Unedited video from May 28, Jude’s 1 month birthday
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Archive for May, 2008
The loveability factor
Jude continues to woo us with his charm and loveability factor. I thought about him all day today, again. Harriet had the luxury of staying and playing with him! Despite digestion issues, he is a super happy baby. Here are some of our favorite photos from the past few days.
Skype for BlackBerry
I’ve spent too much time looking for the perfect Skype solution for my BlackBerry. So far, I can see three competitors:
- Webmessenger Mobile for Skype from Webessenger Inc.
- IM+ for Skype from Shape Services
- iSkoot for Skype from iSkoot
WebMess - Free, desktop client needed
IM+ - $29.95, no desktop client needed
iSkoot - Free, no desktop client needed
Pricing:
Cost voice to voice = Skype out cost from users country to your country mobile
Cost chat = data only (+incoming sms if in USA)
Cost voice to Skype out = Skype out to you plus Skype out cost to the contact
These services are pretty cool but all of them require an out and back approach to making the call: From what I understand, your mobile Skype client calls the person you want to speak to, who then calls you back on your mobile, using the Skype Out tariff from their country to your mobile. (IM+ and iSkoot both use the cellular network to call you back on your mobile) …and with Webmessenger, your call is somehow directed to your desktop computer before connecting to your contact.
This is all a bit complicated to me. Why can’t the Skype call be initiated and completed directly through a data stream on the mobile networks. I understand that EDGE is horribly slow, but hopefully with 3G being pushed big time with the appearance of the 3G iPhone and 3G BlackBerrys this summer perhaps this sort of out and back can be avoided!
One side note: For users with Wi-Fi enabled phones NOT including BlackBerry, unfortunately, Fring will dial directly through your Wi-Fi connection as if on your PC. Not only does it do an amazing job with Skype, it also integrates MSN
Messenger, ICQ, Google Talk™, SIP, Twitter, AIM & Yahoo!™ in the same dang package!!! My brother has tried this with his iPhone and it works great. Chat, and calls! Luxury
In terms of user interface and use, I think iSkoot is great. The product is very well refined, the layout and accessing the buttons is intuitive. The application is light and responsive as well. I look forward to a less “round the world approach” to skype on BlackBerry (moip) technology. Check here for a great post which looks at moip in a bit more detail than my rant.
*UPDATE - *I just found this post which explains why Fring and it’s sexy technology doesn’t work with BlackBerry OS in the way I was hoping it would. Oh well…!
My boys
What an amazing pair of boys I have been given! Jude is growing every day and Stuart is the most attentioned husband and father! Thanks to the two of them having some “quiet time” (not really…) until 2 am I got to sleep a whole 5 hours straight until Jude’s following meal!! Obviously we are both eager to get him sleeping through the night - if anyone has suggestions they are most welcome. For the moment he eats fairly regularly every 4 hours, and mummy wakes him up if he sleeps too long, so he doesn’t need to eat so much during the night… although that is usually when he tends to exercise his lungs anyway so, whether he eats or not…
Today we took him to church for the first time, but we kind of cheated as it was a morning service and there were much fewer people there than there are at the evening service, about 5 times less people. Jude doesn’t seem to like waking up in a new place so he frets a bit, but he dealt with it rather well, all considered. Having said that, we haven’t gotten through the night yet, so any built up tension from the day may yet have to come out!
Bed time for mummy now, as Jude and Dad have already gone off upstairs, but not without posting some recent pics!
Enjoy!
Week 3… has flown by.
I’m now fully back at work, and really trying to make some headway with the creation of my IT company here in Geneva. Having the capacity, and the courage to dream, are two of my strongest points. I feel as though, with God, I cannot fail. And if I do, it’s OK. 
Anyhow, creating an IT company in 2008 is exciting, I’ll leave it at that.
Being Jude’s father and Harriet’s husband is also extremely exciting. I love getting behind the lens of one of my cameras and capturing unforgettable moments. I’m testing out a different way of displaying our photos: I’m using Tiltviewer from Airtight Interactive. To view the photos, you’ll need flash on your machine. If you have a slow machine, it might run a bit slow. Be patient, the way the photos are displayed is worth the wait!
Here is a teaser, something I think I will do from now on… S.
… and the photo gallery!
I think I’m in love
RIM has just announced the new Blackberry Bold a.k.a. Blackberry 9000 today!
A few quick specs…
- 1GB on-board memory with encryption.
- Micro-SD Expansion slot up to 16GB
- Tri-band HSDPA/Quad-band EDGE
- GPS
- Enterprise grade Wi-Fi a/b/g
- Half-VGA display (480×320)
- Available “this summer.” ($300-$400 range with a contract)
- Interchangable color back plates.
- 5 hours of talk time, 13 days of standby time.
- 624-MHz Marvell Tavor PXA930 processor.
- iTunes support.
Install Google Calendar Sync with desktop manager
Following up on my healthy addiction post, Sim_plic-I-Ty was looking for the .cod files for Google calendar sync. I was sure I had them but could not find them on my computer. Visit this post to download them. Obviously, you will need to go through the same process again to create the .alx file which desktop manager will then read.
