Alena in Santa Barbara, CA - Oct 2008

Alena is quite the traveler these days. She is fantastic traveler on planes. Flying to California was a piece of cake after worrying about the travel for Hawaii (even though she did great). We arrived in the SB airport on Wed afternoon and got our car and headed to Marion and Jerry's house. We went to Longboards for some food, great views and wonderful company. We played around on the pier and then Marion took us on a quick tour of SB including the Mission. The next day Alena played outside on the deck and yes we went back to Longboards for a Mud pie. Aman, Alena and I went to meet jen-jen and Alena played in the biggest sandbox I have ever seen. She LOVED it! It was so great to catch up with my best friend. Friday we went to Westmont for chapel and to look around. Oh, I love that campus...such a wonderful school. Aman, Alena and I went to State Street and went to the mall and then to the Mission and the park and gardens across the street. It was so fun and relaxing just hanging out there. That evening my parents, Marion and Jerry, Aman, Alena and I met jen-jen, Brent, their kids and her parents at Endless Summer. It was so much fun to see them and to have a great view of the water. The mud pie was even better there than at Longboards. Afterwards, jen-jen, Brent and Aman and I went for coffee. I just love them! Saturday was our last day and I got to see my old roomie, Christi. We met at school to hear the new President talk then we went for lunch with Aman, Alena and Marion & Jerry. It was so much fun. Then Christi and I got ready for our class reunion dinner. I got to see a few friends, but the best part was being with my family and seeing jen-jen and Chrsiti. I am so happy Alena got to see where her mommy comes from. I can't wait to go back!

The link to pics is below. The first few are her Austin ice cream festival shirt and some of her cute Halloween socks that Brandi and Joseph gave her.

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/AlenaInSB_Oct_2008#

Alena in Hawaii

Alena's first plane ride went very well. She played and stayed up the entire time on the way to Hawaii, with layover's and car rental and all it was about 12-13 hours. Aman surprised us with first class tickets so Alena got to experience a nice, easy flight. She slept the entire way home. We left Hawaii around 9pm on Thursday and we arrived home Friday around 4:30, which was around 14-15 hours. We stayed at our home resort in Kona on the big island (the resort side). It was a really nice resort. Aman, Alena and I stayed by ourselves until Saturday evening when Trent and Yvette joined us for the rest of the week. It was so much fun to vacation with friends! Also, my Aunt Marian and Uncle Jerry were amazingly enough on the big island the same time we were. They were staying at a resort right down the road and it was a blast to get to spend time with them and for them to meet Alena.

On Friday we took it easy and woke up late. We drove to a coffee farm, which was really cool. Then we went grocery shopping. We went downtown and saw the oldest church on all Hawaiian Islands. Alena liked all the lava rock walls, she wanted to touch them. We had dinner with my Aunt and Uncle when they got in at a great little place right on the beach. It was so fun to watch the sunset and get to visit with Marian and Jerry.

The next day we went to two farmers markets and got tons of fruit and a cute watch. We saw some scenic views along the highway. Then we headed to the beach and it was so funny because Alena hated the sand at first. Every time we put her close to it she cried. Finally, we put her sand toys on a blanket and eventually one of the toys rolled onto the sand and she touched it. It took her an hour, but she now LOVES sand. We found sand in every nook and cranny of her tiny little body. I was still getting sand out of her eyes 2 days later, poor thing. She even tried to eat the sand. The ocean was another story. We kept trying to put her in the ocean, but I think it was too loud, cold and scary with the waves for her. Hopefully she will have fun in the water in SB when we go in a few weeks. There was a great pool at the resort and she loved the water there - we went a couple of times. Aman picked up Trent and Yvette and we met my Aunt and Uncle at an amazing pizza place in Kona - the Kona Brewery!

On Sunday we went to an informal church on the beach. It was so cool to hear the waves. It was a very unusual day because the waves were really, really high. Even the locals were totally shocked. It turns out that twice the beaches we tried to go to were closed due to shark attacks (or rather one person eaten and then a whale was attacked - so scary). I didn't find out why the beaches were closed until the day I left or I would not have gotten in the water. After church we went to a java/food restaurant - yummy. Then we went to a fabulous beach. We were pretty much the only people on the beach - it was very peaceful. There were sweet turtles on the beach in the water and we watched the sunset. Then we went out for Thai food.

