Fun with the Grandparents

To conclude our series of blogs surrounding Sienna's birth, we wanted to share one last post.  The last weekend that Heather's mom stayed with us, the weekend of Sienna's blessing, both Heather's dad and my parents came into town.  It was wonderful having both sets of parents visiting for a few days. 

On the Monday after Sienna's blessing, we went mini golfing at a this great place near our house.  The entire place was done up in an Indiana Jones theme.  It's probably one of the most impressive mini golf courses I've seen.  Every hole had a unique feature that was triggered by movement.  Whether it be a kimono dragon rearing its head, a wild bore rushing out of his hiding place, tropical frogs spitting water, or an alligator rushing toward the hole, every hole had a fun surprise.  On more than one occasion, Elli would run ahead, inadvertently trip the surprise, and then come running back all scared.  After a few holes, she would only go forward holding one of our hands.  It was pretty comical.  Here are some pics of it.

Sienna and Elli loved having their grandparents in town.  It was fun to see them interact and enjoy each other.  Heather and I really appreciated having them here, too.  In particular, Heather's mom had been here from Sienna's birth up through her blessing.  She was amazing in her help, getting up most mornings to help with Elli while Heather and I tried to recover from being up all night with Sienna.  We're so grateful to have such thoughtful parents.  

Elli's New Room

About a month before Sienna was born, when Elli was about 19 months, we moved Elli out of her crib and her room and into a "big girl" room.  Heather and I took a weekend and painted the new room spring green.  Heather had already purchased a bedroom set that is perfect from Craigslist along with the perfect comforter and pillow case.  My contribution was finding the elephant wall clock, something that is more for Heather who loves unique wall clocks than for Elli.  

So far, Elli has for the most part loved her new room and bed.  And she's done great with transitioning from a crib to a big bed.  She's only fallen out twice so far.  That's mostly thanks to two sets of foam bumpers placed just under her sheets that raise the edges of her bed.  Here are some pics below.

Sienna Goes to DC ... with Family to View the Cherry Blossoms!

Last weekend we gave Sienna a blessing at church. We were really glad that both mine and Heather's parents were able to come and be here for the event. It was also great to have Tys and his family here, too. We'll do another post about the blessing. This post is about the day before the blessing.

That Saturday, we decided we would go on an excursion to DC. This winter has been one of the mildest in this areas recorded history, and as a result, the cherry blossoms, which normally are at full bloom in April, have already reached and passed full bloom. Luckily, we were able to spend some time down around the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson Memorial were the highest concentration of blossoms are.

Here are some pics that captured our day:

We had a nice picnic in the shade near the Jefferson Memorial.

As we were prepping to leave the Jefferson Memorial, Sawyer noticed a nice little puddle. He had such a great time splashing in it. It was really a cute moment.

After walking around for the afternoon enjoying the cherry blossoms, my mom, Heather's parents, and Heather and our two girls went to the Crime and Punishment Museum. This was something that Heather has wanted to do forever, but since it is one of the few museums that charges admission in the area, we could never convince anyone to go with us. I guess it took Heather having a baby to get what she wanted! It was definitely worth it, though. It's a very interactive museum, including a police driving simulator and firearm practice range. We had a great time.

Afterwards, we walked a few blocks and ate at Nando's Peri Peri. Heather and I love this place, and it was a great way to end our trip to downtown DC.

Sienna's First Bath

Heather and I had forgotten how different it is to bathe a newborn. Once again, we were saved by Christine, who reminded us how to do it. So here are pics of Sienna's first bath! As any good parents, we bathed her in the kitchen sink.

Heather found this great adjustable plastic baby bath online. It's European, so it's amazing. It's worked out great for us; we've loved it. And so has Sienna.

All warm and clean!

Elli occasionally joins in on the bathing fun. Sometimes, we let Elli bathe Sienna by herself when Heather and I take a nap. It works out well for everyone! Just kidding.