THE ALLEN ADVENTURE

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T07:12:00.000-06:00

Will you be my Valentine? : )

Our budding artist

2012-02-13T21:16:00.001-06:00

Reese has just recently started creating art. We get so excited when they send home her "masterpieces" from school. It's just hard to imagine how a baby who doesn't even roll over can somehow finger paint! She also likes coloring on daddy's ipad.

Oh Peanut, how I love you so...

2012-02-10T21:18:00.000-06:00

Reese used to be faithful to Sophie, her plastic giraffe. But now her new love seems to be Peanut, a stuffed doll that was a sweet gift from Peaches. Her face lights up with joy whenever Peanut makes an appearance.

Our little fashionista

2012-02-05T21:27:00.001-06:00

Reese has so many sweet Spring clothes that she won't get to wear out of the house because the seasons are off, but a few are so adorable that I couldn't not see her wear them. So this weekend we did a Spring clothes fashion show and changed her about 5 times a day. I think dressing Reese up has become my new hobby. The best part is that I'm really not spending any money on it since we've been blessed with wonderful hand-me-downs!

What's been going on lately....

2012-01-30T21:59:00.007-06:00

Hillary and Jenny came down from Chicago to meet Reese this past weekend. It was so wonderful having them around.

We had brunch with some current co-workers and Frito alums, and then Sara and James also drove up from Austin and brought their 5 week old girl (Emmeline) to meet everyone. Emmeline or "Emme" (pronounced Emmy) is the cutest thing! I just love little babies so much now. I wanted to keep her here with us!

Angie (another Wash U Kappa) and Kevin now live just one street over from us, so we had a progressive dinner (first starting at their house for appetizers and grilling out, followed by a walk to our house for chocolate molten cake and game night). It was quite a fun crowd.

Last week Dana and I went up to Michigan for recruiting at Ann Arbor. While we were interviewing candidates, we were able to leave Reese with Christine's sister's family. Our nieces, Skylar and Larkin, just love having a baby around.

Larkin took her to show-and-tell at school, and they both took turns dressing and feeding her. Reese loved all of the attention!
This week we're working on weaning her off her pacifier. It's not fun... lots of tears. But I'm already appreciating better sleep (she was previously waking up every hour to find her paci) and I know we'll all be happier once we get through a rough week or so.

Dana's parents left a couple weeks ago, so we're now officially on our own. It was so fantastic having them here, but thankfully daycare is going pretty smoothly so far. Her teachers at Carpe Diem seem fantastic, loving and knowledgeable.

Reese turns 5 months old

2012-01-23T20:47:00.001-06:00

Reese turned 5 months old. It seems like she's growing up so fast!

She's still not rolling over often, but she can sit up pretty well by herself. She is such a sweet baby!

We feel so blessed to have her as our daughter. Her smiles and giggles are two of my favorite things in the world.

Simply Irresistable

2012-01-16T21:06:00.000-06:00

Too cute for words...

Time to go to School

2012-01-16T20:55:00.000-06:00

Grandpa Ron & Grandma Judy have sadly headed back home to California after 7 weeks or so of taking care of Reese. So Reese heads off to her first day of daycare tomorrow. Wish her luck!

All dressed up with some place to go

2012-01-14T21:01:00.001-06:00

Here's Reese at 4 1/2 months wearing an adorable new outfit that Uncle Sam brought from India. We dressed up to go to fun dinner of ribs at Carl and Kelley's.

Go Blue!

2012-01-03T20:59:00.000-06:00

Reese and Dad bond over Michigan football.

Enjoying sweet time with our little girl

2012-01-02T22:31:00.002-06:00

Daddy blowing zerberts on Reese's tummy

Christine reading to Reese

Happy New Year everyone!

2012-01-01T20:36:00.001-06:00

We've come to the end of a wonderfully sweet holiday season.

Ringing in 2012

2012-01-01T00:15:00.001-06:00

Had a terrific time ringing in the new year with a gourmet meal, 2 wonderful mothers (and a great husband and father-in-law too)!

Wrapping up our best year yet

2011-12-19T17:49:00.002-06:00

This year's Christmas letter...

2011 has been our best year yet – due largely to the arrival in August of our daughter, Reese Elizabeth.

Reese has been a miracle in our lives even before her birth. Early on our doctor stopped hearing the baby’s heartbeat and confirmed that we had lost the baby. Amazingly, the heartbeat reappeared 2 weeks later and she’s been healthy ever since! We are still shocked and incredibly grateful for this gift from God. Thankfully Reese has been healthy, happy, and overall a super-easy baby, so it hasn’t been too much of a shock to ease into parenthood.

The rest of the year mostly revolved around Reese... We quickly found that quite a lot of time can go into baby research, baby classes, baby nursery decorating, baby showers… you catch our drift.

We took an incredible trip to Turks and Caicos to celebrate the wedding of Kristie DeKoker and Corey Gibbs (whom we also were able to visit with when we met up at the Super Bowl this year!). Grace Bay was the nicest beach we’ve ever seen!

When we returned, Christine had a girls weekend with her Kappa friends in Scottsdale where they spent the entire weekend floating in a lazy river at the Westin Kierland.

Later this summer we took a “baby moon” down to Texas Hill Country to lounge by the pool, visit Sea World in San Antonio (Christine had to get her dolphin fix), and then explore the quaint town of Fredricksburg.

For work (to support all of the travel and baby purchases) Dana rotated off the Doritos team (not before the Doritos ad scored #1 out of all Super Bowl ads) but he was happy to be promoted to run brand marketing for PepsiCo’ in non-retail channels (foodservice, etc). Christine took on a new role leading Mass Media for the Marketing department, which surprisingly included filming a number of fun cooking shows (some even in Times Square).

Dana joined Christine on the Board of Partners International, an international missions ministry that we feel very strongly about (check out: www.partnersinternational.org)

We spent Thanksgiving in St. Louis with 19 extended family members and we are excited to host both sides of the family in our home to celebrate Christmas and ring in the New Year.

Wishing you and yours peace and joy this Christmas season! Christine, Dana & Reese

In this home...

2011-12-16T16:08:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure where this came from, but I want it! How wonderful is this...

Source: Uploaded by user via Rhonda on Pinterest

Life... a lot less organized but still filled with joy

2011-12-15T22:57:00.003-06:00

Life has been a whirlwind lately of busyness at work, attending holiday parties and realizing I'm REALLY behind on Christmas this year.

We're hosting both of our families for Christmas, and I think that my infamous, detailed "project plan" that helps us all function well together in one house during this time is just not going to happen this year. Where does the time go? I guess I'm just focusing my brain on other things this year.

Two thoughts that capture how I'm feeling:
1. My in-laws are a HUGE blessing. They are staying with us for awhile and watching Reese and it's given me incredible peace of mind as I've returned to work. They also feed us well : ) I will miss them greatly when they return to California in January.

2. Work is... not so bad. I was sort of dreading the end of maternity leave and while I wish I saw more of my sweet daughter, I really do think I have a pretty cool job. Even on it's crazy days, it can be a lot of fun. And the people I work with are pretty awesome.

