December | 2012 | Adventures with Lisa & Kevin

Celebrating Christmas all month long

Posted by Lisa On December 18th, 2012

Being that this year is Sirena’s first Christmas we were determined to celebrate all month long!

The weekend after Thanksgiving we went to the famous Claremont Hotel in Berkeley for their Christmas festivities. They had a HUGE gingerbread house on display (not to eat, dangit) and Christmas carolers getting us into the holiday spirit.

The next weekend we went to the 34th annual Charles Dicken’s Fair in San Francisco–it’s like a Renaissance Faire but just picture instead an old Victorian Christmas party. We had a good time exploring but I think it would’ve been better if we either had more people with us or if Sirena was older. But we were very glad we finally went and will definitely be checking it out another year when she’s older and can enjoy all of the fun kid’s activities.

Then the following weekend we went to Santa’s tree farm in Half Moon Bay with Grandma Dorothy to pick out a Christmas tree and meet jolly old Saint Nick (although Sirena was less than jolly to meet the man in red!)

Dorothy and I decorated the tree while Sirena slept. Sirena was so excited about the sparkling lights and shiny ornaments in the morning.

There is nothing quite like having a Christmas tree in our home, lit up, presents underneath, and smelling oh-so-yummy.

And last but not least, the photo shoot we had with our girls for our Christmas card! We bought a cute Dr. Seuss Christmas shirt for Sirena and it was the perfect thing for these photos. The shirt is of Cindy Lou Who and the brown dog with reindeer antlers from How the Grinch Stole Christmas so we had Sirena holding a bag of reindeer food and put some ridiculous homemade reindeer antlers on Lola.

The best one of the bunch!

And here’s what the final product looked like:

We’re very much looking forward to spending the holidays in Long Beach with family and friends!

November visitors

Posted by Lisa On December 18th, 2012

November was filled to the brim (just the way we like it!) with visitors…

We were so happy to hear that Tio Derek and Laura were going to spend some time with us during their trip up north!

Highlights from their trip: Mitchell’s ice cream, game nights, walk through the cemetery (again!), Zachary’s deep dish pizza (drool)

Sirena sure is one lucky chickadee, having not one but TWO grandmas who are excited about seeing her and want to come up and spend the weekend with us! They piggy-backed their visits so we had two weekends straight of grandma time…perfect.

Highlights of Nani’s trip: Lots of lounging around, playing with Sirena and Lola, movie night, fancy grandma/mama/baby dinner out at Jessie’s wine bar/restaurant

Highlights of Grandma Dorothy’s trip: meeting Santa, Christmas tree shopping, visit to Sirena’s Great Grandma Margie’s gravestone in Half Moon Bay, homemade pie from Pescadero

Sirena’s ABC book

Posted by Lisa On December 17th, 2012

I got a great idea for a homemade Christmas gift on the internet and just finished it so I thought I’d share! I made an ABC book using photos of Sirena and other fun things she will be able to relate to to help her become familiar with the ABCs. As you might’ve guessed, her buddy Lola made the most appearances in the book.

This is one of her Christmas gifts…shh, don’t tell her yet! 🙂

Click on the collages to enlarge the photos.

Sirena’s Monthly Photos: Six Months

Posted by Lisa On December 10th, 2012

Dear Sirena,

I don’t know how you do it but each month you succeed in exceeding our expectations and making this month the best yet! You have become such a smiley, observant little mamacita who is interacting with the world more and more. You have also reached some pretty amazing milestones this past month that are worth mentioning:

Hand-eye coordination: You’ve become a pro at grabbing things, passing toys between your hands, reaching out for things (including us which just about melts our hearts!)
Peek-a-boo: You’ve always liked the sensation of blankets, burp cloths, etc. tickling your face and we’ve always played little games like that with you. Just this week you have learned to grab the blanket from your face and we’ve started playing peek-a-boo! When the blanket’s on your face we say “Where’s the baby?” and you proceed to reach up and pull the blanket down and then you get excited when we say “There’s the baby!”
Pre-sitting: You are so close to sitting up, it’s crazy. When lying on your back you are constantly lifting your head up (like you’re doing an abdominal workout) and when we sit you up you are able to prop yourself up for a little while before toppling forward. We can tell you want to sit up so bad…not too much longer!
First tiny tooth: Just this week I reached into the co-sleeper and you shoved my knuckle into your mouth to suck on it…and I felt a little (sharp) bump on your bottom gums! So far you don’t seem to be in too much pain and we’re hopeful those teeth treat you nicely (and you treat mama nicely when she’s feeding you!)

I feel like you have bonded with us so much the past month, and there really is nothing quite like it. You are such a light in our lives and we love you to pieces.

Love,

Mama

The six month rundown

Likes:

Chewing on feet: You have been grabbing your feet for a while now but just the past two weeks you’ve been able to pull your little toes straight up and into your mouth! You mostly do it when you’re on the changing table which can make it somewhat difficult to change your diaper. But it’s so cute to watch you!
Dropping toys: This is another milestone in your development, learning cause-and-effect (and making mom and dad pick up your toys over and over again)
Mama’s song: I made up a song for you when you were only a couple of months old and you light up when I sing it which makes my heart so happy.

Dislikes:

Bouncy chair: The time has come when you are over the bouncy chair. No longer does the bouncing movement and lullaby music keep you calm, you kickkickkick until your body scoots down and you make it clear, once your booty is halfway off the chair, that want nothing to do with it!