The World According to Siena

End of an era

2011-07-03T07:07:00.002-05:00

Siena turning three happened to coincide with the school holidays, which usually means end of many pre-school activities and programs and overcrowded museums and zoos. But this time, for Siena, the term break was not just a break from weekly activities, but an end of several of them.

Montessori (for under 3s) has been a big part of our rhythm- it signaled the beginning of our week and it was really the only thing we had as an official schedule, since Siena is home-schooled at this point (or should I rather simply say "she doesn't go to preschool or daycare". Saying that she is "home-schooled" seems wrong since it is not a result of a decision, but rather a lack of a decision). Anyway, I got surprisingly sad during her last class. It was saying goodbye to my daughter's first 'school,' first 'teacher;' it was one of the first things we did when we moved to Sydney...and it was now over. Siena loved it, and so did we- in part because it helped shape Siena into this independent, focused little human- that we deeply enjoy.

Awesomeness that is Siena turns three

2011-06-28T02:19:00.000-05:00

Lots of love and lots of cheese.

Ballet, popcorn and friendship

2011-06-22T22:46:00.000-05:00

Siena and her friend Tilly have been going to ballet classes last few months. It seems that seeing each other before and after ballet (while wearing ballet outfits) is really the highlight of their ballet classes- so instead of a post featuring their "concert," this post is about...well...popcorn and dinosaurs- because after all aren't all thing in life ultimately about popcorn, dinosaurs and popcorn dinosaurs (which is what the girls are pretending to be at the end of the video).

Rainy, sick days

2011-06-17T05:20:00.000-05:00

It's been raining here in Sydney for over a week. In addition, our little one was sick for most of that week- so our days all turned into one long, dark and rainy day. To kill the time and keep Siena happy we did all sorts of crafty/fun projects and they kept both her and us entertained. We cooked, baked gingerbread cookies, decorated them with an odd green (the only food coloring I had) brown sugar (the only sugar I had) icing, we made a tent out of some old Ikea sheets, and an Ikea chalkboard (yup, chalkboard) and I spent time doing some free-lance crocheting of pants. The crochet pants are just like all of my crocheting- no rules, just pure chaos- but she likes them and I like them so woopty-doo!

our little chef

the make-shift tent from Ikea chalkboard

Door to tent curtesy of another one of mommy's crazy ruleless crocheting projects

Crochet pants (the little white thing is supposed to be a flower)

No rainy day would be complete without a tea party (I discovered liquid chalk a week ago and have gone a tad bit psycho with it)

Siena's bestie

2011-01-21T01:58:00.000-06:00

kisses

hugs

a book

jumping

and a little rest

A summer's day

2011-01-08T03:40:00.001-06:00

Siena loves, what she calls, 'my beach'...going somedays (including today) both in the mornings and in the afternoons. She also deeply enjoys punctuating the beach experience with the fish and chips experience.

Happiness.

2011-01-05T23:24:00.000-06:00

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way

This sentence from Anna Karenina is most often quoted to somehow capture the loneliness of being unhappy, our inability to understand other's pain. In contrast, it is assumed that one can easily understand and empathise with happiness of others...and that in some sense might be true. But there is nothing boring about happiness; nothing mundane about it.

Another Summer...

2010-11-01T16:21:00.000-05:00

Siena back in Narrabri

2010-09-14T02:27:00.000-05:00

Siena loves her kangaroos...

...it is the simple things...

2010-08-28T03:12:00.001-05:00

Photos curtesy of talented Ms. Nicholle DeMoss

like bubbles

that truly

are enough...

BFF or at least until tomorrow

2010-08-15T05:33:00.001-05:00

how honest

i'll buy whatever these are the commercials for...

Times they are a changing

2010-07-27T05:37:00.000-05:00

A year ago it was all about running in the grass...

...and digging in the sand...

but nowadays it is all about personality (capital P)

Siena's 2nd Birthday

2010-07-24T04:38:00.004-05:00

Last two years with Siena have been the most fun we've had.
Probably because she loves the same stuff we do...
(like being together)

good friends....good food and farm animals

hugs and kisses

being curous about the world!

At the zoo with a boy

2010-06-28T23:39:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday

2010-06-28T23:38:00.005-05:00

Siena can't be 2 already

2010-06-28T23:38:00.001-05:00

Brithday Fun on a cold winter day?!?

First Siena shared a cake with her friends...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuZJOC0FHkw

Then she made her own birthday pizza and followed it up with another singing of the 'happy birthday' to much delight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjQKTck6M8s

Finally a nice walk at the zoo with a boy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVmr2wjKejk

Being happy

2010-03-01T02:24:00.000-06:00

There are many reasons to be happy in Siena's world. She has pefected her beach to fish and chips ratio after all. This is Siena's then showing how happy she is.

