Happy Birthday Sienna!
Today this little girl turned FOUR years old. I feel like she should still be Bristol's age and size; and it's been such a joy to raise her that I wouldn't mind repeating the last four years at all! She and Jaden were talking in the car tonight about how next year they'll be turning 5 and 7. My heart skipped a few beats--those ages seem SO old. For now we'll enjoy our little 4-year-old (and almost 6-year-old) as they continue to grow up way too fast.
My Little Sis, or Sissy and I often call you, you are a mother's dream as a daughter. You are sweet, generous, thoughtful, caring and so much more. You love your family and we all love you. Here's a very long list of what you're up to and in to these days...
--You are such a LOVER. You snuggle up in the sweetest ways, give the best hugs and tell me you love me randomly throughout the day. Sometimes you have no idea how much those words mean from you at the moment you say them! I could listen to you telling me you love me all day long; it never gets old.
--You are such an amazing big sister and have been for every moment of the past 6 months. You've shown zero sibling rivalry with baby Bristol and just love to make her smile. You interact with her constantly and are a very special helper for mommy during the day.
--You look up to your big sister Jaden in every way and often enjoy the activities and things that she's into. A few months ago she started asking for an "Ariel Wedding Dress" so you decided that you wanted a "Cinderella Wedding Dress." Thank goodness Disney made a Cinderella wedding gown as part of this year's halloween costume line because we were able to make your wish come true this birthday!
--Another impact Jaden has made on you: You only want to wear dresses. Skirts are okay, but dresses are your #1 pick. You want to be fancy everyday!
--You just started going to preschool this fall and you seem to really enjoy it. You come home each school day with a big smile on your face and tell me all about the fun you had. The most fun days, in your opinion, are those that include time at the playground.
--You LOVE to dance. We have dance parties in the kitchen and living room quite often to a variety of music, and my favorite is when you're watching TV and you get up to dance to a song on your TV shows. The show Bubble Guppies always has a dance in the middle of each show and you follow the moves perfectly. It's so cute!
--Speaking of dance, you have just started your second year of ballet and tap, and you've been taking gymnastics now for 2 1/2 years. That is, if you don't count the time last spring when you decided to quit both. You were going through a funk of some sort--perhaps showing us you have a mind of your own? I'm not really sure, but since you love them so much I'm glad you're back in!
--You are learning how to do monkey jumps / cartwheels at gymnastics and you can't wait to be able to do a cartwheel like your big sister!
--You can skip and gallop so well now. I'm a little sad that you're so coordinated now in this area. One year ago you couldn't skip even though you tried so hard!
--You might be our soccer player. You and I kick the soccer ball in the garage sometimes and you're really good! I'm thinking about letting you try out organized soccer in the spring.
--In your words, "I love to sleep Mommy, and I love my bed." You do love your sleep! You don't put up much of a fight when it's time for bed and after a brief hiatus, you've gone back to napping. You don't nap every single day, but I'd say about 5 out of 7 days each week you do. You're a good little sleeper :)
--You and Jaden share a room right now (have been since January 7, 2011) and love it. Even though I tell you it's time to be quiet at bedtime, I secretly enjoy hearing you whisper to one another before you fall asleep.
--You can count to 20 easily, and I'm sure you'll be counting well beyond there very soon! You know all shapes and colors, and I think you recognize every letter of the alphabet.
--You and Jaden are learning the song "50 Nifty United States" and doing very well remembering the names of each state! Next up, we'll start learning where each state is on the map.
--When Grammy Pammy recently commented on how smart you are and inquired about who taught you so many things, you said (on 9/10/11), "Well Mommy taught me Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but Daddy taught me everything else"--ha!
--You love to "buy" (as you call it) things when we go to the store. What this really means is, you love to unload our grocery cart. I'm thankful for the help, and would love if you actually paid the bill someday too (haha!).
--You've always loved tiny toys and especially if they're animals. Your favorites include Littlest Pet Shoppe which until recently you called "Littlest Ket-chup," Squinkies and mini versions of Strawberry Shortcake and the Disney Princesses. All spring and summer long if your outfit had pockets, you'd put a little toy into those pockets. I would smile to myself when we'd be out running an errand and you'd suddenly have a little treasure in your hand!
