Five More Weeks!

Hello again, unborn one.

Five more weeks to go, and you'll see the sun.

Speaking of the sun, your mom's belly button has popped out since you're getting so big. Your petite momma looks like she swallowed two basketballs. I don't know where the skin is coming from. If you get any bigger, I fear that your mom is going to explode.

At this point, you're now "head-down". Sorry that you have to be upside down for the next five weeks. Don't worry, it's only temporary. Feet point down, and heads point up in our world.

I wish I knew what you are doing and thinking in your mom's womb. Every night it seems like you're having a party in there... always moving around... kicking your mom's liver and lungs. One time, you pushed so hard, your foot almost poked through your mom's skin. It made your mom really emotional that she was able to distiniguish that it was actually a little baby foot. You move around so much during that day, that your mom is really going to miss it. It's part of her daily life now... carrying you around all safe and cozy inside her. Dad's don't get that luxury.

We've been visiting your older cousin, Benjamin. You two will be like peanut butter and jelly, or as an old Greek cliche states, "kolo kai vraki" (butt and underwear). We had a head start and met him two months ago. You'll meet him in five weeks. He's really fun.

Maybe you two will have motorcycles together. That would be fun! I can't wait for that! It will give me an excuse to buy one again!

Speaking of motor vehicles, I'm saving my 1994 Jeep Wrangler for you. Hopefully you'll like 4X4's. I haven't gone 4-wheelin' in quite some time. It's fun. Things break and you get to fix them in the wild. I had lots of fun with this Jeep, and hopefully you will too. If not, perhaps one of your siblings will want it. But you have first dibs... even if you're daddy's girl.

World news update:

U.S. troops are still in Iraq with no real hope of us ever pulling out of that country for quite some time. A constitution was drafted, and it will be put up for vote some time in October. It will be nice to get out of there because it's not free.

Gas has hit an all-time high of $3.00/gallon. That really hurts us because two years ago, gas only cost $1.50/gallon. It was crazy when gas hit $2.00/gallon.

Hurrican Katrina just devastated several southern states including Louisiana. New Orleans sits below sea level (dumb... are they ASKING for problems?) and half the city is underwater.

The space shuttle returned to flight this month after a long hiatus. It's grounded again until they figure out how to stop engine booster foam from hitting ceramic tiles (they protect shuttle during re-entry) during launch. International space station is up and running and a Soviet cosmonaut has the record of being in space for over 700 days. I think he's still up there.

We have two robots on the Mars surface. Bummer... no sign of life. They did find evidence of water. Hopefully when you get older, you'll be able to actually go to Mars and tool around in a Jeep.

Oh... and your mom is a Democrat, and I'm a Republican. I wonder what you'll be?

Your Dad's Week 33 Update

Hello baby!

This Tuesday (tomorrow), your mother and I will have seven more weeks to go before your arrival. I cannot believe how quickly time has passed. Seven weeks is less than two months! The scary thing is your Uncle Peter and Aunt Gina were born two to three weeks early. If you come three weeks early, that means you'll be here in a month! I don't think that your mom and I are ready! I can honestly say that I don't feel I'm ready! I'm still a kid! Your mom... well, she's definitely still a kid!

You should see your mom now. She's still the small-framed little girl that I married... the only difference is that it looks like she swallowed a large basketball... and that basketball is getting bigger by the day!

Also, I was just thinking... you're going to be a perfect baby with respect to being brought up in a "clean" environment. Your mom was very careful throughout the pregnancy. She took her vitamins everyday. She never drank alcohol... ever (she was even worried about drinking during our honeymoon... silly girl). And, she never ever took any medication. If she had a headache, she struggled through it. You have a very good momma.

Your mom also is being a bit manic about your crib safety. She's measuring every dimension and making sure that it meets government regulations, as well as "public opinion" she discovers on the internet. She's going to be chasing after you with a tape measure to make sure y our pant legs or shoe laces aren't too long. Me... I'd put you to bed in a milk crate if I had to. I made it through the late 60's and early 70's without government crib regulations, and I'm pretty sure you'd do fine too. I don't have any fear of anything happening to you... your mom is such a worry-wart, she will probably sleep in your crib with you.

As far as house rennovations go:
1) We'll probably end up furnishing the living room long after you arrive. Right now, it's just storage for all your toys and gadgets we received at your baby shower.
2) The kitchen will be done probably after you arrive, or perhaps right when you arrive. I'm losing confidence that the kitchen will be done prior to Oct 6. It's going to be very stressful if the contractors are working on the kitchen when you're 1.5 hours old.

At least your bedroom is done and fully furnished. For some reason, your mom won't let me throw away the boxes to your furniture. Perhaps she thinks there may be a chance that we return your furniture and actually put you to sleep in a milk crate. I don't know.

We still have to buy the bedding for your crib. There are a few designs that we like, but many fail to meet the "public opinion" polls that your mom has discovered on www.savemefrommyself.com. They discuss things such as thread coarseness, pillow puffiness, tie-strap safety, and Feng Shui guidelines. It's a little too much for me to stomach. Most of the authors of "Baby Safety for the 21st Century" don't even have babies themselves. They're just experts at putting paragraphs together that pull in likely victims so they can generate advertising revenue. Your mom visits these "Baby Safety" sites at least 42 times per day. Me, I play Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas while your mom makes comments like, "Did you know that we can't drink tea while we're attaching the baby bumper?" and, "The thread count of this sheet is 400... the experts say we need less than 300, so I'm returning these 12 sheets we received from our shower...", and "The minimum distance between crib slats is 2 3/8 inches! OMG! Our is 2 3/16 inches! OMG! We're returning the crib and dresser! Oh... wait... 2 3/16 inches is less than 2 3/8 inches...", and "Did you know that Frank's Red Hot Rib Sauce isn't on Baby.com's approved spice list? I'd better throw that away today!" It's a little crazy in the homestead. I just hope we get your sheets before you arrive.

See you in seven weeks!