Movin' On Over

For all of you faithful few who have read my posts at http://www.juliepages.info/, keeping up on my favorite webpages is just about to get easier! I've decided to close that link and just post my past and future rants on this page instead. So don't worry, you won't be missing a thing!

San Francisco--Day 3

Let's see if I can remember day 3 of our trip...

We slept in a little, which was blissful, and then took a walk to find some breakfast. It was fun to walk through the city and explore. We ended up at a French cafe across from the China Gate. It was a nice little place.

We then walked through Union Square and caught a bus to take us to Golden Gate State Park. Unfortunately, we were running late and didn't have time to go to the Japanese Tea Garden, so we got right back on the bus to get back to our hotel. It's too bad that we didn't get to visit the gardens, but we did get to see more of the city, including tons of the famous Victorian homes.

After we checked out of the hotel, we went to the Ferry Marketplace Building on the Embarcadero for lunch. Rob got some goat cheese and sourdough bread and I got some traditional French chicken and potatoes. We ate outside next to the bay.

Then we flew home. We really, really enjoyed our time alone together as a couple and felt it was very beneficial and worth the cost. Of course, we were super excited to get back to our son. We sure missed him.

Photo Hiatus

Many have expressed frustration at my tardiness in posting pictures to Flickr and this blog. Although your frustration is noted you'll need to continue to wait at least until next weekend. Here is why. So my birthday is coming up this week and I'm getting some cool photography equipment (Pantone Huey Pro Calorimeter, Gary Fong Diffuser). The calorimeter will calibrate my monitor so that I can get accurate colors on my screen in hopes that will turn into prints that looks like what I see on my monitor. Because of this I have decided to wait for it to come before I work on any more pictures.

Don't worry, we have done a couple of really cute photo sessions with Madeleine that you'll get to see soon. "Patience Daniel-Son." We have a ton of photos that you can look at in the mean-time on Flickr so have fun browsing! I always do!

Stay tuned for the new photos and a updated information on the best method/lab to print our photos.

We're Out

We are now leaving the hospital! We are very happy to be home together.

Pictures of Madeleine Gail

I wanted to get some quick pictures up for you to see but I don't have my photo editing software on my laptop because I don't like to do that kind of work on it. I switched my camera to raw + jpeg mode so I would have a few pictures to put up here immediately. So please don't judge these pictures too harshly. :)  Another strange thing is that flickr is blocked in this hospital so I have to put pictures in this post the old fashioned way!

We are so in love with our sweet little girl.  Nathan thought that his sister was pretty dang cool and seemed to understand that she is part of our family (at least I think he thought that). Julie is very tired but very satisfied and grateful for her little girl. We have such a sweet little family and it feels good to be 4 strong.

Thank you for all the encouragement and we love you all.  I'll be sure to keep updating information here and I'll get some really good looking photos up on flickr in a few days.

Updated - Sorry that some of you had such trouble with the pictures. I wasn't able to access flickr in the hospital so I hosted the pictures with google (bad idea I guess). I fixed the problem now and I hope you can all see the pictures!

Madeleine is Here

Madeleine Gail Snow arrived and weighed in at 7 lb 9 oz and 21 inches tall. Both Julie and Madeleine are doing well.

Update 1

We are now at the hospital.

Last Minute Thoughts

Well, it's 11:30pm and I'm not quite ready to go to bed yet, so I decided to do a list of the things that have been on my mind in preparation for the big day.

1-For those of you who don't know, I'm getting induced at 6:30am Monday morning. I'm kind of bummed about this, because I was induced with Nate and really wanted to just "let it happen" this time. Just seems a little easier for me and the baby. But my doctor seems to think that the delivery will go much better if I do it a little early. He wanted me to do it last Monday, but I opted to wait another week. I have been so sore this pregnancy. I carry really low and it's been painful to walk and do just about anything for the last 5 months! So needless to say, I'm ecstatic to start feeling better soon. Plus, I can't even go into public without endless stares and multiple comments on my huge belly. It just amazes me that complete strangers will actually come up to me and make stupid, rude comments. This happens, literally, at least 3 times a day and it's getting REALLY old.

