Browse Category: videos

Around and Around

On Saturday, we drove out to San Rafael to watch James ride in the San Rafael Twilight Criterium.  It was a series of races that took place in Downtown and the cyclists went basically around a block 40 times as fast as they could.  Since they went around so many times, it was a fun race to watch and I got lots of opportunities to experiment with my camera settings.

It was a pretty warm day out but since James is on a team that’s sponsored by Muscle Milk, we got to hang out under their tent for some relief.  Kumquat did rather well that day and only napped at the beginning.  It was too exciting for her and she seemed to enjoy the noise and all the hustle and bustle around her.  It was also a good trial run for us for Hawaii.  We experienced what it was like to have warmer weather with a sweaty baby and no stroller.  This is us in the Japanese restaurant where we had lunch.

We had to take turns holding and entertaining her while we ate.  It’s an interesting challenge – especially when she’s hungry too.

I managed to get a couple of decent shots of James in the race.  They zoom by so quickly that you have to be just as quick with the focus, pressing the shutter, and moving the camera with the rider.

After James’ two races, he and Jes went to the beer garden while Kumquat and I hung out on the curb watching the other races go by.  We also found a Starbucks along the course and got a really good corner window seat to watch the action in the air-conditioned shop.  I also had to be creative with where I changed her diapers too.

Later that evening, we had dinner at a restaurant that was along the course and saw the pros zoom by from the window.

We finished in time to catch the last half of the race and they were so fast that it was just a blur and a huge gush of wind that would blow by every 30 seconds.

I’m surprised I managed to capture this rider with my camera.

Here’s a video of them going by.  Jes had a good time watching right up front with his trusty cowbell.

Porky Goodness

As most of you know, I love to eat and this magical porchetta sammich is one of my favorite things to eat in SF.  In fact, it’s so yummy that every time my family come up, they head straight for the Ferry Building to get one. Brother and Joy are flying up tomorrow morning and it just happens to be a Thursday, which means it’s Roli Roti for lunch! Woot!

If any of you are wondering what it’s all about, here’s a quick video clip of the infamous tastiness:

First 24 hours

Janie is now a day old and it’s been pretty surreal.  Yesterday was quite a day filled with pain, joy, and amazement.  At just a few hours of life outside of the womb, our baby girl was alert, looking around, and eating like a champ.  This video was taken when she was about 7 hours old.

She’s also quite the pooper and Jes is now the official diaper changer.

My mom was the first person (besides us of course) to meet Janie and she watched the entire birthing process.  She’s a brave woman…I’m not sure I would even be able to do that.

Jes’ parents also drove up as soon as we told them I was in labor and they were so excited to meet their granddaughter.

Victor and Susie came by later in the evening and Victor was brave enough to hold her.  Susie was also very sweet to send us flowers, which arrived while I was in labor.  Unfortunately, the card only had a phone number on it so we had no idea who it was from until they arrived.  Thanks for flowers, Susie!

Last night was interesting.  I had no concept of time and she kept me up every hour.  It didn’t actually bother me since I had already been trained over the past few months for that.  We did, however, get a good 2-hour chunk of sleep together, which was enough for me.

This morning, she had her hearing test and passed with flying colors.  Check out the cool headphones.

She was also in a particularly good mood and she got some play time with her dad.

Tia Patty and Auntie Teresa also came by to visit today.  They were here to see her turn a day old.  Yay!  Thanks for stopping by!

37 Weeks

Kumquat is thriving and kicking and my contractions are getting stronger and more frequent.  In fact, during my Antenatal Testing this afternoon, I had a pretty strong contraction at the beginning.  That’s the big peak on the lower squiggly line on the paper. It’s not a real labor contraction but it was a good one and Kumquat handled it like it was nothing.  Good girl. She was also awake and kicking on her own this time around so she didn’t need to get buzzed like last time.

The nurse was also nice enough to let me take a video of the ultrasound.  I had it taken just for my mom since she’s been wanting to know what happens after every doctor’s appointment that I have.  It’s a quick scan but if you look carefully, you can see her little face.  And turn on your sound so you can hear the nurse narrating.

This is me on the exam chair.  I had to have the probes on my tummy for twenty minutes so I figured I could get a photo taken for the scrapbook.

Here’s Jes in his chair.  The hospital has free WiFi so he gets to surf during the boring part of the appointment.  I guess that’s when the Macbook Air comes in handy!

A New Family Member!!

On Sunday 3/18, we got a new addition to our extended family.  My cousin John and his wife Nuch, who live in London, were expecting just weeks before us and little Natsha arrived two weeks early!  Apparently it took mom only 30 minutes of pushing and baby weighed in at 3 kg (almost 6 1/2 pounds).

Here’s a video of her at 18 hours old:

Boy, our family just keeps growing!  Congratulations, Cousins!

Kung Fu Practice

Kumquat has been pretty active throughout this pregnancy.  Jesse calls it Kung Fu practice and it certainly feels like it sometimes.  Yesterday morning, I was hanging out on the couch and she was really going at it.  I had my phone handy so I took a short clip.  Crazy, isn’t it? I’m at about 35 weeks now and the doctor says she’s dropped already. I can certainly feel it. I think I stop at the bathroom every 1-2 hours now…even at night. It’s like I’m being trained for what’s to come in 5 weeks.

I’ve also decided on my last day of work: Tuesday, March 27th.  So, I’ve got about 2 1/2 weeks of work to go before my maternity leave!  Yippee!  I’ll be at Week 37 so it should give me 3 weeks before my later due date of April 17th and sufficient time to get things in order in case she decides to arrive early.