Allocco Family

2011.... already?

2011-01-25T16:22:00.001-08:00

Holy cow time flies!!! A lot has changed here at the Allocco household in the last year and a half. My new year’s resolution, well at least one of them is to blog again. So, here I am!
Among other things we bought a new house, sold a house, Mike left IBM, Went to HP, moved, hosted many pool parties, got pregnant, miscarried, traveled...Vegas, Mexico, Hawaii, Chicago, New York, New Jersey, around California, had friends move away, made new friends, had fantastic dinner parties, celebrated engagements and new births!!
I think this about covers it! Below are some pictures from our recent trip to Punta Mita. I am not a huge fan of Mexico but this place was truly paradise! Mike and I went as a couple and enjoyed every minute. I am not kidding when I say we took long walks on the beach and just enjoyed being together!

Del Mar 09'

2009-09-08T14:47:00.001-07:00

Our annual Del Mar trip... This is something I look forward to every year. We get a group together between 3-6 couples and head to Del Mar Racetrack for a long weekend. This year it was just adults (last year we brought Ayla when she was 8 weeks old). This is the first time Mike and I have left Ayla behind for vacation. You would think I would feel sad leaving her but I was so happy to enjoy my husband for the weekend. Our first day we headed to lunch at Torry Pines.
Adam and Vhe another couple who attended Del Mar 09'
Sam and Ryan the other couple who attended.
Mike and Ryan watching their first Race of the weekend.
Adam and Vhe.
Sam and I.
Day two heading to the races.....
We got this killer cabana at our hotel overlooking the pool the second night. Great food + great friends + Great wine = a GREAT time!!
Ryan's sister and her boyfriend drove down from LA to hang with us.
"The Dynamic Duo" Mike and Adam dressed alike the entire weekend. It's almost as if they called each other before packing. Haha!!

By the last day I could not get home fast enough. We both could not wait to see our little girl.

Happy First Birthday Ayla!

2009-06-18T21:57:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from Ayla's First birthday party last Saturday! We had 30 of our closest friends and family over for a fantastic BBQ. More pictures to come....

Weekend Away!

2009-04-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, baby sunglasses!! LOL!

Ayla with baby Luke.

We went away last weekend with Mike's sister Megan, Luke and Mike Hansen to Copperopilous (about 45 minutes away from Yosemite). We golfed, hiked, wine tasted and shopped. Here are some pictures from Ayla's first pool experience. It was 88 degrees but the pool was freezing (like 60 degrees, maybe colder). It was a really nice time!!

Ayla's First Easter!

2009-04-13T11:18:00.000-07:00

We love Easter at the Allocco/Franssen household. We headed to Church at 9am and then headed to Grandpa Franssen's for an Easter egg hunt and brunch. We were invited to an early dinner at Frank and Phyllis's house. Delicious! Finally, the last stop to the Snyder's for a quick drop in so Ayla could see Grandma Franssen. It was a packed day but so fun to spend time will so many different family members!

Christmas photo shoot 08'

2009-01-06T20:53:00.000-08:00

Ayla's 6 month pictures

2008-12-31T11:01:00.001-08:00

30th Birthday party December 27th

2008-12-30T17:01:00.000-08:00

I am 30!!!! I can't believe it. This was by far the best birthday ever. Mike rented out Bridges restaurant and we had 25 of our closest friends come and help us celebrate entering my thirties with some great food,drinks, and cake. I think this is a real milestone birthday. My 29th year was filled with so many changes most notably Ayla's birth,parenthood,work achievements and advancements. I now feel like a ADULT not a young adult (i.e. someone who just graduated from college) but someone who is responsible for so much more than just oneself. It feels great! Cheer to 30!!

Megan's Baby Shower

2008-11-17T11:57:00.000-08:00

“A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bank balance smaller, home happier, clothes dirty, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.”-Author unknown

Oh, yes the cupcakes!! I had to take a picture of the cupcakes!! I went to 3 different bakery's and I couldn't make up my mind of which one to choose. Paris recommended this cute little bakery in Danville and that is where I decided to put in my order. With all the commotion of the day I didn't even taste one of the cupcakes.

My wonderful mother with Ayla. I swear Ayla jumped into every picture!

This is my Mother-in-Law, Donna, with Ayla
Megan with all her girlfriends. Ayla is being held by Julie.
The guest of honor. Megan!
I hosted my sister-in-law's baby shower yesterday.It was a nice group of friends and family and coworkers. It was amazingly hot here in the Creek,78 Degrees to be exact. It's November and I had on the Air Conditioning!! One of Megan's best friends TJ created a cross word puzzle for the baby game and it was so adorable. It had questions about what Megan was craving to what Luke's middle name will be. I have never seen this type of game at a baby shower. It was so creative and fun to play!

Ayla and I at the polls

2008-11-04T20:03:00.000-08:00

Everyone loves getting the sticker!!! So I took a picture of it and loved wearing it all day. :)

I feel such a sense of pride to be an American. I love reading all the propositions and measures, talking with friends about our different positions on them and then doing more research to have an informed opinion. This election has been really tough as I am Conservative on many issue but liberal on social issues. I am glad it is over. Here are some pictures of Ayla and I before heading to the polls.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T16:23:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween!! Many more pictures to follow tomorrow.

