Siena

Being the younger sibling is tough. It starts with hand-me-downs. Then your older sister is always taking things from you and getting her way. Later on comes teasing and big sis getting to do things first. But what shouldn't happen is Daddy forgetting to put all your milestones up on the blog. Fortunately, Mommy's been keeping track in a list offline. So Siena, when you read this in 10 years, I'm sorry Dad's been a blog slacker, but here's what you've been up to since May (yikes).



Siena continues to have the best temperament and the most contagious laugh. Ever since she's been born, she's been so easy going and so easily amused. Her belly laugh always puts a smile on everybody around her.

These days, Siena is having an explosion of new words. It's been a blast watching her personality emerge. A quick history of Siena's speech:

May 08 - "momma", "dadda", "uh-oh", "ni ni" (for night night), nana (banana) - She LOVES bananas at this stage, Amelia starts to, and still, calls her "Siena na Nana"

June 08 - maymay (memere), dahdah (dog), bluehblueh (balloon), hi, plop

July 08 - loves to "love" anything soft, whether it be in a book, her sister, a stuffed toy,etc.

August 08 - "up", "down", "that", "book"...her versions, but clear enough to know what she means (august 2008)

September 08 - Touched the car and said "hot"...very clear. Taps you and says "hi" to get your attention.

October 08 - "ice", "papa", "book"-very clear now, "choo choo", "tuck" (stuck), "eyes", "ears", "leaf", "keys", "bubble", "'traw" straw

November 08 - Put a meal in front of her and she said "yuck" (11/2/08), "bye bye", "hi", "baba" for baby, "wawa" for water, "uckle" for buckle, "mine", "O's", "ister" for amelia, "out", "please", "all done", "mine sock", "mine shoe", "oh no", "ride"

December 08 - "race", "heavy", "tea", "milk", "bubbles", "i do" (Her favorite saying is still "I do", said with deep excitement, when asked if anybody wants to do something)

2009 - An explosion of new words and sayings. She's now able to communicate most anything that she wants. Today she can say her full ABCs, count to 10 and sing Twinkle Twinkle. She's been using "please" and "thank you" appropriately and often.

Siena's also having an explosion of things she can identify. She's good with a few shapes and colors, but great with animals and their sounds. Cow, cat, sheep, duck, and dog are her favorite.

Siena's also got a bit of a misfit/daredevil/rascal in her. From the time she learned to crawl, she's been a baby on the move who loves her independence. She would crawl, under/over everything and was in constant motion...so much so that she once crawled under the car and even crawled on to the back of the treadmill while it was moving (in case you're wondering 4.3 MPH only propels a toddler about 10-12 inches or so!). She's a tough little bugger too, unless she's tired, she'll take a lickin and keep in kickin. I had a proud moment around Christmas when all of Amelia's friends were wrestling on the bed. Siena jumped into the fray and held her own. I'll never the time when she stood up, let out a scream, charged, and tackled Ayden (the roughest, toughest and most physically adept toddler of the bunch)!

Siena's certainly has learned the spirit of independence as well. She loved to crawl away from you and especially to venture up the steps when we weren't looking. When we'd tell her "no", she'd giggle and shake her head no in return. She loves to tell us "no" as well. Usually this is in respond to "Siena, do you have poo poos?" or "Siena, is it time to go to bed?". The response is an emphatic, emotional, head shaking "No". The more feeling she puts behind the "no", the more we know that the answer is really "yes".

She's definitely not a bad baby, anything but (she's really an awesome baby), but she certainly has an independent spirit! She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go after it. There was the time when we found her hiding in the pantry munching on jelly beans. Then there was the time we found her hiding wedged between the chair and the ottoman slurping Mom's big Diet Coke. And of course, these days her favorite game is to take something you need (for instance, socks) and run away. This is an especially fun game when it's time to change a dirty diaper.

