Play Time!

She did it! She did it!

Guess who slept from 11 to 3??? then from 4 to 7? Then 7 to 9??? Yea! Brooklyn and Me! I should explain. This is important because for the last three nights little Miss has decided that 10pm to 4 am is playtime! Not sleepy time. So Mommy and Daddy were very tired. Even when we kept the lights off and tried to be quiet she would be in our laps, looking up at us just laughing and smiling and cooing and being absolutely adorable, even at 3 am. But last night she feel asleep and stayed asleep. It was amazing. I am so happy.
I should also provide an update on her growth. Miss Brooklyn has almost doubled her birth weight, and she's only 2 months (I should have known she'd grow fast when she reached her birth weight 7 days after birth and it takes most babies 3 weeks to do so)! She's also wearing 3 mo clothes, and even fits the 6 mo old clothes, too. She's solid muscle and knows it. She wants to stand all the time, and can hold her weight up just fine. She can hold her head up and HATES being held if she can't see the world.
To sum, this baby is exactly what one would expect from Quaylan and me! A hyper baby who is a night owl, gets cranky when she wants to sleep, is super strong, LOVES water, and eats like a horse! She also "talks" constantly, and she and Quaylan have been having many scholarly conversations! Quaylan can make her laugh anytime and the two of them talk and laugh and snuggle everyday. It is precious to watch.
Ok, someone is taking her first nap for the day so I need to eat, shower, clean, fold clothes... or take a nap, too! Thanks for listening to me brag!
-A

Work/Vacation in San Diego Part III

Brooklyn relaxed the most during our trip. While Amanda and I would work on projects or homework, Brooklyn would just chill in the bed and demand room service whenever she wanted it. And Amanda satisfied her sweet tooth by finding a cupcake shop that had all kinds of cupcakes.

More pictures of the entire trip can be found here: http://gallery.me.com/qallen24#100328&bgcolor=black&view=grid

Work/Vacation in San Diego Part II

While in San Diego we took Brooklyn to Balboa Park and checked out all of the historic and beautiful buildings. We even took her to the San Diego History Museum (getting her started already) and she got to see the dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. On Easter we took her to La Jolla which is VERY nice and we spent time on the beach. Amanda couldn't wait and most of you know how Amanda feels about water. I was expecting her to dive in and swim away leaving Brooklyn and I alone. But Brooklyn got her first taste of the beach and got her feet sandy. 

Work/Vacation in San Diego Part I

We had the opportunity to travel to sunny San Diego this past week for a conference that I presented at. For those that read the previous blog, you already know the story of how we barely made it. And though the conference was the main objective of the trip, I have no pictures to prove it. All we have are pictures of how we made a vacation of it. Nevertheless, the conference was a success, my presentation was a success, and I may now have some publication opportunities.

But enough of that boring stuff. The trip was well needed and a great experience. We stayed in the Gaslamp District which is a great vacation destination. We got a chance to walk around the district and enjoy some time on the hotel rooftop (which was probably more swanky than we expected. We were the only ones with a kid). 

Our First Easter!

Well it's been a while since I've blogged, and I thought that our first trip to San Diego would be the perfect event to get be back into the habit!  First, I will describe our trip out here, and later Quaylan and I will post up some pictures. But our trip out here was one we will never forget.  Hope it makes you laugh!

The days leading up to our trip I kept asking Quaylan, "when is our flight?" "4," he'd say.  I had the itinerary but never looked at it, I trusted my husband knew when our flight left!  The day before our flight, Quaylan checked us in online at 5:00. We were flying Southwest and were in the A group. He even printed the boarding passes.  I started to check on the status of our flight, but got distracted by Brooklyn.  Still, we were certain the flight left at 4 and were ready to go!.  

The day of the flight, I told Quaylan we needed to visualize getting through the airport so that everything would go smoothly.  This was our first time traveling with Brooklyn and I knew it would be very different from all our previous travels.  So, instead of leaving for the airport an hour ahead of our flight, we left a good 2 and a half hours early.  I was proud of us.  "Have 2 new parents ever been as awesome and put together as us? " I thought proudly!  Well, here comes a serving of humble pie!