Riley is the other little animal in this picture...

2008-10-21T19:25:00.001-07:00

Ayla goes to Grandma Allocco's house during the day while I am at work. This picture was taken while Donna was changing Ayla's diaper and clothes in the morning. Riley is Donna's dog and she seems to be getting less attention when Ayla is over. Riley jumped up, rolled over and put her paws up trying to get noticed. Pretty funny!!!

Back to work...

2008-10-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

Last night I was really unable to sleep. I tossed and turned. I was both nervous and excited. I ended up getting out of bed around 5am to go into Ayla's room and watch her sleep. I think all babies are so sweet to look at while they sleep. Ayla will actually make facial expressions, some smiling and others she frowns as much as she possibly can before crying - both equally cute. So, I sat in there for about half an hour and then fed her. I went back to bed and proceeded to watch Mike sleep until my alarm went off. I thought about this whole experience and how truly AMAZING it has been. Without sounding like I am on a soapbox....some of life's biggest hurdles yield life's biggest rewards. I thought about using the word obstacle instead of hurdle but obstacle sounds too big, hurdles seem big, but with some effort and skill can be jumped. My hurdles were health issues, my reward is my beautiful Baby and wonderful little family.
I did not write about this during my pregnancy because I was going through it, and without a happy ending, I was not emotionally ready to share. In my family fertility was defiantly an issue I was worried about but luckily for us we conceived. I was extremely ill for my first 4 months of pregnancy(I actually lost 15 pounds during this time). I want to be clear here....I mean literally going to work everyday and puking before meetings (not fun and bad breath, haha). Oh poor me right... well besides many other less than wonderful things happening with test scares and so on, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Any of you who have been pregnant know you take a glucose tolerance test where you drink a Gatorade like sugar drink and then wait for an hour and test your blood sugar. I took this test and almost passed out. I was shaking. It felt like I had about 10 shots of tequila in 5 minutes (not pleasant to say the least). You are supposed to score under 140...my result 201. I took diabetes classes, had a nutritionist, and wrote down everything I ate or drink as well as counted grams of everything. I also had to test my blood sugar 4 times (a simple pick on the finger) a day while injecting myself 4 times a day with insulin in the abdomen. All of this really sucked because before this I was scared of needles. Overcame that fear! I also have a major thyroid problem that added insult to injury when it comes to a women's weight. I gained right around 30 pounds in my pregnancy (I think 7 of those were in the last week). The point of me sharing this is simple, each of these things were hurdles. They were NOT pleasant however necessary evils for me to go through to have the family I have always wanted. I think this really can apply to everyone as we all have our own type of hurdle to leap over. WOW...let me catch my breath. So my latest hurdle is coming back to work and thankfully this has been more of a step. I love my work, I love my boss and I work for a great company so this was really a no brainer. I dropped Ayla off at 8:15am at grandma Allocco's. Neither Ayla or I cried (way to go me). I picked her up at 4:30pm and she was so happy. She played with new toys and seems to have had so much fun. I really had a renewed focus while at work as I view every minute as time to be productive. My first day back (today) I sent out around 70 emails announcing my return with pictures of my little darling. I have had an overwhelmingly great response. I could not be happier with this decision. Here is to hurdles. They really make us stronger, wiser, and more interesting people.

Member Guest Golf Tournament 2008

2008-10-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

Mike and I were involved in a Golf tournament up in Saddle Creek this past week. I say "we" even though I only played 9 holes in the practice round (Ayla was along for the ride too). My dad and Mike were the actual players in the tournament and they ended up taking 3rd place. They played 63 holes in 5 days. WOW! I did however go to all the events that the wives could go to. My favorite was a 50's theme "Sock Hop". We had to dress up in 50's attire. I wore a Pink Lady outfit with a scarf around my neck and Mike wore Jeans with a white T-Shirt and his hair slicked back. There was the best appetizer's I have ever had. I must give examples...Okay so they had hollowed out miniature apples with Waldorf salad, SOOO good. They also had hollowed out miniature pumpkins with squash soup. OMG...and YES I had to take a picture of the little soup. It was amazing!
Here is a couple pictures of the course so you can visualize what I am talking about.

Check out how Cute Ayla was in the golf cart and notice the bungee cords holding her seat in the cart. Ayla got the cutest golf shoe socks and she was wearing them on the course. SOO adorable!!

This is Ayla on "Grandpa's Chair" at my dad's house in SC. She loved sitting up and acting like a big girl. She was even wearing her "Grandpa's tiny sweet pea" shirt.
We had so much fun and we needed so badly to relax and enjoy ourselves before I head back to work Oct.15th. Yep that is Wednesday. That means I am down to 2 more days of maternity leave.

Recap of Memories....

2008-10-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

I have so many cool pictures that I haven't even printed out. They just sit in my camera for nobody to see. So, I decided to go down memory lane today and invite you along. These are some of the most fun things we have done in the past 3 1/2 years. Enjoy!!

Capitola for a girls Weekend...

