Another Gender Party

Our good friends Ty and Danielle are pregnant too. Danielle is 8 weeks behind me. We've had fun comparing bellies and being pregnant together. Last weekend they had their own gender revealing party. This time no one in the room new the gender, not even Ty and Danielle! They had the doctor write the gender on paper and hide it in an envelope. A trusted friend made cupcakes filled with the appropriate color icing. So Ty and Danielle found out the gender of their new baby at the same time as everyone else.

Here we are, the two pregnant woman.



This is the group ready to open the cupcakes and take a bite.



Oh and I just like this picture :-)



It's a boy!! Team blue won. Here's a picture of team blue.

Bun in the Oven Costume

I am so proud of our costumes this year for our church Harvest Party! Not only were they cute, they were super cheap!

Gabe Visits Europe

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Paris and London! We had a blast the whole time and wanted to share a few photos.

In Paris...

Our first night we saw the Eiffel Tower at sunset.


The next morning we saw the Mona Lisa. It was smaller than I thought it would be.


This is me outside the Louvre.


The Opera House in Paris. Interesting note: The Paris opera house has an underground river (not open to the public anymore) which was the inspiration for The Phantom of the Opera.




Notre Dame (back side)


Notre Dame (front) If you look closely, you can see the hunchback in the bell tower ;-)


Eiffel Tower at night.


Gabe at the gates of Versailles.


Richard in the hall of mirrors.


Standing in the huge backyard at the palace of Versailles. It has 200,000 trees, 50 fountains, 620 jets of water and approximately 2,000 acres. It takes 1 hour to walk from the palace door to the back of the property.







And now London...

The British Museum.


I was comparing bellies with the guy from Easter Island.


In front of the London Eye.


Big Ben across the Thames river.


Standing outside Buckingham Palace.


Changing of the guards.




Richard was able to meet our Governor.


And I struck a pose with J Lo.


We weren't able to take pictures inside Westminster Abbey, but this is the outside.


Again, couldn't take pictures of the inside, but this is the outside of Windsor Castle. It was really amazing to walk through a castle where the Queen actually lives part of the year.


St. James Chapel is on the Windsor castle property.


Lastly, we went to the Sherlock Holmes museum. This is the address of Sherlock Holmes according to the novels.

Gabriel's First Video

In case you haven't heard, we've decided to name our son Gabriel John Sanders. We really liked the name Gabriel after hearing it during a sermon at church, and it stuck ever since. The middle name, John, is after my father.

Here's the video taken during the ultrasound. The doctor gave it to us on a CD with the title "Baby's First Video" and a picture of a stork. How cute! In case you don't believe the blue cake, the doctor makes the gender very clear in the video. You won't have any doubts ;-)

Richard and I will be vacationing in London and Paris for the next week and a half, so we probably won't update the blog for a while. But we'll be sure to take some great pictures! Until then, enjoy the video.

Baby Reveal - After the cake cutting!!

Well, the video stream idea didn't work so well. Sorry, think the video froze. Here is the video post the cake cutting. It shows the color of the cake and the baby reveal...



Enjoy! I'll plan to post the 6 min ultrasound video on the blog as well.

Ustream for smartphones

Yes, there is an iPhone and Android app to watch Ustream if you cannot be at your home computer on Saturday afternoon. Just visit Android marketplace or the iPhone apps to get your Ustream viewer.

19 week Ultrasound

We got our ultrasound today! It was SOOOO cool! We went to a special doctor who has a better ultrasound machine. He even does the 3D images. We got to see our baby from every angle, and are happy to report that baby Sanders is perfectly healthy. We were able to see the heart beating, the stomach, all ten fingers and toes, and the face which was making a sucking motion. Yes, we even found out the gender of our baby. However, you'll have to wait a bit longer for the big revealing. We would like to tell all of our family and friends at the same time. To do this we're having a "Gender Revealing Party".

The Gender Revealing Party will be held on Saturday, September 25 from 2pm to 4pm PST. I'm going to bake a cake that is either blue or pink, but covered with white frosting. At 3pm we'll cut into the cake to reveal the gender of our baby. For those who aren't living in the area, all you need is a computer with the Internet, and you can watch the revealing live from your own homes. Here's how it works...

