Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!!!!

Dear Little One,

It’s Poppa here, once again! I’m sorry that I haven’t written to you in a while. I’ve just been trying to get all my feelings and emotions down on paper before I post to you because I don’t like it when I write something that just sounds like words and thoughts all thrown together. I guess I’m a little neurotic about that, so please don’t think that dad is crazy or off his rocker…I just want my little notes to you to be worth reading when you get old enough to read them.

So today is a HUGE day for you! Happy Pre-Birth Birthday!!!! You are exactly (approximately) 20 weeks old!!!! That’s right, you have made it through the first half of pregnancy! Congratulations!!! That’s a huge accomplishment! You have grown all your organs and extremities. Your brain and heart are really working hard now. You are a beautiful little person and your mom and I are so very excited! You have definitely grown a lot in the past couple of days. Mommy’s belly went from “looking like she ate too much cheese” to looking fully pregnant! It’s beautiful! She looks amazing and she is doing very well! You guys are eating good and actually getting a lot of exercise (I thought that exercising would be at the bottom of the list for mommy…boy was I wrong). According to Mommy, you are really working on your Karate skills or maybe your ballet pirouettes? I’m not sure what’s going on, but Mommy says that you’re really moving around in there. That’s great! Keep up the kickin’ because it makes both your mom and I so happy when she can feel it. Unfortunately, I can’t feel it yet, but that will soon come and than you’ll be hearing a loud voice from outside saying, “Keep Kicking!!!” That loud voice will be me because I want you to get big and strong while you’re in there. But I know that you are going to be a bundle of energy when you get here. You’re a Levis…

So tomorrow is a big day for everyone. We, finally, get to find out if you’re a boy or a girl! YES!!!!! I think everyone is 50/50 of what they think you will be. This is very exciting! I’m actually a little nervous. I’m not nervous because I have a preference…I really don’t care if you are a boy or a girl, but I think I’m nervous because this is a major life altering experience. I mean, this will determine what kind of a dad I will be. Don’t worry, you’re still getting a dad who will love you and support you no matter what! But after we find out if you’ll be a boy or a girl, I get to start thinking about all the things that life will have to offer. If you’re a girl, I’ve got to start prepping myself for dress shopping, tea parties, Barbie, teenage-hood, & boys (CRAP…boys!). I should definitely start a wedding fund early! If you’re a boy, I’ve got to get ready for sports stuff, cars, Transformers, Star Wars, & bugs probably. If you’re a girl and you want to play with boys’ stuff, I’m cool with that. If you’re a boy and you want to do girlie things well, I’ll be okay with that too…as long as you are happy and having fun! That’s all I really care about! I want you to be as happy as humanly possible and I want you to enjoy everything that life has to offer! See these are the things that get me a little nervous. I get nervous because things have changed so much from your generation to my generation (I don’t know if you have a generation yet, but that’s how fast things change around here). I know that as parents, we’ve got to battle things like computers and Internet and technology. I’m good with computers and technology, but I’ll probably be a dinosaur by the time you’re ready to use a computer. These things really scare me, because sometimes these concepts can have negative characteristics to them and it’s my job to protect you from it. I don’t want to fail! That’s my biggest fear in life…I never want to fail you or your mom or any of your future brothers or sisters. But with help from your mom, I’m sure I’ll be ready for whatever comes. I know that both sets of grandparents are VERY, VERY excited! We’re just all anticipating your arrival.

Well, I just wanted to write you a little note before tomorrow’s ultrasound because I want you to know what was going on in dear old dad’s head. Please know that I love you dearly and that my love for you grows every single second. I love just knowing that you are inside Mommy’s belly and that you are going to be with us soon! I’ll be talking to you soon…literally…because now you can hear my voice, so I’m going to start reading or talking to you. It’ll be weird because I’ll be talking to a stomach, but I think it will be nice for you to know my voice! I love you!

P.S. I guess Downey is bad, SO “if I ever catch you in or around the City of Downey, YOU ARE GROUNDED!” Ha! Ha! How was that dad moment for you!?! I really have to work on that, huh? Oh well, I've got time to practice!

