Our last visitors: B+B’s visit to Oakland

Before our big move back down to Long Beach we were able to host one final set of friends, Brian and Brianne. It was bittersweet but it was so nice to be able to share our second home, the Bay Area, with our closest friends one last time.

We spent the majority of their short visit across the bridge in our favorite city, San Francisco. We visited one of our most favorite spots in the city: Strawberry Hill and Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park.

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And we made another day trip back across the bridge to do the most touristy thing ever but something none of us had ever done: Alcatraz!

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Of course they had to get lunch at Boudin…having worked across from Pier 39 for 3.5 years it was definitely not on my bucket list before we left the Bay Area, haha.

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Sirena and Auntie Bri

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Nerd alert!

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Family photo (minus Lola) with our favorite city in the background

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It got freaking chilly after the sun went down on our side of the island and we had to wait for the darn ferry. Glad we came prepared!

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Goodbye, San Francisco and the amazing Bay Area. We love you and we’re so grateful for all of our adventures!!

Sirena’s first international trip: Zihuatanejo, Mexico!

To celebrate my good friend Alison’s 30th birthday we tagged along with her family and friends to Zihuatanejo, Mexico for a week-long trip over New Year’s. What an incredible experience, we are so happy we decided to go!

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Early morning at LAX, anxiously awaiting Sirena’s first flight ever!

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We made it! Sirena did GREAT on the flight.

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Patiently waiting in line at customs

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Sleepy, sweaty baby on the car ride to the hotel

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Lounging

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Sirena wanted a sip of my mango margarita

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First time in the sand!

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Yummy sand

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First taxi ride (notice no car seat?!)

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Early morning on the dock, waiting for our boat to go snorkeling

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Sirena the sailor. She LOVED the boat ride, not so much the oversized life vest, though…

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Birthday girl

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Alison and Laura

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On Playa las Gatas, accessible via boat

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One of the many naps taken on the beach

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The most beautiful pina coladas I’ve ever seen!

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Our hotel, Quinta Camelinas

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Our room

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The house neighboring the hotel had a dog that would keep watch from the rooftop, so funny

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Some of Sirena’s admirers

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The pinata we got Alison for her birthday

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Group shot! Minus Sirena and plus Sirena’s sister, her boyfriend, and their friend

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Sunset from our hotel

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Group dinner

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We were so amazed by how many Mexican women would approach us and ask to hold Sirena…the one that blew us away the most was this waitress at Bandido’s who held Sirena for 15 minutes while we ate dinner! She took her around the whole restaurant showing her off to the manager, the bartender, and the street vendors. This was by far one of my favorite memories of the trip!

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Family photo on the beach

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Our little mermaid

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Last night in Zihua, walking to dinner

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Sirena learning a thing or two from daddy about airplanes, on our way home after an AMAZING trip!

Sirena’s 1st Christmas

We spent a week in Long Beach for the Christmas holiday, staying with my mom and Aunt Tina at their home. Lots of fun outings throughout the week and a wonderful Christmas Eve with the Delmar side of the family and a fun-filled Christmas Day with the Edmonds side of the family.

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My fave: crinkle nose!

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Enjoying a “meal” in the sunshine

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Skyping with Aunt Sarah and Uncle Rob (who were in Detroit for Xmas), messing around with the silly faces app. Hilarious!

Celebrating Christmas all month long

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

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

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

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!

Monthly Photos

See past monthly photo posts in her mini armchair here: One Month ::  Two Months ::  Three Months ::  Four Months ::  Five Months

The many facial expressions of Sirena

Fall festivities

We have been thoroughly enjoying Sirena’s first fall holidays: Halloween and Thanksgiving!

Our little pumpkin was an elephant for her first Halloween, thanks to her Aunt Judith and cousin Katelyn for the costume!!  And she was actually quite cooperative with wearing the whole ensemble on a number of occasions.

First trip to the pumpkin patch!

She needed some extra fiber in her diet and found the straw to be exactly what the doctor ordered.

She even let mama take the costume out for a spin.

The same weekend we visited the pumpkin patch we decided to make a visit to an historic cemetery that was just around the corner (what more perfect Halloween activity could you ask for??)  It was absolutely gorgeous and we’ve made the trip back a number of times since, it’s a great place to go for a long walk!

Mama’s birthday was actually the day we went to the pumpkin patch and cemetery…that night we celebrated like big kids and went to eat a four course meal at the restaurant Jessie works at.  We took Sirena along for the late-night meal and although it took her a while to get snuggled in and sleeping, eventually she snoozed on mama’s chest like a good baby.  And she wore her flamingo pj’s for the occasion!

And Thanksgiving, although not the traditional big ordeal, was a lot of fun with Auntie Jessie and some of her friends.  Sirena skipped out on the fixin’s (she said she was juuuuust fine with a glass of milk) but next year she’ll be ready!

Sirena’s Monthly Photos: Five Months Old

Dear Sirena,

You continue to grow-grow-grow right before our very eyes and this month especially has seen some big developments.  You had your check-up with the doctor and you weighed in at just under 18 pounds and you’re measuring 26 inches long.  You also got your second round of shots and you were such a brave little lady, only crying (bloody murder) when the nurse gave you the shots but you quickly quieted down when Daddy picked you up and then you nursed right away which also made you feel a lot better.

