Oh, Olivia!

I plan on watching Tron Legacy.  But enough of this 3D stuff already. (via suicideblonde):

Olivia Wilde in Tron

I don’t think I’d want to eat those “grape-hutts”.
(via thedailywhat):

Star Wars Swag of the Day: These Star Wars-themed mini cereal boxes by Gus Lopez and co. will be handed out as party favors to fans attending the Star Wars Celebration V Collecting Panels.
(superpunch)

Mia Izobel was born at 10:16 am on July 1, 2010.  She weighs 7 lbs 12.2 oz, is 19 1/2 inches long, with a thick head of hair. Mommy and baby are doing great!

An interesting idea for a camera bag. Too bad it only comes in white.
(discovered via photojojo):

The Cloak Camera Bag: a shoot-through satchel with a zippered bottom for toting SLRs incognito. Your camera never leaves the bag so you’ll never miss a shot again. Pairs well with stick-on moustaches, shoe phones, and crime solving.

We had our baby shower this weekend in Cuesta Park. Luckily the day was warm and sunny, a welcome break from the unusually raining weather we’ve been having here. We cannot say thank you enough to our family and friends who helped put this party together. They did so much work to put this amazing celebration together.

We are equally thankful to our family and friends who were able to share this day with us. You can find tons of photos from the party here. If you need the password to access, please email either Farrah or I. Or you can send an email to feedback [at] janella dot com.

via Pascal Terjan on flickr.

More photos can be found here

Looks as if IKEA did a minor upgrade to a few Paris Metro stations. I wonder how dirty the furniture was after a week. (via Urlesque)

via juliasegal

We are having a girl!

We reconfirmed this with an ultrasound earlier this week. Farrah had an ultrasound about four weeks ago. During that ultrasound, measurements were taken then and we could find out the sex of our baby. We shared the news with a few people. But not long after that ultrasound was completed, we were called by the hospital asking to schedule another ultrasound. It seems the technician couldn’t record a good enough view of the heart to satisfy whoever reviews the scans. We had the follow-up ultrasound this past Monday.

The technician performing the scan at this appointment appeared to be more thorough. He provided better commentary on what we were looking at on screen than the previous technician. We were able to watch her heart beating, watching the blood flow in and out. We also saw, through color mapping, how blood was flowing through the umbilical cord. It’s an amazing sight to see. So, Button is coming along nicely.

Wait, who or what is Button?

Names

Button is the current nickname for our future bundle of joy.

We have been thinking about names ever since we found out Farrah is pregnant, even more so after finding out the sex. Until she is born, we’ve decided to use nicknames. The first name we gave her before we knew it was her, was Jazzy. The origins of this name came from movements she made during one of Farrah’s first ultrasounds. It looked as if she was waving both of her hands at us, showing us her jazz hands.

Several weeks later, after another ultrasound, the name Box popped into my head. At this point we still didn’t know the sex. I thought that since this fact was hidden from us, it was basically like being in a box, almost like a present. Yes, I could have gone with something like Gift or Present, but Box seemed to fit. I know, it sounds odd.

And finally, we arrive at Button. The phrase “Cute as a button” popped into my head. And so, Button is where it currently stands.

Don’t worry, she won’t end up with any of these nicknames when she makes her entrance. But we are still thinking of names and haven’t settled on a particular one yet. You’ll know our decision soon enough.

Steak and corn for dinner tonight!

To celebrate the nice day outside, I decided to throw a couple of ribeye steaks and corn-on-the-cob on the grill. Farrah is making bibingka as well.

How do you take your steak?

Ultrasound of the Little Dude or Little Dudette

Farrah is pregnant!

[Note: Apologies to our shared friends on Facebook.  I know you’ve heard this announcement before, from Farrah’s wall posting last week. I just haven’t had time to make a blog post and post it on my Facebook wall as well.]

Not much to add.  Well, I guess we could throw in a few details.

 How far along are you?

At this point Farrah is at 14 weeks.

 When did you find out?

The morning of November 1.  Farrah woke me up early that morning, showing me a photo on her iPhone of a home pregnancy test.  I had to ask who’s it was. She then smiled and said, “It’s mine!”  Later that day we took two other tests just to be sure.

 When is your due date?

July 11th.

 Do you know the sex of the baby?

Not yet. It’s too early. But we do want to find out when we can.

 How are you feeling?

Not too bad. Luckily Farrah hasn’t experienced a lot of morning sickness, though there were times where she did not feel like eating.  Her appetite returned last weekend with the beginning of the second trimester.

We hear that the second trimester is the best.  I can say, for both of us, that we’re extremely happy,  excited, and of course, nervous.  I take it all of those are natural responses. 

Last Monday, we heard the baby’s heartbeat for the first time.  At first it was difficult to distinguish it from the static coming from the Doppler Baby Heart Monitor’s - I think that’s what it’s called -  speaker.  After some maneuvering of the microphone by the doctor, a clearly identifiable strong heartbeat was coming through.  I have to say hearing the heartbeat was as cool as seeing the first ultrasound of the baby back in November. I honestly could have cried.  Yes, I did cry during a couple of the ultrasounds.

We can’t wait until July. 

I haven’t done well with my goal of completing past dailyshoot photo assignments, as I had hoped to in a recent post.  But I did have a chance to take photos yesterday.  We met up with Yen and Timothy at Valley Fair Mall. It’s amazing how much Timothy has grown. I was able to take a few photos of him, but boy does he move a lot. Of the 40-plus photos I took, only half were usable. But that’s a good thing.

I’m trying to get into the habit of pressing and holding down the shutter release button. If I have the camera in a certain mode, it will take a series of three-to-five shots at a time. With an empty 4GB memory card I should be able to take approximately 170 or so photos in RAW format, at least that’s what my camera says.  Unlike film, I shouldn’t worry about taking too many wasted shots, when seeking that one that captures a moment.  After all, it’s difficult to take non-flash photos in low light, a situation I often find myself in.  Using this method, if I’m lucky, one of those three-to-five photos should turn out. I guess I could get a faster lens or start using flash, but a better lens costs money and I don’t often like the results with flash.

I wish I got into this habit earlier. I think it would have come in handy on some of our travel photos.

Kaleb!

I’ve posted a bunch of photos on our Smugmug account. The four new albums are: Visiting Kaleb on Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, Getting Together at South First Billiards, and Genentech Holiday Party.

For me, taking photos has been a bit more fun the last several weeks. I’m not sure if it’s the holiday season that has gotten me snapping away, but I hope to have more updates in the New Year.

Also, I’m evaluating a few programs from Nik Software, so some photos may look as if they have better post-processing than others.

As always, most of the albums are password protected.  If you need the password please contact me. And, as always, if there is a photo of you that you want me to take down, let me know as well.