2008-10-05T19:55:00.001-07:00

This weekend I went down to Capitola Ca to hang out with some of my best girlfriends (Melissa, Amy, Tracy and Heather) and to see Melissa's new home right on the water. Here are some pictures from her bedroom... and yes this is what she wakes up to every morning. BEAUTIFUL!! The sound of the waves crashing down on the beach was so relaxing. This begs the question where was Ayla?? Well Mike wanted a best husband award. He took care of our little one so I could go and enjoy myself with great friends while playing fun games, discussing (and solving) world issue's and drinking good wine.

This is a great restaurant called "Hanks". Melissa took us here because it is a build your own salad place, it was so good. Great pick Melis.

3 Months Old

2008-09-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

I went to the mall this morning before it opened to walk around and saw a store called "picture People". I waited for them to open and went in and got a few pictures taken of Ayla. Here are the two I bought. She is smiling and laughing now all the time and it melts my heart, I just love it. In the morning she loves taking a bath and playing the kicking game when I change her. This involves moving her arms and legs as fast as she can while giggling. She is just wonderful!!!

These are the two I bought and did the take a picture of a picture routine.

I got this one off the website.

Allocco Look-alike Meter

2008-09-18T15:11:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family history - Old black and white photos
REALLY???? I definitely see both of us in her but I really thought the program would say she looks more like me.

Notre Dame- A Saturday Tradition

2008-09-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

Ayla with "Papa" Richard Allocco.
Mike and I have a group of friends and family over every Saturday to watch college football. Mike is a HUGE Notre Dame fan as both his Dad and Uncle went there and played football. Anybody seen the movie "Rudy"??? Well that movie was set in the early 70's when Mike's family played. Just one more fun fact Joe Montana played for Notre Dame as a back up QB until Mike's uncle got injured. Here is some pictures of little Ayla during her first game.

Baby Halloween Costumes

2008-08-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

I play dress up with Ayla everyday now that she is fitting into her cuter clothes but I have been thinking about this Halloween and what Ayla should be for her first one. I bought a costume of a butterfly yesterday and I think it is cute but then I recieved a gift from my Grandma Franssen in the mail and it was a University of Nebraska football cheerleader outfit. Too Cute!
Please vote for which one you think would be cute for this Halloween.
Here is the front and back of option "A"

Option "B" with a little black bottoms that say "Go Huskers".

2 months and 2 weeks old

2008-08-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

Ayla just hanging out with mommy.

Catching up part 2....

2008-08-24T00:07:00.000-07:00

This is the group shot from Dana Carvy.

Mike and I went to two different shows at Wente Vineyard over the past few weeks....they were amazing. If you are looking for a great night out as a couple or a group, I would highly recommend Wente. We saw Huey Lewis and the News play an awesome show and then watched Dana Carvy do hilarious standup a few weeks later. They were both FANTASTIC!! For both events we had amazing seats and dinner included. We also were invited to a meet and greet with Dana Carvy. I don't get star struck too often but it was fun to talk and hang out with someone who has had such an impressive career. From Wayne's World to the church lady, he is a pretty amazing comedian. If you get a chance check out his new HBO special, I think it rivals Chris Rock, who I believe is one of the best in stand up.
Monica and Chaz Perkins at dinner in Del Mar.
Mike hanging out with the group at the hotel...late night.
Ayla on her first plane flight.
We did our annual Del Mar trip this year to watch the horses run where the surf meets the turf near San Diego. This year was very enjoyable as we had five couples attend, but very different because we brought Ayla (this has been an adult only event previously) and Mike’s mom who was kind enough to watch Ayla while we were at the track and out to dinner.

Mike really wanted to have "couple time" and I thought that was very thoughtful. He always makes me feel special, and I love the fact that he wants to make time for just the two of us. We really did get time to just hang out with each other and good friends so MISSION ACOMPLISHTED. This was the first time traveling with a two month old however and it was no piece of cake. I think I slept 9 hours total the entire trip. I am the "ultimate" worrier. I love my little one, but I am trying to get adjusted to traveling as a first time parent and this was defiantly a challenge. I think I learned that being really organized is the key, and anyone who knows me understands that from time to time I can be “organizationally challenged”.... ARRRRR. All in all it was great trip (besides the airport security checkpoints) and I learned a lot about traveling with Ayla

Playing Catch up.....

2008-08-23T16:50:00.000-07:00

I don't even know where to start so I guess I will go in chronological order. I took Ayla to the De Young Museum here in SF to see the Chihuly Exhibit. It was really cool. For those of who who have not heard of Chihuly he is a glass blowing artist and has toured around the country and SF was one of the stops so we went to see his work. We walked through about 10 rooms filled with different glass pieces. My favorite was a room that was empty but when you looked up it felt like you were at the bottom of the ocean. There were all kinds of different blown glass pieces that looks like things you would find in the ocean. Then we went to the Cliffhouse Restaurant over looking Ocean Beach for lunch with my dad and grandma .

This is My Aunt Pam.

My Aunt Pam (my dad's sister) came up from Palmdale with her two boys Logan and Reese to meet little miss Ayla. It was really nice to get to hang out with her and my grandma. Mike and I do not get to see my Aunt very often so this was a real treat!!My dad wanted to give them a tour of the Bay Area so we went to Sam's restaurant in Tiberone, drove through salsalito, over the Golden Gate Bridge, had ice cream at ghirardelli square and drove down Lombard Street, ALL IN ONE DAY!!

