Life on Two Coasts: August 2011

So we broke down and decided to pay for an ultrasound out-of-pocket to find out the gender of our baby moose. We made it into a family event and had my parents and sister come along to hear the news. Of course our technician was in training so it took a little bit of time for her to find the sex. It was so fun to see our little one for the first time, especially since we have been waiting for our insurance to kick in for so long. It was tough there for awhile not being able to see how she was progressing at normal intervals like most people get to do.

So without further delay, our little one is...

A girl!!! Yay! If you look where the arrow is pointing in the picture, just above you will see 3 little lines. Those lines indicate a girl. Crazy, huh?

This next one is a pic of our little girl just hanging out. It wasn't the best one the technician had captured, or even the most clear, but it is still the very first picture we have of her, so I love it!

Now I just need to get my doctor's appointment scheduled with my new insurance and I will get to see her again! I can't wait to have this going in regular intervals.

I will be 21 weeks tomorrow and I am still feeling great. I feel like my stomach is ready to start growing any day now, but if I take a picture it still looks the same. Here are the pics I had Pat take every other Friday starting week 14. Technically they are on week 14, day 3; but who needs that?

Oops...that was Pat posing so I could get the camera ready for him =) Here are the real pics.

14 weeks

16 weeks

18 weeks

20 weeks

I think 20 weeks is where it finally actually looks like some more growth. The earlier ones I think are more just my stomach pushed out from the baby inside.

If my belly pops, I plan to take weekly pics, but until then I will keep up the every other week. We shall see!

How quickly 7 weeks can pass! I am doing great at a little over 19 weeks.

Warning about this post...lots of pics!

Before we ever found out we were pregnant, Pat and I decided to take a short trip to San Francisco. He has only been to the airport and I haven't gone since high school so it was the perfect summer get-away. It also happened to be a great time to watch some more Phillies baseball. We purchased tickets for 2 games and we couldn't wait to attend another of America's great ballparks. We have now gone to 7 Phillies games this season! I am so excited we were able to do that this year, especially since it is Pat's first year away from his beloved team.

On to some sights of San Fran.

Top of Lombard Street... aka the curviest street in the US!

Driving down the hill.

Looking up the hill

On our way to the Golden Gate bridge we happened upon a very strange sight...

Another foggy summer day driving across the bridge

Such great architecture!

After visiting the Golden Gate Bridge, we decided to explore a bit North of town. We drove through Sausolito and headed to the John Muir woods. It was so peaceful and beautiful, I always love exploring all the beauty this great state has to offer! We ended up at Muir Beach and stopped to enjoy the scenery.

The next day, we had a lot to do. We left from our hotel in Union Square and took the Cable Car over towards Fisherman's Wharf. Here is Pat on his first ride on a San Fran tradition. Sorry it is a little blurry.

Then we were on our way to Alcatraz Island. Another San Fran must see...

Pat loved it!

Of course Pat must relax in solitary confinement!

How a few prisoners managed to escape in 1962...

The menu from breakfast the day the prison was officially closed.

Pat trying on a prisoner issued hat in the gift shop.

No trip to Alcatraz is complete without a shot of a bird hanging out.

After our tour of the prison, our ticket included a second trip to the nearby Angel Island. It has a lot of history and this is the first time I have ever known it even existed. It was a big sending/receiving military post going back all the way to the Civil War. The base is where all of our soldiers sent to the Pacific region during WWII were processed on their way out and their way home from war. The island also served as the "Ellis Island of the West" for over 40 years. It is now an official state park...the entire island!

Here is the harbor we pulled into.

This island really offered the BEST views of the entire harbor. Going on the tour we took you get to see everything from a new perspective. Here is a pic with the Golden Gate in the back.

More views...I think this was looking toward Sausalito...Golden Gate is to the left of the view.

Immigration info...

A view overlooking the part of the island used for processing immigrants.

I thought this was pretty cool...This is known as Raccoon Strait. This is where the Sacramento River meets with the Pacific Ocean in the Bay. The water that looks murky and is closer in the frame is the river and the bluer water is the ocean. Pretty cool! The island actually was able to use the fresh water from the river even though there is Ocean water just beyond.

After our excursion, we walked back to Pier 39 and then to Fisherman's wharf. We didn't have a lot of time to shop the pier so we decided to just pay some sea lions a visit.

...then we headed to Boudin's for some lunch. Pat had a delicious Crab Cake sandwich. He devoured it so fast I was lucky to get a shot of it before it was gone!

I had the classic Clam Chowder in a Sourdough bread bowl. Love it!

At the wharf

Finally to end the jam-packed day, we headed to the 2nd of our games for the trip. I didn't feel like bringing my camera for the first game but the Phillies won!

The 2nd day was much prettier so there were tons of sailboats out just before the game...

Hard to see, but the flags show the championships the Giants have won. The one on the far right is orange and is for last year. The other 5 are black and represent the championships they had won when they were in NYC.

A view from our great seats!

The Phillies starting lineup for the day. Vance Worley was the pitcher making it the first time we have ever seen all of the Phillies starting pitchers in one season!