Just go to www.ustream.tv/channel/sanxlive
You will be able to see and hear us, but we won't be able to see or hear you. We will start streaming around 2:45pm. Remember, the cake cutting will be at 3pm. So be sure to give yourself enough time to get to the website. If you can't make it, Richard will save the video at the same location.

I know some of you will be dying to find out, so I'm hoping I can hold you over by posting some screen shots from the ultrasound. Enjoy!

What Gender is baby Sanders?

On Monday, we have an ultrasound appointment. If the baby is cooperating, we'll be able to find out the gender. I am SO excited! I feel like knowing the gender will allow me to bond more with my child, and of course there's all the planning I'll get to do. Lately Richard and I have been thinking we may be having a boy... Or maybe we're just leaning towards wanting a boy, and that makes us think we'll have one. Either way, we're just excited to know more about who is growing inside me.

My local friends have begun something that's turning into a tradition, and I will be keeping up with the "Gender Revealing Party". This is a party where we will reveal the gender of our baby to our friends via cake. (Go figure... I love cake... OK I love all sweets). When Richard and I find out the gender, I'll bake a cake that is colored either pink or blue, and cover it in a neutral frosting. At the party, we'll be revealing the gender of our baby by cutting into the cake and revealing the color inside. Everyone will be sporting the color they are "rooting" for, and the winners will get a prize. Of course, I think Richard and I are the real winners :-).

On another baby topic... This weekend I had my first experience where a stranger noticed I was pregnant. She insisted that I go first in the ladies room. How nice! Although I think she was brave for asking if I was pregnant at this stage, because I could have responded "I'm not pregnant!!", then she would have been really embarrassed.

Baby Bump

Over Labor Day weekend I flew to Midland, MI to visit my best friend and maid of honor Sarah. We had a lot of fun over the weekend, and one of my favorite activities was shopping for maternity clothes. I'm at a point where my normal pants will no longer button up, so I have to loop a hair tie between the button hole and the button. This may not last for much longer. At the maternity store, they have a pillow that you wear to help you see what you will look like when your stomach is bigger. In case you're wondering, here's what I may look like...




I also found it interesting how much the maternity clothes make my stomach more visible. The normal clothes I wear tend to hide my stomach, but look at the difference between my normal clothes and the maternity clothes.






Another highlight of my Michigan trip was the cute gift my friends Christina and Sarah gave to me. Christina and Sarah (same Sarah I went to visit) were my college roommates. They both happened to move to Midland, MI so I was able to see them both. They gave me a baby onesie from our college that says "Future Engineer". How appropriate.

Julie and Julia

My good friend Rachel just celebrated her birthday this weekend. Her husband Don set up a "Julie and Julia" Party. For those of you who haven't seen the movie, it's based on the famous cook, Julia Child. The girls dressed up like Julia Child and the guys dressed up like her husband. We all wore big red hearts on our shirts, just like in the movie, and walked around saying "Bon Appetit!" in a high pitched, Julia Child-like voice. Rachel made an amazing dish of Beef Bourguignon (also like in the movie), which came straight out of Julia Child's cook book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". It was such a fun night!

15 week checkup

Thursday marked 15 weeks. I got an email telling me the baby was now the size of an apple. Wow!! It's so exciting to know what's going on inside me as the baby grows. Richard and I have been praying every night that the baby and I will be healthy throughout the pregnancy and labor.

I also went to the Doctor on Thursday. It was a typical checkup. We heard the heartbeat again, and everything was progressing well. I still haven't gained weight. This seems funny to me because my pants are getting tight. We also asked about getting an ultrasound in order to find out the baby's gender in a few weeks. This is where I got a little upset. Here's the story...