I love being a mom

2011-12-14T15:23:00.000-06:00

Source: etsy.com via Heather on Pinterest

How Christmas is meant to be

2011-12-08T17:29:00.000-06:00

I encourage everyone to read this beautiful blog post about (in my opinion) the way to do Christmas right.

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/12/when-christmas-gets-radical-whose-birthday-is-it-really/

Such a magical time of year

2011-12-04T22:23:00.002-06:00

We're so enjoying Reese's first Christmas season. It's full of so many special moments... I just want to soak them all in and savor them all!

Our attempt at getting a good Christmas card photo : )

2011-12-04T22:20:00.001-06:00

Well, sometimes life isn't picture perfect... but it sure is fun!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T20:49:00.002-06:00

We celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving in St. Louis this year with Christine's extended family. Dana's parents and Ana's in-laws also joined us (not pictured) ... so it was extra special!

There were 19 of us in all - Everts, Galofres, Smiths, and Allens. Mia, Skylar, Larkin, and Reese were the young ones. Mary, Christine, Dana, Ana, and Justin were next. And then Alberto, Nancy, Gary, Maggie, Ken, Marilynn, Ron, Judy, Don and Frieda. We ate yummy pizza at Pi, brunch at Half and Half and crepes at the City Coffeehouse and Crepierie in Clayton. We took a beautiful walk around Washington University, enjoyed meaningful visits and a sweet memorial service for my grandfather, ate Thanksgiving dinner at the Whitmore House thanks to Robert "Tata" Evert, visited the zoo, and had great times just being together and watching Skye and Larkin play "mommy" to little Reese (who they basically thought was their new doll)! Thanks to mom for making it all happen, to Mary for delicious food, and Alberto for the wonderful family photos!

Many praises

2011-11-17T05:28:00.004-06:00

Here's an update on the things below that I was struggling with a couple of weeks ago...

1. Dana hasn't been traveling so that's been wonderful. Our first family plane trip is next week to St. Louis so wish us luck in transit!

2. My nightmares have ended and there's a part of me that's actually excited to diving back into my work. I'm so thankful!

3. Our church Community Group is getting together for a holiday lunch this weekend so we'll get to see this group of special people that we love : )

4. My skin cancer is not the fatal kind so there are no big worries about this at this time.

5. Reese is NOT going to need a physical therapy! She had an extensive evaluation this week and the therapist just gave us some tips of small things to change around the house. Overall she thinks we can get rid of her flat spot on her head fairly easily and that she is not headed towards getting a helmet.

Lots to be thankful for as you can see. Perfect heading into Thanksgiving week! : )

Sweet Celebrations

2011-11-14T16:09:00.006-06:00

Last week was my last official week of maternity leave. It was bittersweet knowing that my days with Reese are limited, but it was made infinitely better by the visit of my BF Kristie. Kristie flew in to meet Reese and we had a blast while she was here. We ate at our favorite restaurants (TruFire, Whiskey Cake with Nicole and Charlotte, Seasons 52 with Angie), went shopping and enjoyed a fabulous spa day at the Stonebriar Spa (where we had such a good time that we almost went back the next day!). It was a terrific week and I am so blessed to have her in my life!

Saturday night Dana and I had our first night out without the baby. We went to go see the Zac Brown band and celebrate our dear friend Kelley Loredo's birthday with about 15 other people. It was a beautiful night to be outdoors as Texas is still in the 70s/80s. We had a great time and I was so grateful not to spend one moment worrying about Reese since we were able to get her school teacher from daycare to come watch her for the evening.

This weekend I also attended a baby shower for Nichole Wilson and a birthday party for Janelle's sweet little girl Maya who turned three. The conversation at Nichole's shower was hilarious (as some of the attendees had teenage girls/dating they were dealing with), and it warmed my heart seeing both Janelle and Maya so happy at this stage in their lives. So glad there is much to celebrate in life!

Reese also had a chance to debut her fancy bloomers at the party, courtesy of Auntie Kelley.

Today we applied for a passport for Reese. The process was NOT fun. In fact, the post office is so inefficient that it was the exact opposite of fun. However, Dana reminds me that this is a high-class problem as we now can travel the world and experience memorable adventures with our little one.

P.S.

2011-11-11T21:48:00.003-06:00

Well, I have to say I have mixed feelings after posting the message below. One the one hand, it reminded me that I have wonderfully supportive friends and family, as many people reached to me with their concerns and prayers.

On the other hand, it made me a little uncomfortable because I really try not to focus on the not-so-perfect things in life and I'm seriously not that bothered by all of it. Remember that book "Don't sweat the small stuff"? Well, I think it's all small stuff if you treat it that way. It's all how you look at it. So thank you everyone for your love. But believe me when I say that I'm okay and loving life and still feeling very blessed : )

Getting real...

2011-11-03T16:39:00.002-05:00

I recently joined a new bible study that I LOVE at Providence Church. This week, one of the things we discussed was how we often compare ourselves to others (our marriage, our finances, our children, our spiritual walk), when really we need to compare ourselves to Jesus. For instance, one might say: why don't I have as much as my friends? Then you might say, well I donate more to the needy/the church than they do... and you might feel better and go on your way. But really Jesus called us to sell everything we have and give it all to the poor.. that is the true bar.

The other thing that happens when we compare ourselves to others, is that we often look only at the good at their lives... we rarely see the whole picture. And what we forget, is that no one's life is perfect. Blogs and Facebook often compound this problem, as people typically only share the best parts of their lives.

This discussion compelled me to write a "not-so-perfect" blog post about what I am currently struggling with in my life.

1. Dana is traveling for most of the next 5 days. While I'm thrilled that he's off joining the Board of Partners International, it is hard to be a single mom while he's away. And Reese and I miss him : )

2. I've been having nightmares lately that I'm pretty sure are due to some subconscious anxiety around maternity leave coming to an end in 2 weeks. It will be quite hard to go back to work and leave my little one.

3. Our church Community Group just "broke up" due to geographic differences compounded by small children and their schedules. While I think it's the right thing to do at this time, it breaks my heart. These people have been my family for 6 years.

4. I was diagnosed with skin cancer last week. What can I say? I love the sun. Oh how I wish spray tanning had existed when I was a teen. I hear my mother in my head saying "I told you so" on this one... and she's right. Luckily, this cancer is easily treated and doesn't spread.

5. Reese is going to need a physical therapist (and we have to pay out of pocket for this therapy). Her neck is tight on one side so she only sleeps on one side and thus is developing a head that is 1/2 flat. While I'm thrilled she doesn't have a life-threatening illness, this is not fun for a newborn.

So that's it. I normally choose to focus on my blessings and all that is positive because I like that outlook in life, but sometimes it IS good to share the dirty laundry if it helps others who might be comparing their life to ours.

Too young for trick-or-treating

2011-10-31T18:32:00.003-05:00

..but still having fun with her Community Group buds!

Happy Halloween from our little pumpkin

2011-10-30T11:09:00.002-05:00

Thanks Nana for sending me my 1st Halloween costume! Love. Reese

Eco-friendly mama

2011-10-28T22:28:00.000-05:00

I received this awesome baby gift set from my friends at Terracycle this week! Terracycle upcycles our chip bags and turns them into new items to keep them out of landfills. I think this diaper bag, bib and changing mat turned out so cool!

