This is Your Brother - 26 Weeks, 1 Day

Your brother Genki, holding a bunny.

This is your brother. His name is Genki. By the time you make your debut, he’ll be almost 3 years older than you. He’s your big brother, and that is a big job.

I also have a younger sister, your Aunt Theresa, so I was (am) a big brother too. I know it is a big job and I know the good things and bad things I did. I will try to tell him to be a good big brother, but that might be difficult. Big brothers have very hard heads. They don’t listen usually. But they have big hearts, and I know he will always try to protect you.

Of course, girls are smarter, so with only 3 years difference, it won't be long until you are smarter than him. This happened to me too. Aunt Theresa is 5 years younger than me, but soon after she was born, it was clear: she would be smarter than me.

That’s cool though. That’s a good team. Genki has heart and strength, you have heart strength and smarts! I hope you always work together. I know brothers and sisters sometimes fight and argue, but always remember, he’s your brother and he’s on your team.

Welcome to our family! - 24 weeks, 16 more to go.

Nice to meet you Bunny-chan. I'm your mama.

And welcome back to our family.
You came once before, but maybe the room was not cozy enough for you. So you left soon.
Thanks for coming back. We are super happy.
How is it this time? Big room? Warm? Your bed is comfortable?


We named you "bunny chan" but I was thinking it was wrong. We named your brother "Genki" before he was born because he moved so powerfully in my belly. And we realized it was wrong after he was born because he is a crazy boy. You need to get ready now to be strong against this boy after you're born. Now you move a lot in my belly too, but not so crazy like him. But each one of your kicks is so strong! Like a bunny.

That's why I was thinking we picked the wrong name again. Maybe we should have picked a calmer name?

Well, don't worry. It's not your real life name. We are still thinking of the real one.

Last month we had our last meeting with you before you come outside. We saw you move and yawn and bring your hand to your mouth. I feel sad that I can't meet you anymore. until your birth, but it's only less than 4 months away.

Again, thank you for choosing us and coming to our family.

You're a Girl! - 2nd Trimester, 18 weeks

Since today is the first day that we found out you are a girl, today is also the first blog entry for you.

Mama and I knew you were coming since before she and your brother went to Japan in October, but today was only the second ultra-sound, only the second time we got to see you. We didn't decide until today about learning your gender. A little bit of me wanted it to be a surprise, but of course our curiosity won.

The ultrasound technician took her time taking pictures of you for the doctor to review. She checked your brain, your heart (138bpm!) your arms and legs and lots of other places too. Every little bit of you to make sure everything looked good.

Finally, near the end, she checked to see if you were a boy or girl. Mama and I only want a healthy baby of course, but maybe secretly (maybe not so secretly), we both wanted a girl. Your brother is a crazy boy and our hope (dream?) is that a sweet little girl will balance the energy in our house. Or maybe you will both be super crazy kids?

Anyway, the technician looked and smiled and said she didn't see "anything" between your legs so you must be a girl. Mama and I smiled real big. I thought for sure you would be a boy. I don't know why, I just thought so. And of course I would be happy both ways, but when she said you were a girl, I was a little extra happy. I know if the future, probably 16 or 17 years from now you will drive me crazy and I will drive you crazy, but that is all for the future. For now, we are super happy.

You still have a lot of growing to do in mama's belly. The doctor estimated you weigh about 7 ounces right now. That is a normal weight. She couldn't check everything perfectly because you were in a position that was difficult to photo. You must have been so comfortable, so we will go back in a few weeks to get more photos taken.

2016 is coming soon, only 3 more days. We should see you in about 6 months. It's a long time/short time. And maybe this time we don't need to get so many things ready, we have many things already. Your brother will move to his own room and we will get your space ready close to us. But all of that is for later. No rush.

Like I said to your brother, take your time in there, grow strong.

Love, Dad.