21 big weeks

Photo credit: The amazing Jessica Ensing!

Baby Girl is the size of a carrot!

Hi Baby Girl,

Just want to tell you that you are not really the SIZE of a carrot, but the LENGTH of a carrot, you are not that skinny, and you better not be doing any dieting in there already!  As a matter a fact I hope you NEVER do any dieting.  So many girls in the world today make themselves sick and crazy over trying to look like someone that they're not and strive to be some fake picture in a magazine.  I hope that if you strive to be like anyone, it is a woman who is STRONG, CONFIDENT, and who lives her life to change the lives of others for the better, instead of trying to change herself.  I hope that you eat happy and eat healthy, enjoying each bite guilt-free, and you find a kind of exercise to do because it is fun and you love to do it, without stopping to step on any scales (except when you're pregnant like me, then you'll be allowed).  Remember you are beautiful exactly the way God made you and I hope you don't try to change that for anyone.  The right guy will love you no matter what, just like your dad loves me now in my big fat body. ;)

This picture of me above was taken from Jamaca de Dios where a bunch of us teachers went Friday night for Amy's (the fourth grade teacher) birthday.  We took a taxi van waaay up the mountain to this restaurant where you could see all of Jarabacoa and then some - the view was breathtaking.  I hope that we can take you up there after you are born and get some pictures there with you!  Jarabacoa is such a beautiful place, sometimes I forget how blessed we are to live here.  I wonder how long you will be here to enjoy this place - a couple of months or a couple of years....  We don't know where we're going to raise you yet, if it will be here or in the states or somewhere totally different on the other side of the world, but I know it will be fantastic as long as we're together.

Everyone has been excited to know that you are a GIRL - you got your first GIRL gift this week!  I had to show you because it is so precious!



This one came from Rosmairys in my class - I love the brown and pink polka dots!

 

These little chancletas came with it - you're going to be stylin' like a Dominican!

These were the first GIRL gifts, but not the first gifts.  You already have a whole drawer going of everything sent down to you at Christmas from your grandparents, aunts, and uncles (you are so loved already!)

I love the Global Babies book from your Auntie Lisa especially because 1. YOU"RE a global baby and 2. The money from the purchase goes to help stop child sex trafficking.  You're already a little humanitarian after your momma's own heart, baby girl!

The kids from my class who haven't been able to buy gifts have been making you gifts gallore

Genesis made you this tissue paper and glitter butterfly to hang in your room :)

You've gotten lots of first grade Art... 

Lots of drawings of me, you, and Dad like this one :)

And they give me lots of cards for you everyday!  I think you have seriously gotten like 100 by now.  Some ask me to give them to you (I'm not sure what they expect me to do exactly... :)

This one from Brianna says "Mrs. DeYoung - Baby Cristal" (that was your name the day she made it)

Some other highlights from this weekend include your dad taking me on a motorcycle trip up in the mountains on the road to Constanza (we got a little sunburnt), SuperBowl party last night, and divine Red Lobster biscuits that your daddy just cooked up for us.  I have still been craving LOTS of chocolate, and milk and ice cream. :)  Love you SOOOO much already and can't wait to meet you in 19 weeks!

Love,

Your momma

(Your dad is going to write one now)

 

Okay baby boo ka loo, I'm writing this because well, so someday hopefully you will be able to access this information via your earpiece that you will just have to say blog entry feb. 6 2012 and it will read it to you and flash pictures up right before your eyes. I think the future will be awesome! We had to use these things called laptops, which were like books with buttons and you have to type every one of these words out by hand. I think in your day you will just talk and you will automatically be able to send and receive all your information you ever needed. Who knows. It's hard to imagine what your life will be like by the time you will be able to read this. For instance ( and I hope this doesnt happen in the future) I gave my 10th graders a very simple assignment in art on friday which i must add is very few and far between; all they were to do is print out 5-10 images of some architecture and write down 5 characteristics of the particular style of architecture they were given. I had one person turn in the assignment. The rest of the students had excuses like the power was out, I couldn't print it, I dont have a printer, my mom didn't bring it to school, yada yada yada. I think in your day all you will have to say is send copy of images to classmates and bing-bong-bang everyone will have all the information right in front of their eyes . I guess we will just have to wait and see. Anyways I thought I'd write about the old days and give you some ideas of why me and your mom are the way we are, and yes your dad was hip back in the day using phrases like bing-bong-bang

You can call me pops