American summer-winter and a new addition to the family

We are luxuriating in North Carolina, where temperatures are in the upper 70s...in December! It is absolutely gorgeous.
We are being totally pampered by the very proud grandparents, who adore our little Sienna. Sienna is enjoying meeting american friends and the very large Moore family. We have already been here two weeks, and time is flying by so very rapidly.
We had some other exciting news just before we left UK - Sienna has a new cousin - Angelina Grace Moore, born on 23rd November 2007. Unfortunately we have yet to meet her as they are up in Boston.....

The big chill

The Simmonds-Moore household are suffering from coldy fluey things this week, including ms sienna. Not good at all.
It seems to have turned into true winter complete with with icy wind and damp air. A good job that we are leaving the country for a whole month on tuesday. Hopefully North Carolina will have some sunshine for us, even if it is still chilly. As our house is so old, it has high victorian ceilings which are not very conducive to maintaining warmth. I am frequently seen adorning fleece items and steve's ski socks in order to stay warm.
Sienna has now truly discovered her hands, and can now grab her toys (in particular Chicken and Cow), my hair, her hands, and be totally fascinated by the objects that she is inspecting. She has also mastered the art of The Gurgle, and practices a lot of her waking moments. Words of the week for Sienna: Billabong and Buzz. These seem to make her giggle and twinkle.
Looking forward to hearing news of the new cousin - Harold and Vickie are expecting their first child any day now....due date is 30th November, so hopefully we will be with the Moores when we hear news of the next addition to the family.

Sad news

On sunday 4th November 2007, Sienna's great grandmother, Mimie Simmonds passed away at the ripe old age of 97. Granny Simmonds was an amazing, eccentric woman, with hundreds of tales of life and history, whose personality and mental acuity did not diminish until the very end, when her body could no longer contain her spirit. In the last few months, she has been gradually leaving us, by sleeping more and more, moving slowly into unconsciousness. She left the world in the arms of my dad, and auntie Pat. We are happy that the oldest and youngest members of the Simmonds family could meet each other and have even a few moments of physical overlap. Steve, Sienna and I are heading down south on wednesday for the funeral. It is hard to believe she is gone, but I feel blessed to have known her.

10 and a half weeks - jabs and grumpiness

Ms Sienna is now 10 and a half weeks old and weighing in at 10 pounds 11 ounces, she is a tall slim baby (with larger than average head - to house her big brain!). We took our first trip away last week - down to see the Simmonds clan in Hertfordshire, where she got to hang out with her 3 cousins (photographed about 1000 times by grandad!) and met her amazing great grandmother who is now 97 years old. It was a lovely moment.
Sienna is rather grumpy and crying a lot at the moment - she had her first jabs on wednesday and has been a little off kelter ever since then...we are hoping that this is a phase and we get our cool little smiling girl back soon.
Exactly one month today (November 27th) we are flying to USA to visit friends and family....really exciting.
We promise to post more pictures soon as she has changed a bit lately!

Consciousness Rising

Sienna is very much becoming a little person. She will be 8 weeks old tomorrow, which seems hardly possible. In many ways it feels like she has always been with us. In another way, the birth seems like yesterday.
She is smiling a lot, and making the vowel sounds, interacting with both of us, and her many visitors. A real little human being. She is noticing the world around her. She is also getting pretty good at holding up her own head...
Life continues to be rather bizarre; a timeless existence. But we are getting more sleep! She is now managing to sleep in a chunk of 6 hours at night, which is brilliant, bar the strange and loud Sienna grunts that come from our tiny being.

One month old today

Sienna was born exactly one month ago today. Time has disappeared very very quickly, and all of a sudden a month has flown by. I can imagine this feeling of rapid change will continue throughout her life. Blink and you might miss a moment of her development.
Current weight is 9 pounds and a half ounce, so she is doing pretty well (birth weight 7 pounds 7 ounces - health visitor very very impressed). Sienna is also starting to smile a lot more now (not just random or wind!), and her little eyes are darting around the room absorbing everything that is going on around her. We are also starting to get more out and about, and explore the outside world with the baby in tow. Today, we ventured into the city centre and I (chris) had lovely lunch with some new mums (who I met through prenatal yoga and swimming) - so sienna now has 4 new little friends and mummy has some allies! Great to share birth stories and the first few moments of babyland.
We are continuing to have a lot of visitors which is lovely. Tomorrow Sienna's auntie nicola and cousin Amelie are coming up to see us for the day.