Monday was our BIG day. We left early and drove 2.5 hours to get to Volcano National park. Alena did GREAT in the car. It was a really long day for everyone, but it was amazing. We saw the smoking volcano and went through the museum. We ate at the museum in front of a huge window displaying the volcano. It was really cool. We got to walk through old lave tubes, which looked like big caves - it was so incredibly cool. Trent and I walked in one that had no lights and it was really cool. Then we ran into my aunt and uncle who were on a full day tour of the island. It was so fun to run and totally unexpected into them at the park. Then we had a quick dinner and drove to the place were the lava is running into the ocean. It was on private land, but they allow visitors. We had to walk a long way on very unstable ground and you have to wait for it to be dark to see the lava spew out red - wow - it was mind blowing - totally incredible and beautiful. It was a long way back in the dark, but we all had flashlights and we were all fine including Alena. We drove through Hilo (the 2nd biggest town in all of Hawaii). It looked like a cute town. We will have to go back another time to see it. We drove all the way around the island to make it home 2.5 hours later - super late. Alena slept and was fabulous.

Tuesday we went on a plane ride over the entire island. We went on the earliest flight at 7am and it was so worth it. The pilot said it was a very clear day and it was so beautiful. We got to see so much. I am so glad we did that. I took way too many pictures, but I was just in awe. Yvette was so sweet to watch Alena for us and Trent came with us. Then Aman and Trent went golfing and Yvette, Alena and I just hung out and relaxed. We went to the pool and then the Hawaiian show at the resort, which was so good. For dinner we went to a burger place on the water. Jerry and Marian were able to come with us for dinner that night too. It was awesome to see them. The food was okay, but not great.

Wednesday we went to the farmer's market and got more fruit. Wow, the fruit was amazing! Trent, Yvette and I went snorkeling. The snorkel trip was supposed to swim with dolphins, but we didn't swim with them. We did see them though. Then we walked around downtown and got some ice cream and snow cones. We saw the Hawaiian kings home (under construction) and saw the oldest church on the islands again (this time I went inside). For dinner we went to a great Italian food restaurant on the beach with my aunt and uncle - it was so yummy. We all loved it.

Thursday was our last day on the Big Island. We went to the beach early (but some beaches were closed due to the shark attack. We had to be out of the resort by 11am so Marian and Jerry were so kind to let us leave some luggage at their place and to spend the day with us. It was so fun to be with them. We saw some Hawaiian history then had a quick bite to eat at the java restaurant on the beach and then Aman took Trent and Yvette to the airport. Alena and I stayed with Marian & Jerry for a few more hours and then we left to the airport for the LONG trip home.

It was a fabulous trip!

Here are the links to the pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/HawaiiBigIsland#5250161624181041954
http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/Hawaii_Sept_2008#

Alena Saylor at 7 months

Alena got to hang out with her Aunt Susan this week since Susan was in town from Seattle. We went to fun restaurants like The Melting Pot and we went to the LBJ 100 birthday party down town. We pulled out a new toy for her, which she loves. It plays music and teaches her ABC's and 1-10. We were also packing for Hawaii. It was a really fun week. Pictures are below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/AlenaAt2829Weeks#

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/AlenaAt27Weeks#

Alena Saylor at 26 & 27 weeks

Alena had her 6 month shots, poor thing. She did really well. She has two bottom teeth and she is teething like crazy. She is crawling all over the place. She is really mobile, which is a little scary for me. She pulls up on everything too, so we had to lower her crib. We are working on her falling asleep by herself and soon hopefully she will be able to sleep through the night. She eats solid food twice a day, but she is not a great eater. Alena and I went to Bas's baby shower and there are pictures in the link below. Aman officated at his 3rd wedding and Alena and I were there. He did an amazing job as always. We took Alena to the ice cream festival and it was so much fun. She also got to meet Brandi & Joseph's dog and see there cute apartment in Buda. We are going to Hawaii next week so we are getting really excited.

