The Nutcracker

Sienna and I had the opportunity this past week to go to the Nutcracker with my friend, Brooke, her two boys, and her mom. Brooke got the tickets as a party favor at a birthday party. I was hesitant to bring Sienna along, but I thought I would give it a try and if she didn't do well, we could just leave. She actually did very well and was mesmerized the entire first half. The second half she sort of lost interest (I think she was just tired), but we all made it through the ballet with Brooke even doing her own interpretation in the back of our section. We might have to make this a Christmas tradition. Brooke, maybe you could ask the birthday host to get us better seats next time. Just kidding! Thanks again, we had so much fun!

White Christmas

We went to my parents' home in Providence, Utah for Christmas. It was fun to be together with everyone since we are all spread out across the country. On Christmas Eve it snowed several inches, giving us a true white Christmas. We went to Temple Square and walked around and saw the lights and displays. It was so cold, but beautiful with all the snow.
My parents are really Californians, so we tried to find something that would remind us of being back in California. This was the closest we could find:

Here I am getting slammed:

It's called Flowrider and was supposed to be like surfing, but was more like wake boarding. It was actually a lot harder than it looks. I got so beat up out there and was sore for several days, especially my neck. I seriously got whiplash every time I fell. Jeff was able to pick it up quickly; I guess it helps to be a surfer/boardrider.
Here's Sienna giving someone that glare of her's:
There's my sweet girl!I think Sienna liked the boxes and wrapping paper more than the gifts!

Collin put on some of Grandma's mascara.Sienna loved being with all nine of her cousins.
And, of course a picture of the "triplets:"
This is a picture of them last Christmas at Grandma and Grandad's (same order):We came home yesterday and just in the nick of time; everyone who is still there has some sort of flu bug. We escaped with only coughs and colds. Thanks again, Mom and Dad, for everything! We had a wonderful Christmas!

Sleeping Angel

Today Sienna is 14 months. I look at her and think she's so grown up compared to just a few months ago. I love to watch her, especially while she's asleep. She's so peaceful and angelic. Sometimes I check on her a few times after she's gone to bed to see what position she's in. She is so fun to watch and very entertaining. Recently Sienna has a new look that she does with her eyes. I don't want to admit it, but I think she's glaring. She squints her eyes and just stares. She does this now for other people when they smile at her. I don't know where she learned it. I know kids pick up everything, especially from their parents. I just hope I don't do this. Here's a picture of her sort of doing it:

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New York City

We spent a week in New York City recently. Neither Jeff nor I have visited NYC and we thought it would be fun during the holidays. The weather was a little cold, but we warmed up with hot chocolate everyday! We were there for the Christmas Tree lighting in Rockefeller Plaza.We saw the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, featuring the Rockettes! This is a NYC holiday tradition and this year they celebrated their 75th anniversary. We didn't plan on any shows because Sienna was with us, but this one was very kid-friendly. We all loved it! There was so much to see! We went to the MOMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the American Museum of Natural History. Sienna was a trooper and slept well in her stroller wherever we were. We used the Subway extensively and walked a lot.We went on a day cruise and saw Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.We saw the Manhattan Temple and went to church, went to the top of the Empire State Building, walked around Central Park and Times Square, visited Ground Zero, walked Wall Street and saw the House of Morgan (Jeff recently switched companies and now is with Morgan Stanley)...In the hotel, we put Sienna with her pack-n-play in the bathroom at night to sleep. One night after she had been down for about an hour, we heard her making noise and this is what we found...We took a train from Grand Central Station to Katonah, about 60 minutes north of NYC, to visit some family members. It was so fun to see them and to see what its like out of the city. They gave her some darling outfits, but she was more interested in the hanger...
Sienna could not get enough of pushing my Great Aunt's walker around! She wore herself out! She was so tired she fell asleep mid-action, while checking out Aunt Dean's earrings. This is the end! Sorry it was so long, thanks for hanging in there! We had a wonderful time in NYC and hope to visit again. There is just so much to see!