Moorea moves in on Reese's turf

2011-10-26T22:26:00.001-05:00

I caught Moorea the other day in Reese's crib.. and Reese hasn't even slept there yet!

It's official...

2011-10-26T21:32:00.009-05:00

Reese is adorable and we're not the only ones who think so!

Reese won FIRST PLACE in the costume contest during the Halloween celebration at Frito today. While I wish we'd gotten better pictures, we had a blast introducing her to our co-workers and seeing all of their adorable kids dressed up and trick-or-treating around the offices. I just love Halloween and this was such a fun event!

LOVING Maternity leave

2011-10-26T21:21:00.006-05:00

Maternity leave has gotten even better now that Reese has her 8-week vaccinations and can now be around other children/larger groups. I've been exploring Frisco to find fun classes for her and feel so blessed that this area has a lot of fantastic (and free!) programs for infants.

So far we've attended story time at the Frisco library and musical story time at the Music Institute of N. Texas. Both were awesome so we'll definitely be regulars! Reese just loves watching the other children (and I love watching her smile).

I've also loved my Square One group. Square One is a ministry at our church for new moms. We meet a few hours a week with our babies and just talk about relevant topics. This past week was about finding time for eating healthy, working out and doing quiet times. It was really motivating to me and also a fun way to meet other new moms!

Reese and I have also gotten out for lunches with my friends Sondra and Angie, walks at the Arbor Hills Nature Reserve with Cayce and Elliot, Baby Boot Camp class with Katherine and Dahlia, book club and bible study at Providence Church (a new church I discovered by our house that I like a lot). It's all been so much fun (plus the weather is gorgeous right now). My only compliant is that maternity leave is going by too quickly! I'm loving this sweet time right now...

Reese turns 2 months old

2011-10-23T22:18:00.000-05:00

My how time flies! Reese turned 2 months old. She weighs 11 lbs and is 10 lbs 14 oz (57% percentile) and she is 23 inches tall (75% percentile). Although when people see her they comment on how little she is, I feel like she was really only a "baby" for about 6 weeks. They grow up so fast!

Enjoying a leisurely weekend...

2011-10-10T12:31:00.005-05:00

Friday our neighborhood hosted an outdoor jazz concert for residents. We have a really nice amphitheater on a grassy hill where the musician performed. Everyone packed a blanket and a picnic dinner (we had gruyere cheese with pretzel crisps, bruschetta, veggies and dip, a garden salad with lime dressing, spinach and mozzarella ravioli, carrot cake, wine and champagne... so much goodness) We met the Fox family there to enjoy the nice weather and pretty music. Other than the bugs, it was truly a perfect evening! My mom and I have always loved outdoor concerts, and this was one of the best ones ever (since it was free and right here in our neighborhood). Such an easy night out with a baby!

Saturday morning Dana made some delicious aebelskivers (little pancake balls) for our breakfast. That night we had scheduled a double date with the Wannemachers to see the movie "Courageous". Ryan got sick so instead we stayed home and Dana planned an Italian-themed date night. He made an AMAZING eggplant parmesan (seriously one of the best meals I've ever had) and we watched the movie the Godfather. Although I resisted seeing this movie for the 9 years we've been together, I really liked it!

Fall has arrived!

2011-10-04T11:55:00.002-05:00

Celebrating the birthday boy

2011-10-04T10:58:00.006-05:00

Dana turned 35 this weekend so we went to Coal Vines with a small group of friends to celebrate. He says all of his wishes have already come true. Awww... makes my heart melt : )

Sunday we grilled out with our community group. Dana used his favorite toys (the Vitamix and his new food scale) to grind burgers from scratch! He stuffed them with gruyere cheese and they were amazing. He's quite the chef!

Seeing the pumpkins with our little pumpkin

2011-10-04T10:50:00.004-05:00

Sunday morning we visited the Dallas Arboretum, with our friends the Wannemachers, to see the amazing pumpkin displays. The weather was gorgeous and we had a wonderful time.

As could be expected, our little sleeper couldn't stay awake for photos.

More pics coming soon!

Reese's Birth Announcement

2011-10-04T10:32:00.005-05:00

Reese's birth announcements are complete! I love them so much. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at us getting the shot.

Growing up too fast...

2011-09-27T13:27:00.002-05:00

Is there anything sweeter than this?

2011-09-26T15:52:00.000-05:00

Passing along family traits

2011-09-21T10:44:00.003-05:00

Everyone knows that Dana and I LOVE our sleep. Well I'm happy to say that Reese has picked up this trait from us. At 3 1/2 weeks old, she slept last night from 10:30 PM to 6 AM and then from 6:45 AM to 9 AM. I'm getting more sleep with her than I did while I was working! It's pretty awesome.

Now we've been warned that babies who are great sleepers don't always stay that way, but I'm going to appreciate every second of it while we have it!

NASCAR driving experience

2011-09-20T16:16:00.002-05:00

Dana started celebrating his 35th birthday a bit early this past weekend when he and his dad went to the Texas Motor Speedway to do the Nascar driving experience. After taking a class, they sped Nascar vehicles around the track. Thankfully they both came back without injuries (which we really appreciated since Ron had already been bitten by a snake in our garage earlier in the week!)

Sweet Dreams little Reese

2011-09-19T21:49:00.001-05:00

And Daddy loves Reese

2011-09-18T14:35:00.000-05:00

Reese loves her Daddy

2011-09-14T15:18:00.000-05:00

Grandma Judy and Grandpa Ron meet Reese

2011-09-10T12:49:00.004-05:00

Reese is LOVING meeting her grandparents! After Christine's mom, Nancy ("Nana") visited over Labor Day weekend, Dana's parents arrived for a 2-week visit. Reese is enjoying all of the attention, and Ron and Judy are brushing up on their childcare skills since they will be taking care of Reese for awhile when Christine goes back to work.

Embracing our new life

2011-09-08T19:46:00.002-05:00

"I've always known that life is better when you share it. I now realize it gets even sweeter when you expand the circle." ~Oprah

Yep... that pretty much sums it up perfectly.

Our sweet daughter

2011-09-08T19:41:00.003-05:00

Here's a picture of Reese at about 2 weeks old. She's growing so fast! She now weighs 7 lbs, 11 oz and is 20 inches long (~40% percentile for both height and weight).

Doesn't she look like such an angelic little baby? Well, this was taken right before she peed all over this pillow : )

Flowers in honor of Reese

2011-09-05T19:19:00.005-05:00

Today Grandpa Ron & Grandma Judy had a rose at their church service in Monterey, CA in honor of Reese's birth. This lucky little girl is being celebrated around the world!

Reese meets her 1st grandmother

2011-09-02T16:51:00.000-05:00

Nancy has arrived and Reese couldn't be happier!

Reese's 1st week at home

2011-08-31T15:31:00.015-05:00

We just wrapped up Reese's 1st week at home and it has truly been a whirlwind as we adjust to having a BABY!

Thankfully, Reese's Aunt Ana visited and helped out a TON!

Even with a newborn, we managed to make it to Trufire to celebrate Ana's 40th birthday (and Reese's 1st excursion out of the house) and Whiskey Cake to celebrate Christine's 35th.

