Cienna is 17 Months

Well we have good news and unfortunately bad news to share this month. The good news is that Cienna is constantly growing and learning. She is picking up almost every word we say. She's even learning her manners saying "Please" and "Thank you." We've visited with friends and have enjoyed bbq's with neighbors. Fresh vegetables from our garden have been great. Nana and Poppa came to visit and we had a wonderful time getting spoiled by them and had a terrific father's day complete with a crab boil.

The tragic news is that we've lost Brodie, our 5 year old yellow lab. We took him into the vet because he was lethargic and wouldn't eat. And for Brodie not to eat, we knew something was up. We first thought it must have been something bad that he had eaten, but the vet took one look at him and knew it wasn't good. They ran every test known to man and even had to do 3 blood transfusions to buy time. His body was rejecting his own blood cells and every time we would give him blood, his PCV count would drop soon after. We had one last resort/hope and it was to do an ultrasound and finally a splenectomy hoping to remove the major organ that the red blood cells filter through, but he didn't make it that far, he passed away after a week in the hospital.

Obviously our family is devastated by this and can't believe such a young, strong dog would have to go through this. They finally diagnosed it at AIHA (Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia) which is a horrible disease they rarely find the cause too. We're lucky to have support from our family and friends to help us through such a difficult time.

Below are some pictures from the last month and a photo album tribute to Brodie a best friend, brother, and protector. We'll miss you!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LTf5u47LUxixNDR59

Tribute to Brodie!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/UDeZAmVEPoZuL7rN9

Cienna is 1 1/3 years old!

It's hard to believe it just gets better! She understands almost everything we say and is using more and more of her own words by the minute. Uncle Joe's first work he taught her was thankfully "bubble" which she now loves! She is climbing on everything even at the big kid playgrounds, and loves when Mommy jumps but she does it one leg at a time. Cienna has even began to walk Brodie all by herself with Mommy and/or Daddy close by!

This month we had many playdates. We saw Kai and Kristy a couple of times, and saw Georgia, Shannon, and George, as much as possible since they are unfortunately moving away at the end of this month. We also had so much fun when we got to visit with Auntie Dana for a day!

We celebrated Daddy's Birthday after he had a great weekend at Brewfest we had a small dinner at home and made him a sign! Then Daddy and Cienna made Mommy heart shaped pancakes and had an all day smoking ribs in the backyard, playing games good time for Mothers Day! Mommy and Daddy also went out alone for a few hours after Cienna was in bed to help Celebrate Brett's graduation.

Lots of this month was spent having fun in the sun, playing in the sand, and making the garden grow, in our backyard.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UPLgecH25Mwb3f3X7

Cienna is 1 1/4 years old!

Amazing how fast she learns! She has words, understanding, curiosity, creativity, and dance moves you wouldn't believe. This month was full of outdoor activities since the weather is always great and now with a newly landscaped backyard and a spectacular garden it's hard to stay indoors. Since last month, we've celebrated Mommy's birthday with a fun trip to Uncle Joe's, met some new neighborhood ducks which we chase every night during our family walk, got spoiled for Easter at our neighbors The Snow's, had a whole week at home with Mommy for Spring Break, and had so much fun in the sun with Brodie and Georgia (Shannon too)!

She listens to what Mommy and Daddy say and ask, and is perfecting her first chore of feeding Brodie twice a day! Many times she also perfers books over her favorite toys. Some of the words she has perfected are up, snack, duck...(quack, quack), Daddy, hop, hat, hot. We also recognize songs that she loves to sing such as Twinkle Twinkle, the ABC's, Old McDonald, and Happy Birthday.

We are amazed!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZcVuZ6WZw3dr8MERA

Cienna is 14 Months!

