We made it!

Sienna did great on the plane and is currently getting smothered with love and kisses from our families :)

I have a bunch of baby travel tips that I'll have to share another time and I'll try to pop in here and there and post now that I got the blog app.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Anxiety over travels

With our upcoming trip to NY,
I've been stressing trying to get everything together to make sure its all smooth sailing. 

I pray Sienna sleeps the whole flight, 
I really don't want a plane full of people mad at us if she doesn't

I have to say, I was never afraid to fly until now

don't get me started on packing,

 the breast pump, parts & bottles need a suitcase of their own and
with the amount of stuff we have to bring, 

 we need an extra set of hands to carry it all

Charlie has really bad separation anxiety and although hes staying with my sister, 
I know he will be sad and mopey...my poor pup, this makes my heart hurt.

Security people please be nice, I'll be bringing bottled breast milk with me in case she doesn't want to nurse...if they take it away - I'll have a  fit.

I'm just really nervous, its a long flight.

Everyone send positive vibes our way!!
& any tips are welcomed!

Mama is not ready

My baby big girl has outgrown her bassinet

well truth be told she outgrew it a while ago but I've been putting off doing something about it. This mama is not ready to face the fact that her itty bitty baby is...well, not so itty bitty anymore.

The thought of her going in her crib in her OWN room was something I was certainly not ready for just yet...and at this rate I probably wont be for a long time.

so what did we do?

 hubby was very much against this but mama got her way....as she usually does ;)

We swapped the couch in our bedroom with her crib, so now her room will probably be more of a playroom. Luckily the transition didn't even phase her, she slept like she usually does...and by that I mean, wakes up 2-3 times a night...bah!

I have a feeling she will be in our room until....
1. Shes old enough for a toddler bed
2. Baby number 2 comes along

we'll see

The crib move was a whole fiasco, both the couch and crib didn't fit through the door ways, so the doors had to be taken off along with the legs of the couch, and crib had to be taken apart completely...hubby was not thrilled.

I love you hubster

In honor of our ONE year wedding anniversary next month,

here is a little trip down memory lane

This post is dedicated to my sweet hubby

and all the wonderful memories we've made together

I often look back at all the pictures from our travels & cant help by smile

we really had the time of our lives 

Its amazing how you can find your lover

 & best friend in one

Fate.

Here are SOME of my favorite moments 

if I were to list them all, this blog post would be 10 miles long

Nothing beats our tingle filled beginnings, 

this was our 2nd date - Jan 2006

       

 Traveling all of Italy with you      

Our 1st Birthday together...cake at midnight

                            

Our road trip across the country,

stopping along the way for photos with the state signs 

& laughing at all the "waffle houses" we saw

 I think I need a separate blog post just to talk about Hawaii, 

I have fun videos of us evacuating for the tsunami

PARIS PARIS PARIS ;)

       I loved that you got to meet my Grandma in Poland,

 before she passed

our first trip as a couple - Aug 2006

which ironically was to Arizona

The spot you took me to have lunch the day after I told you I was pregnant :)

getting to cross this off my bucket list 

How sweet were you to drive me to school every morning

 & bring me hot chocolate 

all of our silly moments, inside jokes and crazy nicknames

I can go on and on,

but I'll end with these two chart toppers

I love you babe!

cant wait to for all the new memories to come

a day in the life

What do I do all day? shocking as it seems, the life of a stay at home mom isn't as luxurious as you may think...contrary to some belief, it is NOT stay-cation  full of hair twirling and relaxing.

Here is a typical day at my house:

5:30 - 7:30 AM- Sienna wakes up & starts her coo-ing, chatting away kicking around in her bassinet. Hubs gets up for work and I take baby into bed with me....sometimes she nurses and falls back asleep, sometimes she just wants to be up and play.