Three weeks old and counting

Our little Sienna continues to grow (must be all that midnight snacking she is doing!) and has much impressed the health visitor and midwife with her progress. She is also now officially registered as a valid human being, and has a birth certificate to prove the fact. This means that we can now go ahead and apply for her passport for our November adventure. She is also now becoming more of a daytime alert creature, taking in the world with her big (currently) blue eyes and beginning to smile. Unfortunately also starting to cry a bit more (we think its the dreaded colic) which can be pretty tough on sleep deprived brain cells...I hear her now so will have to sign off for now....

Two weeks old and counting

We are gradually settling into being new parents...getting used to sleep deprivation, and living in something of a timewarp....all very surreal, but a unique time getting to know this new little creature. We are excited this week, as grandma and grandpa moore are flying all 3 of us to USA at the end of november so that ms sienna can meet them in North Carolina...this means that we are now having to sort out a passport for sienna, who has not yet been registered (next friday). I have been left hand typing (not at all easy) as Sienna has been feeding on my lap (her absolute favourite passtime, along with filling up her nappy!!).

Introducing Sienna Iona Aurora

We have finally decided on the names Sienna Iona Aurora. Little Sienna is settling in nicely into being alive and has had two trips out into the Liverpudlian universe, where she has been much admired. Sienna still has her granny staying and has had visits from her british grandad and one of her cousins. She has already put on half a pound in weight and is a happy little being....

The chronicles of baby Simmonds-Moore - new arrival!

Baby Simmonds-Moore has now arrived in the world. She was born on tuesday 14th August at 4.01 a.m. (a Leo baby) and is absolutely gorgeous. Her favourite passtimes are: sleeping, eating, being cuddled (currently by her granny!) and looking really pretty. We are still deciding on a name that captures her essence.....

Chronicles of baby Simmonds-Moore - overdue!

Officially overdue now. Hoping that things start happening soon as we would really like a home birth, and the powers that be want us to go into hospital if the baby is more than 10 days later than the due date. Feeling as though I am in limbo land, waiting, waiting, waiting....but glad for some extra time to relax before life gets really crazy. I am becoming amused by the number of text messages and emails asking if anything has happened yet - we will let you know, we promise!!!

The chronicles of baby Simmonds-Moore - due date!

Today is my official due date, and thus far nothing has happened. We are hoping that the baby decides to arrive in the next 10 days, else we are heading for a hospitalised birth. Fingers crossed. Feeling very excited about meeting little Simmonds-Moore now. We will keep you all posted of any news.....

The Chronicles of Baby Simmonds-Moore

Only 3 days to go now, and I think we are prepared for the event - physically if not psychologically. Have purchased all the essentials, including a car seat, which seems so bizarre with no creature yet. We also have an almalgamation of birth items, including The Mysterious Midwife Box lurking in the corner of the lounge in preparation for the homebirth.
We will post up any news as soon as we have some!!!! and Steve will be there with the digital camera to capture the first moments in the life of baby Simmonds-Moore.......

The Chronicles of Baby Simmonds-Moore

The baby is due on monday 6th August, and could, in theory, arrive any day between monday 23rd July, and monday 20th August. This means that the baby could arrive any day now...This is petrifying, amazing and unbelievable. Trying to get as much sleep as possible, but Chris's body wants to wake up at 5 a.m.
We are opting for a home birth...much more relaxed and under our control than going into hospital. We hope. Still need to buy candles and get music for the Event. This is not real!

This is a photo of me (and Sanjee Perera) last wednesday at the Liverpool Hope graduation. Bump getting bigger all the time.