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/AlenaAt26Weeks

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/AlenaAt27Weeks

Alena Saylor is 6 months old!!!

Alena Saylor made it to half a year! She is 6 month old. Alena has been eating peas, bananas and squash. She really likes bananas. She loves playing in the exersaucer. I took her to one of GTC shows and she LOVED the attention. She liked being on stage. She showed everyone her rocking back and forth - pre-crawl. I had to go to work for 3 long days and she did really well with Yvette, Tammy, Brenda-her nanny and my mom. We celebrated my mom & sisters birthday at my parent’s house. Alena and I went to a play date where she was the only girl...it was pretty cute. Joseph & Brandi came into town, which made Alena very happy. Brandi hung out with Alena & I and Joseph went to Nicaragua with Aman. Pictures are below.

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/AlenaSaylorAtWeek232425

Alena Saylor at 21 & 22 weeks

Alena is now on all fours rocking back and forth. She is very close to crawling. We are feeding her cereal every night now and we are about to start introducing veggie’s to her diet. We are getting the organic veggie’s to be on the safe side. I had to go into work this last week for training and Alena stayed with Yvette on Tuesday, Tammy on Wednesday and Brenda, the nanny and my mom both split Thursday. Everyone said she did well. I am so proud of her. I missed her like crazy while I was away from her! She has a funny little laugh that cracks me up. She is one week away from being 6 month old!!! I cannot believe it. Pictures from the last two weeks are below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/AlenaAtWeeks2122

Alena at 19 & 20 weeks

Alena and I were busy going to the library and to the pool a lot. She also has been hanging out at the gym so mommy can work out. She even made it to the big out door pool at the gym with her cousin Rachel and Aunt Tammy. I attached pictures from the last two weeks below and you can see how much she resembles her dad in two of the photos. Aman is holding a baby pic of himself up next to her. She fell asleep with her thumb in her mouth - this is big since she has only been using her fingers or her entire fist to comfort herself. We went to a Gateway pool party on 6/29 and there are pics of her there with Lindi & Wade. She also got her first cold and stayed up for most of two nights in a row. You can see how sad she looks in the stripped outfit sitting in the bumbo after a long sleepless night for all of us. Poor Aman went to the drug store at 3:30am to get her some medicine - it was a long night. She had a fun 4th of July. We went to the Shaddy Hollow parade and then home for a nap. We ran some errands and then had dinner with Dave & Kim & Lauren at Hyde Park Grill. We then went to see the fire works at Barton Creek Mall. Lauren was so good with Alena. On Sat. when we were playing after going to the farmers market & waking down Congress having pizza & cupcakes from Hey Cupcake, Alena Saylor said both mama & dada. What a smarty!

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/AlenaAt1920Weeks

Alena Saylor Eats...18 weeks

Alena is now 18 weeks old. She started watching what we are eating and waking up twice a night instead of her usual once a night so we started feeding her rice cereal. She spits it out so we had to put it in her bottle. We also got her a bumbo. It's a cute little chair that helps her to sit up. She is not crazy about it right now, but I hope she will get use to it...it's so cute.

She had a busy week. We went to the pool on Monday, the library on Tuesday, played with my mom on Wednesday, went to the store on Thursday and then to San Marcos on Saturday to meet her new friends - my June birthday girls and their kids. Sunday we went to Rachel's birthday party and then up to the North campus at Gateway to say goodbye to our teaching pastor and friend, Ted.

Alena's pics from last week are below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/AlenaAt18Weeks

Alena's growing up

So Alena Saylor is 17 weeks and she is getting so mature. Her nanny flaked again this week so Tammy stepped in and saved us. She took care of Alena for 5 hours on Wednesday - Rachel's birthday. She did okay from what I hear. I was so nervous because she is a mama's girl right now, but she was smiling away at Tammy and the kids when I picked her up. We celebrated Rachel's birthday that evening.

We put her in the nursary at Gateway on Sunday for the first time and it went well. They didn't have to call me out, which is impressive.

