The Noriega Family

Look at those muscles

So it turns out I have been driving illegally for over a year now.  I was totally unaware that my licence expired on my birthday...in February...of 2011.  Turns out the expiration on my licence is not a number that I have paid much attention too.  No one ever asks for it.  I never have to write it down on anything.  It is not like a credit card expiration that is asked for on everything.  So I just kept on driving without realizing I was doing anything wrong until I had to get fingerprinted for my job last month.  The man checking my licence told me it was about to expire, but then on further examination he pointed out that it has already expired.  Oops.  But the story does not stop there.

I am surprised that this was the first time it was pointed out that the licence was expired.  I admit to being pulled over at least once since February of 2011 and I have flown on a few airplanes.  Hector kept reminding me these last few weeks to get it taken care of, but I kept forgetting about it.  Finally, I looked at what I needed to do to get my licence up to date and low and behold, if it has been expired for more than a year one has to take ALL of the driving tests again.  That's right, hello to 16 again.  I had originally found out it was expired a couple weeks before the year was up, so if I would have listened to Hector then I could have avoided hours at the DMV, but sadly that is not what happened. 

I have been driving since the mid 90's so I was fairly confident in my ability to pass the tests.  I went Saturday morning.  Mistake number one: going to the DMV on a Saturday.  After waiting for hours, it was finally my turn to take the written test.  The first section I had to identify 10 traffic signs.  They were all soooo easy that when it was time to submit my answers or review them before submitting, I just clicked submit: mistake number 2!  I expected to be told that I could move on to part two of the written exam, so you can imagine my surprise when the computer stated that I had missed one question and therefore would not be able to move on.  Ironically enough I missed the School Zone sign.  Yes, I know what the sign looks like.  Not only do I live right next to a school, but I have worked in the school district for about a decade.  I guess I just pressed the wrong button; something I would have noticed had I reviewed my answers.  Sigh.  Lesson learned.

Well, that Saturday morning can never be returned to me and they only let you attempt the test once per day.  I went back Tuesday morning; much shorter lines.  After getting processed and filling out the all the same paperwork from Saturday I was told that the testing computers were down.  I had to drive...illegally I might add...to another DMV, wait in that line, fill out the paperwork for a third time and finally take the tests.  This time I reviewed my answers before submitting.   I spent a lovely half hour driving around with the DMV driver critic and I am now the proud owner of a legitimate drivers licence. 

I will admit that I have reminisced about being sixteen a little more this last week than I normally do.  And while a little living in the past can be fun from time to time, it is not so fun to do it at the DMV.  So a word to the wise.  If you do not know when your licence expires: pull it out, have a look, you might just be surprised at what you find.

Sienna had her one year appointment on Monday.  She has gotten so big.  She is is now 30 and a half inches long which puts her in the 90th percentile and she weights 22 pounds which puts her in the 85th percentile for weight.  She is very healthy and happy and so much fun to have in our family.

So what is the little one year old up to on most days?  She loves to follow her sister around.  She loves to laugh and she has one of those sweet little baby giggles.  She loves to clap her hands and she loves to listen to singing and music.  She bobs her head if she likes the song.   She is not walking yet, but I think she is getting close.  She pulls herself up on everything and cruses along.  She is a very fast and efficient crawler.  She can say a few words.  Dada and Mama are legitimate words she can say and then she can kind of say, thank you.  When I change her diaper she likes to pull the wipes and she hands them to me one at a time.  I always tell her thank you for each one. A week or so ago she started saying "den ooo" every time she would pull one out.  Now she usually repeats this anytime someone says thank you to her.  Her hair is super fluffy.  I have to put it in a ponytail or clip every day now to keep it out of her eyes.  She gets silly looking bed head sometimes too.  Natalia will look at her and say, "Mommy, babies hair is silly."

What defines Sienna the most is probably her love of technology.  She is obsessed with my phone; obsessed is an understatement.  I cannot talk on the phone while Sienna can see.  As soon as she sees the phone she starts crying until she has the phone in her hands.  Then instantly she is quiet. 

She is also a pooper.  I guess all babies are, but for some reason Sienna likes to do her business while she is sleeping and then by time she wakes up, there has usually been some exploding from the diaper.  We thought this phase was over a few weeks ago, but not the case (sorry Nadia) as we found out when my friend babysat during nap time the other day. 

Sienna is a joy to have in our life; poop and all.  It seems like just yesterday that she was born, but at the same time, I cannot imagine a life without her.  She puts a smile on my face everyday. 

Sienna and Elijah playing together

Sienna digging for gifts

Sienna with her new sippy cup

Everyone trying to get a turn with Sienna's new toy

 After presents we moved on to cake.  We sang to Sienna, she only cried for a moment and then we let Natalia help blow out the candle.  Natalia had been talking about the candle all day long.  She kept reminding me that we would have to turn out the lights.  She was really proud of herself for blowing out the candle...after the third try. 

Natalia blowing out the candle

Natalia licking her ice cream

 Sienna was a mess by time she was done, so we tossed her in the tub and then played with everyone for a while longer before the birthday wished everyone good night and we plopped the munchkin in her crib.  We sure had fun celebrating with Sienna.  It has been a wonderful year watching Sienna grow up.  It is so enjoyable to see her personality emerging.  It is funny to see her figure out the world around her.  She approaches things so differently than Natalia and it just reminds me that we are each a unique individual.  Happy Birthday Sienna.  We love you so much.  We are so glad that you are a member of our family.  You bring so many smiles to our faces. 

Natalia is coloring right now in her notebook and she is pretending to write letters.  She is staying between the lines and repeating, "pfjk" over and over.  She just has these cute little squiggle lines and she is so proud of herself. "mommy, I am writing letters.  Come, I show you...I know my ABC's, next time won't you sing with me."   What a cute little munchkin.