We had visits from lots of friends coming to meet Reese. And we gratefully enjoyed wonderful meals from Stephanie, Katherine, Cayce, Lauren and Sindhura.

Reese made it through her 1st pediatrician appointment with with flying colors. She is eating and sleeping great and already back past her birth weight! I can't believe how fast she's growing - in a way it makes me sad... I'm totally amazed at how much I love having a newborn.

Our 1st bath was a success thanks to great teamwork...

And our newborn photo shoot was a blast and I couldn't have been more pleased with our photographer. The shots turned out AMAZING! The most difficult part will be picking which one to put on our baby announcement, and then finding walls in our house to accommodate all of the rest! Stay tuned for a peek at these soon...

So to sum it all up, it's been a busy, fun week and we are LOVING Reese!

Father Daughter Bonding

2011-08-31T15:27:00.003-05:00

What a sweet sight... My heart melts at how much Dana loves his new daughter! And I can tell she's already crazy about him as well.

Dear heavenly Father, I thank you today for my husband. You have given me and my daughter a precious gift, and I praise you for allowing us to spend our lives with him. Take control of my will Lord, that I might be the wife to him that you want me to be. Give me patience and help me always to be kind. Amen.

Reese's 1st day home

2011-08-25T14:20:00.000-05:00

Our little angel is born!

2011-08-23T19:10:00.001-05:00

We were thrilled to welcome our baby girl to the world this week. This is the story of how she made her first appearance...

Reese Elizabeth Allen was due on Wednesday, August 24, 2011. We chose to be induced on Tuesday, August 23rd because we were already basically at 40 weeks into the pregnancy so we knew the baby was ready, and our doctor was going on an extended vacation the following weekend. To top it off, it had been 100 degrees+ for pretty much the entire summer, so I was just feeling hot and uncomfortable and ready to get this show on the road!

Monday was my last day at the office prior to starting maternity leave. All of my coworkers kept asking me what I was doing there (instead of relaxing at home), but I was so excited and felt very ready so it was the best place to be to help pass the time until Reese's arrival.

I left early and arrived home a little after 5 PM. At 7 PM, I felt my first contraction. It was much stronger and more painful than anything else I'd felt during pregnancy, so I knew it could be the real deal. The contractions started 9-11 minutes apart, but came regularly. Dana was working late getting things wrapped up (since we were expecting to have a baby the next morning) so I called him just to give him a heads up, but told him not to worry since they were still far apart.

Much to my surprise, just an hour later they were coming every 5 minutes. Since they tell you that you should go to the hospital once they are 5 minutes apart consistently for an hour, I called Dana and told him to come home and grab some fast food on the way (he had initially planned on a cooking a nice dinner for us, but I had a feeling we were going to be on our way to the hospital shortly).

Dana got home at 8:30... just in time to take a quick shower and get us to the hospital by 9. By 9 o'clock my contractions ranged from 4-6 minutes apart. Luckily, we live 2 minutes from Baylor Frisco, which is a wonderful place to deliver a baby (it's basically the country club of maternity wards!)

When we arrived I was 4 cm dilated and in a lot of pain. The contractions, while they didn't last long, were pretty horrible. Dana kept trying to distract me from them with random questions (Where should we go for Spring Break? If you had a pet dolphin, what would you name it?).

Thankfully, I was able to get rushed right into a delivery room, and I had an epidural by 10 pm. After that, everything became blissful. I couldn't feel a thing besides very tingly legs and toes. We darkened the delivery room, set up LED-lit, vanilla scented candles and played Sarah McLaughlin music to help me relax. I honestly felt like I was at the spa. I was so happy we'd thought ahead to pack these things!

Our nurse, Allison, was INCREDIBLE. She coached us almost the whole way there and she was such a cheerleader. At the end, they gave me a little Potosin because Reese wouldn't drop low enough. I pushed for 20-30 minutes and my doctor, Dr. Fleming, arrived when I was about to cross the finish line.

Reese was born at 2:32 AM. I was happy but unfortunately very nauseous... quite possibly because I succumbed to having a Chic-Fil-A milkshake to make me feel better during contractions, and you're not supposed to eat before labor. Anyhow, I did eventually throw up (not fun) but then I felt much better and was able to fully welcome our darling to the world!

We were at the hospital from Monday PM to Thursday at 11 AM. The staff took incredible care of us, and the food was delicious! (They have a 5-star chef on staff)

We fell more in love with Reese every day, and when the time came for us to leave, we felt very ready to start our new life together as a family of 3.

Baby Allen has arrived!

2011-08-23T16:45:00.001-05:00

An announcement by Smilebox

The clock is ticking...

2011-08-21T22:10:00.002-05:00

Here are some final pregnancy photos!

We are just about at 40 weeks and after a lazy weekend, we are feeling ready to meet little miss Reese! I'm being induced on Tuesday at 7:30 AM (one day before our official due date) so just one more day to go!

A date night suprise & a visit from Dad

2011-08-14T21:24:00.008-05:00

Friday night I planned a surprise for Dana. After we had a call with our cat psychiatrist (don't ask), we dropped off dinner for the Boyles so that we could visit their new baby Matthew again.

Following that, we went on a "progressive" date, stopping at 3 places (appetizer, entree, dessert). Dana knew there was a pattern, and he was supposed to guess what it was. The restaurants I chose were based on his initials (Dana LeRoy Allen - so DLA). I had planned to go to Dish, La Duni and Artins. Amazingly, he guessed the pattern right away (he's just that smart) and decided he instead wanted to go to Dish, Local and Abacus. Anyways, it was a memorable evening with amazing food - and way too much of it!

I also gave him a bag of presents that represented things I love about him (really I just rewrapped things we already had - it was the message behind them that mattered). He unwrapped: a measuring spoon (because I love our precious time on Saturday mornings when he makes me breakfast), a photo of us in Vietnam (because he is the best travel partner I could ever imagine - and I also think he's gorgeous :-)), a love letter he once wrote me (because I love how great he is with words of affirmation, and a book "The Power of a Praying Couple" because I love how he is a spiritual leader in our home.

Saturday we had a leisurely day and just enjoyed having our last precious "me time" that we'll likely have for awhile. Christine got a prenatal massage and Dana played around with his new camera that he recently picked up in anticipation of taking a lot of baby pics. This weekend also kicked off Dallas' Restaurant Week so we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Silver Fox steakhouse with Nicole and Stan. The food was really amazing, and it was great to catch up with them before Reese arrives!

Sunday Christine's dad came to visit for the day on his way home to St. Louis, during a stopover from Chile. We had a really nice day together eating brunch at Breadwinners, going to Watermark Church, shopping at Central Market and then cooking up a delicious spread for dinner.

Tomorrow we're going to Ken Rathbun's Blue Plate Kitchen for dinner and then on Thursday we're headed to Nobu with Janelle (I think the plan is to just stuff ourselves silly before the baby comes and spend all of our money, so that we're happy to stay home for awhile!)

Food, Friends and Fun

2011-08-07T21:11:00.002-05:00

Of all the advice we've received in preparation for our little one, the two things we've heard repeatedly are to sleep now while we can, and go out to eat a lot to get in those date nights!

