Las Vegas, the Baby Way

Jillian loved the shinning lights of Las Vegas. We took an impromptu trip to the desert over mother's day weekend. We spent two amazing evenings at Mandalay Bay. We made visits to the pool, some fine dining (if you count burgers and fries) and a show (Beatles Love - Highly Recommend it). Tim and Jillian also squeezed in some time to visit the Shark Reef.

There have been lots of firsts for Jillian over the last two weeks. Not only did she experience her first flight and first limo ride, but she is getting her first tooth. I discovered it on Saturday, and there it is: a small little peek of white poking through on her bottom gum.

She also had her first cold. The jury is still out on if it's allergies or a cold. During our stay in Vegas, she didn't acclimate well to the dry desert climate. It was windy, lots of dust in the air, and the recycled casino air wasn't exactly helping the situation. She was really fussy the day she was flying home. Tim was worried about the flight, but said once she was in the airport she was as giddy as can be. She still has a runny nose, but honestly her mood is still as happy as can be, so we feel lucky her sleep and eating hasn't been affected too much.

I stayed in Vegas 4 more nights for work and was able to squeeze in some fun too.

Car service from Airport to Mandalay Bay via Limo

First airplane - got to meet the first captain and was a hit with the flight attendants :)

5 beers and a bottle on ice

Jillian passed out at Mandalay Bay Beach

Jillian is not as tan as me!

Playing in the sand with Dad!

Party like it's 1985 at Haze Nightclub @ Aria

Work hard in Vegas, but play harder :)

I am back, finally

So what's been going on?

I got a promotion at work. I am moving departments, but am still planning and overseeing events. It's a great move. I am going to be aquiring a new skill set that will include marketing, and speaker management. I am so excited. Plus the major perk is that I have more flexibility with my schedule, which means less travel and more chances for me to work from home.

Speaking of travel, I had my first business trip to NYC last week. I took the red eye out of LAX on Easter and went straight into the office Monday morning. I was more upset then Jillian was, that's for sure. I suspect she had no clue that I was even gone, plus she got some major bonding time with daddy.

For mother's day we are flying to Vegas. Not exactly the ideal place for a baby, but it's my favorite city, and I might as well start her young. :) We are staying at the Mandalay Bay and doing some fun things. Mandalay Bay has a beach with wave pool, plus we are seeing the Cirque de Soleil show: Love @ The Mirage. Tim and Jillian will fly home after two days, and I will continue working the rest of the week and return home on Saturday. Business trip #2 will soon be another big accomplishment.

Posts will become more consistent from here on out...

The "Dad Baby Shower"

The wonderful people at Tim's work threw him not 1, but 2, baby showers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And look at these cakes!! Two parties means two cakes, and these people weren't messing around. In fact, all the leftovers are in our refrigerator - thank you very much!

Tim is a lucky guy to have giving/loving/kind people around him at work. We got a substantial gift card amount to Babies R Us, that it brought tears to my eyes.

Quick Updates 11/11/10

• As of Wednesday, I am currently 1 cm dialted and 50% effaced. I know this is no indication of when baby girl will be here, but I am glad to see my body is preparing for labor. Tim and I are a buzz of emotions! Bags are ready - check. Car seat is installed - check. My nesting instincts went hog wild when I heard of this news, and I finally finished putting the final touches on our new entry way bookshelf. I have a few more things I want to do around the house, but most of all I want to enjoy these last few weeks with Tim.
  
• My heartburn is a bitch. Enough said.
  
• My last day of work is tomorrow - maternity paperwork has been filed with disability/FMLA, and HR is aware of my departure. I had to prepare a list of outstanding projects, but the list was short, since all my events ended this week. I feel great about leaving with very little to pass on to my already busy team.
• I am meeting up with my MIL next week to steal a ton of her home cooking recipes. My MIL is the best cook I know, and I am eager to get my hands on her recipes. She even made me the cutest homemade apron, to get me into the cooking spirit. XO
  

A Surprise Baby Shower

I am thankful for a wonderful group of co-workers. I feel it's a perk to work in a small office (even though my company itself is HUGE), because everyone really does form a special friendship. It's some what like a small family.

They ordered lunch from Ribs to go, and we had messy chicken and rib meal with mashers and corn bread. On top of all this finger licking good food, we had chocolate cake. I got spoiled with a TON of gifts. I honestly can't believe how generous people are. People really do open their hearts, and I was overwhelmed once again by their kindness to shower my baby girl.

Some goodies I scored: the boppy breastfeeding pillow, tons of clothes, a pair of winter booties, a bottle warmer, and the cutest little dress for Christmas (that says I love Santa).

Not very many pictures to share, but here are a few snapped on an iPhone.

A Whirlwind of Sorts

I have been in 3 airports, 2 rental cars, and 1 hotel in the last two weeks. I am exhausted....still! My focus today is to update this blog, and to get all my expense reports done.

The night before I left for San Francisco, my sister in law had her birthday party at a Karaoke bar. I got some really good pictures of everyone "attempting" to sing. Actually, I lie. There were some really good singers in our group, I was impressed. Tim wanted us to get up and sing, but honestly Karaoke is not my thing. I can belt it out in the the car, or when I have had a few cocktails, but sober and singing in front of a crowd is not going to fly. (please note: the old man singing was a Karaoke pro. He serenaded all the girls with old songs from the 40's and 50's).