The City of Downey

Dear Baby Blank,

It's your mommy! HI! I hope you're having a nice time swimming around in my belly. Turns out you recently started peeing in there. Meh sorry. I'd go in and clean it up for you a little bit but, um, well...that's kinda impossible. So for the time being, just stay away from the warm spots!! =)

In all seriousness though, Blank. Your mom has a situation going on in her life. It's a huge, ginormo problem. It's called "The City of Downey." Blank, just so you know, you are never, ever, ever allowed to step foot in that city. Ever. It's a bad, bad city, full of ghosts, goblins, and lying liars who lie. Those Lying Liars also like to steal people's identities! SCAAAAAARYYY! Trust me, it's scary ok. If you go to Downey, only bad things happen. Heck, even if you DON'T go to Downey, bad things happen.

Just know that your name will have more than one meaning to it because of this SCAAAAAAAARY city. Your name will be picked out of love and also because we don't want you to be like every other person in California. See, your mommy had a very common name. Almost everyone in Southern California had my last name before I married your daddy. And turns out, almost every woman who had that same last name ALSO had my same first name. And it also turns out that even those that didn't have my same name liked it SO much that they decided to steal it. In addition to also stealing my driver's license number, my birthday and my signature! AND THEN (omg you may want to come closer to mommy cuz it gets even more scary!) and thennnn, they decided to be bobos (that's dummies in espanol) and get into a car accident in the city of Downey. But seeing as they really weren't me, they just skipped away and giggled because they really didn't get in trouble. They just thought to themselves "poor, Sandra Perez, wherever she is! She doesn't know what's coming to her!" To add to that, they then decided to open up credit cards in mommy's name and go on a shopping spree. WEEEEEEE!! Fun for fake Sandra Perez, not so fun for your mommy. =(

So Blank, because of this, you won't be named Emma or Aiden, Madeline or Noah. Nope. You want to know why? Well sweet angel, because when you start Kindergarten, there will be 9 Emma's and 7 Aiden's in your classroom with you. Wouldn't that be boring? Don't you want to be unique? Trust me, my love, you'll want to have your very own name...different then the rest. Don't worry though, mommy and daddy aren't all that crazy. (Well mommy sometimes can be classified as slightly loony, but it comes in waves. Thank God Daddy is sane!) We won't name you anything like Pilot Inspektor or Apple or Moxie Crimefighter. We'd never do that to you. But, we will pick a name that isn't in the top 10. Perhaps not even in the top 100.

Your saving grace, however, will be your awesome last name. Sure, sometimes people will think it's Lewis. And you may even get a Levi here and there. (Heck, at least you can pretend you're part of the Levi's Jeans conglomerate!) But trust me my tiny little Blank when I tell you that you're exceptionally lucky to have a rather not so common last name. After all, isn't that the purpose of last names? To distinguish yourself from the rest of the world? So that instead of 900 Gertrudes that have no distinction, you have Gertrude of the family Smith and Gertrude of the family Jones. And we'll have Blank...of the family Levis. You're a special little kid Blank! And you're not even here yet!

So back to my original point. STAY AWAY FROM DOWNEY! And Blank, if you're a girl, I may not speak to you for 3 weeks if you tell me you're going to marry a Perez or a Gonzalez or a Smith or a Jones. This is probably all talk from me because I'll love you that much. But as of right now, three weeks black list.

Just know that at this very moment, mommy is practicing her breathing techniques so she doesn't blow a gasket. Also you should know, that stealing is a VERY bad thing punishable by jail time and fines. One day we'll show you a TV show called "Locked Up" on MSNBC about jails and prisons. They are almost as scary as the City of Downey. You don't want to end up there, so please make sure you don't steal anything from anyone ok? Not even their names or signature k? It's for your own good. And it will prevent you from having to have tears tattooed on your cheeks. I heard that really, really hurts. And that's not fun right?

