Memories of Rome: Part 1

Jae and I went to Italy for our honeymoon some two years ago. I've been meaning to organize our photos taken of the trip for some time now and have finally begun to do so. There's a ton of photos to sort through and touch-up. I've got a long way to go before I'm done, but I thought I'd post what few I've finished so far. Hope you enjoy em.

I trip began in Rome where we shacked-up an apartment for four days rather than the usual hotel. Here's a photo of us in front of the entrance to the apartment building as we began our day.

Here's another shot of the street on which our apartment lay.

Ah breakfast. We always started-off our day at a local cafe with some cappuccino and crescents. I doesn't look very filling, oh man, but were they good. Starbucks doesn't even compare.

Here's Jae taking the first few sips of the day.

And here we are at the Trevi Fountain. Legend says that if a visitor of Rome tosses a coin into the fountain, they will again return to Rome someday. And so we tossed a coin into the fountain. I hope the legend holds true.

Can't always be too serious.

At the foot of the Spanish Steps. Unfortunately the cathedral was under renovation when we were there so we weren't able to see it in all its glory, nonetheless, we had to check it out. Hopefully we'll be able to see it in its whole when we return someday.

Here's a shot of the obelisk leading to Spanish Steps.

Our honeymoon photojournalist hard at work while lugging around the tripod. That thing was such a life saver. We wouldn't have been able to have gotten half the pictures of us together without it. Thank you Manfrotto!

Posing in front of the Borghese Museum. Home of Bernini's greatest works. Love it!

In the middle of a green field filled with daisies beside the museum. The things I do for Jae.

Passing through the Villa Borghese Park under the umbrella pines that Jae so adores.

Ah, lunch time! Pasta, pasta.

Posing in front of the Roman Forum.

Baby Art

So in our search of fun things to decorate the nursery with, we came across some artwork of cute animals painted on canvas. We really liked them, but the $100 price tag was just a bit too outside of our budget. So, we decided to buy some art supplies of our own and take a wack at creating some of our own artwork. Here's a shot of our first attempt. Jae did this one. Pretty cool ay? I think the red ladybug's a really nice touch. It's gonna look great in the nursery.

Jae was making silly faces while working on some emails and I couldn't resist shooting her. Look at how cute she is. I hope are kids'll be just as cute as her.

Pregnancy, Week 20, It's a boy!!

Good news. We just found out that it's a boy! We went in for our first ultrasound today and discovered that the baby's a boy. Jae had a vision early on in our relationship well before any talk of raising a family of our first child. At the time I never really made much of it, but she was right, it is definitely a boy. I called my dad to share the good news with him right afterward and he nearly cried. It's his first male grandchild while my sister Pearl's (who's also pregnant) providing him with his first female grandchild. He on cloud nine right now.

Here's a photo of Jae undergoing the ultrasound, and although it's not apparent, that our little baby boy on the monitor. We were given a few printouts of the images and I'll post them once I've had a chance to scan them in. Stay tuned.

Pregnancy, Week 19

Here we are in week 19. Jae's doing fine with not much difference from last week, although she does say that she feels as if the baby's kicking more. I think Tae Kwon Do may be in our baby's future. :)

All in all, things are good. We're excited about learning what the baby's gender is next week. Weather a boy or girl, we can't wait to bring 'em into the world. Oh, oh. Getting to mushy. Better go.

A Friendly Visit

I started the day off with some pruning in the backyard. It was for the most part pretty dull until I came upon the little fella to the left. As I was working around a bush, I must have startled the little guy right out of his home. After following him from one bush to another to get a better look at him, he finally managed to make it to my backdoor. Poor little guy must have been scared stiff because he didn't even bother to run after a while. He just sat there at the foot of the door. So long in fact, I was able to run into the house to grab my camera, and even managed to get 130 photos of him. I couldn't have asked for a better model. :)

Jae eventually came by to take a look at our little visitor and so I got a little shot of them together too. Isn't that the tiniest bunny you've ever seen? Well, after my first 60 or so photos of him, he still didn't budge, so we sat out a small plate of parsley for him to help loosen him up. Well, he wasn't interested in eating either. He just lay there as if he were a permanent part of the door. I figured I'd just get back to work and let him be knowing he'd be off on his way when he was ready to.


Later that night, we crossed paths again. He eventually made it under my grill just a few feet from the backdoor, and as a buddy and I were rolling it into position for some grilling, there lay our long eared friend . . . and again, he just lay there. It finally took my friend poking him a bit before he finally ran off into the bushes where I suspect he's made a little home for himself to rest after a long day of modeling.

Late Bloomer

I stepped out this morning as I usually do to feed the fish and noticed this blossom out of the corner of my eye. I thought it unusual to find flower budding this late in the year especially with the weather cooling down, but there they are. Kinda nice, had to take a picture. I wonder if the plant will produce any more blossoms.

Pregnancy, Week 18

Another week of pregnancy has come and gone. Jae's noticed an unusual sensation in her tummy. She describes it as a tickling sensation, as if the baby's conducting a symphony in her belly with a feather. We're not sure if is indeed the baby or not, but according to the Mayo Clinic Guide on Pregnancy (let's just call it the Baby Book) the baby should begin moving around and Jae should be noticing it. The book described it as a butterfly floating around her tummy. Who knows, it could just be gas. :)

Pregnancy, Week 17

It's hard to believe another weeks gone by with week 17 now here. Jae's doing well with her energy levels returning to next to normal levels. Fatigue still sets in around 8pm, but still much higher than the first weeks of pregnancy. I'm just happy she's happy . . . and hopefully the baby's happy too. :)

According to the Mayo Clinic Guide on Pregnancy, the baby's about 4 1/2 inches long and is now, among other things, laying down a layer of brown fat. Yep, brown fat, apparently used to help keep the baby warm. I never even knew fat came in a variety of different colors, but it does, along with serving different functions. And here I thought the only good the fat around my waist served was in helping me look more like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Go figure.

Okay, the nephew and niece are here. Time to go. Bye.

The Tale of Despereaux

Jae and I finally bought the book The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo -- winner of the 2004 John Newbery Medal for children's literature.

We first learned of it while watching its movie trailer about a month ago. I was really impressed by the trailer then and even more impressed by the book today. Check out the book, you won't be disappointed. The movie, unfortunately, won't be released until December 19th, but enjoy the trailer until then.

Our First Post: Pregnancy, Week 16

My wife Jae and I are now in our 16th week of pregnancy and so I thought we'd use this new blog as a way of documenting our first of at least two pregnancies (one child just isn't enough). I'm also a bit of an amateur photographer, and so I thought this blog would be something of a photo journal as well, giving me a bit of practice in using my D300.

And so, the first photo I've chosen to post is that of Jae sitting in our rocking chair. She's so sweet, isn't she? :) I plan to take a photograph of her in this exact same pose for each new week until the birth of our baby. Once I've compiled a nice collection of these photos illustrating the progression of our pregnancy, I'll put together a slide show of them all beginning with week 16 and ending in the week before the birth. Hopefully, it'll resemble something of an animated still of her womb gradually enlarging with each new week. It should be ready in five months, stay posted.