Random Morning Stuff

2008-08-02T10:18:00.001-07:00

WOW....yes this is just from one baby. If you are thinking to yourself was the kid even wearing a diaper. The answer is yes. I was feeding her and felt a little toot. I felt a little dampness on my skin but hey no big deal. I picked her up and it looked like a poo explosion. I didn't even try to wipe her down. I went straight to kitchen to give her a bath.

These are the "after shots". I gave her a bath and washed her hair. As of yesterday she is now fitting into some of her other clothes besides the newborn onsies. Yippy!! I can finally put some cute little outfits on her.
This is the nuk that daddy bought her. This is the one that seems to be her favorite and in case you did not notice it is BLUE. I asked Mike why he got our little girl a blue Nuk and he said it's not blue it is purple. I laughed my head off and said it is not purple. It is blue with little sailboats. It has taken some convencing but he now thinks it is a light bluish-purple.

Lunch With Great Grandma

2008-07-31T17:10:00.001-07:00

This afternoon Ayla and I went to lunch with my mom and grandma. We all had so much fun catching up and enjoying eachothers company. It is so nice to have grandma in town. She comes to visit once every year from Nebraska and this year she decided to come twice so that she was able to meet Ayla in person.

After lunch we went to my mom's office to hang out before we went to get some ice cream.

Great Grandma Franssen

2008-07-31T16:45:00.001-07:00

I love dogs but unfortunatly my husband is not such an animal lover. This is a gift from grandma Denie and will probably be the only dog I will have until I am 50. That is when Mike will "rethink" getting one.

Grandma Denie is my dad's mom. Do you see the resembloiance. I think we may have two blue hairs. HAHAHA Dad or should I say Grandpa Franssen.

My grandma came into to town yesterday. These are some pictures of her when she and Ayla met for the first time. She was so cute, my grandma that is, she got out of the car and ran into my house to beat out my dad to hold her first. I am holding a blanket which is a handmade gift from my Grandma Denie. Ayla just loved it!!

Famliy Golf Weekend!

2008-07-24T18:11:00.001-07:00

I forgot the camera this weekend so I am using an old photo of my dad's house. Mike and I went up to Saddle Creek to hang out with my dad and play golf and boccie ball. What made this different from other trips is we had our little Ayla with us. This was our first trial run for leaving the house for multiple days before Del Mar. WOW...there is alot more to bring and think about.....diapers,wipes,breast pump,bottles, bouncy seat(a must), etc. I am running on 5 hours of sleep a night (not consecutively). This lack of sleep really does not help my mental capacity for remembering things....Anyway on to the point of the story. I wanted to golf on Saturday morning and thought it would be a good idea to bring Ayla. I had Mike and my Dad put her car seat in the golf cart. Unfortunately they do not make golf cart car seat harnesses so we had to make our own. Any guess's what they used to get the car seat to stay in the golf cart????? Duck tape..NO Bungee cords, yes Bungee cords. Am I a bad parent???(I had a crazy dream about this topic but I'll get to that in another post, it was about Ayla Turing into an asparagus and the asparagus breaking...arrrr) So we tee'd off Saturday morning and I was playing a pretty good round but it was getting really hot like 90+ Degree's and at the 7th hole I decided I was going to bring her inside because I thought it was getting too hot for her to be outside. So, no golf for me. I think I need to patent a golf car seat adapter but I have learned I can only take her if it is a lot cooler...alot or better yet maybe I'll have to get a babysitter if I want to continue this hobby.
This is the new downtown of copperopilous. Pretty cute!!

Our First Playdate

2008-07-24T17:42:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post this but two weeks ago Ayla and I went over to Paris and Knute's house for our first playdate. Paris's little girl Ellie was born just a few days after Ayla. The girls were so cute and I hope it will be the start to a great friendship for both mommy's and little girls.

Bath Time

2008-07-09T22:31:00.000-07:00

During her bath.
We have a clean little girl.

It has been three weeks today that Ayla was born and her belly button scab finally fell off. Yippee! It has been over 100 degrees here in the Creek and it was time for a full bath (completely submerged not just sponge baths)so Mike and I gave her one tonight. I ran her a luke warm bath, got the J&J soap, and put her in the water. Mike was armed with the camera (which he had to run out to the car to get) taking pictures of me and Ayla. We both burst out laughing when I looked up at Mike between photographs after hearing a loud toot from our little one and asked "so what do we do now"? I was confident that we would have poopy water but it was just a little gas. I have never had this much conversation about bodily functions as I have over the last few weeks.

Ayla's First Photo Shoot

2008-07-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

Ayla had her first photo shoot this weekend. She did a really good job but you can be the judge. Getting a "GOOD" baby photograph is pretty tough. I am trying to pick the picture that will go in her announcement but am having some trouble. Which one do you like???