--You were afraid to ride your bike all of last year and at the beginning of this summer. However, now you're a bike-riding champ! You even participated in a bicycle parade on the 4th of July. I was so proud of you peddling with those little legs all around the half-mile loop! You are very safety-conscious and won't ride your bike without wearing your helmet (good girl!).
--Your favorite accessory is a ring. You often put them on yourself when you get dressed as if it's totally normal and part of your outfit. Before long you'll be wanting to wear some of my cocktail rings!
--You got your ears pierced the Friday before Easter and you were so brave throughout the ordeal, even when the piercing gun got stuck as the earring went through your ear! We haven't changed your earrings yet, but I think we'll need to get you a new pair of earrings for Christmas.
--You dress yourself and just figured out how to get your socks on perfectly. Until last week, you always asked for help with your socks. I'm so proud of the tenacity you showed in learning to get your own socks on! You also brush your own hair and do the entire teeth-brushing routine yourself.
--You don't need pull-ups at night anymore :)
--You still sleep with "bunny" and your favorite blanket is "flower blanket" which was made just for you almost two years ago by Uncle Ryan's girlfriend Jenna.
--Many people comment on your big beautiful eyes--both strangers and friends / family--so you now are aware that you have pretty eyes. You use this to your advantage (haha) and show off your big blue eyes any chance you get, especially if you're going to be in trouble or trying to convince Mommy to buy you something!
--You love to have your finger and toe nails painted. You often choose two colors from my collection of polishes and have me alternate colors on each finger and toe. Pink and Purple are your top picks.
--You enjoy having mommy and daddy read to you so we do it often. Today I read you a new book you received for your birthday and then you "read" it back to me. You did well using the pictures to recall the story and tell it back to me and you were so proud of yourself as you did it!
--You play great on your own and know how to entertain yourself when mommy isn't able to play. We have a nice routine each day alternating playing together and then you doing something while mommy either tends to Bristol or gets something else done. I love our rhythm :)
--You LOVE to play games and excel at many! You can beat daddy and I at Handy Manny Uno and we don't purposefully go easy on you! You also love Go Fish, Old Maid, Candyland, Pretty Pretty Princess and a Paper Dolls game that we have. We played "Tag" outside a few times this summer and we just played "Simon Says" for the first time--you caught on quickly. I could play games with you all day long!
--You have become quite good at coloring and enjoy doing it daily. You make very pretty pictures! You also enjoy painting and we have some of your masterpieces hanging around the house.
--In the spring (sometime after Bristol was born) you wrote your name a few times and showed me. I was amazed since we hadn't yet started working on writing with you. Now that we've started doing some letter writing books with you, you are suddenly afraid to write your name and wont do it. You're funny like that.
--You can throw a mad tantrum and be very stubborn, but you're learning that in the end, mommy won't pay any attention to you unless you settle down and talk nicely about what's bothering you. Your fits are few and far between now and you generally are an easygoing girl!
--You are the pickiest eater in our family and your food preferences can change at the drop of a hat. You often choose to eat PB & J for dinner, especially if we're having anything Italian or Mexican. You also love chicken nuggets, dry pasta, any fruits and yogurt. You love any breakfast foods as well. The funny thing is that sometimes you randomly surprise me and eat something I swear you wouldn't--like last week when you ate every single bite of chicken noodle soup at Panera, including the veggies!
--Your favorite place to eat is DEFINITELY Chick-Fil-A!
--You help with simple chores around the house including bringing the bathroom trash cans to the kitchen garbage and emptying them, bringing dirty clothes down from your room to the laundry room, helping to clear dishes from the table after a meal, putting away toys, etc. Your help means a lot for our family!
--You wash your own hair and body now when we give you a bath. I help to rinse and put conditioner in your hair.
--Speaking of hair, you think you're going to grow yours as long as Rapunzel's in Disney's Tangled. I don't have the heart to tell you that human hair doesn't actually grow that long...
--You LOVE to play dress up. Not a day goes by when you aren't in at least one costume at some point throughout the day. Your current favorites are your new Cinderella wedding gown and your tried-&-true Snow White gown.