Some of the amazing big girl things you’ve begun doing this month…

First, the moment I’ve been waiting SO long for–you had your first belly laughs this month!  Your first chuckle was in response to Auntie Jessie’s shenanigans of course (can’t say we’re surprised because you do see her as your favorite playmate) and over the last two weeks you’ve been a lot more generous with those goofy, drooly, belly laughs.  You also began rolling to your side and you’ve even rolled onto your stomach a couple of times.  We haven’t seen you roll from your tummy to your back yet, but I’m sure that’s just around the corner.  This past month you’ve also transitioned to sleeping the night in your crib in your room.  Me and Daddy desperately needed some more uninterrupted sleep so now we aren’t woken up every time you kick your legs or start sucking on your fingers.  You still don’t sleep through the night, though (a typical night: you go to bed around 6pm, then I give you a dream feed around 9:30, you sleep until 1 and we give you back your pacifier, you wake up again around 3 for some milk, then you’re up-and-at-’em around 7) and we’re starting to get a little more realistic and instead of hoping you’ll sleep 8 hours straight, we’re just trying to wean you off of that 1am wake-up call.  Fingers crossed we can figure it out together, baby girl!

And last, but certainly not least…you have discovered how entertaining your furry sister, Lola, can be.  You enjoy sitting with me and watching Lola chase after the ball that I throw and then you chuckle when she gives you a big, warm, wet kiss on your legs.  And you make the cutest cough/laugh noise when you see Lola and want to get her attention.  You two are going to be the best of friends, I just know it.

It’s incredible how you can be such a tiny little person and at the same time seem like such a big girl with a big personality!  Every single day your Daddy and I talk about how in total awe we are of you.  Even five months in we still cannot believe that we made you and that you’re all ours.  And I hope you know that we consider ourselves very lucky, little lady.

Love,

Mama

The five month rundown

Likes:

  • Nature: It’s amazing how quiet and observant you become when we go outdoors…you don’t even make a peep when we’re on our walks!  It is so apparent that you are as much of a nature lover as your mama and Daddy are.

Dislikes:

  • Strangers: Last month you were just beginning to get a little weary of strangers…this month you’ve become a lot more hesitant when meeting new people!  We realized that, day in and day out, you only really see and interact with me, Daddy and Auntie Jessie so we’ve got to get out and socialize you more.  We also know that around 5-6 months is when most babies go through a stage of being afraid of strangers but we don’t want it to get too out of hand. Story time at the library and mom/baby groups, here we come!

Monthly Photos

See past monthly photo posts in her mini armchair here:

One Month ::  Two Months ::  Three Months ::  Four Months

The many facial expressions of Sirena

Sirena’s Monthly Photos: Four Months Old

Dear Sirena,

You have grown by leaps and bounds this month (I have a feeling I’m going to want to say that every month of your first year, but it’s true!)  We weighed you a few days ago and you were a whopping 17 pounds (you’ve more than doubled your birth weight…you and me are a good team, baby girl!)  Your hand/eye coordination is getting better by the day–you’re able to grab different toys and put them in your mouth (and sometimes your nose).  And in the last few days you’ve started to roll to one side and I’m sure rolling from back to stomach (or vice versa) is just around the corner.

The noises that you’re learning to produce are a hoot–your laughs are getting more and more pronounced as the days go by (sometimes they’re a squeak and sometimes they’re a “mmm” sound) and you make this hilarious, low grunting sound when you’re concentrating really hard on something (I can’t help but be reminded of Edward Scissorhands after he drinks orange juice, haha!)

This month has also brought on lots and LOTS of drool which can only mean one thing…teething is near!  You’ve also started chewing on your fingers which is also a good sign that teething is beginning.  It can still be months before any tooth actually breaks through but your body is preparing itself for that time which we are so looking forward to (ha, yeah right).

The last two weeks have been rough in the sleep department.  We were doing so well with you only waking up twice to eat but lately you’ve been waking up 3-4 times a night because you’re hungry or just fussy.  It reminds us of the sleepless newborn nights and we’ve heard that this is a typical phase 4 month olds go through so we’ve got our fingers crossed that the end is near.  It’s kind of funny the way you start stirring in bed–instead of whimpering or crying like you used to, you start grunting as you pull your one arm out of the swaddle and then you start thumping your heels against the bed over and over again.  In addition to laughing at your quirky ways at 2am I have to remember to see the positive in these sleepless nights–when we’re sitting there in the dark room after you eat, there truly is nothing more amazing than the deadweight of your little body laying on my shoulder as I rock you to sleep.

Love you tons,

Mama

The four month rundown

Likes:

  • Aquariums:  We went to your Auntie Brianne and Uncle Brian’s wedding at the aquarium in Long Beach and you were absolutely mesmerized by all of the creatures in the tanks, it was so cool to watch you!
  • Television: This is not to say that we allow you to watch tv at such a young age but if it’s ever on your gaze somehow reaches it and you zone out! It’s crazy how hypnotizing it can be for such a young baby but we definitely don’t allow you to watch more than a few minutes at a time.  There will be plenty of time for you to watch tv, believe us!

Dislikes:

  • Some strangers: This month is the first time we’ve noticed you being weary of strangers.  It’s not all people and all circumstances but occasionally you’ll get scared and your bottom lip begins quivering and then the tears start welling up…it is such a sad sight to see!  We’re trying to get you used to being around new people so that hopefully it doesn’t get much worse!

Monthly Photos

See past monthly photo posts in her mini armchair here:

One Month ::  Two Months ::  Three Months

The many facial expressions of Sirena

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