Best Photos of the Week... Naughty and Nice

Waiting for Santa

We've had lots of fun this year preparing for the big bearded guy's arrival (and no, I don't mean Uncle Andy). Here are some photos from the past couple of weeks...

Siena loves trimming the tree! I've been pleasantly surprised by how well she's treated the ornaments, too... Other than a couple of little bells that I'm okay with her pulling off, she's been very gentle with the tree.



Another highlight of the season is lighting a new Advent candle every week. Siena remembers her birthday candle training well and loves trying to blow them out.

St. Nicholas brought Siena a Fisher Price nativity set, which has been a big hit. Here she is pressing the angel to make the star light up and play "Away in a Manger..."

... and dancing to the music.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells!

Tuba Christmas

Joe participated in his very first Tuba Christmas this weekend over at the St. Louis Galleria. 115 or so tubas were in attendance, playing Christmas carols for the shoppers. It was a beautiful concert! Thanks to Mr. Logan, my grade school band teacher, for lending Joe his baritone for the event.

Front and center

Tubas galore

Siena took quite a liking to Daddy's borrowed tuba, affectionately naming it "Bubba."

Breakfast with Santa

Last weekend we attended Breakfast with Santa at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. As you can tell, Siena LOVED sitting on Santa's lap. :) The poor thing was just screaming for rescue as we're laughing and taking pictures. Hopefully we didn't scar her for life! Hopefully next year's shot will have a bit more Christmas cheer.

With Winnie, Picky, and Frosty. Between Santa and Frosty, Siena would choose the snowman any day.

Meeting Mrs. Claus. Not quite as scary. In fact, she kind of reminds me of Winnie...

I'm okay with Santa as long as Mom and Dad are with me!

A Very Sustar Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful time at the Domes for Thanksgiving with the entire Sustar clan. I don't think Siena sat down the entire visit -- she was constantly on the move and LOVED exploring the domes, petting the dogs, and playing with her aunts, uncles, and cousins. We can't wait for our next trip to Wisconsin!

Our family and the view from the Domes. Beautiful country.

The 2nd semi-annual Turkey Bowl with the Domes in the background

Siena playing with her cousins Carl and Liam. They were so patient with her!

Aunt Mary feeding Siena her first Potica

Playing Fictionary, a Sustar family tradition

At the Thanksgiving table. We are so thankful for our many blessings, especially our wonderful family!

Christmas Tree Lighting

I'm usually opposed to any Christmas-centered activities prior to Thanksgiving, but have given in this year (hence the new blog background!). Last night we attended St. Louis' downtown Christmas tree lighting celebration, complete with carols, fireworks, and an arrival from Santa Claus. While Joe and I had a fun time, we're not sure about Siena... She was a bit wary of the fireworks, and VERY wary of Fredbird (a special guest!) -- when Joe held her next to Fredbird so I could get a photo, she immediately started screaming. Oh well! I have a feeling any photos on Santa's lap this year may yield the same result... Stay tuned.

Marching in the parade with Santa in the background

With Daddy in front of the enormous tree

All smiles now that the fireworks have ended!

A rare photo with Mama ;)

Recent Pics

I apologize to my blog readers for the lack of posts lately... My class schedule picked up about a month ago, and I've been a busy mama ever since! Here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks. I haven't really taken a ton of pics since Halloween, but that will surely change now that the holidays are approaching! I'll also have to post a video soon of Siena walking... She's been on the move since her birthday, and it's all we can do to keep up!



(this is what happens when Daddy is in charge of dressing me)

Happy Halloween!

Siena had a great second Halloween. After days and days of nonstop rain, the weather cleared up and was a perfect temperature for trick-or-treaters. Winnie and Picky joined in the fun, too -- Picky and dog Millie joined us trick-or-treating (in costume, of course) while Winnie manned the candy at the house. Lots of fun for all... We love Halloween!

Ready to go with her sock monkey. Believe it or not, the pumpkin costume the sock monkey is wearing was Siena's Halloween costume last year!

Siena's first Halloween candy. She quickly learned that if she chews on the wrapper long enough, she'll eventually hit chocolate. :)

Our traditional first stop: Nanna and Daddio's house.

Siena loved this cackling witch.

Siena's First Birthday!

