Sarah and Adam: The Next Generation

Jasper DiJulio Ruben

Jasper DiJulio Ruben was born on Thursday, January 26, 2006 at 2:43 pm. He weighed 8 pounds and was 20 inches long. He has quite a lot of hair, which is alternately brown and blond and reddish, depending on the light and his impish mood. He has at least one confirmed dimple, and without getting into the details of the quirky shape of Sarah's feet, suffice it to say that he has one of Sarah's feet and one of Adam's. Sarah was in labor for 10 1/2 hours, and she was amazingly strong. The first couple moments after his birth were a little more exciting than we'd expected, as he was suctioned out, but he was totally fine and we all got to cuddle.

He's been a great little boy so far and the past three days have been quite an adventure. The first day he was mostly quiet and alert, the second day he was mostly focused on sleeping and was kind of fussy, and today he's become an expert eater (trying hard to latch onto Adam's arm when nobody's looking). We brought him home from the hospital this afternoon, and he's getting used to the house and all his gear. We're getting better at our respective roles--Sarah's gotten really good at feeding him, and Adam's trying to build on his first cloth diapering experience, which left Jasper kind of pear-shaped.

He's an adorable little ball of love, who loves to be held and swayed vigorously. We're nutty with joy and exhaustion. See pix in the photo album at right, and more to come.

Jasper DiJulio Ruben was born on Thursday, January 26, 2006 at 2:43 pm. He weighed 8 pounds and was 20 inches long. He has quite a lot of hair, which is alternately brown and blond and reddish, depending on the light and his impish mood. He has at least one confirmed dimple, and without getting into the details of the quirky shape of Sarah's feet, suffice it to say that he has one of Sarah's feet and one of Adam's. Sarah was in labor for 10 1/2 hours, and she was amazingly strong. The first couple moments after his birth were a little more exciting than we'd expected, as he was suctioned out, but he was totally fine and we all got to cuddle.

He's been a great little boy so far and the past three days have been quite an adventure. The first day he was mostly quiet and alert, the second day he was mostly focused on sleeping and was kind of fussy, and today he's become an expert eater (trying hard to latch onto Adam's arm when nobody's looking). We brought him home from the hospital this afternoon, and he's getting used to the house and all his gear. We're getting better at our respective roles--Sarah's gotten really good at feeding him, and Adam's trying to build on his first cloth diapering experience, which left Jasper kind of pear-shaped.

He's an adorable little ball of love, who loves to be held and swayed vigorously. We're nutty with joy and exhaustion. See pix in the photo album at right, and more to come.

Video: quiet & alert in the hospital

For hard-core enthusiasts--a minute of Jasper just lying there and looking beautiful and batting his tiny lashes.

Back when we were young and mobile...

It seems like ages ago now, but when we spent the year in Italy in 2003, we spent about a month travelling around Europe in the spring. Here's a short video with some of the highlights of our time in France.

Adam and Sarah's Not-So-Rough Guide to Italy

We wrote this back in 2003 when we were living in Italy for the year. If you're planning a visit to Italy, we hope you’ll visit some of our favorite haunts and and find some of your own. Our recommendations are Tuscany-heavy, naturally, but we have a few other suggestions too.

Getting ready

Lots of final preparations here: buying the last few baby things, learning how to install the car seat, etc. We did have a fun little New Year's Eve party with some friends and their kids. Here's why:

Ralph Reed and Karl Rove are waging a vicious, anti-secular “War on New Years,” trying to impose their own symbology on this sacred Hallmark holiday. They want to replace the ball with a “Jesus Ball” (which drops at midnight only to rise again 2 days later), they want to get rid of the ageless Dick Clark avatar and substitute his gnarled, bent, true self, and they want to distract from the traditional midnight kiss with a midnight distribution of right-wing voter guides.