Picture-A

I should mention everyone in my family does not like this one (picture A) but I just love her expression. Every time I look at this picture I laugh. :)

Picture-B

Picture-C

One week old

2008-06-25T17:25:00.000-07:00

What a week!!!! Mike and I took our little Ayla out with us to lunch and then to Longs today and I am happy to say she slept through the entire outing. We had so much fun! Okay.....I'll let you in on the secret we fed her right before we left our house knowing we had a two hour window where she would sleep so we could get a little time to enjoy each other's company and pick up a few necessities. For those of you who don't know Mike he works a ton and when he told me he was taking off work until July 7th I was shocked and soooo happy! So it is really nice to be able to sleep in (sleeping in is relative these days), go out to lunch, and run errands during the day together with our little girl. I feel like I have a personal chauffeur as Ayla and I sit in the back while Mike (aka dad) drives us around. I could really start getting used to this. :)

Ayla May Allocco Born 7pound 1oz. on 6/18/08 at 6:46pm

2008-06-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

This has been such an adventure. I am not sure how to put into words how amazing this little gift is...but I'll try. My labor went very well 7 hours which went by so fast and 3o minutes or so of pushing.I GOT THE EPIDURAL and I would recommend it to anyone. I attribute me having such a great experience to the fantastic staff and the epidural. I am still in awwww....it was like an out of body experience watching my little Ayla being born. Mike was there every step of the way. He really helped me with the pushing part. He told me that he planned to "coach me up" all through my pregnancy (even though I thought he would end up fainting) and he really did a great job of coaching me through. He was extremely motivating through his gentle touches to helping me breath and push. I invited my mom and mother-in-law Donna to be in the room with us, and I was so happy they could be a part of the birth. They both were taking pictures and video. I have to say we have a fantastic G rated birth video that shows just enough to make it special but something that you can share with friends and family and it is just 7 minutes long. It has been a wild 3 days!! Ayla is amazing and in my opinion just unbelievably BEAUTIFUL!! We are now working on getting our days and night figured out. Mike and I are taking shifts at night so we can each get about 4-5 hours of sleep and so far it is absolutely worth it.

Ayla's Room

2008-06-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

Ayla's Room

2008-06-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

What Type of Fruit are you??

2008-06-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

You Are a Pear

You are independent, intelligent, and a free thinker.

You can accomplish great things, especially when you do them on your own.

You are direct, honest, and sometimes even a bit brutal.

There's not much that gets in the way of you and your ambition.

While you are hard nosed, you do have a much sweeter side to you.

It takes times for you to soften toward someone, but once you do, you'll be their friend for life.

What Type of Fruit Are You?

Surprise Baby Shower

2008-06-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

My office through a surprise baby shower for me yesterday. I can't remember the last time I was that surprised. I was heading out to lunch with a co-worker and she said my boss needed to talk with me before we left. I thought it was a bit strange that she needed me right away but I headed back into the office to find her. My co-worker then said that she was in the conference room, I walked in to a whole room full of people. I was like what are you doing in here right as they all screamed "surprise". Luckily I had my camera. I immediately pulled it out and got these shots. I opened up a whole bunch of wonderful gifts including some very cute clothes and then they took me to lunch. What a fun day!!! I am very lucky to work with such a great group of people. Thanks to you All!!! :)

GO Acura!!

2008-06-02T11:40:00.000-07:00

I got a new car the other day, it has a lot of power and I LOVE it. This is one of the few times where I am driving and Mike is riding in the passanger seat.
The car is so cute, a dark gray exterior and light gray interior Acura TL. It really fits me. I wanted something that was fun to drive, safe and looks good. We seem to be Big time Acura lover's as Mike drives an Acura and so does his mom, dad, sister, and my brother.

Two years of Marriage Today!

2008-05-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

Today Mike and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary. We went to a relatively new restaurant here in Walnut Creek called 1515. It was great! The food was some of the most delicious California Cuisine I've had and we also had great service. So, it was a really nice experience. We decided no gifts this year, just cards. I always look forward to Mike's cards whatever the occasion because he always picks the most perfect one ( I wonder how much time it takes him to pick out a card or if he just gets really lucky). He also writes what's in his heart so much more eloquently than me. This occasion was no exception. He out did himself once again. One of the reasons I love him so much is that he makes me feel so special, like I am the most important person in the world, well maybe his world. Anyway, it feels great. Happy anniversary babe!!
What do you do to make your significant other feel special???

Girls Gone to the Beach weekend!!

2008-04-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

Melissa, Heather, Monica and I decided to get away for the weekend, relax and enjoy some female companionship. Mission accomplished!!! We booked the girls gone to the beach package at Seascape in Aptos, Ca. This included a beautiful 2 bedroom suite, fantastic ocean views, massages and Smore's on the beach. My favorite activity besides great conversation was Smore's on the beach. The hotel staff picked us up in a 6 person golf cart (which was a pretty wild ride down a path to and from the beach). We get down to the bottom and are greeted by a young man who takes us to our campfire spot and gets our fire going. He then hands us a Smore Kit!! This included 4 long skewers, marshmallows, Hershey chocolate, graham crackers, and wet naps. I have not had a Smore in years and it was great! We all were laughing and just enjoying the moment.

I had so much FUN!! I can't wait to do a GGB weekend soon. Oh, thats what the staff called us the GGB group. Which stands for Girls Gone to the Beach. :)

"My Daughter won't wear a bikini until she is 23", mike 4/2/08

2008-04-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

I put my hand in the picture so you could see how small this is. Okay....is this the cutest thing you have ever seen???I am not even sure how I feel about little girls in bikini's, but I just had to get this. Mike walked in the door this evening and I said "you are never going to believe what I bought today". We had an agreement as of 3 days ago that I would not get anymore clothing for our little girl. BUT... she doesn't have one of these yet. Mike was not happy at first, but I think he appreciated my excitement. Ironically, I'm fairly sure she will not be swimming or laying out in the sun at 3 months or younger, but I will just have to put her in this little number and take a picture.