8AM - cranky baby - we get up, I change her diaper...put her in her bouncer next to me and pump while trying to entertain her at the same time ( not an easy task being tied down to the pump)

8-9:30 AM- Feed her half of what I just pumped, get her dressed for the day, play a little bit until she gets tired enough for a nap so mama who is starving at this point can eat, or brush her teeth atleast

9:30 - 10:30AM - Put Sienna in her swing for a nap, turn on the news or cooking channel, quickly get dressed, wash up, brush my teeth and make breakfast

10:30- 11:30AM -  clean up, laundry, check emails, BLOG, feed the dog, make the dog go pee in the yard so I dont have to walk him :P and just do misc in the short time window of free time I have

11:30-12:45- Sienna wakes up...we play, I pump, feed her, change her, play some more, take a million pics of her :)

12:45 - 2 - Baby is down for another nap usually, if not she goes in her high chair while I make myself lunch, do dishes, wash her bottles & pump parts, talk to my Mom

2-3:30 - Sofia comes over (3x a week) I spend time with her, she usually wakes up Sienna, pump ( this pumping sesh is a nightmare because Sofia gets into stuff and I cant chase after her), hang out with them two

3:30 - Sofia gets picked up, Danny comes home (woohoo!)

3:30 - 5:30 -Danny takes over right away - plays with her, feeds her, takes her and Charlie on a walk to the mailbox and hangs out with her till he makes dinner, usually she goes for nap #3 around 5

5:30- 8:30 - Hubs makes dinner( lucky me:), I do things around the house that I didnt get to before till baby wakes up, pump & feed, we all hang together, eat dinner, take a walk if its not too hot out...get Sienna ready for bed around 8, pump again, feed & put her down for the night.

8:30 - Zzzz time - hubs usually does stuff for work, I relax & hang in the office with him while he does work...catch up with friends & social media till I get sleepy, which usually is quite early

(Obviously there are days when the schedule is not like this, sometimes Sienna boycotts naptime, makes a mess that calls for doing laundry immediately, or Charlie does things that  make me want to give him away ( just kidding) hes been really bad lately

but typically the schedule is like this :)

365 days of Sienna

I have NO pictures of me when I was a baby,
The only ONE I have is from my Christening & my parents are in it too.. so does that even count? I think I'll be forever upset about this and always resent my parents for it.

So maybe that's the reason I'm so picture crazy with Sienna,
 I take atleast 10 a day.

 so on that note  I decided to make a separate page to post a photo of her EVERY DAY starting from the day she was born until her 1st birthday along with a sentence or two about it ( I will turn it into a book too)

Since I just started now, I have to go back all the way to March and catch up!
a lot of work...but I think it will be neat.

check it out! 
click on the little camera icon on the right of of the blog

ps: I got the title from one of my favorite movies

"500 days of Summer"

Dear Teenager me

If you could go back in time and talk to the teenager you. What would you say?

here is what I would say:

Dear Teenage Joanna,

Enjoy being young, stop working so much and be a teenager. 

Not a waitress at Friendlys five days a week.

realize how nice it is to have a flat stomach without even knowing what a "carb" or a work out is

Hold on to that hottie Daniel Leif, he will make a great husband & father one day.
 Dont bother with any of those other schmucks.

There are other clothes out there besides Juicy Couture sweat suits, consider them.

its OK for you & your girlfriends to prank call your crushes..
you'll look back at those shenanigans one day and laugh

Enjoy not having major responsibilities 

Those girls that tried to steal your boyfriend, copied you, bad mouthed you.
Consider it the highest form of flattery

Stop wishing your mom would leave you alone, 
one day you will wish for her to be around more

Try harder in Math 

Take a close look at your friends and think about who you want in your life after High School

5 months old

Dearest Sienna,

You are 5 months old today! To say that we are completely smitten by you would be a complete understatement, you are getting cuter and sweeter every month!! how is that even possible? I almost forget what life was like before you came but one thing is for certain, you have filled our lives & hearts with more love & joy than we ever thought possible. 

Here is what you've been up this month:

You are the queen of silly faces lately, 

hiding your lips is your favorite- my favorite too

You are such a loud little chatterbox! 

that little girly voice of yours can probably be heard down the block and you know it makes us laugh, so you keep doing it.

