids Chandelier, I adore adore adore you!

Overall room with focus on carpet, previously owned from Ikea

Tons of books for Baby Walls!

All we need to add is little baby girl walls!



Quilt hand-made by J's mom. Matches curtains and is so soft. We can't wait for baby to use this!