Training has begun!

I have taken a huge step to better myself and help others!! I am now a very proud member of Team In Training for the Luekemia & Lymphoma Society. I am training to run in my first half marathon- in San Diego June 6th. I am so excited!! And its about time I do something active! I have a long way to go, but am looking forward to the challenge and know it will be so rewarding!

I will be running for my nephew Griffin, running for his friends also in Heaven, running for my mom, running for my family and every family that has been effected by cancer, running to keep Griffin's fight alive. I am so honored to be an aunt of such a remarkable person. Griffin never gave up in his fight against "the bad guys" (his cancer) and always kept a smile on his face! I have learned so much about life and myself through him, and I feel so lucky to be ABLE to face this challenge.

If you want to learn more about Team In Training, please visit my fundraising webpage. Please consider donating $13.10 (a dollar a mile) to help me reach my goal of $5,000! No amount is too small, and every dollar, every mile WILL help us reach a CURE!! Participants of Team In Training (normal people like you and me) have raised $1 BILLION! Money directly funding research, leading to groundbreaking advances, and improving patient care! Talk about an incredible organization to be a part of!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/rnr10/rmolina69g

I will also keep you posted on my progress. I am one week in (of 18 weeks). Thank goodness I have coaches, mentors and teammates to help me along (with a very detailed training plan). On Saturdays (long distance days) we meet and run as a team. During the week I am on my own (with help from a new treadmill!) So far, its been just 2 miles at a time. But the miles will add on fast! But so far I have made it, and know with Griffin behind me, I can face anything!!

Did I mention that I HATE running? I have always felt like every second is torture! Even many years ago in my atlethic basketball days, I could sprint back in forth, play for hours, but run any kind of long distance? Forget it! So overcoming this, and possibly enjoying running one day will be a huge achievement for me. I have always thought people that chose to run and actually liked it, were 100% insane, but maybe I can change my mind?

Flying Solo

Last week, I went to Sacramento for work... without my baby girl...from 6:30 am Tues unil 3:00 pm Thurs. That was a tough goodbye! I knew I would have to do this some time, and I knew she would be fine, but still.

I attended the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium, a huge convention/trade show for the industry. Huge as in 11,000 people were supposed to be there. It was definitely a neat experience, I learned a lot and had quite a bit of fun as well! There was several of us from our company there and it was fun to be away from work! And I would hope people working in an industry of booze, would enjoy themselves and know how to have a good time (we all did).

After the 4 or so hour drive in the rain with my two bosses, we settled in. I had to wait for a room because there were no king beds available yet, and you bet I wanted one! I stayed at the Hyatt which was incredible of course, and also where some events were held and across the street from the convention center where everything else was at. The Hyatt is also across from the state capital building, and where our governator lives... I think he was out of town. And the lobby bar was quite the happening place in the afternoons and evenings.

There were some talks and sessions that afternoon, then after some drinks, a few of us headed to a dinner for one of our chemical vendors. It was the best meal I have had in quite some time, at a really nice, well known Italian restaurant. It consisted of prosecco (I really don't ever want champagne again), amazing wines, rigatoni with lamb sausage, a ribeye steak, gelato, and grappa... and some more incredible wine... A couple drinks later, I called it a night. It was such a weird feeling to be away and alone. I am always there for Sienna's bedtime, and not being there for that really sunk in. But I did sleep pretty soundly once i got to sleep, and the bed was super comfy.

The next morning we went to a big talk about the state of the industry which was both interesting and depressing (an economy guy spoke first, and that was real gloomy) but the wine and grape guys seemed a little more promising. People are still drinking wine so that's good. After lunch, I walked around the tradeshow, which was really overwhelming. it was just huge! SO much stuff to look at and take in from every aspect of the wine biz. There was everything from enormous tractors, vineyard supplies, tanks, crushers, bottling lines, glass, cork, label vendors, analytical services, software, marketing, etc. etc. I stopped to chat with some of the vendors I know, drooled over some new fancy lab equip, but mostly just walked through and it still took me 2 1/2 hours!