A Perfect Day for a Baby Shower!

2008-04-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I have to send out a million thank you's to Donna Allocco, Megan Hansen, LyNell Franssen, and Monica Perkins. You all did so much to make this shower absolutely wonderful!! My mother made the most beautiful rose petal and lavender sache's (for your underwear) that smelled just great. The food was amazing, the games were so cute and everything was beautiful. Here are some of the pictures I took of what these ladies set up. I also got some good shots of when people were just arriving. The last picture is of the two grandma's. Are these the two most beautiful Grandmothers you have ever seen......really!!!! I had so much fun and Ayla got so many cute things. Unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries other wise I would have posted more pictures. Thanks again !! :)

BabyMooning to Palm Springs....

2008-04-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

I rolled my eyes at this "Today Show" idea too!! Here is the definition of "BabyMoon"...
From Wikipedia-
A babymoon is a vacation taken by a couple that is expecting a baby in order to allow the couple to enjoy a final trip together before the many sleepless nights that usually accompany a newborn baby. Babymoons are usually take place at a resort that offers appropriate services like prenatal massage. The term babymoon comes from the more traditional term honeymoon, which is a vacation taken by a newlywed couple after their wedding ceremony.

Mike and I went on a vacation down to Palm Springs which Melissa tells me is the "Hampton's of the West Coast". I was thinking it was more the land of the blue haired. Well...... It was fantastic and a lot more young and hip than I thought. We golfed, went to the spa, and just got to enjoy each others company without distractions. Mike and I even went to the salon together and got pedicures. This was a momentous occasion as this was Mike's first pedicure EVER. One of the days Mike was in a golf tournament, so I went to the spa and got a massage and then spent the day at the pool reading and enjoying the sun. Here is the best part..... Ladies, I had my very own cabana boy. Yes. It was great!!! This may sound crazy but another wonderful amenity the hotel had was a Starbucks in the lobby.

Babymooning RULES !!!!! I recommend this kind of vacation to everyone. Complete relaxation.

Happy Birthday Babe!!

2008-03-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

Mike turned 29 today and we went to dinner at Tomatina in Walnut Creek

with his Dad, and Megan and Mike Hansen. What fantastic food and fantastic company!!!
Mike and I talked a lot about this being one of the most memorable years in our lives, with our little Ayla coming in June, and all of our excitement and anticipation for her arrival. For some reason I think we are both feeling like "real Adults" now. I say that and just a few days ago for Easter my dad had an Easter egg hunt at his house. In case you were wondering the participants were Mike, Andrew (my step-brother), and Me. I mentioned to my dad that Mike and I are rapidly approaching 30 and that we may have out grown the Easter egg hunting thing. He then reminded me that there was more than candy in the eggs (money, gift cards, and lotto tickets) and that the "hunt was on". My only comment is, grandkids are going to be very spoiled in my family.

CHEERS to 29 and feeling like I won the lotto every morning I wake up next to my Husband !!

Ayla's First Baby Blanket

2008-03-04T22:08:00.000-08:00

This is Ayla's first baby blanket and it is personalized with her name on it (so cute). It was a gift from her Aunt Megan and Uncle Mike Hansen. It is one of the softest things I have ever felt in my life and it is BEAUTIFUL!!! Thanks Guys, xoxox.

Home Sick :(

2008-03-04T14:30:00.000-08:00

I hate being sick. I went to the doctor yesterday after I coughed so hard I almost pee'd my pants and choked myself at the same time. Picture this standing in a parking lot coughing, legs crossed and holding on to my car so as to not fall over. It was at that moment I decided to go to urgent care. I told my doctor what my symptoms where and she did some doctor stuff...you know check your ears, eyes, and throat. She listened to my lungs and said she could hear the fluid/congestion. This makes a lot of sense as I have been out of breath and wheezing, which is really really annoying! Anyway she prescribed 2 different medicines. I asked are these okay to take while being prego. Her response "oh let me check....ummm yes these are both class c's". I left the office and talked with the pharmacist and my OBGYN to make sure these med's would not negatively effect the lil one and found out I am in the clear. I was planning on going to work but felt too crappy to leave the house. I slept in and now I am working from home (or blogging) and watching the food network.
Here is to a happy healthy tomorrow!!! :)

What do you do all day???

2008-02-29T20:05:00.000-08:00

I always wonder what people do all day, whether you are a stay at home mom or you have a career outside the home. Where do you go? Who do you talk to all day? We all spend so much time at work, hell Mike spends at least 13-14 hours a day working. I guess I'm glad that he works from home a lot, but it seems like a lot of time to me.

I don't think I ever work over 40 hours a week. I include coffee breaks and lunches in my 40 hours. I am posting a picture of me at my desk. I am actually in the office about 2-3 hours per day depending on vendor and customer appointments.

Cooking Club!

2008-02-28T21:46:00.000-08:00

I hosted cooking club Season Two last night, and I had so much fun. Yes, we all laugh and call it season two because this is our second year and I guess we all watch too much reality TV.

