Playing Ladies

It was mum's 63rd birthday today so Alisa and I took her to Domaine Chandon to celebrate as our gift to her. We enjoyed their sparkling Shiraz, cheese & antipasto platters and our scintillating conversation until the bottle was empty, the plates demolished and our tummies and hearts were full.

We love spending time together and as busy girls it doesn't happen as often as we'd all like so when we are together we soak it up and enjoy it all. After our visit at the winery Alisa drove us (in her gorgeous brand spanking new Mazda 3) to the Redgum Gallery for coffee and cake.

While I was out being a lady, AJ was home being Mr Mum again. I got home to a quiet house with a sleeping baby and a happy Dad for having spent time with his No. 1 girl. All in all, a good day for everyone.

Friday on my mind

The winter blues hit hard today. It is cold, wet, dark and overcast and Si and I only had enough energy to keep warm, sleep and play quietly together. So that's what we did...in that order.

Impeccable timing

Another gift that our daughter possesses is that of impeccable timing. I've noticed it from birth and it never ceases to amaze me that she has it. It usually only affects me and that's because whenever I sit down to a meal Sienna will usually wake up, or cry, or display any other range of behaviours that require my immediate attention and consequently...a cold meal eventuates.

Last night mum joined us for dinner. I was pottering around after serving her with a warm chicken curry & rice dish and a cool glass of sauv blanc, and when I eventually sat down to start my meal guess who wakes up after having been down for the night 1 hour earlier? Cheeky minx. It appears Sienna didn't want to miss out on anything. Nonna and Daddy are home? Forget sleep, I want to be part of the fun too! And so it was meal number 159-ish that went cold for moi.

Magnetic Hands

We have discovered that Sienna has a superpower...the unique gift of magnetic hands. In the past week or so she has become very confident with her hands, grabbing everything, holding her toys and waving her hands around, banging her poor frog on the floor until I'm sure it is thanking it's lucky stars that it's just a soft toy.

I have found that when I get Sienna out of her cot she has nothing in her hands, but buy the time she is in my arms against my chest she has brought the cot blanket with her, or her dummy or anything else that may have brushed past her hands. Her ability to grab onto things is incredible and she does it so fast that it seems that she is just going about her business and things are flying into her hands...as if they were magnetic. What a talented little bub!

Pure South, Pure Bliss

We ventured from the suburbs into the city to meet AJ for lunch. Before we could eat we had to do the rounds of the 8th floor of his building so he could show off the love of his life. Not me - Sienna. She seemed quite overwhelmed for the first 10 mins and just as she started to warm up and give out some tentative smiles it was time for us to head off for lunch.

AJ had booked a restaurant called Pure South. We've been there a few times but the last time was when I was 8 weeks pregnant. I thought it was very sweet of him to take us back there with our little girl. I also thought it was wonderful to be treated to such delicious gourmet food at 12.30pm on a Tuesday - very unexpected.

After we dropped AJ back at work Sienna and I walked around the city and bought a few bits and pieces, took a few photos and then headed home.

AJ's desk (check out the shrine to Sienna on the pinboard and screen saver)

Lunch at Pure South

Sienna in the City

Trying my hand at knitting

Spotlight had 20% off everything today. Poor Sienna endured about 2 hours of me perusing the ailes looking for bargains and trying not to buy things I won't use. I decided to give knitting a go and found myself loitering in the wool area for longer than I care to admit. I bought lots of things and will hopefully learn enough about knitting to show you some of my handywork at a later date. No promises though. In that time Sienna smiled her heart out at anyone who cared to peer into the pram, had 2 naps and cracked it once...that's when I decided it was time to go home.

It's just Peter and Mattena...

We had Peter & Mattena for lunch today. It was so easy because...apart from the fact that I was half delirious from the night before...I didn't run around cleaning the house, preparing food to within an inch of my life and slapping on some lippy as our guests walk towards our front door. You see it was just Peter & Mattena coming. It sounds rude but it really is a huge compliment to them. They are such good friends that they can come over on a Sunday afternoon for a simple lunch, some delirious conversation (on my part - so they kept telling me) and some lounging on the lounges. So that's what we did, and I enjoyed it.

Unfortunately Sienna didn't have quite as good a day. She vomitted in her sleep and wasn't feeling well in the tummy for most of the day. Poor little thing. We had pureed apricot everywhere which AJ cleaned up, bathed Sienna and gave her back to me all clean and smelling good. While he did that I panicked that our child was seriously ill and tried not to burst into tears in front of our guests. They are good friends, but I don't usually wail in front of anyone...

witty banter, indian cuisine, bottle of shiraz and an open fire

Thanks to AJ I enjoyed a wickedly luxurious sleep in today until 12pm (with 2 feeds in there somewhere). After that Sienna and I visited Hawthorn where we enjoyed lunch and conversation with Alisa and Elise (yes they live together, and yes that's their real names).

Elise was on unexpected babysitting duty tonight which left Alisa at a loose end - so she made her way over to our place for some witty banter, indian cuisine, a good-ish bottle of shiraz and an open fire. It was so pleasant that we stayed up till 2am enjoying it. Sienna was up at 5.30am for a feed and awake for the day at 8.30am. Must keep that in mind next time I think it'd be ok to stay up that late...