The sleep advice doesn't work so well since it's pretty much impossible to sleep through the night when you're this pregnant (and it's over one hundred degrees every day). BUT, we've done a great job of getting in lots of nice dinners out and date nights!

Tuesday we ate at Whiskey Cake (Christine's new favorite restaurant) with Burke & Alyssa. Friday we went to Trufire - we eat there ALL THE TIME but never get tired of it. This time was interesting because we ate quite early (6 PM) since Dana had a birthday party for Jeff Klein to get to afterward, and we couldn't believe all of the kids that were at our favorite date place. We finally put it together that families eat out early... and we were seeing a glimpse of our future!

Saturday we finally got to try The Meddlesome Moth with our dear friends Maisie and Darren. The beer menu was INCREDIBLE and Darren and Dana had a fun time working through it and trying a bunch of new beers. The food was really, really good too!

Today we enjoyed a yummy potluck dinner with our church community group. Stephanie made amazing mango salmon and Elizabeth and Jordan brought little Baby Larkin, who is just over 4 weeks old. He's such a cutie!

So all in all, while we still are wrapping up some odds and ends and trying to get everything ready for Reese's arrival (sometime in the next 2 weeks!), we're having a ton of fun along the way!

All-Natural Rap

2011-08-02T12:24:00.001-05:00

We see a lot of crazy stuff here where we work. But I have to say... this has got to be my favorite. Makes me laugh every time I watch it!

Slings and Stand-ins

2011-07-30T19:04:00.003-05:00

A terrific baby gift arrived in the mail today - a Moby Sling! We've heard terrific things about these slings. Here's a picture of me trying to figure out how to tie it, using my other little girl. I hope Reese likes it more than Moorea did!

36 1/2 weeks

2011-07-30T16:39:00.005-05:00

Less than a month to go! We finished our final baby "training" classes today at the hospital and we are feeling ready to meet our little girl!

While we were there, we were able to drop in to visit Haylee and Ryan, who gave birth to their 3rd child yesterday. Matthew Brent is ADORABLE and everyone is doing well.

An exciting engagement in the family

2011-07-26T09:06:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we received big news that Dana's brother (who still lives over in Hong Kong) had proposed to his girlfriend over the weekend while they were out boating and enjoying beautiful beaches with her family. It sounds like it was super romantic!

Congratulations Sam and Sheena! We wish you a lifetime of happiness.

Reese's nursery is complete!

2011-07-23T08:57:00.001-05:00

Click here to see photos:

Reese's nursery

Our Community Group continues to grow...

2011-07-23T08:26:00.006-05:00

Last night we visited the Brazeals (another couple in our church community group) to see Baby Larkin again and bring them some dinner. Larkin is their 1st child and he is quite a cutie! Elizabeth and Jordan have only been parents 2 weeks, but seeing them they seem to have it all figured out. Glad they'll be around in a month when we'll likely need lots of advice : )

Larkin's nursery is ADORABLE and proves you don't have to find out the sex of the baby in advance to have a cute nursery. I wish I had taken some pics of it, but at least I remembered to get one of the baby!

After our visit, Dana and I went to Asian Mint for date night. I LOVE that place - it's really great Thai food in a trendy atmosphere. The thai iced teas, red curry, pad kee mow and green tea ice cream cake took us back to memories of part 2 of our honeymoon in Thailand. Thailand is probably my favorite country in the world and I would love to go back there some day!

Saturday night we celebrated Ryan Wannemacher's birthday (also in our community group) with bowling at Splitsville "luxury lanes and dinner lounge". Such a cool place!

Picking a name...

2011-07-22T11:06:00.002-05:00

Dana and I are quite the Marketers. Rather than keeping our baby name a secret (as most people I know tend to do), we've been trying to do focus groups along the way to ensure we have a winner! While it's impossible to please everyone, we're glad we got some great feedback along the way and we're quite happy with Reese.

Now Reese's middle name has been TOUGH. Why you ask? I have no idea. We just had a trillion names we liked and couldn't decide. We finally narrowed it down to 4 (Reese Ryan, Reese Reyna, Reese McKenna and Reese Elizabeth) and I resorted to a poll on Facebook and Babycenter.com. A bit ridiculous, I know, but really we liked them all and were never going to be able to decide without help!

150 votes later, Reese Elizabeth is the CLEAR winner. I've liked this name all along (since my middle name is Elizabeth and Dana's grandmother was named Elsie - which according to my baby books is a nickname of Elizabeth). Dana has not been a fan (it just felt too "vanilla" to him), but I think the polls have won him over!

McKenna came in 2nd and we really like that name, but we think we'll save it as a strong contender for a first name in case we have another girl down the road.

Love and War

2011-07-22T08:29:00.006-05:00

Last night we experienced a dinner we may never forget! We met up with our business school friends, Drew and Kim Fine, at a restaurant called Love & War. It was a fascinating and very fun experience. This place is ALL ABOUT TEXAS. And I mean over-the-top Texas. It's pretty funny. I am actually looking forward to taking our families there in the future because I think it's a memorable place and good for groups.

Dana and I tried Texas antelope, Texas quail, Texas venison sausage... and of course he tried some new TX beers. It was all quite good. They even have honey cornbread in the shape of Texas!

Food & Friends

2011-07-22T08:24:00.004-05:00

Last weekend pretty much focused around food and friends. On Friday we tried a new restaurant (Kenny's Italian Kitchen) for date night. I love trying new places, and the Midnight Meatballs were soooo good.

On Saturday we enjoyed a really fun company picnic. The Marketing Dept has a number of events throughout the year, and this one included bounce houses, face painting, a petting zoo, and a DJ. Had it not been over 100 degrees (or if I wasn't 8 months pregnant or if we already had kids), we probably would have stayed longer!

Later we had a fun dinner with Kelley and Carl Loredo - catching up at Coal Vines over some delicious pizza and then grabbing gelato (sea salted caramel - OF COURSE!).

On Sunday Nicole and I had brunch with Haylee in honor of her 3rd baby on the way!

Celebrating Nicole

2011-07-13T22:10:00.004-05:00

Tonight the girls celebrated Nicole's birthday at "Painting with a Twist". While I am really horrible at this, it's such a fun place for a get-together. With a lot of sangria and cake balls on hand, we took our stab at recreating a floral painting.

Happy Birthday Nicole!

Fire shuts down the Rihanna concert

2011-07-12T17:27:00.002-05:00

Friday night we had more excitement than we had bargained for. I was so excited because we had AWESOME seats to the Rihanna concert - take a look at how close we were to the stage!

On top of that, we had plans to meet her afterwards for a Doritos-sponsored meet & greet. Unfortunately, the concert was shut down abruptly after about 90 minutes when some pyrotechnics set stage equipment on fire and the American Airlines Center had to be evacuated! Here's a pic I snapped before we scrambled out of the building.

I was a bit worried about being pregnant and getting trampled by a mass exodus, but luckily no one was hurt. It was quite an eventful evening and probably my last concert for quite awhile!