Here is the concept-Each month a different member host's cooking club at her house. The host picks out recipes she has never made before and purchases all the ingredients including the appropriate beverages. Then the group slices, sauté’s, and simmers up the menu the host has created.

The group is made up of 8 girls who wanted to learn new recipes while having fun with friends. For February's cooking club I choose PIZZA, but we made it from scratch. So we started with the dough (flour, yeast and honey) and then the sauce, again from scratch. We had a variety of toppings and cheese's and the pizza's turned out GREAT. I forgot to take pictures, so I took a picture of my kitchen table with a reserved sign on it.

Our Little Girl

2008-02-07T20:33:00.000-08:00

This is our 20 week picture of little Ayla. The doctor told us she looked "perfect". Both Mike and I were ecstatic to hear that!! We love that Dr. now. Her bones look straight, her heart looks strong, her brain is developing normally, and swallowing and excretion processes are working as designed. :-) She has also been kicking up a storm. You can see her knee and thigh in this picture. She is about 7 1/2 inches long and weighs 10 0z. Mike is doing a lot of mommy tummy rubs to try to feel her kick but no luck so far.

It feels so strange knowing this little being is inside of me just learning how to live. I hate to admit this but being pregnant is really fantastic. I have never felt this happy maybe it is because I have never been this excited before but it is really fun to daydream about our little girl. What she will look like and what type of personality she will have. Sounds crazy but to me it is wildly exciting. I can't wait to meet this little one!!

xoxo

TAGGED...I am it

2008-02-04T17:28:00.000-08:00

I was tagged in the beginning of January....this just means I answers some questions, so here it goes.....

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago...

- going to UCSB

- Riding my bike all over Goleta

- Playing "caps"

- living with 5 Random Girls

- drinking Beer and walking DP (Del Playa)

5 Things on my "to do" list

- Buy baby bedding (Pink Toile, soooo cute)

- Get Ayla some baby clothes

- Grocery shop

- Clean the house after the superbowl party

- Make dinner

5 Snacks I enjoy

- Celery and PB

- Black cherry Jello

- Pirate booty....(trader joe's no longer sells)

- Sugar free fudgeclicles

- nuts

5 Things I would do if I were a Billionaire

- Buy property everywhere..Ca, mexico, italy, france,

- Travel

- Donate money toWonded warrier

- Buy mine/mike's parents and siblings new houses and cars

- Start an after school program

2 Bad habits

- Procrastination

- Messy closet (it is clean now but I give in 2 weeks)

5 Places I've lived

- Linclon, Nebraska

- Hong Kong

- Concord, Ca

- Goleta, Ca

- Walnut Creek, Ca

5 Jobs I've had

- Babysitter

- Macy's,Cosmetic/Juniors (high school)

- Express, Sales associate (college)

- ADP, District manager (3years)

- Telepacifc, Senior Account Executive (current)

What a Wonderful day!!!

2007-12-18T18:06:00.000-08:00

This is the Baby at 12 weeks. I can't believe the detail. You can see the nose, lips, neck, spine and belly. The doctors office was really cool. Very high tech!! After getting comfortable, the lights were dimmed and "OUR" Baby popped up on the large flat screen in front of us. Mike and I were both mesmerized. I felt like I was in a movie theater and it was our baby that was showing. The nurse moved the ultrasound wand trying to get the baby to move around. She succeeded and the baby jumped for us a few times. We got to see the arms and legs. It was truly amazing!!!

The Baby Sucking It's thumb

2007-12-18T17:54:00.000-08:00

So the easiest thing to see is the baby's head. The little white thing in front of the face is the fingers. The doctor said the baby is sucking it's thumb (how cute)!!

They changed my due date

2007-12-18T17:33:00.000-08:00

I have been saying this from day one.

I feel like I am further along than the doctors say I am. We had a doctors appointment today that was fantastic. I will post some pictures.

Mike and I were filling out paperwork in the waiting room and Knute and Paris walk in. We had appointments scheduled 15 minutes apart from each other. CRAZY!! I wonder if this is a little foreshadowing for the delivery!!!! Paris's due date is June 27th.

Anyway, after some measurements were taken they moved up the due date from July 2 to............. July1st. I know what you are thinking. I am equally annoyed. I was hoping for a least a week.

OUTDOOR......Christmas Lights

2007-12-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

Okay.... I am going to start off this blog by saying I am pregnant and (occasionally) emotional. So Mike went golfing Saturday morning and I decided to run into Longs to grab something (I don't remember what) and stumbled upon outdoor Christmas lights. I figured this was a great project to work on for the next few hours. Mike thinks Christmas lights are a bit trashy, so I was going to prove him wrong and make him an outdoor Christmas light lover. I was sure, after I was finished...I would have a masterpiece for Mike to come home to and we would start a new tradition of putting up outdoor lights. (thanks Niclole B.) Well, when Mike got home I was only half way done. (only one side of my front entry path) I had packages of lights, ground stakes, and powercords sitting in front of the front door. There are no outlets in the front of the house so I had to be creative. I had extension cords going every which way. I hate to admit this, but one cord was crossing the path in front of our house to get power to the other side. ARRRR. When Mike walked up he said " babe, someone dropped a whole bunch of clutter at our door step". I was immediately put on the defensive. He then said "what is all this". I tried to explain my BIG plan. He was not having any of it. I looked around and realized it was not the masterpiece I thought it was going to be. I looked at the extension cords thinking this is actually dangerous, people could trip coming into my house. Mike said " We live in a HOME not a FORT, do you want me to help you put this away?" I said "no". I sat on the step and started getting teary. Mike saw the water works coming, and at that point decided it was better to help me complete my masterpiece rather than take the lights back to Longs. We finished our first outdoor light project about an hour later. It's not quite the masterpiece I imagined, but it's a start. I quietly put away another box of lights I had bought for a bush in the front yard.

