Crazy Busy Summer!

When school got out in June I looked forward to a quiet relaxing summer, but now that I am looking at school starting up again I wonder, where did my summer go?

The summer started out with a Swenson Family Reunion in Bethany Bay, DE. It was beautiful and relaxing there, and wonderful to see all of my family.






We even got to meet our newest addition to the family, Josh.


Sienna was able to play with her cousins.

At the river in NJ.


In our Condo in Bethany Bay, DE


In the pool with Ali in Bethany Bay.

We spent several days at the beach and enjoyed great weather while were were there.






We even attempted a family portrait. Crystal where were you?


Here is Grandma and Grandpa with all their grandchildren. Don't we have a cute bunch of kids?


During the reunion my family surprised me with a baby shower and spoiled their little niece. We went to lunch at a waterfront restaurant and enjoyed the most delicious meal.


When I got back to California my friends surprised me and spoiled me again with a baby shower. We played BUNCO and I enjoyed everyone's company.


Then my summer continued to fly by when we found out our house had sold and we had two weeks to move out. In a day we found a rental we love and started packing. We are still in Menifee, in fact we are just up the street from where we used to live. We loved our old house, but it was time for something bigger since our family is growing. (We will be sending out an email with our new address so be looking for that to update your address book)


During the craziness of the move we decided to get Sienna a big girl bed, but after waking up four times a night with the baby kicking, and once or twice because Sienna cried out we decided to keep her in her crib for a couple more months. We will try the big girl bed after I have gotten the hang of being a mom of two.


We hope your summer has been a little more relaxing. We look forward to things slowing down and being able to relax . . . Oh wait, we have a baby on the way and she will be here with in the next four weeks, and I have three to four Dr. appointments a week until she comes. Oh well, I guess we will have to wait a little until life slows down. Hope everyone is well!

"Enna's Pretties"

A couple of months ago Sienna noticed that my toes were painted and that I had a flower on them. She got very excited and started pointing at her toes and saying "Enna's pretties". I didn't think that Sienna would be able to sit for very long, but she surprised me, and when we were done we only had one smeared toe.


Yesterday morning she decided she wanted her "Pretties" done again, so I got out the nail polish. When I started drying them with my hair dryer she insisted that she be the one to dry her "Pretties".

What do you think? Not bad for someone who isn't a professional? Oh, and yesterday she decided that she wanted a yellow heart on her "pretties" too. If you look close you can see it.

Look who turned 2

My baby girl is no longer a baby. This last week she turned two years old! I can't believe it has been two years since we brought her home.



We celebrated her birthday with two parties. First we had a party with our friends and Sienna's birth family. We chose the hottest day in May during the hottest part of the day to have her party. Luckily our friend Crystal let us borrow her backyard and a kiddie pool to stay cool.



We were glad Sienna's birth mom and birth family could make it to the party. Sienna preferred to spend time with us rather than splash in the pool.



Sienna played with her friends Katerina and Allisandro in the shade.



She shared hugs with her friend Araia.



She opened presents . . .



ate lunch and then had cake. Thanks Leilani for making such a beautiful and delicious cake!



Sienna was ready to sing Happy Birthday. She has been watching the video of Kapri and Hayden's birthday for a month now so when everyone starting singing she joined right in.



Time to blow out the candles.



Mmmmm that cake was good!



Then this past Monday, on Memorial Day we were able to celebrate Sienna's birthday again with family. It was actually Grandma Judy's birthday but they shared a party together.

Sienna was so excited to open more presents.

After a very good lunch we sang happy birthday and opened presents.

We swam in the pool for awhile, but most of that is on video and will have to be added later.



Sienna showed Uncle Jerry and Aunt Kim that she is 2 years old.

Sienna was so happy playing with Cousins and all her Aunts and Uncles. Thank you for spoiling her with love and presents!

Visiting Cousins

Sienna and I were able to visit Joyce, Caleb, Dallin and Blake in Utah last week. We had so much fun visiting with them and I loved watching Sienna play with her cousins. She followed her cousins around and did everything they did.



Joyce and her family live on a ranch south of Provo, with lots of land, horses, goats and the mountains surrounding them.



Caleb, Dallin and Sienna played in the yard, jumped on the trampoline, and climbed trees. I didn't get a picture of Sienna on the trampoline, but she loved it. She said "One more" to her cousins after they played "Ring a Ring a Rosies" on the trampoline.



One of the days we went up to Thanksgiving point to see the animals and to see the Tulips. There was a Tulip Festival earlier that month and we felt lucky to have caught the last of the Tulips. They were beautiful.



One of my favorite things to photograph besides children is flowers. These tulips were everywhere in Utah.







Sienna loved feeding the cow and riding the horse.



On another day we had fun at the park,



and enjoyed feeding the ducks. I can't tell you how hard it was to get a picture of Sienna feeding the ducks. Who ever heard of ducks that don't want to be fed. These ducks swam away every time we tried to feed them.



Caleb and Dallin had soccer games this week so we went to cheer them on. They did wonderful.



Meet the future soccer players. I think Blake is planning on being a goalie.



I hope Sienna learns to stay on her feet while she plays.



Thanks Joyce for showing us a great time. We had so much fun and Sienna can't stop talking about her cousins Cabub, Dalwin, and baby Blake.

Birth Mother's Day

Today as we celebrate Mother's Day I can't help but be grateful to the woman who so selflessly helped me become a mother. It is not widely known, except maybe in the adoption world, that the Saturday before Mother's Day is Birth Mother's Day. I found this video clip on another blog and I thought I would share it.



Steve and I have been blessed to have an open adoption with Sienna's birth mom. We send e-mails and visit with her. We know at first many people did not understand our reason for keeping the adoption open, but we love this woman who carried her baby for nine months and knew that she was going to place her with our family. We feel so blessed that she came into our lives, and anyone who knows Sienna knows how blessed we are to have Sienna.

So today as I am feeling blessed to be celebrating Mother's Day, I also want to recognize our sweet birth mom as well.