A San Francisco Treat

Joe came out to California to take me on a special getaway to San Francisco. This trip was dedicated to Ali since we took a trip to Seattle when I was pregnant with Jess. (Jessica stayed with Mooma and Grandad and didn't seem to even know we were gone.) But, first things first, Joe had to get a picture of himself in front of the state capitol to add to his collection. I snuck in for a happy couple picture too.

We spent two days in San Fran. We stayed in the financial district, only one block from the Trans America building.

We picked up a map of the "MUNI" bus route and got right to it. We found this pretty view of the city while I was looking for a restroom... most of our time was spent looking for restrooms.

We ventured into Chinatown. The shops all smelled like fish and they sold strange foods that I've never even heard of.

I got a smoothie at the Ben & Jerry's in the Haight Ashbury district. We also had to do some people watching in the Castro District. It was a fruitfull experience (hee hee). Some things I had to only glance at because I didn't want the images burned into my mind. We walked across the Golden Gate Bridge too, well, halfway across.

Me and Ali on the Golden Gate.Joe thought this sign was interesting.

View of San Fran from the Gate.

After the bridge we headed over to Fisherman's Wharf for lunch. I got some authentic clam chowder in a sourdough bowl, yum.View of Alcatraz from the shore.We took a night tour of Alcatraz. It was dusk when we boarded the ferry. Here's a view of the Coit Tower from the ferry.Alcatraz from the ferry.Inside the cellblock.Inside a cell.

The creepiest part was the operating room in the hospital but we didn't get a picture of that.

A 3D Look at Lil' Sister

As I mentioned in the last blog, we got a 3D ultrasound of Allison. I was very curious to see what she was up to in there since her movements are quite mysterious and comical at times. She looks so snugly with her hands up in her face. She was playing with her feet, umbilical cord and feeling all around her face. She also seemed to throw her head back to stretch out a lot. There were several yawns as well. If I moved around as much as she does I would be tired too... it makes me tired just feeling all her movements. There have been more than a few sleepless nights in this pregnancy because she is such a busy little girl.

Yep, definitely a girl. This is the 3rd confirmation so all of this evidence would no doubt be admissible in court.

You can see her little feet crossed at the ankles in this picture.

She opened her eyes and looked around a few times. It felt like she was already here and I could pick her up and hold her.

In the picture below she is giving the OK signal. She must know how worried about her I've been and she is trying to reassure me.

A perfectly beautiful little hand.

At one point during the ultrasound I started discussing birthing horror stories with the technician and Allison didn't seem to like the topic much because she started frowning.

I am so excited to hold my baby girl in my arms and introduce her to this big world and all the people who love her!

California Times- Part 2

Now where did I leave off on the last blog... oh yeah, Grandpa was doing what he does best: spoiling his girls. Jessica got a new baby doll for the bath and it came with a miniature rubber ducky (which Jess has in her mouth in the picture below). My dad thought it was funny that she liked the little rubber duck so much. We also had a nice visit with Great Grandpa Ray and Rosemary.

We had lunch and then visited at their place for a little while. Jessica was pleased with their little hyper doggies... I think they were more excited about her than she was about them though. She was exhausted after the visit so she fell asleep in her car seat watching Elmo on the DVD and clutching her bath time baby by the leg.

On the Friday before Labor day we went to get a 3D ultrasound of Jessica's little sister at the same place we had Jessica's done.

Here's a belly shot.

Here's a funny picture of Jessica about to feed her "lil' sister" doll a miniature bottle... the look on her face is pretty intense.On Labor Day we met up with more family at my Aunt Mel and Uncle Rick's house for a pool party.

After we splashed around in the pool for a bit we took the kids inside to play. Aunt Mel has a lot of great toys at her place and Jessica had no problem helping herself. Addison, my cousin Desiree's daughter, was very sweet to share all her toys.Jessica had a blast at Mel and Rick's place.

Addi and Jessi played well together.

Here's a cute picture of Grandad holding Jess.We took Jessica back to Bidwell Park to play around a bit. Mooma helped her practice walking. Sometimes she only needs to hold on by one hand. And she actually took two steps while we were at Mooma and Grandad's.

She got so tired from all the walking that she fell asleep in her stroller. It was a beautiful day in the park, as you can see. Mooma and Grandad have perfected the art of spoiling. Just look at Jessica's playroom in the picture below. (Yep, Jessica is their only grandchild so far so this is all for her!)

Their cat, Louie, thought it was for him. Jessica's favorite toy was the pink car.She liked to climb in and out, open and closed the door, and put her Elmo sippy cups in the cup holders. She somehow knew how to honk the horn and turn the steering wheel while Mooma or Grandad pushed her around. I normally only let Jessica have her pooh bear when she is napping but at Mooma and Grandad's her every whim is their command and she took full advantage.

Jessica likes to dress up so the beaded necklaces were a big hit. She puts them on herself. She found some red horns on the dollar rack at Target and she thought they were cool so I got them for her. She is wearing her horns while Grandad feeds her grapes in the picture below.

She has a little red leather chair that she sits in while she watches her Elmo.Mooma and Grandad fueled Jessica's all powerful Elmo obsession too. Notice in the next two pictures that she is eating with an Elmo fork from an Elmo bowl and drinking from an Elmo sippy cup. And Mooma also found her some Elmo slippers and Sesame street figurines.Louie, the cat, was Jessica's sidekick for the week. He is sure going to miss following her around and pouncing her. Louie is Uncle E's kitty. Jessica was more enamored with Uncle E than his cat.

There was plenty of outside time too. Jessica got to play in the dirt and...

her very own miniature pool.

Stay tuned for more posts from our Cali adventures...