Short Stories

The Woes of Sienna the Socialite

Sienna loves other little kids and is constantly trying to be friends with them. Some of these attempts go over really well and…some don’t. Here are a few favorites of the “gone wrong” style.

#1 After taking her first three steps she decided she was content to crawl  for the rest of the week. Finally  Sunday rolled around and at church she saw a little girl around her size walking around. I put Sienna down and she walked straight to the little girl. I was so impressed and thrilled! Unfortunately, the other little girl wasn’t and started crying and ran away. Undeterred Sienna kept following her, and the little girl would whine each time Sienna came close. I didn’t think this was a fit reward for what Sienna had done, but oh well. So we went in the hall search of more receptive friends, we found another girl who was just too fast for Sienna to get near. More successful?

#2 We went to WIC and there was a little Asian girl in a bright pink jumpsuit. I sat down and let Sienna free. Of course she went to go socialize. I told Sienna not to touch her, but she just smiled and touched her anyway. The little girl turned around and pinned her to the ground. Her mom reacted really quickly in getting her off and they began arguing in some language I didn’t understand. I guess I should have been worried, but I was just so shocked and Sienna wasn’t crying so I figured she was probably okay. I picked her up and told her “That’s what happens when you touch people who don’t want to be touched.” I set her down hoping she would avoid the girl, but she went right back over. Looked up at the girl and started into a loud babbling and smiling. The little girl looked at her mother and they exchanged a few words, but luckily no more tackling. Finally they called her mom back and I was relieved until Sienna ran after the little girl. Yes ran…..oh dear.

#3 Fortunately, the neighbor boys are very friendly, social, and cute with her…unless she wants to play with their toys.

A Two Foot Tornado

I was recovering from being ill when Sienna discovered the joys of the trash can, and while I ate my lunch she pushed the bathroom door open and covered the house with used tissues. She also pulled out half the kitchen trash and stuck the avocado peels underneath the couch. I keep waiting for some unknown smell to pop up so I can figure out where else she stuck things. Well, Sean came home a little early that day and after giving me a kiss told me, “It looks like a two foot tornado hit the house.” I smiled and said, “Yep, that’s about right.” 

Happy Birthday Sienna Bub!

Sienna is officially a one-year-old. We have been so blessed to spend the last year of our lives with her. She is such a joy to be with and take care of her and I love her more and more as time goes on. She loves books now and her favorite is the one Gram bought her "Goodnight California" She also adores her Christmas puppies from Aunt Sadie and Uncle Reuben. For her birthday Great Grandpa Brailsford gave her a Cat in the hat and he has added him to the gang. She drags him around every where and takes breaks from playing to give him hugs. She loves playing on the playground just outside our door and insists on climbing onto the slide and trying to climb up it. She is walking with the best of them and is quite the socialite. She can do the actions for baby shark, she waves hello and goodbye. She climbs on and up things. She bounces along to music and is a great Zumba Fitness partner. I don't know if she really can read, but she loves pointing to the words around the house and gives me a big smile when I tell her what they say.

Sienna can now tell everyone how old she is. She did it for two groups of people at girls night. 

Clapping with us--clapping for her. 

Family Pictures

Finally, A good us kissing her cheeks picture!

It may look like we are supporting her, but the truth is we are keeping her from squirming off the bench

She was bouncing :)

She can walk!

A walking, pointing, climbing bumblykins. Sienna took three steps yesterday (the last day of Feb 2013) It was adorable. She can climb down the stairs standing up and holding onto the railing. One of her favorite things to do is to stand up on her rocking chair and paint the wall with a undipped paintbrush. She points and plays peek-a-boo and bounces along with me when I play Dance2/4 on the Wii. I have enjoyed making little clips to put on her pigtails, and I became a certified Zumba Fitness instructor last week and I will probably teach my first class not this week but the next.

New Heights for Sienna

Sienna's first ponytail

Homemade dresses with homemade flowers on them

Sienna using her highchair as a walker (it has wheels)

2nd Anniversary

Someone told me that the love I felt for Sean when we were engaged would fade and that I would not adore him as much as I did then. My love for him is anything but faded. I love, admire, and adore him more each day. Happy 2 years love! 

My Wedding Dress Fits Again!!!

Enjoying the delicious breakfast Sean made me

and my roses Sean bought me :) Beautiful

Things I gained from pregnancy (besides the obvious)

Warning: This post may include TMI (too much information) There are little red * next to those bullet points. 

Two weeks ago there was a possibility that I could have gotten pregnant again. For days after I relived how awful pregnancy was in my mind. There were months of barely moving because of nausea, not exercising, blowing up like a balloon, feeling lonely and ugly, dealing with all the extra emotions, not being able to do very much, the muscle pain etc. I wondered why pregnancy was so easy for some women. How some just get a little nauseous and eat a lot more and don’t gain much weight, whereas I was eating less and throwing up not just the food but also the bile from my empty stomach all day long and yet gaining a ton of weight. How for some women emotions just become like mine are every day of my life. Anyways, I was starting to get very bitter and I asked God why. Well….here are some things Sean and I discussed and they help me feel a lot better. I have frequently asked God to help me be a better wife and maybe getting pregnant was a good way to do it….although not during the pregnancy of course.

Things I gained from being pregnant

•     I don’t move as much when I sleep so Sean has an easier time sleeping in the same bed as me.
• ·            My cramps during my period are no longer the writhing-in-pain experience they use to be and with pain medicine I can’t feel them at all.

•        While losing my pregnancy weight gain I learned of several food allergies. I use to have extreme stomach pain daily and now it is a rare occurrence.
•      Because I was so morning sick I would throw up when I moved I decided to sit still a lot. As a result my knees finally recovered from their overuse injuries. So no more persistent knee pain.
• *    I have a lower sex drive. (this is a very good thing since that has been an extreme point of frustration)
• *   Sean enjoys having sex with me more because it is very rarely painful.
• ·         I feel more confident and less self conscious about my body and when I look good I know I look good. When I don’t look good it is not as depressing.
• ·         Because my medicine was only half as effective during pregnancy and now it is full dose again I do a much better job calming myself than I use to.
• ·         It is hard to doubt my purpose in life when I am constantly taking care of a baby.
• ·         I no longer doubt Sean’s love for me and I am not scared of him deciding to leave me.
• ·         I have a stronger testimony of God’s love for me, that he answers prayers, and that he watches over those who seek to do his will.
• ·         I have greater faith in people. There are people out there who are loving and Christ-like and are good friends.
• ·         Last but not least I gained a beautiful daughter. Her smile lights up my world and I love watching her learn all these new things. Day after day she amazes me and the longer she is with me the more I realize how empty my life was before. I was meant to be a mom. I love spending every minute of every day with her. I love having her crawl after me and pull herself up while holding onto my pants. I love reading with her and making buildings for her to wreck. I even love sitting next to her so she can hand me the CD’s she pulls off the shelf. I love watching her bounce along with me when I play Dance2 on the Wii. I am amazed at the love I feel for her and the love my mom must feel for me. I hope she never outgrows loving me. I love getting her from her crib in the morning and the smile she gives. It is as if I have given her the most wonderful gift in the world.

Maybe pregnancy is not so bad after all. Maybe I will forgive the people who don’t have horrible pregnancies; honestly I would not wish my pregnancy on anyone. I get confused when people say they want their children to go through the same thing they had to go through. So far that certainly is not the case for me. I think I would rather be under appreciated than watch my daughter be that sick for that long…but who knows I guess that could change.