One-and-a-half

I start most days when I hear my 18-month-old rustling in her room. Big, flat-footed steps plod on the carpet and soon a cute little girl with some serious bed head is standing beside my pillow. Her first words are usually either, "mama, woobie" (mama, Ruby), "moh wawa/eet" (more water/eat), or "dah-deee" (daddy).

I drag myself out of bed, scoop her up, and head off to the kitchen. If I set her on the ground while I make lunches she will invariably implore, "up, peees!" (Up, please!). She much prefers to supervise from her counter-top perch. If daddy gets PB&J in his lunch, then Siena will repeat "pah-bee" (peanut butter) until I indulge her in a few spoonfuls. Of course, after pah-bee, everyone needs "moh moot." (more milk) The "k" sounds eludes our sweet baby, but "t" is apparently the new "k." It works for useful words like: tat (cat), tow (cow), tiss (kiss), tah (car), tatch (truck), boot (book... or boot), otay (okay), waht (walk), tum (come), taytee (katie), Teetee and Tuch (Kiki and Chuck Warne), and many more.

Siena is getting to be such a talker! It's fun to watch her language develop, and just this past week she has been putting more words together. This morning, for example, Shiloh was trying to sleep in (because he stayed up 'til 2:00 a.m. doing our taxes!) and Siena was standing by HIS pillow saying "dahdee" over and over and over. I tried to coax her out by suggesting a walk, but this only gave her bigger ideas: "Dah-dee! Moh dah-dee waht!"

Siena has officially graduated from the stage of not liking Daddy. She had a long stint there where daddy could do nothing right, but now she is (almost always) excited to see him walk through the door at the end of a long day and hopes that he is ready to play. She will rush up to him, then shriek and run away shouting, "I wun!" (I run!). She'll turn a corner out of sight then wait silently. If daddy is slow in looking for her, she'll prompt, "Wheah Seena?" Then she'll burst out of the room, full of giggles.

Siena is also in love with "toon" (tunes) and whenever Shi is sitting at the computer, she'll scurry in and request "moh toon" (more tunes) and then bob to whatever pandora.com has to offer. In the evenings when Shi sits down at the piano, she will state, "pah-nee" (piano) and climb up beside him. If he sings, she will "seen" along, in baby gibberish, of course.

DANCE

I WILL RISE

Woobie used to be #1 on Siena's list and still gets lots and LOTS of "tisses," but recently she has become a fan of her "beebee" doll. She will find the baby, give it a hug over her shoulder (complete with pats of affection) and then shove it into the stroller to push around the house.

BABY

However, she still loves her "Woobie."

(T-shirt courtesy of Nick Akl and Shannan Sams!)

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we drive over to see "mommy" (Grammy), "Poppy," and "Rahree" (Sarah)'s house to play with "woo" (Luke) and "see" (Zeke), while Bethany and I get a child-free hour at the gym nearby. It's great socialization time for us mommies, and Siena has sooo much fun that she often cries when I try to take her back home.

In February I started coaching soccer at Woodland Christian High School, which has been pretty fun. I'm glad that it's warming up because Siena does NOT like to be out in the rain and cold while I coach the girls. She isn't a huge fan of me playing with the girls, so I hold her for much of the practice. Sometimes she'll get down to "titch" (kick) a ball and last practice she spent about 30 minutes "driving" my car while I was on the field. (Please don't call CPS. I asked her about every 5 minutes if she wanted out, but she shook her head defiantly!) The "tah" is another new favorite thing. Who needs toys when you can drive?

Oh, and "bum!" How could I forget bum (gum)? Siena LOVES it. If you even look like you're chewing it, she'll point an accusing finger in your direction and yell "BUM!" Then, her demeanor will turn sweet and she'll ask, "moh bum?"

A few fun places we've visited lately (mostly organized by Bethany, oh wonderful mother that she is):

Folsom Zoo - Jen and Emma Jarvis were there! Aren't these bears scary?

The Dentist (our friends!) the Foresters!

UCD's Dairy Cows - testing out a Fun Field Trip Friday possiblity.

And that's about it for now... more to come later!