A big girl now...

We returned the hired baby capsule today and had a car seat installed. Sienna has graduated to the seat she'll use as a toddler...I've noticed that I keep feeling little pangs at each of her milestones. She's growing up so quickly and it's great fun and exciting to watch her life unfold before my eyes each day...but there is the tiniest part of me that is screaming in my head "Wait a second - this is all flying by too fast!" Makes me feel like a Nana already :)

Sienna on the other hand is loving life and enjoying being more of a participant than an observer these days. She's eating like a trooper (loves apple, apricot, sweet potato, carrot and even the bland rice cereal), playing with her toys, putting everything in her mouth and staring at the world as it whizzes by her in the pram. As you can see by the smile on her face, moving up to the big carseat was great fun.

Squeals of delight

I hosted mothers group at my house today. Six of us enjoyed lunch together (including a glass of wine...yummo!) and then chatted about all things baby while we supervised 6 babies lying and rolling around on the floor. They are all getting so big - at times their chatter was so loud that we could barely hear ourselves above the squeals and babbling. Anyone would think we gathered for them to have a good time...oops, that's what it's about isn't it? Apologies - I was having so much fun I lost perspective there for a minute.

Two teeth in one day

After a night of 3.5 hourly feeds Sienna awoke happy and full of smiles with one noticeable difference...2 little white teeth cutting through her bottom gum. I was half excited and half sad that my baby girl is growing up so quickly (she's already 5.5 months!). My next thought was...well that was easy. No bouts of tears for hours on end, no red cheeks or ears, not too much grumpiness. What a relief.

Tonight AJ and I enjoyed a night out for dinner with one of his customers. Mum and Alisa babysat and Sienna stayed up til 9pm (she wants to be in bed by 6.30pm when she's with us) and was apparently all smiles and giggles the whole time. I didn't know whether to be offended that she likes their company so much that she can find it within herself to stay up for another few hours with them or relieved that she was such a delight to babysit. I chose to be relieved and then thanked mum this morning for keeping her up when Sienna failed to wake up for her 2am feed and allowed me to sleep through til 6.30am. I could get used to this...

Another morning tea

This morning Laura visited us for morning tea. She came over after dropping her boys at kinder and school...which means she's here by 9.30am. I'm not usually ready to face the world at that time of day but I grew up with Laura so I don't mind being at half speed on her presence...she even got to see me in the glory of my pj's last week when she dropped by for 10 mins (granted it was about 11am). She was gracious enough not to comment on the sight I must have been - now that's what old friends are for.

I enjoyed watching Laura interact with Sienna - there's something about mums knowing just the right thing to say or the right face to pull to get the smiles out of her. She also managed to get a few out of me as well. Now that's a talent at that time of morning!

Teething?

We walked around Westerfolds Park with Cath and her bub Amelie this morning. Sienna & Amelie always enjoy the fresh air and a good sleep in the pram while we do all the hard leg work. It was good to chat and walk - time goes by quicker that way.
This afternoon Sienna woke from both of her sleeps crying her little heart out and not settling for a while after I'd picked her up. She seemed to get back to her happy self later on but then wouldn't let me out of her sight (cried when I'd "disappear" behind the couch to get washing off the clothes horse) and wanted to be held alot. She doesn't seem to be herself...perhaps her teeth are on the way? Oh joy!

Babies Galore!

We enjoyed an afternoon in Seville on a farm called Warac Stud. This was the place we reunited with our ante-natal classmates to meet the bubs after sharing 5 weeks of classes with 12 couples and 12 big belly bumps.

Everyone made the effort to be there and there was lots of talking and sharing of information on babies and how much of a shock to the system family life has been at times. It was good to know we are the same as everyone else - and enjoying it as much as them too.

Needless to say there were proud parents around every corner and a baby on the floor and in someone's arms in every nook and cranny of the house. It was baby bedlam and 6 months ago it probably would've freaked me out but now that it's part of my reality it was actually fun. Sienna even got to sit on a miniature pony for the first time which was more fun for us than her.
We loved catching up with all the new parents and have agreed to meet again after everyone's 1st birthday. In the mean time us new mums meet monthly and enjoy a good chat and progress report on each bub. It's all good fun with a great bunch of people. Wonder who'll be the first to produce a sibling?

Time out from being a mum...

I enjoyed a sleep in after Sienna's first feed of the day. On Saturday's AJ becomes Mr Mum and takes care of all of Sienna's needs - except for the breastfeeding bit. AJ loves it, Sienna loves being with her Dad...and I adore being in bed.

After my luxurious sleep in a got myself dressed, kissed my loves goodbye for the afternoon and met Mattena for lunch in Croydon. It was wonderful to enjoy adult conversation, good food and company. We came across a Moroccan style cafe called Kofi Beans where I was treated to coffee and cake which we enjoyed in gorgeous "vintage" (AKA op shop finds) red velvet armchairs.