I flew to San Francisco the next evening, and began work on Monday. Work on the road means long hours. This was no exception, but I still found time to work out and meet up with friends. My second night in town I was able to see, Amy, my old college roommate. She is due at the end of September with her 2nd baby (a boy), and it was so great to see her preggers. I saw her preggers with her first baby 2 years ago so it was a special moment for us to share pregnancy stories together (and have me actually relate). I wish I would have gotten a picture of the two of us. She is all belly, of course, and freaking adorable.

Later in the week, I headed up to the city for dinner. We started with Irish food, moved to Sushi, and then while everyone was focused on the next bar/club to hit up, I took a taxi home. This pregnant momma was tired.







I couldn't wait for my work week to end, because on Thursday I flew to Phoenix for my cousin, Shannyn's, wedding. My mom and I were super excited because it was just the two of us (san's husband's and my brother) on this little adventure. We rented a car and drove two hours to Prescott, a small mountain town North/West of Phoenix. My mom's sister, my Aunt Marlys, are hilarious together. They are constantly cracking up at each other, and laughing at their "old age." My cousin, the bride to be, brought over her wedding dress on Thursday night for us to see, and we were giddy with wedding excitment. We talked marriage, weddings and babies, before hitting the bed for some sound sleep. The next morning was wedding mayhem. My mom, Aunt, and I went over to the venue 4 hours before to set up the outdoor Ramada. The weather started to take a turn for the worse once we arrived, but even through the wind, we were able to hang lights, wrap tables and place center pieces. Through the chaos I ran back to the house to get ready and change. The weather had turned from wind and clouds to full on rain and thunderstorms. By the time I got back to the house the power went out. Shannyn had not finished getting ready, and her hair still needed to be curled. Through the stress of this, she kept calm the whole time. I was so impressed. I have never seen a more laid back, happy, bride. I managed to throw my dress on, and get out the door since the house was full of bridesmaids and photographers. Once back at the venue the groom's family had started to arrive and help with the food set up. My mom was great in organizing and helping everyone feel comfortable. I never thought in a million years that an August wedding in Arizona would be cold, but thank goodness I brought a sweater. A last minute decision was made to pull all the chairs into the covered Ramada and to have the ceremony at the reception site. We spent 20 minutes drying the chairs and re-arranging the tables. It was a good decision at this point, because it was pouring.

Once the ceremony started the most miraculous thing happened. Literally the sun started to peak around the clouds and the rain stopped. It was a beautiful ceremony and my mom was shedding tears. It was a special moment for us to see my only cousin on my mom's side say "I do." The sun didn't take long to warm things back up. The wedding was informal, simple and small, which made for a very intimate union for Kevin and Shannyn. I am so happy for them.








Saying our goodbyes on Saturday was hard, but we were headed back to Phoenix for a pool party at my Aunt Sheila's house. Everyone was there, including the newest addition to our family, baby Shiloh. Crystal and Heath both looked like parenthood came naturally, and baby Shiloh was just a little tiny thing. She is a spitting image of Heath, and my mom and I took turns holding her and cooing to her. It felt wonderful to hold a baby in my arms, and it of course made me excited to soon hold my own baby. We spent the next 6 hours planning our family vacation for 2011, and then went to bed. Sunday we flew home and today I am back at work.

I am still not sure how 2 weeks can feel like they happened so long ago? Thank god, this work week is short, and next week is labor day!! Woooooooooooooohoooooooooo!!

Las Vegas the Pregnant Way

I had a site visit in Las Vegas for work on Friday, and since Tim already had the day off, we decided to extend our weekend and stay through Sunday. I wasn't going to let the fact that I was 5 1/2 months pregnant not enjoy all the perks of Las Vegas. We didn't hit the clubs, but we certainly took in a show, ate some ridiculously good dinners, and got a little crazy at the pool.



We stayed at the Palazzo in a 1 bedroom Suite! We had access to the Prestige level, which came with a TON of perks. We took full advantage, see below....

Daily appetizers in on the 23rd floor, with open bar!

After appetizers and drinks on Friday, we had tickets to see Jersey Boys. The show was really good! We dined at Okada for some late night sushi at the Wynn, and then walked the strip.







The next day we took advantage of the gym, free breakfast and then headed down to the pool for some sun.




After a quick nap, showers and then more appetizers, we headed down for dinner at Yellowtail, which is located in the Bellagio.

Las Vegas Recap

Home has never felt so good, after returning from a two week business trip in Las Vegas. I had some heartfelt moments with co-workers, when I told them the news of my pregnancy. People knew something was up Most nights I spent in my hotel room, while they would all get together and hit the town. I am not going to lie. It was hard to not go out and party with the group. But as the week went on, I realized that part of my life was being phased out. I have something so much bigger to look forward to now....

I did manage to have some really delicious dinners: Strip Steak, Lupo, the Red Square, Burger Bar and Charlie Palmer Steakhouse at the Four Seasons.

I also managed to go out one night. My friend, Sousan, drove out when I told her I had free tickets to see Usher in concert. Sadly, he canceled the concert the day of, so we ended up going to the Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay. We stayed out late, dancing, spying on the near-by swinger party that was happening in a private room and took in the views of the strip. Later that night another high school friend, Amber, who lives in Vegas, come up to my room to hang out and just chat.

Sousan and I headed out to the Foundation Room.

Working with Pink, our mascot. Note: he's helping me accrue for on-site expenses.

Each day the team played a joke on me. This one was by far the most funny. They pulled a couch from our lounge and placed it in my office area inside our booth. Pink had way too much to drink, and apparently passed out. He was useless to me the next day.