* this link is from January 2008, you might consider guessing a newer version of the link to obtain the latest version.
Classic Jude faces
Here is why we laugh so much!!!
Jude likes to fall asleep at the breast
my pudgy boy!
Jude’s first application of baby sunscreen… horrible!!
Jude going limp after a feed
no comment
probably concentrating on an upcoming “movement”
he’s all red in the face… definitely concentrating on an upcoming movement!
the lazy Jude once he has eaten well.. lounging on the sofa
rounding out the week
The past four days, we have had many visitors, all who are so excited to meet Jude! Harriet is LOVING being “mom” and even commented today that being at home “isn’t that bad after all”…
Jude doesn’t mind all the attention but definitely sleeps!
mom and baby are loving the bonding process
h, Jude, Evez and Aline
Pavlo, Lara and Jude
Amanda and Jude
… and the man himself!
Despite the wind
Despite a challenging evening with Jude, (i think it had something to do with broccoli h must have eaten…) we both managed almost 8 hours of good sleep once Jude finally passed out because of sheer exhaustion from screaming. If Jude keeps this sleep stamina up though, we will be super happy! This morning, he slept from 6:30am until almost 12:30!
The week is flying by, as Jude is getting used to his surroundings, learning about the new sounds of the house, the lighting (which is super variable compared to the hospital) and meeting all sorts of new people. We have been so excited to see so many of you come and visit us. Thanks for your love.
La mama is getting stronger every day. We are so thankful for Nonno and Nonna’s help around the house, and with some of the things we just don’t have the time for at the moment!
Some photos from the past few days…
Family champagne on Sunday evening! Celebrating…who? You guessed it.
Jude, sleeping in his new bed!
Harriet, really enjoying being home!
Nonna taking the baton, playing with my boy
the Judester chilling with dad
First night at home
The family is now home. Our first night at home is also over, and it was… excellent. Much better than we anticipated. He fed at 8:30pm, then woke up at 12:45am, and then at 5:55am. Granted, he ate like a horse at all three feeds (over 1 hour per feed!!!) Harriet managed to get a total of about 8 hours sleep last night which is amazing. (10:30pm till 12:45am, from 2:15am to 5:55am and then from 7:15am to 9:15am.) I got up with h to get the baby out and encourage during each feeding, and put him back down. I also had the pleasure of changing Jude after his 5:55am explosion.
What is amazing is how calm he is! (Especially when considering what his parents were like when they were young!) If we are lucky, Harriet will even post later on tonight!
Please be aware: some photos contain naked body parts. Please do not look if you feel you may be offended.
this is Jude’s favorite pose when I pick him up. He soon relaxes. We always crack up!
my boy is super strong!
Oh, don’t look!
Back from the hospital
Jude is home. Harriet is loving being at home again and Jude doesn’t seem to notice anything has changed. Stephanie, Yann, David, Cecile, Matt and Barbara came over and it was great to see them all! I love having so much family visit! Jude is the center of attention. I’m boiling over with pride! More photos soon.
Jude ate for over an hour straight this morning! - no spitting up, or gas!
Jude getting ready to cruise home with his new hat.
mom is head over heels.
Stephanie came to visit
Friday already!
Today, Jude pretty much drank mommy milk and slept. H was finally able to put him to the breast (with protection from his super sucking abilities of course) as her milk has come in full force. (on word - missile) Its a big relief for her and let me tell you, Jude is a very happy camper. I am guessing this will be the rhythm for the next few months, wake up, change diaper, eat, play, sleep. I think I can deal with that.
Harriet and Jude come home tomorrow, which is very exciting. We are excited (and I’m a little nervous .. um .. interested) to see how Jude will like his new home environment. My antenna are way out looking for things we might adapt to take care of this little guy. Images from today…..
Nonna took care of a well fed Jude…
while the queen of the castle had her hair done…
friends came from far and wide, to see the newborn babe…
not a bad view for a public hospital…
Jude did spend a lot of time sleeping…
… so did Dad…
until Jude woke up…
wanting to be fed…
and once fed, we have one very content, dangling, baby! Jude is so cool!
At the hospital, day 4
Today, Harriet and I had a lot of fun with Jude especially because we got to share him with so many people! Jude met Al, Fab, her mother and Gabriel (who is about 10 days old). Then he met uncle Dave, Uncle Phil and Aurelia. He also met Christiane (Maggie’s friend). It was great. Jude is cool. He is very relaxed around people and enjoys people talking with them! We are getting used to washing him, and changing him. The maternity gals at Morges Hospital are excellent. I’d highly recommend them. Everything is meticulous, and I’m v impressed. Photos from today….
drinking moma’s milk is by far more satisfying than maltose dextrose water!
Harriet spent some real quality time with Jude this morning.
we all had a lot of fun together.
the Jude is sleepy most of the time.
more Uncles came to visit!
Jude makes us laugh soo much with his faces!
H enjoying a well deserved rest around 8pm tonight.
midnight cleaning…. when Jude goes… he goes!