We arrive at the airport at 2:15.  At 2:20 we arrive at the ticket counter and use the kiosk to check in our bags.  Suddenly a loud BING! goes off from the kiosk. The message on the screen is as follows : LUGGAGE CHECKED LESS THAN 45 MINUTES PRIOR TO DEPARTURE IS NOT GUARANTEED TO BE ON THE FLIGHT.  WHAT???????  We give each other a puzzled look and, it seems like in slow motion, Quaylan pulls out the boarding passes he printed THE PREVIOUS NIGHT, and in clear as day wording, we see our flight is at 3:00.  AAAAHHHHH!!!!!  We look at the counter lady panicked, she says it should be ok, but that we need to get moving.  Now, if this had happened pre-Brooklyn, Quaylan and I would have had to trouble running through the airport.  However, things are different now, and it went down like this:

After getting Brooklyn's boarding pass, we begin running.  We run past the elevator we are supposed to use since we have the stroller.  We run to the escalator, each grabbing an end of the stroller and head straight to security.  Now, remember, we had visualized and discussed how we would navigate through security. Well, all that went out the window.  I run ahead,  pull out all the breast milk I've pumped, take out my laptop, take off my belt, take off my awesome earrings I thought would be fun to wear, take off my shoes and turn around to help Quaylan.  We have to take Brooklyn out of her car seat, take the car seat off the stroller, collapse the stroller, put in on the belt and send it through.  But remember, we have to do all this while still getting our own stuff through!  Quaylan has his belt, shoes and laptop, too.We each have 2 bins of stuff, plus our back packs to push through!  Then, I have to open my milk so that it can be screened, too. Poor Brooklyn was handed back and forth between the two of us so many times!  But she never made a peep.  When the milk had been cleared (seriously, I can't believe they had to test it in the first place) I had to repack it into the bag.  Finally, we were on our way!

Then, to exit security, we ran right past the elevator again, and this time used the regular stairs!  Wait, we didn't just use the stairs, I need to emphasize that we RAN up the stairs, with full back-packs and carrying the stroller.  We made it to the train to the gate! So far so good!  It was 2:40 at this point.  Remember, Southwest boards by group letter, so we were risking not being able to find seats together even if we made the plane.  

We get off the train, more stairs!  Not a problem for the Allens!  We get to the appropriate gate area, but still have a long way to go.  Our gate is the last gate, literally, the last and farthest gate.  Quaylan is pushing the stroller, so I say that I'll run ahead!  And so I go.  I'm running as fast as I can, as fast as I can with a heavy back pack and a post-pregnancy body!  I make it to the gate and see many people still lined up to board.  I hear the announcer say, "Any more A passengers?" "Yes!" I yell while running up to the front.  I run to the ticket agent, in front of everyone, "I (heave) am A, and (heave/breath heavy) my husband (deep breath in) and baby (heave heave) coming too!  He looks at me and says, "looks like you ran!" Good observation Einstein!  Then he says, "where is your husband?" "Um, I look back, he's coming...." All the people in the line are looking at me and waiting to board...and then Quaylan comes running, pushing the stroller, "there he is!" yay! We made it!  

We find seats in the back, sit and try to comprehend what just happened!  Brooklyn was an angel the whole time, never making a peep.  When we do sit down she looks at me as if to say, that was rough, I'm hungry!  

So, the Allen family made it through the Denver airport in 20 minutes, and still was able to board in the A group!  Next time we will double check our tickets!  And San Diego is amazing! 

The Allen Family Comes to Visit

Last week we had the continued pleasure of having our families come to visit us (Brooklyn). The Allen family made the trip from California and Arizona and got a chance to meet their beautiful granddaughter and niece. Of course, as with the Underwoods, we enjoyed family games on the Wii. In fact, the Wii is turning out to be quite the activity. Definitely a good purchase.

And lastly, we are starting to use Brooklyn with props. Kanye wasn't too happy having Brooklyn on her back but oh well. She better get used to it. I'm sure home movies about the amazing adventures of Brooklyn and her sidekick Kanye will be coming soon.

More pictures of the Allen family visit are on the Web Gallery (http://gallery.me.com/qallen24)