2-I'm really annoyed at the designers of strollers, especially double strollers. Who are these people? Obviously people without children. Nate's really active and only 2, so if I ever want to get out of the house, I need something I can strap both of my kids into. Why is it that every stroller has huge flaws? Like the fact most of them are 47 pounds!! That's just ridiculous!! What mom wants to push around a 6 foot long, fifty pound behemoth and lift that thing into her trunk?? We did find one I sort of liked, until the saleslady told us that it only fits into SUVs. There is the option of a side-by-side stroller which are smaller and lighter, but they barely fit through doorways and store aisles. The last option is the "Sit-and-Stand" where the carseat fits in the front spot and the toddler sits or stands on the back of the stroller. First, that would mean the toddler faces backwards, and what toddler wants to do that? Second, the front seat only sits straight up, so the baby has to be in the infant seat attachment, or old enough to have excellent posture. The seat back also juts into the toddler area, making it so he has to lean forward. Plus, no real seat belt to keep him in place. Yeah, great idea... Why don't the designers talk to real parents and get some innovation going here? I still have no idea how I'm going go anywhere...

4-I'm wondering how Nate is going to do with his new sister. I think he'll be super excited at first because he loves babies. But once he realizes he's not the only thing in the center of our universe anymore, he may get a little testy. We bought him a new toy (a tool box/bench) to distract him a little and we will be trying really hard to spend some one-on-one time with him. We'll also enlist his help with the new baby, so hopefully that'll help.

5-I'm apprehensive about starting all this baby stuff over again. Having Nate was such a huge adjustment for us and he wasn't the easiest-going baby. I really felt like it took a good 6 months to start getting a handle on things. And now here I am with a new little personality to learn. Granted, in many ways it won't be near as hard because I'll have an idea what I'm doing this time. But every child is so different and now I'll have TWO to keep track of which means double the work. But, of course, double the fun and love, too. I just need to focus on that part!

Geez, that sure was a rant, wasn't it? Well, at least it's now (hopefully) off my mind and I'll be able to sleep. Wish us luck! We'll let you know how everything goes.

Welcome, Joseph!

Announcing the arrival of Rob's first nephew (on his side)

Robert Joseph Russell

Congrats to Gene and Breanna!

San Francisco - Day Two - Alcatraz

So what is it like to be in America's most feared federal prison at night? Let's just say that it didn't bolster my desire to become a convict! As we approached the island I was quite struck by the rough appearance of the island. There were not shores and nice beaches. The shores of the island were etched away by hand (I think this was first done by military prisoners before it was a federal prison).

I felt an eerie and disconcerting feeling as we cruise around the island to the dock. The structures were so worn down and drab. I can't imagine taking a similar cruise as a future resident of Alcatraz! 

Being there at night was incredible.  A multitude of extra activities is available during this time so I encourage everyone to take the night tour if the opportunity presents itself.  Fewer people, more activities, increase ambiance, need I say more? 

We learned that a large group of Native Americans claimed the island as Indian lands and lived there for a while before being removed by US Marshals.  The National Park Service has a good web page on that movement.

I was really excited to photograph Alcatraz and Julie was kind enough to let me shoot all these pictures, Thanks Julie! I think that these pictures really speak for themselves so I hope you enjoy them.  I took particular care to maintain the "feel" of the place so pay attention to their treatment.

Mobile Test

To test blogging from my phone. This will help with updates when we head to the hospital. It also means that you will see more random posts.

Terrible Morning

So things are just dandy now but I experienced a serious tragedy earlier this morning.  I started my trusty Corolla this morning and plugged in my ipod only to find the screen blank!  Nate was playing with it the last night and I didn't make sure that it was turned off. It became clear to me that the battery was completely drained!

I had to suffer the entire way to work listening to the radio.  Let me assure you that the depths of hell were sounded as I suffered through radio music and talk.  I forget how terrible the radio experience is these days and how much I love the selection of music on my ipod!

Anyway, I made it to work (barely) and my little red ipod is charging happily.  The drive home should be better :)

Rob's New Haircut!

Check out my new haircut! What do you think?