Anyway, I hope you have a peaceful day doing flippies in my belly. Know that mommy and daddy love you very much! And just to go over things once more:

A. Stay away from the warm spots in the pool you're currently swimming in
B. Stay away from the City of Downey
C. Don't steal
D. Try not to marry a Jones or Gonzalez
E. Mommy and Daddy love you!
F. It's fun to pretend you own Levi's Jeans (as long as you don't steal them and/or the company!)

That's all for now. I love you very much and can't wait to see you!!

Love always,

Crazy Mom

Update Fail

Yes, yes. It's been way too long since the last update. I'm sorry! Life has been crazy and I have been lazy =) The good thing is, we are not total and complete update slackers.

We have been taking our weekly belly shots. Not that I have any here with me that is, but some day I can post one. And at the very least, some day little Blank will see it's progress!

So where are we at? Tomorrow will be 19 weeks! MANGO! (I'll get to that later) WOAH! For those of you who are interested, at 19 weeks our little Blank is measuring about 7.5 - 8 inches in length from head to toe and is weighing in at about 8 ounces or so. Awww so teeny yet so NOT teeny. Get a ruler out...hurry quick. And measure that out! I'll wait.

SEE!! That's big! Considering my belly doesn't look like it's holding an 8 inch baby in it! That's so very surreal to me that there is a human that size inside of me right at this very instant! WOAH WOAH WOAH. Additionally, little Blank has been making itself be known too. I have been feeling little movements here and there for the last few weeks now. It's so comforting to know that it's in there moving around like that. Kinda like Blank is saying "I'm here mommy! See! BAM! (punch in the bladder!)" So cute! I'm already letting it walk all over me. And my intestines. I guess that's what life has in store for us for the next 18 years or so right?

The last month has been a really pleasant one so far. Aside from the normal fears and worries of a pregnancy, things have gone well. Yes I fear and yes I worry. Every little twinge, ache, and tug makes me wonder if everything is ok. What can I say, it's a motherly instinct? But then I try to think logically (and then I research, and then if the worry is THAT bad I call my doc) and the logic sometimes creeps itself back into my life. I need to start doing my Crunch Mama Yoga videos. Maybe that will relax me more? =)

Really though, I've been feeling great, I've actually been able to sleep, and my nausea is completely gone. I can't really ask for more for now! I would love to fast forward 21 weeks and be at the end of it all, but for now I'll enjoy the quiet for a little longer.

Next week will be a big week for us! Monday I'll have an appointment with my regular doctor, like normal. But then Thursday we have our big ultrasound! The best one of the group! They will tell us that day whether little Blank is a he or a she!! YAY! Both Paul & I are so excited! I really wish I could say I'm leaning towards thinking its one sex or another, but really I have no idea. I have no leanings in either direction. Perhaps because I really do find this all so surreal still? Who knows. But I think next week will really put things into perspective big time. Then it's on to decorating the room. I can't wait to start picking colors and furniture and all the cool stuff that goes along with that.

So back to our Mango. Mango huh? I really, really, really want to know where in the world they have 7.5 inch mangoes. Because I want to visit there and sit in a pile of ginormo mangoes and eat to my heart's content. I think the website where I get these fruit/veggie comparisons kind of got lazy with this fruit thing. Mango is not even close to what I had in mind. But whatever, I'll take it. It's still fun to see a new fruit every week. And mangoes are really yummy. So our little 19 weeker is a Mango.

Anyway, I guess I should end this now. Just wanted to update everyone as to where we were at. Feeling great, growing right, and enjoying the ride (bumps and all!). Hopefully Papa Levis will update soon too. HINT HINT!

And hopefully I won't be so lazy and update way sooner than a month from now. Good job friends for hinting on the update.


Love,



Paul, Sandy and Mango (not from SNL. The fruit. I guess that doesn't help to take away the SNL vision. The actual God created edible fruit. lol, how's that?)

P.S. Spell check says 'Mango' plural = mangoes, not mangos. I don't like it, but I'll follow what spell check says. Hmm I wonder if this spell check is British?