--You've been buckling yourself into your carseat for over a year now. BEST.THING.EVER! It's so nice to just stick Bristol into her seat base and then get myself into the car. You've just figured out how to shut your own door after you get into the car too. I think you'll be able to open your door from the outside before long too. So independent, I tell ya!
--At school you use an Ipad sometimes and LOVE it. I'd like to get one for our family for Christmas so that you have access to all the educational games, stories and activities the aps have to offer.
--You enjoy music and singing quite a bit. We play music throughout the day and sing together, have spontaneous dance parties and let it play in the backgroud while we're doing things together. I'm pretty sure you know every song we own on CD and on my ipod by heart.
--You watch a little TV almost everyday, though we try not to let you watch more than an hour on average each day. Your favorite shows include Max & Ruby, Bubble Guppies, Babar, Dora, My Little Pony and Jake & The Neverland Pirates. You know how to turn on the TV, but you don't know how to use the DVR just yet. You did just figure out which button on the remote says "play" though.
--You've always been very photogenic, but lately you seem to have trouble putting a good smile on your face when I'm going to take your picture. It's like you're overthinking it. I have to give you something funny to say to make you smile. I think this is just a phase :)
--You took your first swimming lessons this past summer and excelled in them. Next year you get to start Level 1; you completed both preschool and advanced-preschool this summer. You were such a trooper each morning at lessons. You waited patiently during Jaden's 50-minute lesson and then went in for your turn. There was only one day when you didn't want to swim, but you got over that real quick!
--You have ZERO sense of urgency. You take your time in everything you do whether it's walking leisurely into a store or savoring each bite of a meal. I think you're just taking everything in around you and don't realize what it means to ever be "in a hurry." I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I sometimes get frustrated such as when we need to get somewhere and you're moseying along, but I've realized it's part of who you are and my heart always is joyful even if your lack of urgency makes us late :)
....I may be adding to this list over the next few days, not that any of you care :) I want to keep these for Sienna's scrapbook!
Tonight as we got ready for bed Scott and I each got our picture with Sienna. It's hard to believe it's been 4 years since we first held her in our arms:
Sienna has been making us smile every day for 4 years now; can't wait to see how she makes us smile over the next 366 days! Hugs and kisses to my girl!
My Little Sis, or Sissy and I often call you, you are a mother's dream as a daughter. You are sweet, generous, thoughtful, caring and so much more. You love your family and we all love you. Here's a very long list of what you're up to and in to these days...
--You are such a LOVER. You snuggle up in the sweetest ways, give the best hugs and tell me you love me randomly throughout the day. Sometimes you have no idea how much those words mean from you at the moment you say them! I could listen to you telling me you love me all day long; it never gets old.
--You are such an amazing big sister and have been for every moment of the past 6 months. You've shown zero sibling rivalry with baby Bristol and just love to make her smile. You interact with her constantly and are a very special helper for mommy during the day.
--You look up to your big sister Jaden in every way and often enjoy the activities and things that she's into. A few months ago she started asking for an "Ariel Wedding Dress" so you decided that you wanted a "Cinderella Wedding Dress." Thank goodness Disney made a Cinderella wedding gown as part of this year's halloween costume line because we were able to make your wish come true this birthday!
--Another impact Jaden has made on you: You only want to wear dresses. Skirts are okay, but dresses are your #1 pick. You want to be fancy everyday!
--You just started going to preschool this fall and you seem to really enjoy it. You come home each school day with a big smile on your face and tell me all about the fun you had. The most fun days, in your opinion, are those that include time at the playground.
--You LOVE to dance. We have dance parties in the kitchen and living room quite often to a variety of music, and my favorite is when you're watching TV and you get up to dance to a song on your TV shows. The show Bubble Guppies always has a dance in the middle of each show and you follow the moves perfectly. It's so cute!
--Speaking of dance, you have just started your second year of ballet and tap, and you've been taking gymnastics now for 2 1/2 years. That is, if you don't count the time last spring when you decided to quit both. You were going through a funk of some sort--perhaps showing us you have a mind of your own? I'm not really sure, but since you love them so much I'm glad you're back in!