Fantastic times! We've been spoiled this month with a visit from Nana and Poppa. A new Sand box was built just for Cienna and her friends to add to the new landscaping that we are currently creating in the backyard, along with a swing hanging from our peach tree. We have also finally started on our garden behind the garage! The down side of the month was getting blood drawn from Cienna's arm, part of a routine check up, but she and Mommy both handled it like champs. We got to celebrate Brodie's 5th birthday, he's growing up so fast and has been such an outstading brother! We also had some good party times with friends and family for St. Patty's day and back to school for Shannon, even ended the month with a trip to San Diego to help Uncle Joe with some home improvments. We've added some great pictures below.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UW9yiArUBtQWS6v96

Ride'em Cowgirl...

My new sand box!

Cienna is 13 Months!

Is it 13 months or 1 year 1 month? Don't know the right child etiquette, but anyway, Cienna is one month older today. Cienna has learned so much this month. How to get off the couch and bed on her own (safely) . Standing up on her own and walking full of confidence.

We attended two - 1 year old birthday parties and had lots of fun playing with all the other kids. We threw a Superbowl party and one of Cienna's friends won the whole pool....(put it towards college Rylee!) We got to share Valentines day cards with the other kids in daycare. We are now over 20lbs and about 30 inches tall and continuing to grow and be absolutely amazing.

Enjoy some photos.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UW9yiArUBtQWS6v96

Having Fun with the Rocker!

Standing up on our own!

Fun with Brodie!

Cienna is One!

That's right, the big day has happened, Cienna turned "1" today. We had a very fun party on Sunday with friends and family. Cienna enjoyed her new sports climber and lots of presents and cake made by Mommy and Auntie Meagan.

She continues to walk, unassisted, all over the house and is enjoying the new grass in the backyard. She has also learned to manage the steps to the den so no more "Mommy & Daddy to the rescue." A couple of her favorite things to do is to walk holding your finger and push her toy train around "sideways."

Enjoy the pictures of the last month.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/0MrCSbuDI82S1Wxa2

Cienna is 11 Months Old!

We headed up to Santa Rosa for a successful and fun filled Thanksgiving where we got to visit and play with all the family, including: Great Auntie Sheryl, Uncle Jerry, and Great Grandma Nelson (GG). We also got to meet Grandma Judes which has been providing us with TONS of wonderful clothes. When we got home we were invited to Cienna's first USC vs. UCLA football party where she won big in the football pool. Everyone thought it was beginners luck but we'll see about that next year.

Soon after that, the backyard was outfitted with new grass and flagstone that we had to fence off and not play on until we returned from our Wedding/Christmas trip.

We took our 3rd road trip, for the year, to the East Bay to watch Uncle RJ and new Aunt Megan get married. Cienna was the proud flower girl and did a great job for her Uncle and Aunt! After all the wedding excitement and meeting so many new friends and family we went a little further North to Santa Rosa for Christmas.

We had some unfortunate news Christmas eve morning. While we were gone, our neighbors informed us that Cherie's car, parked in the driveway, was hit by a drunk driver and pushed on to our front lawn along with his, coming just short of the house and Cienna's room. We're glad we weren't home and nobody was hurt.

We had an amazing Christmas Eve with Grammy, Grandpa Kim, Great Aunt Bridget and Vicki, Great Grandpa Sam and Marlies, and of course, mommy and daddy. We sang and dance after we opened so many wonderful gifts.

On Christmas Day we also got to see Cousin Erik, Trevor, and Ashley, Auntie Heather, Dana, Uncle Mike and Nana and Papa. We had so much fun playing all day with more new toys that Cienna was so lucky to get from all the family.

Throughout the past month Cienna has learned so many more skills and is has gotten so big. She now will put her toys back where they came from after taking them out, and I speak full sentences in a foreign language that we're not sure which one it is. She eats pretty much any kind of food in bite size pieces which she chomps down on with her 8+ teeth. She's also gotten up to as many as 8 steps walking all by herself and loves to go up and down the steps the way daddy and mommy want her too, with ease.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9qnNE31i6XJdvjmN2