Then since there was no afternoon talks that interested me, I wandered across to the state capital. I had never been to Sacramento, and figured I should check it out. The park was awesome, there is a tour of 50 state trees which was really pretty, and lots of walking paths. I roamed around the inside of the building and it it beautiful inside the dome! I also walked past Arnold's office, into the Senate Chambers, and historical areas. I don't follow or care about government stuff much, but it was still really neat to see...

That evening we went to a vendor sponsored happy hour event and then a big party thrown by one of our wine brokers. The theme was "Carnival de Rio" and there were Brazilian dancers, music, food, and lots of booze. The party was in this really old bank, such an amazing building with hand crafted ceilings and teller windows for the bar. It was lots of fun! Followed by more fun at the lobby bar! And yes, I still missed my baby (and hubby) and counted the hours until I returned. The next morning we drove back which seemed to take WAY too long.

I was so beyond happy to get home! Sienna was also so happy to see me! She kept giving me kisses and more kisses! So, mama's first trip away was hard but she had a great time! It helped knowing Sienna was with her Daddy, and grandparents. The next step is for both of us to leave, which will be VERY VERY hard, but we are looking to do it somewhat soon...

TEN MONTHS!

Sienna is now 10 months old, well actually 10 months and 10 days at this point! Just two months until her big birthday (how can this be) I might be in complete denial until the day comes!

She just had her 9 month doctor appointment that week, so her ten month stats are:

Height: 31 inches (>97% off the charts)
Weight: 21 pounds (75%)
Head: Can't remember but its 95%

So she is still super tall and growing like crazy! Dr. Macias was impressed with her growth, since at 9 months babies usually slow in growth with higher activity. And of course she is much more active, but eats about anything in sight. Dr. was also pleased with her development and all that good stuff. Of course we were thankful for our healthy girl! (and very social with her doctor, he really is so amazing with kids, just as any pediatrician should be!) Then it was time for three shots, not good! After the painful, wait-ten-seconds eruption, she calmed down when i picked her up, until she looked right at the nurse and literally yelled at her. She said "Oh, she is MAD at me!"

It is really incredible how much she has grown and learned these last months. Here is what she is up to these days:

*She wears mostly size 12 month clothes, some 18 months (but still pretty big) and size 3 diapers. I am not clearing out clothes that are too small as often, since the sizes should fit longer, so I feel like we are finally getting more use out of her cute clothes!

*She is getting more and more mobile. She is pulling herself up everywhere! including but not limited to: the couch, coffee table, crib, door jams, walls and even ozzy (perfect height dog). She also cruises along the furniture, but really prefers crawling, which she has gotten FAST! She loves when we say "where are you going?" as she heads to the hall, she looks backs at us, laughs and moves full speed ahead. Us chasing her is pretty hilarious, I guess. She also is really quick at transistioning from crawling to sitting to crawling to pulling up to sitting to crawling... and should be really close to standing on her own! I have really started thinking about what the short future will bring as we enter the toddler years!

*FOOD. As I said she eats just about anything in sight. She is getting more table food and really does well feeding herself (until she is over it and drops food for the dogs who sit and wait under her chair). Her newer favorite foods are breads, wheat pancakes, chicken, rice, lentils, beans and broccoli. And the good ol' favorites include yogurt, oatmeal, bananas, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, peas, mum mums, puffs, and avocado. She also has recently learned to use a straw!

*She is our social butterfly! She loves talking, blabbering, laughing, etc. I am pretty sure she says certain words, just still not 100% if they are "real words" like dog ("duh"). But at this point I am saying that's her first word because she has said it a few times (and its different that her da-da-da sound) plus she says it looking at the dogs, so its gotta be intentional, right? But of course, its not on demand... (I will write about the other words when I am certain they are words!)