I believe that every experience is meant to teach us something. I think the moral of the story here is compromise is important in every situation/relationship...... because when you compromise, it's because you are willing to understand another point of view without undervaluing your own.

Christmas Tree O Christmas Tree

2007-12-10T20:14:00.000-08:00

Funny story about this tree... Mike and I put this up on Saturday. First put up the lights then the ornaments, tree skirt, and made sure to put water and "tree food" in the stand. We finished and left the room to get ready for a DLS Basketball game and all of a sudden. I hear a BIG BANG. You guessed it! THE TREE WAS DOWN. The big bang was the breaking of Christmas ornaments. I was in disbelief. I was happy that only 2 of the crappy ornaments broke but started freaking out when I realized I had a pitcher and a half of water and "tree food" all over my hard wood floor. Mike and I got into clean up mode and the next day I bought a new tree skirt and ornaments.

Ultrasound picture

2007-11-28T21:22:00.000-08:00

See the black circle well that is my uterus. The little white spot in the black circle is the baby. The doctor said it is about the size of a walnut. AHHH, a picture only a mother and father could love.We are excited beyond words and can't wait until we can get a better picture to post here and on our fridge.

It's official

2007-11-26T17:36:00.000-08:00

Mike and I went to the Doctor today and YES we are pregnant. 9 Weeks to be exact!
I have heard you are supposed to wait until 12 weeks but the cat is out of the bag and we are overjoyed to let our friends and family know! Our Due date is July 2nd, 2008

Mike in Saddle Creek

2007-11-25T20:29:00.001-08:00

Mike is getting ready to hit so I had to snap a picture. I love playing golf with him. We get to discuss our strategy of how to get to the green. We do "tiger style" fist pumps when we make good putts and we swear like sailors when we miss shots we know we could have made. Mike enjoys playing golf with my dad too. I think there is a bit of a competitive spirit between them. My dad's quote of the round " my son in law out drove me, damn it". He only did that one hole as Papa Franssen is a fantastic golfer (handicap 9) . Mike seemed pleased with an 83!!

Alix in the golf Cart

2007-11-25T20:21:00.001-08:00

I had a great drive (185 yards and straight as an arrow)....So I was waiting in the golf cart for everyone else to hit. I play about 5 times a year but I am excited to get better and practice more. My score for this round 115........ my goal is to be in the 90's.
xoxo, a

Saddle Creek Ca

2007-11-25T20:14:00.000-08:00

Mike and I headed up to Saddle Creek for the weekend to golf. My dad and Sharon have a house up there so we got to stay, eat and play for FREE (thanks again for having us!).

Simple Saturday Watching our Team

2007-11-24T14:34:00.001-08:00

It is hard to believe, but yes, we still watch Notre Dame every Saturday even though they are 2-9 this year.

Mike and Megan Hansen

2007-11-24T14:29:00.001-08:00

We got to enjoy Thanksgiving and the day after with Megan and her new husband "Coach" Mike Hansen!

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-24T14:23:00.000-08:00

I forgot my camera on Thanksgiving but we went to Donna (Mike's mom) and Dave's house for the day after Thanksgiving dinner. We enjoyed a fantastic meal and great conversation.

Team Picture.....Before the Championship Game

2007-11-19T17:01:00.000-08:00

I made all the men take a team picture... Starting from the left. Scott Peters, Chad laSalla, Ryan Inouye, Ryan Willis, Adam Edrington, Mike Allocco (GM), Jake Smith, Mark Altman, and Jeremy Peters,....Not Pictured Ryan Davis, Frank Allocco, and Arie !

Friday Night Lights

2007-11-19T16:48:00.001-08:00

Friday nights for us equals Softball. This year we were the defending champions and this last Friday we (this is not a coed league but I feel like I am part of the team) played the championship game against Crogans. We took second place but we couldn't have lost to a better team. There was so many Northgate alumni on both teams.

If you can see the name of the team on Mike's shirt it says " Old School" and they named themselves this before the movie came out.

Mike Reading about the Camera

2007-11-14T21:35:00.000-08:00

I went and bought a new Camera

2007-11-14T21:14:00.000-08:00

Here it goes..... Blogs seem to be no fun unless there are cool pictures.... After getting my new camera I went around the house taking pictures of people, things, even other pictures.

Well It seems instead of adding a picture of Mike reading the directions to the camera I have added a picture of myself from our wedding.

I am going to sign off for now to figure out where I went wrong. XOXOX

Let The blogging Begin

2007-11-12T18:52:00.000-08:00

Well Mike and I have been talking about starting our very own blog....so here it is. I need to figure out 2 very important things 1 how to add pictures and 2 how to spell check.