--You are learning how to do monkey jumps / cartwheels at gymnastics and you can't wait to be able to do a cartwheel like your big sister!
--You can skip and gallop so well now. I'm a little sad that you're so coordinated now in this area. One year ago you couldn't skip even though you tried so hard!
--You might be our soccer player. You and I kick the soccer ball in the garage sometimes and you're really good! I'm thinking about letting you try out organized soccer in the spring.
--In your words, "I love to sleep Mommy, and I love my bed." You do love your sleep! You don't put up much of a fight when it's time for bed and after a brief hiatus, you've gone back to napping. You don't nap every single day, but I'd say about 5 out of 7 days each week you do. You're a good little sleeper :)
--You and Jaden share a room right now (have been since January 7, 2011) and love it. Even though I tell you it's time to be quiet at bedtime, I secretly enjoy hearing you whisper to one another before you fall asleep.
--You can count to 20 easily, and I'm sure you'll be counting well beyond there very soon! You know all shapes and colors, and I think you recognize every letter of the alphabet.
--You and Jaden are learning the song "50 Nifty United States" and doing very well remembering the names of each state! Next up, we'll start learning where each state is on the map.
--When Grammy Pammy recently commented on how smart you are and inquired about who taught you so many things, you said (on 9/10/11), "Well Mommy taught me Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but Daddy taught me everything else"--ha!
--You love to "buy" (as you call it) things when we go to the store. What this really means is, you love to unload our grocery cart. I'm thankful for the help, and would love if you actually paid the bill someday too (haha!).
--You've always loved tiny toys and especially if they're animals. Your favorites include Littlest Pet Shoppe which until recently you called "Littlest Ket-chup," Squinkies and mini versions of Strawberry Shortcake and the Disney Princesses. All spring and summer long if your outfit had pockets, you'd put a little toy into those pockets. I would smile to myself when we'd be out running an errand and you'd suddenly have a little treasure in your hand!
--You were afraid to ride your bike all of last year and at the beginning of this summer. However, now you're a bike-riding champ! You even participated in a bicycle parade on the 4th of July. I was so proud of you peddling with those little legs all around the half-mile loop! You are very safety-conscious and won't ride your bike without wearing your helmet (good girl!).
--Your favorite accessory is a ring. You often put them on yourself when you get dressed as if it's totally normal and part of your outfit. Before long you'll be wanting to wear some of my cocktail rings!
--You got your ears pierced the Friday before Easter and you were so brave throughout the ordeal, even when the piercing gun got stuck as the earring went through your ear! We haven't changed your earrings yet, but I think we'll need to get you a new pair of earrings for Christmas.
--You dress yourself and just figured out how to get your socks on perfectly. Until last week, you always asked for help with your socks. I'm so proud of the tenacity you showed in learning to get your own socks on! You also brush your own hair and do the entire teeth-brushing routine yourself.
--You don't need pull-ups at night anymore :)
--You still sleep with "bunny" and your favorite blanket is "flower blanket" which was made just for you almost two years ago by Uncle Ryan's girlfriend Jenna.
--Many people comment on your big beautiful eyes--both strangers and friends / family--so you now are aware that you have pretty eyes. You use this to your advantage (haha) and show off your big blue eyes any chance you get, especially if you're going to be in trouble or trying to convince Mommy to buy you something!
--You love to have your finger and toe nails painted. You often choose two colors from my collection of polishes and have me alternate colors on each finger and toe. Pink and Purple are your top picks.
--You enjoy having mommy and daddy read to you so we do it often. Today I read you a new book you received for your birthday and then you "read" it back to me. You did well using the pictures to recall the story and tell it back to me and you were so proud of yourself as you did it!
--You play great on your own and know how to entertain yourself when mommy isn't able to play. We have a nice routine each day alternating playing together and then you doing something while mommy either tends to Bristol or gets something else done. I love our rhythm :)
--You LOVE to play games and excel at many! You can beat daddy and I at Handy Manny Uno and we don't purposefully go easy on you! You also love Go Fish, Old Maid, Candyland, Pretty Pretty Princess and a Paper Dolls game that we have. We played "Tag" outside a few times this summer and we just played "Simon Says" for the first time--you caught on quickly. I could play games with you all day long!