*She also "sings" and dances! She is working on getting both legs bending and bouncing, at first it was just her left leg in a sporadic jolt, pretty hilarious if you ask me. Also, and this is mama's favorite, she LOVES giving kisses. When we ask her for a kiss, or anytime she feels like it which I am glad is quite often, she leans in and moves her mouth towards yours (usually its wide open, sometimes with her tongue hanging out). When she wakes up, she is all about giving kisses, which completely melts me!! She also waves "hi" (but not bye) and blows kisses, again both on her terms!

*She loves playing with all her new toys! But her favorite new ones are snack containers I got from the dollar section of target or anything from our tupperware drawer. She loves putting things in things, taking them out, and stacking. She is more than content playing by herself in her corner of the living room, or in her pack-in-play (or as we call it her "cage" isn't that lovely?)

*She loves music! (goes back to the dancing part) Her favorite is the Laurie Berkner Band (from Nick Jr), as in cracks up hysterically, uncontrollably laughing! Russell made her a CD for the car. So now we are "those" parents with kid's music blaring in the car and everyone singing along. But I do have to say i LIKE the music (sure having lyrics like "there's a mouse in my toolbox" and "5,4,3,2,1 blastoff- another rocketship run" stuck in your head for five hours gets old) but its much better than Barney! She also loves "Jack's Big Music Show" for the music!

*Teething- on Saturday, out of nowhere I noticed 2 more teeth that had just barely cut through (bottom sides). No signs at all!! I guess she is a professional teether now, bringing her up to EIGHT teeth! That night she was a bit fussy and overtired, but I figured she was just milking the fact that we realized she was teething without symptoms!

*About 3 weeks ago, she decided to ditch her binky! She only needed it when she was going to sleep, but I wasn't expecting her to give it up yet on her own! One day for her nap, she kept spitting it out, the next day she wouldn't let it near her mouth! Guess I am glad we won't have to face breaking the habit of a toddler. She still has her blanky! The first couple days without the pacifier were a little tougher to get her to the sleep mode, but after that smooth sailing. She is now at the point that we can put her down completely awake and she puts herself to sleep (we used to rock her, pat her back and stay with her until she was drifting off). She sleeps from about 7:00-7:30 until 7:00 in the morning, and has 2 naps a day (usually about 1 1/2 each).

That sums up everything i can think of right now! I have a long mental list of blog topics, and hope to keep on top of it! I just adore my girl and am so proud to be her mama!!

Lots of Pictures

Here are some of the thousands of pictures from mid nov through the beginning of the year, in a completely random spatter. Sorry about the out of control formatting, I didn't want to attempt to fix it anymore. But you can see how much Sienna has grown and how much fun we had over the holidays!

Where have I been?

Ok, prize for worst, slacking blogger goes to me! I have been meaning to write, been wanting to, have TONS to blog about! But for whatever reasons of "life", it hasn't happened, and keeping up is tough! So here we go, one blog to catch up on lots, then I will try harder to write on a somewhat regular basis. I love having a record of these memories and events, and keeping family and friends updated, and connecting with other mamas. Of course the Molina household has been busy these last TWO months, I will break down the major events, which really would have required their own blog(s) if I was an up-to-date blogger:

1. November 20 (yes, as in last decade) I turned 29! It was a wonderful birthday! It was on a Friday so I took the day off, we drove down to the OC to spend it with my twin (Sara)! We actually drove down Thurs evening because I did not want to spend my bday morning in the car, and it worked out great cause Sienna slept the whole drive. I had a nice relaxing Sienna-filled day, had lunch with Sara and Marcey. Then we had an evening of cocktails, sushi and rockband. Sienna had a fun weekend with her Aunt Sara and Uncle Mark and Auntie Marcey. It was SO nice to be with my twin (had been YEARS since we spent our actual bday together!) and to just hang out with adults! Sara and Mark had a housewarming party Sat night (their new house is amazing).

