Wednesday, July 6, 2011

waiting game

Dan and Carmen's baby was due during week 25, and we spent a lot of that time wondering when Carmen would go into labor. Meanwhile, I used the time to get some of the necessary "before" pictures while it was still possible.

That Saturday, we went out to lunch (Vietnamese) with the parents and Dan and Carmen. (It was my first pho.) In the afternoon, I stopped downstairs and took pictures of the take-home dress that Carmen had made for the baby. She had it paired with some ruffle-bottomed pants, a cardigan with antique baby pins, and some monster socks. Unfortunately, when it was actually time to bring the baby home from the hospital a week and a half later, Carmen discovered that the outfit was too big for baby. A sleeper had to suffice. It will be a little while before she's big enough to wear this.

169/365 baby fashion


Another thing I wanted to do before the baby came was to get a good picture of Dan and Carmen together. I had a few shots from the shower, but I wanted some that didn't include the baby tiara and "baby daddy" ribbon. So we did some pictures in the alley and the park before they went out to the pinball place with Bruce and Bonnie that afternoon. It also happened to be Fathers Day, so Steve made us all dinner that night: prime rib, mashed potatoes & parsnips, roasted carrots, mushrooms, and some honey roasted peaches with mascarpone. I didn't take pictures of any of it, but the peach dessert deserves a shot one of these days.

170/365 parents-to-be


It was hot on Monday, but Bruce and Bonnie came to work on the house for a few hours that day. By dinner time, I had decided that something cold sounded good. And since I had no pictures for the day yet, something new and cold sounded even better. We settled on a cold avocado soup from Gerald Hirigoyen's Pintxos and a couple dessert soups—strawberry soup and white chocolate with mango & coconut—from Tartelette. The avocado soup wasn't quite right, but the dessert soups were good together. Nice use for our little bottles too.

171/365 dessert soups


Since Tuesday was the summer solstice, I suggested a walk up to Bernal Hill, like Steve and I did two years before. It was another warm day, so no work on the house. Bruce and Bonnie just came for a dinner of leftover roast beef—in sandwich form—and joined us for the walk. When we reached the top, the sun was starting to get lower, the fog was rolling in, and it was getting chillier. If you were to zoom in on the picture below, you could see our house. (It's near the lower right corner.)

172/365 solstice


It was supposed to be warm again on Wednesday, prompting Bruce and Bonnie to stay in Pacifica for the day. It never did get hot, but the day off from work on the hallway gave me a chance to do some more planning for our Europe trip. Since I had gotten our plane tickets and figured out our general itinerary already, it was time to start looking at what to do and where to stay in Barcelona—our first stop.

173/365 spain-ly 2011


Thursday was June 23, Carmen's due date. No sign of the baby, though. After washing the walls in the hallway, Bonnie and I cleaned up and went over to Hayes Valley. I didn't find many things to photograph, but we did see a little stuffed bunny at one of the stores. We convinced ourselves that the baby needed it, and I decided that it would make a good picture for the day. Carmen was kind enough to model it on her "shelf" when we arrived home.

174/365 due date


Then, we got a text on Friday morning, saying that Carmen's water had broken. After a trip to the hospital to get checked out, she and Dan spent most of the day at home, waiting until 6pm to go back. (Bruce, Bonnie, and I primed everything in the hallway while we were waiting for further news.) Around 8:30pm, we went to visit Carmen and Dan at the hospital, even though it looked like the baby would not be making an appearance that evening. In any case, I shot a few pictures in the labor/delivery room, including the empty baby bed, and we wished Carmen luck before heading home.

175/365 no baby yet


In the next post: a baby!
  

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