Siena's First Birthday!

On July 6th, 2009 Siena Aynsley Bammel celebrated her very first birthday! The theme of her party was based on her favorite Sesame Street character “Elmo”! Sharon did a fantastic job ensuring the house was decorated throughout with “Elmo” balloons and party favors, while Nana baked an incredible customized “Elmo” cake. Siena felt so pretty wearing the special birthday dress that Auntie Stephanie and Uncle Chad sent her from Belgium. The highlight of the day was seeing the sheer joy of happiness on her face seeing all of the “Elmo” stuff and opening up her presents. To top things off, Siena’s birthday wish came true; she will be receiving either a baby brother or sister on January 28th, 2009!! Both Sharon and I have truly been blessed with the most incredible year of our lives.

(Please click on the arrows below to see Siena’s birthday photos and a video of her receiving her cake)

Eleven Months Old!

Siena has spent her entire eleventh month of existince with Mommy in Naples, Fl visiting Nana and Papa Bammel. Both Grandparents have spoiled her rotten and have enjoyed every second doing so! She has grown very fond of both Nana and Papa and will miss them dearly when she returns back home to the UK. This past month has seen her development increase ten-fold. She now repeats many words and remembers many objects by name. She also enjoys eating out at restaurants and sais "Hi" to anyone that walks by. One additional highlight was a surprise visit from Auntie Isabele who threw a "pre-birthday" beach party for her!

(Please click on the arrow below to see some of the photos taken during this past month)

Ten Months Old!

Siena now weighs 18lbs and has six teeth! She is measuring in the 10th percentile for both height and weight. She continues to enjoy singing and laughing throughout the entire day and is such a happy baby! Her new favorite word is "baby" and repeats it often. This past month has been really exciting for both Siena and Sharon. They have spent the majority of their time visiting Nana and Papa in Naples, FL. Needless to say, Siena is being spoiled rotten and is really enjoying her daily walks and swims in the pool! She also has Papa wrapped around her finger and demands his constant attention. She greets him with the most incredible smiles everytime she sees him. She has also figured out how to crawl properly. Previously, she would drag herself around the house slithering on her belly.

(Please click on the arrows below to see some of the photos and video of her crawling taken during this past month)

Nine Months Old!

Siena is really turning into a little character. She is always talking and laughing. She is now starting to dance. Every time a song comes on, she rocks back and forth to the beat of the music. During this past month, she really enjoyed her first Easter. What made it even more special was having her Auntie Isabel fly in from the states to celebrate it with her. She now has 5 teeth!

(Please click on the arrows below to watch the videos and to see some of the photos taken during the past month)

Eight Months Old!

The highlight of this past month was a trip to Siena, Italy where we went to celebrate Sharon’s 40th birthday and to introduce Siena to the city that she was named after. We had an unbelievable time and Siena loved every minute of this adventure. The locals treated her like royalty and were extremely honored that she was named after their city.

Siena is now weighing 15lbs. and measures in the 9th percentile both in terms of height and weight. Siena also was able to enjoy a visit from her Nana!

(Please click on the arrow below to see photos of Siena during this past month)

Seven Months Old!

This past month has been filled with ups and downs. Due to a fever of 104 degrees, Siena had to stay in the hospital for two nights. The doctors could not determine if it was a virus or bacteria that caused the fever, so they treated her with antibiotics. They also administered an IV to keep her hydrated. Since this was the first time her parents had to experience anything like this it was pretty traumatic on them. Fortunately, she is doing much better right now. On the positive side, Siena continues to amaze us with her development. Her new favorite thing is playing "paddy cake", she absolutely loves sitting up and clapping her hands. She learned this at her "sing and sign" class. She has also introduced "da da" into her vocabulary! We are looking forward to introducing Siena to the city she was named after. Her Mommy is turning 40 next week, so we will all be catching a flight next week to Italy to celebrate this special occasion!

(Please click on the pictures and video below to see how she has developed during the past few weeks!)

Six Months Old!

Siena is now 6 months old and weighs 15 lbs. She has said her first word "Boo" and has repeated it often. She is now waving hello and is sitting on her own. What an incredible period of development. She is also enjoying her "sing and sign" class that Mommy is taking her to each week. To top things off, she has popped two teeth!!

(Please click on the pictures and videos below to see how she has developed during the past few weeks!)

Siena's First Time Eating Baby Food!

Today (January 4th) Siena reached a major milestone by eating baby food for the very first time!!

(Please click on the video below to see how she did!)



...A few weeks later (January 18th) things have improved!!

(Please click on the video below to see how she is doing!)