2. Thanksgiving! This was such a nice, long weekend! It was so great not to have to travel anywhere! Thanksgiving we had a relaxing morning as a family at home, then went to Russell's aunt and uncles for the big feast. Sienna loved turkey and rolls, and being passed around/playing with family. We have so much to be thankful for, we are so blessed, so this was such a meaningful holiday! The rest of the weekend included Sienna's first time on a swing (she loved it) and a date night of wine, sushi, drinks and adult conversation with Joey and Lori. Our friends Kiwi and Kristy passed through on their way back to San Diego and stayed a night. We had a lot of fun with them!

3. Christmas! Where do I start? We had so much fun getting into Christmas mode and I have never felt this "into" the season! It was also special and important to set new traditions. As a family we picked out and cut down our (huge) tree, decorated the house, and went to see Santa (sidenote- he called Sienna a boy when she was wearing a PINK sweater and had a clip in her hair! not the best Santa out there, I think he was missing teeth). Then it was time for TWO weeks off work and my dad came to visit! Sienna had so much fun with Grandpa! Our Christmas morning, really was perfect and magical! Sienna was a bit overwhelmed (and liked wrapping paper/tissue more than anything). I can't even explain how special the day was and how much I LOVE holidays even more now that we are a family of 3! Sienna was definitely on the "nice" list this year. The most exciting gifts were a rocking horse, barn activity center, chair with her name embroidered, walker/ride on toy, cabbage patch baby doll, ball popper, super star microphone, and of course clothes! After our family morning (which included my homemade cinnamon rolls- like my mom always made), we went to Lolly and Pop's house for presents and then Great G-ma's for family time and yummy food! Then a bit of a nap and we had the family over for Christmas dinner at our house- lasagna and chicken pesto.

4. Our first family vacation! Two days after Christmas, we drove to Aunt Sara's for a night, and left the next morning to go to Dallas to visit my sister Monique. I figured Sienna would be fine on the flight, but really didn't know what to expect. I had visions of being "that" family with the obnoxious screaming baby. Fortunately, Sienna was amazing! She fell asleep before take off, had a good nap, and played/snacked the rest of the flight. She got a bit fussy towards the end, but nothing bad. We were in Dallas a week, and the first few days my sister Simone and her family were also there. It was a full house and it was full of fun! Sienna had so much fun with her cousins Blake, Syd, Dean and Ani. We bought matching outfits for the girls, made hair clips, cooked, played, and just enjoyed the time together. It snowed the second day we were there, didn't stick around, but still was exciting! We went to a couple children museums and parks, and saw a really awesome Grinch Ice exhibit (you walk through Who-ville and the story of the Grinch, all made out of Ice). It was pretty darn cold, so we did spend most of the time playing inside. We were there for Sienna's first New Years (and she woke up about a quarter till, making sure to get a midnight kiss). And Aunt Mo happily volunteered to watch Sienna for two nights so me and Russell could go out! Our flight home on the 4th was cancelled (mechanical problems) so we were forced to stay another day (bummer). This was an important day to be there, being my nephew Griffin's "heaven birthday". This marked five years since he passed away. It was an emotional day, and I am glad we were there. My sisters are everything to me, and I wish we all lived closer, it's really hard sometimes. Our flight back was also fine, Sienna was a bit sick the last couple days, but was still a trooper with the flight back and 4 1/2 hour drive home. Boy it sucked going back to work after that!

That sums up the big events. Now we are back in the work/school routine. I live for the weekend! Russell has classes Mon-Thurs and has to drive to San Luis Obispo (40 min). So Sienna goes to Lolly's house for a couple hours those days. This coming week I will be going up to Sacramento for the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium, should be interesting and fun, but REALLY tough to be away for two nights!!!

I will soon have a post of pictures (only about 8,000 the last couple months) and another post soon updating Sienna's stats and activities...