the remaking of a kitchen

way sooner than we wished it was time for a quick trip to the airport so they could catch their plane and return to the west coast. it was such a fun visit and so hard to see them go. hugs all around and then again and always hoping to see them again soon. siena seems to react to everything going on around her and having her reach out to change from one set of arms to the next is just the very best thing! :)




while breakfast was being prepared, siena sat in front of the deck door until boredom appeared and then grandpa held her which she thought was great!

Labels: off to california

after we returned home, it was time to prepare dinner and an early celebration of david's birthday. we had roasted root vegetables and marinated pork tenderloin. sarah made a delicious salad and the piece de resistance: banana cream pie. it was pretty fabulous and david loved it. later in the evening we had a snack of strawberry ice cream to cap it off!




we took a field trip to the como park zoo and conservatory gardens and it was great fun. david found the source of como popcorn, so we had a snack as we wandered. we saw all the primates and fell in love with the mostachioed tamarins.....truly sweet looking little guys. we saw lions, tigers, giraffes and zebras and some kudus who were also pretty cute. just a beautiful patterned hide. siena liked most of the animals and the fish too. we went into the gardens too, some of which were incredibly steamy.....really jungle like. the blooming flowers were lovely and we finally found a functioning fountain which was a treat for siena!

Labels: como park zoo, david's birthday

siena took her first bath in the soaking tub and had a great time playing with the two rubber duckies her grandpa found for her.


sarah's good friend betsy came to visit and meet siena. i think siena received approval that night! sarah and betsy visited for hours after siena went to bed and that was a treat for both of them.

Labels: bathing, soaking tub

siena seemed to have a good time visiting in minnesota this time. so many changes in just one month! diane came to meet her and siena felt the need to lean forward and smile. she visited with her grandpa in his den and thought that was pretty cool.

she has the sweetest grin that shows off her teeth, at least the two on the bottom. the three on the top are a bit more elusive!

Labels: sweetness, teeth

since we last saw siena she is feeding herself very well! it's adorable to watch her open very wide before she picks up the tiniest morsel and brings it to her mouth. this morning she struggled with her sippy cup and either poured in too much or held it upside down, but by dinner she had solved that problem completely. it's a joy watching her figure out how to do things!

Labels: eating and drinking

before siena took a little post lunchtime nap, she and david had a reading session. it's fun to watch her be so intent on the book and react to david's voice. she loves every minute of it!! pajama time! hippos go berserk and sneetches were the faves today.

Labels: pajama time, reading, sneetches and hippos

siena has started taking a music class, and sarah suggested she might enjoy seeing her grandpa's bongo drums. he found them and cleaned them up a bit and siena had a big of a jam session with the bongos. i think she shows a lot of promise! there were a few breaks to nibble on the edges, but still....

Labels: grandpa's bongo drums, music lessons

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BLOG! 4 YEARS OLD TODAY!

i left out a series of pretty cute photos of siena taken by skype snapshots. she was wearing a very sweet ruffled sunsuit and i think she was even aware of her cuteness. certainly i was and sarah was too!

Labels: ruffles and cuteness

i'm not sure where the time has gone since our quick trip to california. i guess it has something to do with being in nebraska twice since then, once for the funeral of my cousin who was way too young to die, and this weekend for nebraska sports.
we made plans some months ago to meet patrick at the spring game and he brought his friend adam whom we haven't seen for some years. it was a great game....really just a scrimmage, but still dear to the hearts of the rabid fans. they said over 77,000 were in attendance. truly amazing!
as i have to say, we won! we had to as it was the red team playing the white team and they were both nebraska. it's always fun and it was just a beautiful day.....clear and sunny and warm. it was warmer than we expected but who's to complain about that?!
after the game we met up with kari and brian and their 3 kids as well as brian's dad. he was the photographer for the shots of all of us together. (i think i have to explain my lumpiness in the photo. that is the result of being told i could NOT bring my backpack into the stadium. i stuffed field glasses, camera, etc etc into every pocket available and wore my coat which was not what i intended.) after photos, brian took the boys on the bus and on to his sister's house, and kari and kelsey came with don and i to wander around lincoln until brian reappeared to have dinner with us. we ate more than necessary at old chicago pizza and then on to the coliseum to watch the volleyball team play university of illinois. the latter team seemed to be very good. it was announced that it was agreed that the teams would play 5 sets no matter what the score. in other words, if one team won the first 3, still 2 more sets would ensue. so, nebraska ended up winning, but it was anything but easy. quite a struggle in fact by seemingly well matched teams. lots of mistakes on nebraska's side, and quick reactions by illinois. our coach said he still has concerns, but it's just exhibition season, and one player is still recovering from shoulder surgery, and one has mono and another didn't play for some reason. the season looks hopeful.

Labels: football, patrick, spring game, volleyball, wrightsmans