Siena is the great imitator these days, anything she sees us doing will be repeated.
This is especially true of things that Amelia is doing. If Amelia is doing it, Siena wants in. Whether it's making crafts, riding a tricycle, playing with a toy, or going potty, Siena wants to be just like her big sister. If you seem Amelia coming, chances are Siena's right behind shouting "Mia" (Amelia), "Ister" (sister) or "Chooch" (choo choo...the keeper of the trains). Fortunately Amelia doesn't mind and they truly love one another. It's a blast to watch them run around chasing each other, playing hide and seek, and doing "tackles" (essentially light weight wrestling)...and yes, this seems to be the most fun sans-clothing at night after baths.

Some of Siena's passions these days:

-Adult beverages (of any kind). If there's an iced tea or diet coke within 50 feet, Siena HAS to have a sip. And if you give Siena a sip, chances are she's going to want a gulp. And if you give her a gulp, chances are you're going to need to get a refill. (The same hold true for chips with salsa or guacamole.)

-Baby. Siena loves to care for her baby doll. She'll take her for walks in the stroller, feed her a bottle, give her a paci, cover her with a blanket and do everything else that a good mom does.

-Shoes. It's a bit early to call it a shoe fetish, but I have an eerie feeling that Siena's obsession with footwear is going to develop into a costly and closet-filling habit later on. These days anybodies' shoes are a favorite toy; put them on, take them off, move them around, there's no limit to the fun we can have with shoes and socks. The most amazing trick seems to happen when we're in the car for more then 5 minutes. Somehow, Siena is able to take her shoes off, put her socks on her hands and then put her shoes back on (on the wrong feet....every time).

-Hide and seek (an obsession shared with Amelia). Whenever I get home from work, it's inevitable that Beth has somehow managed to loose both of our children and it's up to me to hunt them down. Siena particularly loves to run and hide when it's time for a diaper change!

-Getting her groove on. Don't ask me how, but for the longest time now, Siena's been doing this little "shimmy" dance where she moves her shoulders back and forth. These days she's progressed to jamming to "Move It" and "Hit the Road Jack" (try squealing "what you say" and she just cracks up!).

-School buses and airplanes. All must be pointed out whenever they are discovered.

-Crafts - The girls is always drawing something. She loves to just go into the draw and grab a pen and paper and just start scribbling (fortunately she's very neat and never makes a mess!). Siena loves to sit at the table and do crafts with Amelia. It's great just to be able to leave them there together and entertain themselves.

-Books - She doesn't care so much about the words yet, but she can sit for minutes (if I said hours it wouldn't be true, but many minutes is an eternity in toddler time)and just look through book after book after book. Siena does like to be read to, but she's just as content to sit there and flip through things on her own. In fact, at story time with Amelia, she often gets frustrated by the slow pace of words and will grab a book to look through on her own while we read!

For the record (miscellaneous facts, dates and milestones from the last few months):

Mobility:

6/6/08 - Crawled up steps for the first time
June/July 08 - Trying to learn to stand, by mid-July can do 15 seconds
8/4/08 - First steps taken (witnessed by Nette Nette and Papa)
8/13/08 - 4 steps taken
8/14/08 - 6 steps taken
8/27/08 - 19 steps taken
Mid Sept 08 - offically walking more than crawling

Teeth:

8/25/08 - 9
9/3/08 - 10
9/17/08 - 11
9/30/08 - 12
12/10/08 - 14
12/22/08 - 16

(yes, Sept 08 was a fun month chock full of smiles and lots of sleep!)

First Haircut - 11/12/08
First Dentist Visit - 11/19/08

Siena Sings and Counts


Siena Sings and Counts from Mike Rustici on Vimeo.

Siena's had a verbal explosion in the last couple months. Here she shows off here latest tricks, counting to 10, singing the ABCs and singing Twinkle Twinkle (she's actually usually better than this at all three, just a bit camera shy!)

Siena Just Being Siena - Early 2009


Siena Early 2009 from Mike Rustici on Vimeo.

Siena's Belly Laugh

Siena's Belly Laugh from Mike Rustici on Vimeo.

Siena Knows How to Say Her Name

I'm Siena from Mike Rustici on Vimeo.