 

this pretty much sums you up these days, 

silly face maker & crazy little screamer...but its not so cute at 4AM just so you know

 

You weigh a little over 13lbs 
(based on a home scale)

 you definitely got your good looks from your daddy, I think you look just like him and I have to admit I'm a little jealous, I always wanted a little mini me. A handful of people say you look like me but I don't see it....you still have my dimple though :) I'll take what I can get.

 

You're a pretty bad eater and I pray its just a phase 

because if this is a preview of when you're a toddler, mama is in trouble.

Still on breastmilk and I'm grateful to have come this far, 

the goal is ONE year and after you will have a few month supply from what I was able to freeze...I'd like to hold off on cows milk as long as possible and hope to be able to freeze a lot more by the time we get to a year. (mama thinks ahead)

You still do not sleep through the night and at this point I'm used it, its the only time you actually breastfeed so thats nice for me, I pump and bottle feed you during the day. Not my choice, yours... you're finicky and there is nothing I can do, believe me I tried.

My favorite thing is coming to get you when you wake up from a nap, you get SO excited to see me or Daddy....you kick, smile, giggle and stick out your arms. It melts us!

Your favorite toys are..

Charlies tail ( though he doesn't appreciate it)

Sock monkey, shoes, tags and whatever you can get in your mouth

You started to understand object permanence
if a toy is taken away, you cry till you get it back
before it was "out of sight, out of mind"

I love watching you develop into a smart little cookie

 ♥♥♥

4 months vs 5 months

You are taking your first ever plane ride this month!

(PLEASE be a good girl)

there are so many people in NY who are so excited to meet you, it will be the first time you meet your grandpa & great-grandpa. We cant wait to take you to the beach, to the place your Daddy and I first met, to NYC and all of your mommy & daddys favorite spots.

 apparently taking pics is hard work

love you to the moon & back

-Mommy

Fall fever

anyone else ready for Fall?

I'm over the heat and so very ready to welcome Autumn with open arms

I cant wait for....

1. The return of Pumpkin Spice lattes at Starbucks

2. Decorating my home, 

thanks to pintrest I already have it all the ideas covered

 

3.  Although I'm not really a fan of Halloween, I'm excited to dress Sienna up.

She already has a costume that she will probably hate me for when shes older, but its so darling! and this probably will be the only year that I get to chose the costume instead of her...So yes its super cutesy & I may just have picked it out for my own entertainment :)

5. Cardigans, scarves, boots, flats

need I say more?

6. Pumpkin patches!

 My little pumpkin will be such a cute age in the fall

I cant wait for all the photos, and if you know me...you know there will be tons!

7. Fall-ish polish

though I recently gave up on nail polish, due to my newly acquired job of  washing of bottles & pump parts ALL DAY....I really do love those fall hues!

8. hearty soups

If given the choice Id gladly eat nothing but soups and stews all day, everyday 

Things I'm NOT looking forward to,

My family not being here for Sienna's first Thanksgiving & Football...I know I'm one of very few people to say this...but I HATE football season and dread it every year.

the little things...

On Saturday morning Hubs & I woke up craving pancakes

So we whipped some up together 

in our pjs

listening to Pandora

singing along for Sienna in her high chair

(she thinks we are the best singers...bless her heart)

I think this was my favorite part of our weekend

its little moments spent like this with my family 

that make me feel so darn lucky.

ps: I'm so excited for my blogs new look!

I'm still working on it - check back to read our story in the "about" tab :)

under construction

My Blog is currently getting a huge make over

check back later :)

Have a great day!!

chocolate fruit dip

I found this recipe the other day and drooled a little

what a yummy way to eat fruit... and the best part its a weight watchers recipe so you don't have to feel guilty about it

8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened 
1/3 cup sugar 
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
1 t vanilla extract 
2 cups light whipped topping (I used Cool Whip Light) 

1. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and cream cheese and beat with a hand mixer until combined. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla extract and beat again until thoroughly mixed. Add the Cool Whip and continue to beat until well combined. 