Our good friends Brandi and Joseph were in town this weekend and it was so great to see them. They spoiled Alena with some great clothes.

Alena is starting to scream at the top of her lungs everytime we go out to eat, it's very strange.

We celebrated Father's Day on Sunday with my family. The following is a link to pictures from Alena's week 17.

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/AlenaAt17Weeks

Alena Saylor is 4 months old (16 weeks)!

Alena is a total tummy sleeper these days. She slept 12 hours straight two nights in a row this week. I had to wake her up because she didn't wake up for her night feeding. She is getting cuter and sweeter every day. Yolanda is working with her as far as letting other people take care of her without Aman or I in the same room. I think she is starting to make some improvement there. I can also tell that she is doing better spending longer periods of time by herself, which is fantastic and will hopefully help me with work! Her 16 week pictures are on the link below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/AlenaAt16Weeks

Alena laughs at 15 weeks

Alena Saylor just turned 16 weeks today. I can't believe she is already 4 months old. She is going through a crying stage. Everytime we leave her with someone else she cry's. I hear they start to grow out of this around 6 months to a year, but I really hope it happens sooner. She may cry, but she is also laughing. Aman and I took her to the grocery last week and she laughed as she was sitting in the cart at something Aman was doing. It was the best! She is also sleeping totally on her tummy (not good, but what can I do) with her tush in the air - it's pretty cute. Her 4 month check up is next week and I can't wait to see how much she weighs. She is definitely getting heavy. I have to say, when she smiles, it makes my entire day! I have pictures from Alena's 15 weeks below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/AlenaAt15Weeks

Alena Saylor at 14 weeks

Alena went to her friends house for a get together on Saturday. They are our friends from Bradley class. We had a good week. Yolanda helped baby Alena work on her exercises and held her when she needed some love when I was busy at work. Yesterday Aman, Alena and I went to Wimberley for a little get away. It was Alena's first out of town venture and she did really well. It was a fun day of relaxing, miniture golf and Alena's first swim in the pool. It was a super hot day (99 degrees), but the pool was nice and refreshing. We came home late that night and went to Gateway the next day. Today is Memorial Day and we are just relaxing and cleaning the house. Pictures below are from Alena's 14 weeks. She is 15 weeks today!

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/AlenaSaylorAt14Weeks

Alena is 3 months!

Alena is now 3 months old. She is doing great. We got a nanny part time while I work from home part time, which I really like. Yolanda, the nanny says that Alina is very strong for her age. When she has tummy time her head is almost always up and looking at me. She actually really enjoys her tummy time, which is rare for a baby. Yesterday we went to our pool for the first time. We stuck our feet in the cold water. I splashed the water with my feet and she laughed. It was so cute! She is starting to roll to the side, which is scary for me because she does it when she sleeps and I want to make sure she can breath. She is now sleeping in her crib. Last night she slept from 8:30pm to 3:30 and then 4am to 8:30am. On Mother's Day we went to the Wild Flower Center. I have some pics below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/AlenaAt3Months

Alena Smiles

Alena smiles and smiles. She has really gotten the smile thing down. Her favorite spot to smile in is her chaning table...don't know why! She sleeps super well at night (10-12 hours) and hardly at all during the day. Aman and I decided to hire a nanny for about 8-10 hours a week to help me with my job and so I can still be with her during the day.

Alena's Dedication

Alena Saylor Quadri had her baby dedication on Sunday, April 27th. We had a barbeque and everyone brought a side dish or a dessert so there was tons of food. It was an amazing day. We had about 60 family and friends share the special day with us along with Trent & Yvette and Mikah. Alena did great. It was so much fun. Below is a link to some photo's from the dedication.

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/AlenaSDedication

More pictures of Alena Saylor Quadri

Here are more pics of Alena.

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/MoreAlenaPics

http://picasaweb.google.com/nichols.juliana/MoreBaby

Alena Saylor Q makes her debut

Alena Saylor was born on 2/11/08 weighing 6.5 ounces and 18 inches long. She was born naturally. Her dad and I are madly in love with her. She is a fabulous sleeper. She sleeps between 3-6 hours at a time!