A month ago, during our last doctor visit, we told the doctor we would not be doing any additional testing. You see, they had recommended doing genetic testing along with some other additional tests which all tell you the "risk" of your baby having some disorder. The tests come by way of blood test, ultrasound and maybe something else that I'm forgetting. After talking to the doctor, we determined it was unlikely (given our health, family history and age) that there would be any risk, and even if there was a risk, we wouldn't really change anything we did during the pregnancy. Now, a month later, we asked about when we would be able to know the gender of the baby. The doctor told us that she never does an ultrasound without some medical reason, and definitely not JUST to know the gender of the baby. Since my pregnancy is going well, she doesn't feel the need to do another ultrasound. She told me if I want to know the gender, I could do the additional testing we spoke of a month ago, and at the same time they could look for the sex of the baby. I was shocked! Our doctor basically refused to let us know the gender of the baby unless we pay more for some extra test that we don't want. Is that normal?!?! I guess we'll end up doing the additional testing, but only the ultrasound and not all the blood work. I'm just frustrated that our doctor won't do a simple check for he sex of the baby. Grrrr.

Changing the brakes on the Kia

After changing the front discs a few weeks ago, thought I would tackle the rear shoes on the Kia. I included a picture if you ever wondered what the insides looked like. I'm not much of a car maintenance guy so my friend Mark helped me out. Long story short, the shoes did not need replacing. There was just a lot of brake dust that was causing the squeaking. We did take the opportunity to repack the bearing. So far the brakes have been quiet and the car is stopping. That is a good thing. I still have the timing belt to do, but that is a horse of a different color. Think I may just pay to get it done (~$600) or roll the dice. Only driving 6 miles a day limits the probability. If we keep the car 4 more years that is another 8K miles. Total miles on car currently 64K. Thoughts?

Orange County Fair

This blog was posted by both Richard and Sarah...


How better to start off a blog than with a pig race... fast aren't they?



We went to the Orange County fair last night with our friends, Jill and Mark. It was fun to see all the attractions and eat different foods. Jill and Mark had the idea of tasting a little bit of everything. So we tried tasty fries (fresh fried potato chips), pulled pork sandwich, corn bread, corn on the cob, and the largest corn dog we had ever seen. We split the corn dog 4 ways, and it was still too much for Sarah to eat. We eventually made it to the booths owned by Chicken Charlie. Jill and Mark know him personally, and he fries anything you can think of. He asked Sarah what she wanted, and she, of course, asked for dessert. We ate two fried Oreos and a fried Klondike bar. Chicken Charlie has been filming a reality TV show that may air on TV if all goes well. In the TV show he'll be frying an entire wedding cake! If you're interested in reading more about Chicken Charlie, visit this article.

We also payed $1 to see a really big steer. He stood 6'6" at the shoulders. Wow! Here's a picture of Sarah standing in front of it, but he's far enough away that the picture doesn't show his true size. You get the idea.



Oh, and for an update to Sarah's last post, the baby is now the size of a lemon.

LA Gun Club

Don organized a trip to the LA Gun Club for a few of the guys. It had been about 10 years since I'd shot a gun, but it all came back quickly after the first trigger pull. I decided to use only one target, which makes it look like I'm a good shot... well except for a couple holes there in the arm. I could say that I was pretending a hostage was in front of the target, and I only wanted to wound the man, but that would be a lie. It's possible those are Vince's shots since he used my target the first round. (just kidding) I had a great time and look forward to going back in the future. Maybe shoot something with a little more kick than a 9mm. Go ahead, make my day.
Videos: Craig, Vince, Don

2nd Trimester

I'm officially in my 2nd trimester now, and tomorrow I'll hit my 14 week mark. So far, the 2nd trimester is living up to it's expectations. I have my energy back and I don't feel sick anymore. I think Richard is especially happy about this, because I'm able to make nice dinners again. When I wasn't feeling well, Richard was in charge of making all the dinners. He made chicken, but the smell of it cooking made me sick. Then he made pasta but the creamy sauce made me sick. So we resorted to cereal and grilled cheese most of the time. Thank goodness I can eat like normal again!

Each week I get an email telling me the new developments and size of our baby, and each time the baby's size is compared to some type of food. It started at poppy seed, then lentil, blueberry, etc. At 13 weeks, our baby was the size of a medium shrimp. I didn't like this, because I'm picturing cold, wet, raw meat. I much prefer to think of our baby as some sort of fruit. So I'm hoping tomorrow's 14 week email mentions something cuter than a piece of meat. I'll let you know.

Some people have been asking when I'll have a baby bump. I don't have a bump yet, and I can still fit into my jeans, but I'm excited to start looking pregnant, and we plan to take profile pictures as we go. I know every pregnancy is different, but I've been told I should start to see a little baby bump in the next month. I guess a shrimp wouldn't show much anyway.