Celebrating the 4th of July in California

2011-07-06T21:13:00.012-05:00

Dana and I spent the 4th out in Carmel with Ron, Judy and Sam. We had a wonderfully relaxing time with the family cooking great food, enjoying all of our favorite brunch spots, hiking in Big Sur, visiting the outstanding Monterey Aquarium, playing "Ticket to Ride" and "Dixit" and celebrating our upcoming little girl at a baby shower hosted by their dear friends, the Collords.

This was our last plane trip before we become parents (in approximately 7 weeks) and it was quite a nice finale!

My baby shower at American Girl

2011-06-25T17:18:00.005-05:00

Today Elizabeth, Stephanie and Lindsay from my Watermark Church community group threw me a baby shower at the American Girl store in Dallas. This store is an AMAZING place for little girls - and it comes complete with a doll hair salon and a bistro (which is where we had the shower).

Sara, my sorority sister who lives in Austin, drove up for the event and Sondra, a high school friend came as well (which was quite a treat because I hadn't seen her in years). We had a great group because Cayce and Lauren (from our original community group) were able to join us as well. It was really the cutest place to host a shower for a baby girl. What a treat!

Co-workers & Cupcake Balls: my work baby shower

2011-06-23T21:30:00.008-05:00

2 of my dearest friends (really they're more like family), Nicole and Janelle, threw me a baby shower with 50 of my co-workers. It was so much fun! Nicole made the most amazing cake balls, Janelle decorated her home with beautiful flowers, and I finally got to catch up with many of my closest friends at work that I don't often get to see.

Our Baby Moon weekend

2011-06-20T21:51:00.020-05:00

Even though we had a wonderful time in the Caribbean a couple weeks ago, that was technically for Kristie's wedding, so we decided to take one last weekend trip together for our official pre-baby, "Baby Moon". Since long plane rides are getting uncomfortable for me in my last trimester, we roadtripped down to San Antonio for 2 nights and then spent 1 night in Fredericksburg, TX. It was such a great weekend!

In San Antonio we stayed at the Westin La Cantera resort, which we loved. It's huge and there is a ton to do. We definitely plan to be back, as it was very family friendly (but still had the mandatory adult pool!).

Friday night we ate at Acenar, a trendy restaurant overlooking San Antonio's famous Riverwalk. Saturday we just relaxed by one of the Westin's 5 gorgeous pools and read parenting books - trying to soak it all in! I also finished this awesome book (The Hunger Games) for my book club - couldn't put the thing down!

Saturday night we went out for a belated anniversary dinner/early Father's Day celebration and splurged on a romantic 8-course tasting menu at the Lodge at Castle Hills. It was very picturesque.

Sunday we spent the day at Sea World, where we saw 3 great shows (sealions, killer whales and beluga whales) and Dana rode some roller coasters.

Sunday evening we drove to small Texas town called Fredericksburg that is popular for weekend getaways and full of B&Bs and quaint shops. We checked into the cutest log cabin at Baron's Creekside. The place was so adorable! I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great place in Fredericksburg.

We played some board games, relaxed with some wine and cheese at Lincoln Street (a MUST visit if you go to Fredericksburg) and then had a yummy dinner at the Navajo Grill with Sara and James, who drove in from Austin to meet us.

Monday we had a great breakfast the Sunset Grill and then explored the cute boutiques on Main Street. We ate grass-fed TX bison burgers at the Rather Sweet Bakery and Cafe for lunch and then headed back to Dallas. It was a really memorable weekend! So glad we got away before Baby Allen arrives in about 65 days.

Congratulations to Dana

2011-06-20T21:46:00.003-05:00

Dana's not only an awesome husband all around, but he also just earned a big promotion at work. It's a tough one to get, and I'm so proud of him!

It is bitter sweet for him as this means he'll be leaving the Doritos team (which he loves). In his new role, he'll be the Senior Director of our Food Service team, managing both foods and beverages with customers such as Taco Bell, Subway, the airlines, etc.

Time to celebrate!

Best Girls Weekend Ever

2011-06-14T22:06:00.005-05:00

This past weekend I met up with the Wash U Kappa Kappa Gammas for a wonderful girls weekend in Scottsdale, AZ. We stayed at the Westin Kierland and did absolutely nothing except eat great food, lay out by the pool, and lounge on inner tubes in their awesome lazy river. It was incredibly relaxing.

I had a wonderful time just catching up with these fabulous girls (we counted that we'd been on at least 32 of these trips together!).

They also gave me some amazing baby gifts, including an audio storybook for our little girl (where each of the KKGs recorded their voice reading a page) and an awesome diaper bag that I never thought I'd really be able to get!

We had so much fun that we're already planning our next trip - probably to the beach next Spring. I'm so blessed to have had these women in my life for the past 17 years!

Baby Bump - 27 1/2 weeks

2011-06-03T15:20:00.000-05:00

This little girl has been kicking up a storm!

Turks & Caicos

2011-06-03T15:09:00.007-05:00

We just got back from one of the most amazing trips we've ever taken. It was one of my best friend's weddings, our 7th wedding anniversary, a baby moon and a family reunion of sorts all wrapped in one! Top top it off, we were on the nicest beach I've ever seen in my life (I'm a beach fanatic so this says a lot!).

We read a lot, swam a lot, ate a lot, enjoyed quite a few virgin pina coladas, cried at the wedding, snorkeled, and toasted s'mores at a beach bonfire. It was incredibly fun, romantic and relaxing.

Ahhh... how I love vacation : )

Creating a home for Baby Allen

2011-06-03T14:53:00.007-05:00

We still have some work to do, but our nursery is coming along nicely for our baby girl. It will be fun to see it all come together when we have bedding, curtains, our glider chair, etc. But I already love it!

If anyone in Dallas needs a muralist, you have to call Linde. She's incredible!

Baby pic at 26 1/2 weeks

2011-05-22T19:52:00.001-05:00

A perfect weekend

2011-05-21T17:30:00.003-05:00

We are enjoying an amazing weekend! Last night we went to a highly recommended restaurant in town - Neighborhood Services. It did not disappoint! The food was incredible. And it was even better because we went with Ryan and Haylee. Since Ryan left Frito to go work for Facebook, we haven't seen them as often as we'd like - so it was fun to catch up.

Today I had a baby shower for Elizabeth, one of the girls in my church community group. The other girls and I hosted a high tea at the Four Seasons hotel in her honor. It was equally amazing as Neighborhood Services. Such a great time!

Tomorrow we're kicking off our wedding anniversary week (7 YEARS!!! I can't believe it) with a couple massage at the Crescent Spa. I could get used to this : ) And then packing starts because Wednesday we leave for Turks and Caicos!

Wish Night gala

2011-05-15T16:57:00.006-05:00

Last night we attended a black-tie charity event for Make-A-Wish. It was so much fun to get dressed up and go out to a big event with a bunch of our friends, especially when it was for such a great cause.

The event included a dinner, a huge silent auction and performances by some of the wish kids. It was such a wonderful night!!! And I LOVED seeing my sweet husband in a tux (it had been awhile and I thought he looked quite handsome), even though he had a mustache in the pictures since he's growing one this month to raise money for charity.

Here's a pic of my baby bump at 25 1/2 weeks. We're almost in the 100 day countdown and we both are so excited to meet this little girl. We're getting closer on names, and we just picked out the glider for our nursery today, so things are moving along!