Serving Suggestion: 
I ate this with strawberries because it’s what I had on hand, but you could certainly serve it with an assortment of fruits (pineapple, melon, bananas, etc). Almost every fruit goes well with chocolate! 

Yields 16 (2 tablespoon) servings. WW P+: 2 per serving

all you need

So so delicious I will definitely be making this at the next gathering at my house

ENJOY!

:)

New Mommy: lessons learned

watch out for those super sharp fingernails, especially while feeding

sweet Sienna somehow turns into a ferocious tiger - or so you'd think after seeing the claw marks my chest

DO NOT leave the house without that paci or everyone involved will be miserable and you'll just be turning the car around to go home

keep your hair back, or you may end up bald

when giving a bath, be prepared to have a bath yourself

or atleast when they figure out how to splash

patience patience patience

Caffeine will your BFF & key to sanity - I was never a coffee drinker till I had a baby

burn those nail clippers - we had an incident....I cried, Sienna did not. 

Regardless, we are using nail files from now on

don't take it personal when strangers in supermarket look at your DAUGHTER and complement HIM and ask HIS name...or do.... just have a bow handy, I whipped out a headband out of my purse right after this happened

be prepared not to get a chance to brush your teeth in the morning till its nap time - good thing I don't have to speak to anyone

Always have a light blanket handy - yes even in AZ when its 112 degrees out - some places have their AC on what feels like Antarctica setting 

YEP! Sienna usually likes to put her vocal cords to use at 4AM, not crying - just chatting, squealing, screeching and ya know...making me want to invest in ear plugs.

pool = best way to tire them out

thank goodness for those swim lessons - knocks her out at 730

Your dog will show his affection for baby by licking their face, cute right?

yeah NO - he also licks his butt.

Make sure diapers are on snug - pee puddles and extra laundry is no fun especially when your bed sheets are involved 

apparently sitting up is more comfy for a naps than her crib

crazy baby!

well that's all I've got for now

I'm sure I'll have more along the way.

the mess can wait

loads of laundry need to be done

dishes need to be washed

clothes need to be put away

bathrooms need to be scrubbed

floors need to be vacuumed

the dog needs to be bathed & groomed

errands need to be done

the 'TO DO' list is piling up 

I'll be first to admit it - our house has never been messier since little S came along and while I do try to make an effort in picking up my clothes off the bedroom floor... since moving in with Danny I quickly realized that was his biggest pet peeve....who has time to clean and do chores when there a cute little babe who wants all my attention? :)

its funny though - I should take a picture of how neat and tidy Danny's dresser is compared to my mish mosh....but I'm not embarrassed to admit it, well maybe I'm too embarrassed to show you a picture.. but I always intend on making it neat it just never happens because...

all those things can wait, 

when there are moments like these taking place in our home

Charlie only understand Polish, 

so when Danny says "Daj Sienka" hes telling him to give the ball to Sienna) 

daj is pronounced "die" figured I needed to clarify that since it sounds kinda terrible if taken out of context

little mini Polish lesson for you guys.

Charlie gives Sienna his basketball

(so sweet)

isn't this so much better than doing chores? :)

Letter to Sienna

Dear precious girl, ♥

     I have to tell you a silly story from yesterday

we took you to the pediatrician to get your weight checked again, you are right on track now

( 12lbs 1oz) but anyway, while we were there & afterwards your Daddy & I fought over who got to hold you...it  and  went something like this  

Daddy: I wanna hold her now, give me her

Mommy: No, I wanna snuggle her

Daddy: you snuggled her all day, I was at work and I missed her  I only got to hold her for a few minutes today 

Mommy: nope, mine

Yes mama is pretty selfish when it comes to you, I tend to hog you...but I miss you every second you're not with me even when you nap for too long I'm tempted to wake you up ( I don't - but sometimes I want to) One day when you read these letters I wrote you, I hope there is never a day in your life that you doubt our love for you.

we love you to the moon & back,

Mommy & Daddy 

I took this yesterday - 7/31/12

can you blame us for fighting over who gets to hold you?

:)