Flower Cake with Matching Cake Truffles

Some of you watched the video Richard posted of me making a cake. So I'm posting the final product. Someone ordered this cake for a bridal shower, and my friend Danielle made matching kruffles. What are kruffles? They are little balls of cake infused with icing and covered in a high quality candy coating. She actually has her own business, and I just get a few cake orders through her. In case you want to see more of her stuff, you can go to her website at www.Kruffles.com I'm really a beginner, so I don't charge much. My friend, Chantee told me to time myself, so I could figure out how much I make an hour. I think I'm just barely making minimum wage. But I still enjoy it. And who knows, if I get really good, I may be a be to make quite a profit.

Broadcasting Sarah into Cyberspace

Richard here, posting for the first time. For those of you that may not know... I'm a geek. I love technology, especially technology that involves my Android phone. There is an application that I've started using called USTREAM. It allows me to use my phone's camera to stream live video and audio on the internet. Yesterday, I decided to create a channel called "SMSCake" and broadcast Sarah making a cake (you can watch the video here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/8642975). Will post a final pic of the cake later. Of note, you can also use the application on your PC with a webcam. I can already see us streaming our babies first steps, first birthday, and pretty much any other first (or second if I can't get the phone in time). Sarah has told me that we will not be broadcasting the birth, but I may be able to broadcast soon after. Will keep you posted when I create a baby channel.

The URL for her cake channel is http://www.ustream.tv/channel/smscake
Password is "decorate"

First Ultrasound

My first Dr visit was when I was 6 weeks pregnant. Here's the picture of the ultrasound. If you look hard enough, you can see Richard's reflection off the monitor as he takes the picture.

Supposedly you're able to see the heartbeat already at 6 weeks. And maybe you can, but I sure couldn't. The Dr. was pointing at the screen saying "You see that little flicker? That's your baby's heart beat." But as hard as I looked I couldn't see anything. In fact the pen she was using to point with was covering up most of the baby anyway! But I think the second visit made up for it, when we actually heard the heart beat.

The "X" on either side of the baby are measuring the length. This is how they tell how far along I am. She was very precise, saying I was 6 weeks and 3 days. I guess they have to be, in order to have a due date.

Speaking of due dates, our baby is due Feb 10. I hope it doesn't come too much sooner, because I don't want it's birthday to fall too close to Richard's (Jan 23). I also don't want it to be too close to Valentine's Day. If I could pick the date, I would pick Feb 5. That just seems like a good number. Richard, however, has his own preference for a due date. He has this whole thing worked out with our birthdays only using certain numbers. His birthday is January 23, which uses the numbers 1-2-3. My birthday is October 2, which uses the numbers 1-0-2. So Richard wants the baby to come on February 10, since that would be 2-1-0, which uses the same numbers as ours. Actually, now that I look at it, the baby's numbers would be just like mine, but in a different order. Does that mean the baby will resemble me more than Richard? Just a thought.

Starting a Blog

Hello Everyone.

We've given in to our friend's nagging about a blog (mostly just Danielle). This blog will have postings about our first pregnancy, as well as other life happenings. Hopefully this will be a good way for family and friends to keep in touch. So please bookmark this page, and check in on us once in a while.

A brief update for now...
On Thursday, we went to our second doctor appointment. I was under the impression I would be getting a second ultrasound, but apparently you have to pay more for extra ultrasounds. If everything goes smoothly, my doctor may only do another ultrasound around 20 weeks, when we'll find out the gender of the baby. Even though we didn't get to "see" the baby, we did get to hear it's heartbeat for the very first time. It was pretty amazing.

I am now 11 weeks pregnant, and the internet tells me that our baby is the size of a fig. It is developing fingernails and toenails, and although I can't feel it, is already moving around. As for me, I think I'm mostly over the morning sickness. For a while I had a hard time eating any kind of meat, but today we went to In'N'Out and I proudly ate an entire cheeseburger, french fries, and even a shake! Oh, and for lunch I ate a whole jar of pickles! I have been eating some weird meals, that's for sure.

I'll post some more blogs soon to catch up on recent happenings, and will try to add a lot of pictures.