A whirlwind trip to NYC

2011-05-02T20:51:00.007-05:00

This weekend I had the chance to visit my 2 BFFs in New York City. I had so much fun surprising Kristie at her bridal shower.

I also finally had a chance to meet Shannon's baby, who is 9 months old. Here are pictures of me and Elyse - what a cutie!

We also snapped a pic of my baby bump at 23.5 weeks. Our little girl has been kicking up a storm, which has actually been a lot of fun for Dana and me to experience.

It was great to have some quality girl time, and to see how Shannon's now not just a fabulous friend, but also such a wonderful mom! It was such a short trip, but still an amazing weekend.

When I got back I attended Elizabeth's baby shower - it was seriously the cutest shower I've ever been to! It was so fun and incredibly adorable... just like her!

Highlights from the last month

2011-04-17T07:49:00.008-05:00

I'm really getting bad at keeping this blog updated, so before I forget it all, here are some updates from the last month:

Christine started taking an evening graduate school class on Human Rights (just for fun to learn more about issues around the world) at SMU.

We both spent an amazing week in Napa for FL Leadership Training. We were treated to one of the most beautiful hotels we've ever stayed at, and we spent each day at the famous Culinary Institute of America, eating great food and listening to incredible speakers each day (like Francis Ford Coppola speaking about "The Art of Storytelling").

We spent a weekend in San Francisco and enjoyed catching up with old friends (Jen Bedi, Tom Yu) and their families. We had a wonderful day with Dana's parents there as well, enjoying brunch at Ella's (our favorite) and a stroll through the gorgeous Japanese Botanical Gardens. We also opened our "special envelope" from the doctor while we were visiting them and all found out that we are having a BABY GIRL!!!!

Christine spent a weekend in Vegas with 7 girlfriends celebrating the upcoming marriage of one of her favorite people in the whole world - Kristie DeKoker. They stayed at the new Aria hotel, which was quite beautiful, and spent quality time eating delicious food, shopping and getting makeovers, dancing at Haze, toasting at the Chandelier bar, and watching Kristie have fun losing her money at poker, craps and roulette.

Christine spent a week in NYC as her work team took over Times Square for a PR event. The FL Flavor Kitchen filmed live cooking shows each day with celebrity chefs, and sampled many of the new all-natural flavors that FL has launched this year. While she was there, she was able to catch up with old friends (Jason Frank and Kate Mescal) which made it all the more fun!

Other than that, we've had some fun double-dates, but mostly we've been working on getting ready for the baby (doing research for our baby registry, writing our wills, researching cord blood banks, trying (fruitlessly) to think of a good name for the baby, etc). There just seems to be a lot to get done before the little one arrives!

Here's a picture of my 20 lb. baby belly at 21 1/2 weeks...

Local Produce and Lady Gaga

2011-03-20T22:24:00.006-05:00

We signed up through a local farm co-op to get organic produce 2x per month, so we've been cooking up a storm lately as we look for ways to use up all of the ingredients. We've been cooking everything from beet and dandelion leaf salads, to potato and carrot soup, to apple pear crisp for dessert (just to name a few of our many creative concoctions!) It's really nice because it's making us refocus on trying to cook more at home/eat out less and eat healthier.

The only downside thus far is that Dana ended up in the emergency room due to a small kitchen incident with a knife. I laugh because they gave him stitches in his thumb with blue thread, so of course it coordinates with everything he wears (since he loves blue).

Other than that, we've just been continuing to prepare of the baby (we find out the sex in 2 weeks!!!) and enjoying the gorgeous Spring weather. There's not much I love more than sitting outside by the pool while enjoying a good book, or taking a nice walk with Dana.

I've been getting quite large too with the growing baby bump. Here are some pics from about a week ago, when I was about 16 1/2 weeks pregnant. I really don't think they do justice to how big my stomach is if you see it in person. It already sticks out as far as my chest does, which should give you some idea of how much Baby Allen has been growing : )

The biggest excitement lately has been attending the Lady Gaga concert with Janelle, Kate, Shea and Jen Saenz. While Gaga is really quite talented, she's also totally bizarre. It was a crazy concert - but incredibly memorable. The people watching was out of this world since so many people came in costumes!

Action, Adventure, Excitement

2011-03-07T22:48:00.006-06:00

Last week my team at work had an exhilarating outing to the Nascar track in Fort Worth, where we went to driving school and practiced driving real Nascar vehicles around the track at 150 mph. I actually didn't get to drive due to my pregnancy (bummer!) but I had a blast wearing the outfit and taking fun photos.

Friday night we co-hosted a Going Away Party for our dear friends the Blanchards. It was a fun night, but so bittersweet since they've been part of a core group of friends of ours for years. We wish them the best in Bentonville and hope that book club can survive without Gretchen!

From miscarriage to miracle

2011-02-21T09:46:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I posted about how our 2nd pregnancy had ended in a miscarriage. Like our first pregnancy, we had had a lot of complications along the way, and after seeing the heartbeat at one doctor's appointment, it later went away and we were informed the baby had died.

However, this time a true miracle happened! 2 weeks later when I was scheduled for surgery to have the baby removed via a D&C, they did a final sonogram to double-check if anything was left and... the heartbeat came back! The baby was alive - something no one thought was possible. Praise the Lord. You should have seen the shock that myself, the nurses and doctors all experienced.

God has definitely been doing miracles for us along this process of starting a family. Both pregnancies were true miracles (I had 2 different doctors at the time that through blood tests and sonograms thought it was pretty much impossible) and now this. While we can never be sure of what the road ahead has in store for us, we can definitely tell you that we believe in miracles and we know that God is teaching us to remember to trust in him along the way.

We wish we could have shared the good news sooner since many of you were so kind to comfort us after the miscarriage, but it's been such a roller coaster ride that we didn't want to get anyone's hopes up again until the first trimester had passed.

We love you all and we hope you find some hope in our story of faith and miracles!

Superbowl 2011

2011-02-09T00:23:00.005-06:00

Catching Up

2011-02-04T16:27:00.005-06:00

It's been so long since I've posted that I don't know where to start, but I promise to get better this year!

In January we enjoyed some fun dinners with friends, including the Loredos, Cavins, Boyles, Chans and Raines. We played a lot of games, ate delicious food, and celebrated Haylee's 3rd pregnancy and Charlotte turning 2.

We were able to visit my sister Ana during a recruiting trip to Michigan, and despite frigid weather we loved spending time with our two nieces. They're only 4 and 6 years old but they seem so grown up already! Every moment we get to spend with them is precious since they grow so fast.

This week Dana's parents are visiting us, and we are so excited to head to the Superbowl this Sunday. Unfortunately they decided to drive cross-country, and the weather has been pretty horrible. Thankfully, they arrived safely despite -0 windchills and lots of ice!

One final holiday party

2011-01-09T20:36:00.004-06:00

Our church community group got together for a post-holidays Holiday Dinner on Saturday. It was really a great idea to do it after the stress of the holidays. We had a great time, and thankfully the ice cream for Dana's chocolate molten cakes didn't melt in the car on the way there even though construction made the typically short drive take 1.5 hours!

Hancocks and Rutledges - we missed you!

You've just got to laugh about it...