Mattena sent me home with some soup to make sure I had something quick and easy to enjoy for lunch during the week. She's always looking after me. I returned home to find two tired people - one in need of a feed and a sleep - and probably the same for AJ too! But they were both in one piece and had smiles on their faces so perhaps I can do this more often.

Good times with old friends

Today we were spoilt and got to spend time with two friends from high school. My lovely friend Em turned up on my doorstep this morning with muffins, a smile, an open ear for me to bash and lots of cuddles and kisses for Sienna. God I love that woman! We've arranged to catch up more often which makes us both happy, so you may see more of her in future posts.
Then this afternoon Sienna and I turned up on Clare's doorstep to spend time with her and her gorgeous nearly 4 month old boy Angus. She is so hospitable and made me the most deliciously decadent hot chocolate and allowed Sienna to make herself at home as she lounged around on the floor, had a go on the jolly jumper, slept and then smiled her pants off (not literally of course). We made a quick exit when it looked like Sienna had reached her grumpy hour so that Clare and Angus wouldn't be subjected to the display of tears that I enjoyed all the way home. Nothing a good feed and some sleep didn't fix.

Whew!

The phone rang hot from 9.30am this morning and we didn't rest until evening fell. There were friends to console, family to contact, social outings to confirm...and then it was off to the movies to see Shrek 3. Sienna cried as soon as the lights went out and the movie started. So she spent the whole time in my arms watching the start of the movie, sleeping through most of it and waking for the last 10 minutes. We saw the movie with Colleen and her baby Jared. Seated side by side Sienna was staring intently at Jared and reached out her hand to him. Jared responded and they held hands...it was gorgeous to see babies interacting like that.

After that it was home for a feed - I introduced Sienna to the joys of sweet potato. She didn't mind it, but found it a bit thick...which found it's way all over her and me after 2 sneezes in a row.

We cleaned up ourselves and then enjoyed a catch-up with Kellie and little Callum...a wine for the mums and a play on the floor for the bubs (more hand holding).

After a sleep late in the day Sienna was up when AJ got home (a rare occurance) so there was plenty of play time between the three of us until we wore Sienna out and put her to bed. A perfect way to end the day.

PS. Kellie's mum makes a yummy nut loaf...must get the recipe.

Lunch Treat

I was treated to lunch today at the All Smiles Cafe today by Merril and Helen, my lovely GSK work colleagues and friends. They were treated to a distracted new mother and a grizzly 5 month old baby for half of the lunch, but the other half was great when Sienna put on the smiles and then fell asleep on my shoulder - and I could then concentrate on our conversation.
My little girl is growing up so quickly. This week she is noticeably grabbing everything. Where once she would just look at everything and maybe reach an open hand out to it, this week she is seeing then grabbing...as I discovered when she was sitting on my lap over lunch and proceeded to grab the soup bowl and drag it towards her. Lesson learned.

In this picture she has her hands wrapped around my necklace. Not sure I'll be wearing necklaces or my trademark dangly earrings for much longer.

Creating Our Own Warmth

After enduring Sunday afternoon and all of Monday without our precious ducted heating I spent this morning calling a dozen plumbers looking for anyone who could fix it before next Monday! My last try was successful and we had a plumber coming within a couple of hours (at what cost? I shudder to think). In the mean time we put on as many layers as we could and tried to keep our spirits up. As you can see it wasn't much of a stretch for Sienna - pictured here in her cozy bunny suit.

Sunday Lunch with a twist

My sister Alisa had us over for lunch today. Now Alisa doesn't do the traditional Sunday lunch nor does she just slap something together. She is a woman of class and she put on a spread that made this big sister very proud.

She made home-made falafels with salad and warm turkish bread. There was also delicious dips and cool crisp white wine to enjoy...and our friends Nick, Brooke and Kate to share it all with. Alisa was a relaxed and gracious host and I had a lovely time kicking back and enjoying her hospitality...gotta love that.

If I was anywhere near as conscientious about this blog as my dear friend Jo is (http://www.jellybabyblog.blogspot.com/) I would have taken a picture of our lunch before we consumed it...but I'm just not that kind of girl. See food - eat it. Perhaps with more practice at blogging I will remember to capture more moments before enjoying them until I need to undo a button on my pants - just kidding! I was wearing an elasticated waist. Oh how I wish I was kidding about that... :)

New Experiences

Today we offered Sienna solid food for the first time. She was quite unimpressed to begin with...

but after a few spoonfuls she got the idea and began ingesting the bland rice cereal enthusiastically. She was very impressed when she discovered she could make a mess with this stuff in her mouth.

Later in the day she was grizzly for a feed but didn't want breast milk. She was sucking my cheeks madly and refusing the breast - so I figured she wanted more rice cereal. I made another batch up and she ate the lot. What a good start.

Winter Walk

Today we ventured out into the cold to enjoy a rare moment of sunshine in between showers. I rugged us up and took off on a walk around our area. While I was huffing and puffing up one of the big hills I looked into the pram every now and then and was treated to these serene sights...

Who needs scenery when I have Sienna to enjoy?!