Another cheesy package!

2010-02-05T23:14:00.000-06:00

Siena's favorite things to do (press F5 to do the presentation)

More of Siena's antics

2009-12-03T16:35:00.002-06:00

Siena loves cleaning

2009-12-03T01:22:00.001-06:00

Something she might have inherited from her gran

Growing up is fun

2009-11-14T06:50:00.002-06:00

Bas za baku i deku iz Narrabri-ja!

Swirling in Narrabri

2009-11-11T04:14:00.002-06:00

With Kangaroos outside her window, Siena swirling:)

This is how 16 months looks like

2009-10-28T03:46:00.002-05:00

Well 15 and 16:)

Almost ready to say some wise things

2009-10-26T05:10:00.002-05:00

At almost 16 months, Siena is more fun then ever:) We are loving it! Some excerpts from her everyday life:)

Our little musician

2009-09-12T16:44:00.003-05:00

Siena playing some music! and dancing!

Been awhile. Big girl

2009-08-26T13:49:00.005-05:00

Siena is quite a big girl now. Almost 14 months and communicating so well. We are hvaing as good a time as ever!

More eating escapades

2009-06-09T10:58:00.005-05:00

Siena having fun

2009-06-01T16:12:00.003-05:00

Jam session

2009-05-17T10:31:00.002-05:00

Ordering food and jamming while waiting for it.

With Xixi

2009-05-01T10:04:00.007-05:00

Siena loves her friend Xixi

Drumming

2009-04-26T20:24:00.004-05:00

While one might think sugar was involved, in fact there was no sugar involved, just Siena at her best!

A Spring Day

2009-04-11T15:47:00.004-05:00

We had such a wonderful day today. After some Danish pancakes at the St. Paul farmer's market (some vendors have been braving the cold the whole winter not just now)...we headed to the Arboretum and went for a walk and lunch. I think we are going to have Shea's birthday picnic there as well this Wednesday (it was that great:)

Now these are some Mad Skillz

2009-04-06T21:19:00.003-05:00

Important skill!

And to think Einstein was a baby once, too

2009-03-30T17:02:00.003-05:00

Letting Siena feed herself always sounds like a great idea...until clean-up time.

Avid Reader/Book Eater

2009-03-24T15:22:00.002-05:00

Most of Siena's books get eaten in the first few days...so the foam ones fare much better.

My daugther-- the exiled Wookiee

2009-03-12T09:26:00.004-05:00

Siena attacking the camera and making Wookiee sounds---we still think the Kashyyykians are coming for her. I did actually have to look that up (in my defense).

Love of a Sock Monkey

2009-03-09T20:32:00.004-05:00

Siena and her favorite sock monkey (or so her mommy thinks since she made it). And sporting a picture of mommy's secret lover- Stephen T. Colbert.
I wonder if this would come up when people google sock monkeys and Stephen Colbert (I only ask because I know there are thousands of people out there googling exactly that:)

Siena is 8 months today

2009-02-28T08:22:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I decide to simply refuse to accept how fast it is all going...and then Siena says "dada" or stands up on her own...and I can't refuse. She has been 8 months of fun, a few tears, many laughs, and quite a few diapers. Last year at this time we were in Italy and that is where we felt her kick for the first time. To think that only a year ago she had no face and no name. I remember that then, when the kicks started, while I did feel some kind of closeness with her...it was just a fleeting moment. And to think that now I have a hard time remembering that there was a time before her...that there was a time when she had no face, no name. If this is what happens in 8 months, what will happen in 8 years? I both can't wait and can't stand the time passing.
Happy 8 month B-day, kid.

Siena saying 'Mom'

2009-02-22T23:40:00.000-06:00

...well maybe

http://webusers.astro.umn.edu/~brown/jovana/rotatedmaybe

Siena's First 6 months in 6 minutes

2009-02-21T12:21:00.001-06:00

http://webusers.astro.umn.edu/~brown/jovana/ws2.ppt

This is Siena from negative 10 weeks to about 6 months...in a small and superbly cheesy package:)))))))))))

Siena on her first day home

2009-02-20T18:40:00.000-06:00

Siena is almost 8 months now...and we spend most of our time (well mommy does) trying hard to focus on now and not on how fast 'now' is passing by. In that spirit, what follows are a few memories of Siena as a newborn and her first few months. But only a few, so we can do 'now' the best we can.