2011-01-05T06:23:00.008-06:00

So the thing I'm most looking forward to this year is a wedding. In May, my dear friend and inspiration in life, Kristie, will be walking down the aisle in Turks and Caicos... and I am honored to stand by her side (as she did at my own wedding in 2004).

The humorous piece of this though is everything that has not gone as planned so far with being in this wedding.

First, I found out we were pregnant last year and going to miss the first wedding date due to 3rd trimester travel restrictions. Kristie, being such an angel, moved the entire wedding 3 months later! Then, our pregnancy abruptly ended. So at this point Kristie has a wedding that is already scheduled 3 months later than she had hoped, and I have a babysitter with a plane ticket to Turks and Caicos that I will no longer need (it's okay Ana - we're still glad you're coming!)

Now take 2.... Once again we find out that we're pregnant (a second time). At this point I think I'll be 6 months pregnant at the wedding. Having no idea what size I'll be, I order TWO NON-RETURNABLE bridesmaid dresses from Ann Taylor in larger sizes. Then, once again, our pregnancy abruptly ends. So then I have to order a THIRD non-returnable dress in my current size since I no longer will be 6 months pregnant. At this point the other dress style is sold out in my size, so I need to choose a new dress.

So basically we now have: a wedding that's 3 months late, an extra babysitter flying to this island, two extra dresses that will likely never get worn and no baby. It's actually all pretty funny if I let myself appreciate the humor in it all.

Regardless of the path it takes us to get there, all that matters is that Kristie and Corey have a happy, happy marriage - and I know they will! I am very excited to share in their special day.

P.S. If anyone wants this dress in a 6 or an 8, please let me know! : )

Grateful for MORE family...

2011-01-02T22:42:00.005-06:00

After a nice visit with the Allens, I had a wonderful time visiting the Galofre side of the family back in St. Louis this weekend. We missed you Ana!

I went to the symphony, tried a couple new restaurants (Nosh is awesome), did a little shopping, spent some quality time visiting with my grandfather, took a latin dance class, met up for brunch with a dear friend from high school (Erin Cleary Sullivan) and saw the movie "The Black Swan".

It was great to be back home and to see my mom's sleek new condo for the first time (even though she's lived in it over a year). The only downfall was that is was COLD, so it's nice to be back in Texas!

Grateful for Family

2010-12-30T13:28:00.002-06:00

I am grateful for having married into a terrific family! Dana's father, Ron (not pictured), is the excellent photographer. I'm also grateful that my family loves them as much as I do!

Ahhhh..... fresh air

2010-12-25T01:46:00.004-06:00

We're out in California this week and it's been so nice to get outside and hike around Monterey and Carmel and walk along the beach. Quite a beautiful place to be!

We also made it to the Monterey aquarium - one of our favorite places to visit. I LOVE the jelly fish exihibit! It's magical yet peaceful at the same time.

I just want to Dance...

2010-12-17T09:51:00.001-06:00

You've GOT to watch this feel-good video...

Looking forward to a fresh start

2010-12-12T22:54:00.003-06:00

Last week was a tough week to be honest with you. In one week, the Vice President of my current team was let go from the company. In addition, my previous Vice President transferred offices. Finally, my Vice President from before that sadly passed away from a brain tumor. That last one was the toughest because she was young, talented and a friend. Ugh! It was one of those weeks where I just wanted to go back to bed and stay there until the week was over and I could start fresh again.

Anyhow, I'm off to hopefully a new start tomorrow and I hope that this week is a better one! I'm crossing my fingers and saying my prayers for a GREAT week before Christmas break begins.

I finally did it!

2010-12-11T18:31:00.005-06:00

For awhile now I've been wanting to go to this new place that opened up in Frisco called Painting with a Twist. It's sort of like those paint-your-own-pottery places, except that you paint a real painting while a real artist talks you and your group through it. You can bring in adult beverages and it has a cool atmosphere and fun music too. Such a neat place!

I finally got to go this week and this is what I created...

My latest purchase

2010-12-08T19:53:00.005-06:00

I just purchased a new Frito-Lay clutch/wristlet from Ecoist. I don't want to be a dork but think I'll actually carry this around - It's pretty cute and really well made!

Sweet memories from Thanks-Christmas 2010

2010-11-27T10:19:00.006-06:00

Volunteering to sort food at the North Texas food bank

Dinner at Seasons 52 - my new favorite restaurant
Decorating a beautiful tree while listening to Christmas music from "Mitch"

Manis and Pedis at the spa - glitter nail polish and flowers for my nieces
Games at Dave and Busters - winning stuffed animals all around
Seeing Tangled - an AWESOME new Disney movie
Playing a lot of "Ticket to Ride"
Trying chocolate beer - and loving it
Attending an adorable holiday festival in historic McKinney Square and watching my nieces enjoy riding the outdoor carousel

Laughing at how unspectacular the Fushigi ball is
Cooking and eating A LOT of great food!

Time to get on board

2010-11-06T01:08:00.004-05:00

Every year I set 10 personal goals. Well, 20 actually - 10 for myself and then Dana and I set 10 for our marriage. I've found that since I started doing this a few years ago, I have great satisfaction by seeing us make progress towards accomplishing our dreams.

This weekend, I'm successfully achieving one of these goals that is particularly important to me - joining the Board of a non-profit. I'm coming on board with Partners International, a Christian organization that is near and dear to my heart.

That means I'll be coming up to Spokane, Washington twice a year for Board meetings. It's not the easiest place in the world to get to from Dallas, but it's totally worth it. I'm truly inspired by the vision, passion and commitment that I feel when I'm here. If you're not familiar with Partners yet, check them out at: www.partnersintl.org

A Brief Taste of Paradise

2010-10-30T17:34:00.013-05:00

We just returned from a vacation in Maui. After spending months trying to figure out where we wanted to travel this year, we finally just pulled the trigger and flew to Hawaii. I've been to Hawaii, Oahu and Kauai but this was my first trip to Maui. Dana had previously visited with his family and even stayed at the same hotel (the Westin Maui).

Although I'm partial to Mexico because it's such a short flight from Texas and it's much less expensive than Hawaii once you get there, I will say that Maui is beautiful and has a lot more to do.

We rode up to the summit of the Haleakala volcano to watch the sunrise (where it was 40 degrees!), and sped back down on mountain bikes.
We watched a luau while sipping champagne from our balcony and strolled on the beaches at sunset.
We enjoyed the famous "drive to Hana", which is basically a windy, lush drive with stops for hiking, waterfalls and watching windsurfers do amazing feats on their own beach. But most of the time, we did what the Allens do best... eat great food!
Our favorite meals were at Lahaina Grill, Hula Grill (we ate there 3x we loved it so much) and Mama's Fish House. Most importantly, we came back very relaxed. I love vacation!

Love your neighbor as yourself

2010-10-22T23:29:00.004-05:00

Today my co-workers and I took part in a United Way volunteer day. Our department visited a Dallas retirement home and hosted indoor games for the residents as part of an Oktoberfest carnival. It was such a sweet time to see everyone just loving on people and making them feel special. The day really couldn't have gone any better. It's so nice to take time out of the "busyness" of life sometimes and just focus on relationships and caring for others.