--You have become quite good at coloring and enjoy doing it daily. You make very pretty pictures! You also enjoy painting and we have some of your masterpieces hanging around the house.
--In the spring (sometime after Bristol was born) you wrote your name a few times and showed me. I was amazed since we hadn't yet started working on writing with you. Now that we've started doing some letter writing books with you, you are suddenly afraid to write your name and wont do it. You're funny like that.
--You can throw a mad tantrum and be very stubborn, but you're learning that in the end, mommy won't pay any attention to you unless you settle down and talk nicely about what's bothering you. Your fits are few and far between now and you generally are an easygoing girl!
--You are the pickiest eater in our family and your food preferences can change at the drop of a hat. You often choose to eat PB & J for dinner, especially if we're having anything Italian or Mexican. You also love chicken nuggets, dry pasta, any fruits and yogurt. You love any breakfast foods as well. The funny thing is that sometimes you randomly surprise me and eat something I swear you wouldn't--like last week when you ate every single bite of chicken noodle soup at Panera, including the veggies!
--Your favorite place to eat is DEFINITELY Chick-Fil-A!
--You help with simple chores around the house including bringing the bathroom trash cans to the kitchen garbage and emptying them, bringing dirty clothes down from your room to the laundry room, helping to clear dishes from the table after a meal, putting away toys, etc. Your help means a lot for our family!
--You wash your own hair and body now when we give you a bath. I help to rinse and put conditioner in your hair.
--Speaking of hair, you think you're going to grow yours as long as Rapunzel's in Disney's Tangled. I don't have the heart to tell you that human hair doesn't actually grow that long...
--You LOVE to play dress up. Not a day goes by when you aren't in at least one costume at some point throughout the day. Your current favorites are your new Cinderella wedding gown and your tried-&-true Snow White gown.
--You've been buckling yourself into your carseat for over a year now. BEST.THING.EVER! It's so nice to just stick Bristol into her seat base and then get myself into the car. You've just figured out how to shut your own door after you get into the car too. I think you'll be able to open your door from the outside before long too. So independent, I tell ya!
--At school you use an Ipad sometimes and LOVE it. I'd like to get one for our family for Christmas so that you have access to all the educational games, stories and activities the aps have to offer.
--You enjoy music and singing quite a bit. We play music throughout the day and sing together, have spontaneous dance parties and let it play in the backgroud while we're doing things together. I'm pretty sure you know every song we own on CD and on my ipod by heart.
--You watch a little TV almost everyday, though we try not to let you watch more than an hour on average each day. Your favorite shows include Max & Ruby, Bubble Guppies, Babar, Dora, My Little Pony and Jake & The Neverland Pirates. You know how to turn on the TV, but you don't know how to use the DVR just yet. You did just figure out which button on the remote says "play" though.
--You've always been very photogenic, but lately you seem to have trouble putting a good smile on your face when I'm going to take your picture. It's like you're overthinking it. I have to give you something funny to say to make you smile. I think this is just a phase :)
--You took your first swimming lessons this past summer and excelled in them. Next year you get to start Level 1; you completed both preschool and advanced-preschool this summer. You were such a trooper each morning at lessons. You waited patiently during Jaden's 50-minute lesson and then went in for your turn. There was only one day when you didn't want to swim, but you got over that real quick!
--You have ZERO sense of urgency. You take your time in everything you do whether it's walking leisurely into a store or savoring each bite of a meal. I think you're just taking everything in around you and don't realize what it means to ever be "in a hurry." I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I sometimes get frustrated such as when we need to get somewhere and you're moseying along, but I've realized it's part of who you are and my heart always is joyful even if your lack of urgency makes us late :)
....I may be adding to this list over the next few days, not that any of you care :) I want to keep these for Sienna's scrapbook!
Tonight as we got ready for bed Scott and I each got our picture with Sienna. It's hard to believe it's been 4 years since we first held her in our arms:
Sienna has been making us smile every day for 4 years now; can't wait to see how she makes us smile over the next 366 days! Hugs and kisses to my girl!
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