Sorry it's taken me a week to post these pics... We had a wonderful celebration for Siena's big first birthday, complete with Aunt Lindsay, Uncle Andy, and Grandma and Grandpa Sustar in town for the event. Winnie baked a huge pumpkin-shaped carrot cake, though unfortunately Siena's candle-blowing practice didn't quite pay off at the big moment... Oh well, maybe next year. :) As you can tell, we had a Halloween theme and lots of costumed guests. A great way to celebrate our little girl's first year!!

Our little lady bug... the big ONE year old!

Joe carved these beautiful jack-o-lanterns just for the party. No help from a pumpkin-carving kit, of course. :)

Siena had a visit from a bearded Superman, aka Uncle Andy.

Siena's grandparents -- a clown, a Hershey's kiss, and a ????

Even the dogs got into the Halloween spirit.

Siena dove face-first into her cake. She ate every bite!

Surrounded by her loot

FIRST STEPS!!

A big week in the life of Siena! Okay, so these aren't technically her FIRST steps, but we'd practiced a couple times before this video was taken, and it all looked pretty much like this. :) She's getting more confident with her steps by the day, and will now take a couple of steps on her own to transfer from place to place. Today she set a record of eleven (!!) steps in a row walking from her play table to Mommy, so she's making quick progress! One week until her first birthday... will she be walking by then?

Moving to the Big Girl Bed

I decided about a week ago that it was time Siena slept in her own room... As much as I love having her snuggle with us in our bed, I found myself spending much of the night with a baby draped over my belly or pushing me off the bed entirely. She's still waking frequently at night, and I had hoped that moving her a little further away would help. So far, the results have been mediocre at best. I've been successful at putting her down in her bed for naps and initially at night, but when she wakes in the middle of the night it's almost easier for me to bring her to our bed than to sit and rock her back to sleep (which often takes multiple tries). Sigh... I'm also in the middle of trying to wean her from night nursing, which will make my life somewhat easier once she catches on. Thanks to Joe for his support in that area, taking on Siena's night wakings all by himself on the weekends so I can get some sleep. Dealing with these sleeping issues is NOT easy, and I have to keep telling myself that "this too shall pass." Before I know it she'll be a teenager sleeping until 1pm, right?

Visit to Eckert's

Here are a few pics from last week's visit to Eckert's orchards... Siena had a blast climbing among the many pumpkins, big and small. I've included a picture at Eckert's from just about a year ago, when Siena was less than one week old. I can't believe how fast this year has flown!

I heart pumpkins!

American Gothic, Sustar style

Driving the tractor... If only Grandpa could see me now!

These pumpkins are bigger than I am!

Siena visiting Eckert's last year at this time... Hard to believe our little "Pumpkin" is almost ONE!

Unloading the Dishwasher

Uncle Andy has requested more videos, so here's another one... Not quite in chronological order with the blog (this one is probably from about a month ago), but cute nonetheless.

Siena Dances to Her Favorite Songs

Please note that Joe is responsible for this post. :) Here is Siena dancing to her two favorite songs: "Grilled Cheese" and "Kareem Abdul-Jabar." Both tunes are written and sung by The Ed. Yes, the lyrics to "Grilled Cheese" are "Don't sneeze on my grilled cheese, baby, 'cuz I don't want no boogers on my bread." Sigh... Where does Daddy find this stuff?

"Look Mom, No Hands!"

Siena started standing on her own a couple of weeks ago, but it's been tough to catch on camera. I finally got a good picture this morning as she was playing with her little table. Here's she's clapping along to the music while holding my camera lens cover (a favorite toy which she likes to play with whenever I pull out the camera). I guess walking isn't too far away!

Dada's Jazz Concert

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post... I need to get caught up! Life has been busy, but lots of fun as we've welcomed in the fall weather. Last Saturday we met Winnie, Picky, Nanna, Daddio, Dylan, and his daddy Erin at the Belleville Chili Cookoff to hear Daddy play in his jazz ensemble. There were only a few musicians in the group, so Joe was definitely center stage! He did a fabulous job and we enjoyed some yummy chili afterwards.

Daddy playing a solo

Dylan feeding Siena a Cheerio. So cute.

With Nanna and Daddio

Hanging out in the square listening to some great jazz tunes.