Sienna Marie

Almost as soon as we arrived back in Guatemala from Minnesot a, Sienna was due for her 5 month appointment. We went in on January 15 and Sienna weighed in at 17 pounds 6 ounces (75th percentile) and 26.8 inches (100th percentile)! She only needed her rotavirus vaccination and it was given orally, so it was no problem. All else was perfect - she's a very happy and healthy baby girl! Sienna's back to sleeping like a princess - she goes down arou nd 9pm and sleeps until 7am, rarely waking up in the night. She takes naps around 9am, 12pm, 2pm and 5pm. Our nanny Reina has been a dream. I can't say enough good things about her. Sienna loves her and she loves Sienna. She works because she needs the money, obviously, but she often acts as if it's not just a job. It seems she truly enjoys spending time with Sienna. Normally Reina goes to her aunt's house on Saturdays around noon and returns on Sundays around 6pm, but this week she decided not to go. She spent Saturday mo...

I'm fina lly sitting down to update my blog! It's been awhile - Sienna has had two app ointm ents and we've made a trip to Minnesota for Christmas, but here goes... Sienna's 4 month appointment on Friday 12 December went really well. I had to skip out of a Christmas luncheon, courtesy of my school, Colegio Americano, becaus e my doctor h ad been in the States the week prior for a seminar and it was the only time we could get in before flying to Minnesota for Christmas. I knew she needed her vaccinations, so I gave her a squirt of Baby Tylenol while waiting for the elevator at the doctor's office and by the time Dr. Blanco stuck her in her cute chunky upper thigh, she made a face, but never cried! The doc was amazed and said around 95% of babies cry - she's my little trooper! She weighed in at 15 pounds 3 ounces (75th percentile) and is 25.6 inches long (90th percentile). Dr. Blanco is always commenting on how tall she is; I'm sure he's used to Guatemal...

Sienna and I headed to Panama on Thursday morning for the long Th anksgiving weekend with my friend Jaime. We fought super cheap tickets on Copa Airlines running only $150 total for a RT ticke t! Jaime's roommate Jen was there interviewing for a job next year because her Guatemalan boyfriend recently relocated there with Proctor & Gamble. Our flight left at 5:45 am, so we left for the airport, only minutes away, at 4 am. I fel t bad waking Sienna up from her sleep, but didn't have much choice. The flight was direct and everything went very smoothly. S ienna didn't sleep much, but she was really good on the plane. We rented a car from Thrifty - it didn't carry a very "thrifty" price tag, but it was more convenient than relying on Pablo to drive us around. We found Pablo's apartment in the Bella Vista area wit hout any problem, but were locked out because Jen hadn't returned from her interview yet, so we headed to Dunkin' Doughnuts on foot to w...

The day after Halloween, we woke up early to hit the road to Sacatepéquez, a small village about 30 minutes outside of Guatemala City, fo r the Day of the Dead kite festival. Sienna and I picked up Jen a few blocks away and went to Colegio Americano, the school where I work, to meet up with a bunch of people who had rented vans. Our plan was to follow the vans, instead we ended up chasing them! I've never seen anything like it. There were two vans being followed by three cars and, in order to keep up with them, we were changing lanes and zooming around corners like we were Nascar drivers! We eventually stopped, ironically because the drivers were thinking ahead and wanted to explain that they'd look for a spot where we could all park together and easily get out after the event. I had a chance to talk to the two other "followers" and we were laughing about the ridiculousness of the driving. Julian, an 8th grade teacher from Colombia, said he'd ask the drivers to s...

My friend Jaime spent a weekend in Miami in early October and bought Sienna her very first Halloween costume - a chile pepper! At 10 weeks old, I stuffed her into her pepper suit and took a few photos in my living room. On October 31, it was Famous Person Day at school, so I chose the easy way out and went as Jane Goodall, wearing safari-style pants, a lab coat and and a large gorilla (instead of a chimp) around my neck. Sienna smiled when she saw the big chimp - it's bigger than her! I went out with a few friends and we got ready over at Jen and Jaime's house. I borrowed a Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz costume from Jaime and the boys, who hadn't planned on dressing up, were able to create costumes out of the items they found at the girls' house.

Sienna will be 3 months old in a week and is doing great! She's been sleeping through the night since she was 2 months old - last night she slept for 13 hours straight! She eats well and takes cat naps during the da y, spending a lot of time babbling and smiling. She loves Reina, the nanny, and I felt great about returning to work when she was 10 weeks old. Two weekends ago we packed up the car and headed 4 hours south to the beaches of El Salvador. My nanny, as well as my friend and co-worker Kelly, joined us which made the trip much more fun and relaxing. We had monday off of work, so we headed out on Saturday morning and stayed two nights at the Roca Sunzal Hotel , a relaxing little place situated right on the water with a pool and small restaurant. It was Sienna's first trip to the beach and her first opportunity to wear some of the adorable 0-3 month outfits in her closet. We had fun taking pictures of her and laughing at how cute she looked in her swim suits and sunglasse...

About a month ago, I applied for and picked up Sienna's passport at the American Embassy in Guatemala City. It was a very slick process, as is customary in the US, but not always in Guatemala. It was like entering a different country in many ways when I walked into the embassy - everything was done in an orderly and efficient fashion. The Guatemalans waiting in long lines for visas may disagree, but from my perspective, everything cruised along just as they said it would on the embassy website. Sienna is now officially a naturalized US citizen with a Certificate of Birth Abroad from the United States. As she's only a week away from being 3 months old and has not only visited El Salvador, but already has boarding passes for flights to Panama over Thanksgiving and the United States over Christmas, I thought it was about time we started a Travel Log of her very own. Sienna's Travel Log 19. Mexico   🇲🇽   – June 2024 18. Jamaica   🇯🇲  – March 2024 17. United Kingdom ...