Week 31- The Magic All-Telling Bump

Julia,

We are now 31 weeks along with you. Your Mom is growing and tired and beautiful! Her feet stink a little, but I rub them every night. I (apparently) stink a lot to her, due to her incredible super smelling powers, but your Mom lets me close enough to her to rub the aforementioned feet. I don't remember smelling this awful to her with Aidan, so hopefully you won't think I stink when you come out.

At any rate, let's try to move on to some non-stink related news.

Developmentally, you are going through major brain and nerve developments AND it says that all 5 of your senses are working wonderfully. Which would be good news if we weren't trying to avoid discussing the olfactory funk that apparently has consumed my being. Hopefully since you'll have taste now, you'll have good taste and you really won't inherit your mother's perception that I am a big stink bomb. I don't smell of garlic and onions and general stank; think of me as sweet...with a hint of sharpness.

Like a pineapple!

Which is quite coincidental, because at week 31, that's about how big you are!

Which is not surprising at all: Look how beautiful your Mother looks!

Can you believe how far you've come in just 20 weeks?

WHOA!

And the 31 week-old belly apparently is giving off 'Julia vibes' like crazy!

A few weeks ago a random Dad at our local yogurtery approached your Mom and said "I'm not trying to be creepy, but are you having a girl?" He could just tell! Amazing...and he was a bit creepy.

Then, this week, we went to a local salad bar, at which kids eat for free (so we'll be going there a lot) and we walk in the door. The employee who opened the door stopped us after we had taken a few steps and said "Excuse me. When is the little girl due?"

It took a moment to click that he- without knowing us from a cherry tomato- could tell you were a girl just form looking at your Mom's belly!

Isn't that incredible?

I gave him a high five and asked how he knew. He said "A man always knows."

Okay.

He also thought your name was beautiful and wanted us to make your middle name your first name. He also wanted us to spell it with a lot of apostrophes in it: perhaps "S'Keineh" or something. Sorry, magic oracle salad bar guy, you're very nice and your gender detection senses are very keen. But, Julia Sekina is Julia Sekina...although the spelling of your middle name is still being debated. But we do know there will be no apostrophes for you, little girl.

But, a rose by another name would smell as sweet. And you, little one, apparently are setting off all the oracles radars with your sweetness: they know you're a girl the moment they see how you're riding in the womb. We are so pleased with the seeming magical nature of these two random occurences, and think it's a good omen that you will be a great girl and strong woman. And nothing stinks about that.

Life's a Beach, Galveston during week 30

We woke up one Saturday morning in a new place, after driving all night Friday.

We opened the window, and Aidan, you looked outside and said, "Beach!"

Your Mom helped you out a little. She said, "Ocean."

"Ocean," You said.

Then you thought...

"Fish," you said...

And finally, "Nemo?"

It was an amazing mental connection, and the perfect beginning to a great week filled with family fun, food (lots of food), fun in the sun, ice cream ice cream ice cream and crabs.

I think this our third annual Family Beach trip, which would totally make it YOUR third family beach trip too, Aidan!

And this time you had even more fun than the last two. You're old enough to wrestle with and chase your cousins (although, I recall you chasing your cousins last time too). Even though you got a little heat-strokey and vomity near the end of the trip (just a little), it was a great time. You got to watch movies with your cousins, play with them, hang out with your family and say hi to people you don't get to very often (Hi Taff! Hi Nanny! Hi Beau! Hi Ross! Hi Bekka! Hi Grace! Hi Holdy!).

You got to eat some new foods...You like cocktail shrimp! Who knew?

You got to literally be a kid in a candy store at the Strand's Historic "La King's Confectionary." You liked candy too...but we knew that already!

And you just had a blast every day of our vacation!

So did we! (okay...except for the little part where you got sick. you weren't enjoying that. and mommy didn't like being thrown up on twice. but we did enjoy the cuddles)

You got especially close to "Addson" and "Auma" (Addison and Autumn). It was really cute to watch the three of you bonding.

There are mazillions of pictures between mine, Mimi's and Pops' cameras. Here are a select million for you to enjoy.  

It was a week filled with screaming kids, running kids, sleeping kids, dolphins (we saw dolphins!), gumbo, sand and sun screen, grandparents and aunts and uncles.

It was idyllic!

Looking back on these photos makes me feel nostalgic already, and we've only been gone a week.

But you know me, I'm a sucker for the beach.

Julia, you made a big splash at your first trip to the beach too! Everyone was so excited to learn your beautiful name!

And they couldn't wait to feel your Mommy's tummy to get a chance at feeling you kick!

And, at 30 weeks, they definitely had a lot to feel!

While at the beach we hit the 2-month mark...that's right, Julia you will be here in less than 2 months! And we can't wait to meet you...and soon enough you'll wake up one morning in a strange place...first stop, earth. And later on, because we can't stay away, you'll arise to find yourself at the beach to have fun in the sun, sand and surf with your cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles, Mommy and Daddy...and your big brother too!

Week 29 and doing fine

Little one, 

It's hard to imagine, and hard to recall when exactly this happened, but we are well into the third trimester. That means you are almost here...a little over two months from being here, to be exact. '

Your Mom continues to grow bigger and bigger as you continue to grow larger in her belly.

We can feel you moving all the time, simply by placing a hand on the belly. And last night we even saw you rippling under your mother's skin. It sounds creepy, but it's not. It was actually quite amazing, to see you subtly moving just under the surface.

It seems just like yesterday that you were barely on your way....

and now look at you, your mother and brother a mere 13 weeks later.

But a lot truly has changed in 13 weeks. For the better. You've got some girly clothes hanging in the closet, and pink sheets on your crib waiting for you. And you've got a name. Actually, that's been settled for a long time, but now your brother fully knows it, and even has a song about it.

You are: Julia Sekina Weinstein!


We're still ironing out the spelling of your middle name. Julia means youthful, and Sekina means serenity. Both are blessings. The J in Julia is to honor your Mimi, Joy; and Sekina was the name of your Mom's Mama Bizorg (Baba's mother). I never got to meet her, but from all I've heard she was an incredible, gentle, kind woman. So that's another two blessings, to be named in the fashion of such strong women.

'Julia' itself is a really beautiful Beatles song (one which sparked our interest in your name); but Aidan developed an even more beautiful song for you. The song "Hallelujah" is one that Aunt Rebekka and I recorded for our CD for Mimi's 70th birthday. Aidan listens to it a lot. At first he called the song "looya"...then it evolved thusly:

Looya...loooah...loooiah....jooooya....julia

Aidan also knows that your Mom's name is Holly. So he put the two together: "Holly Julia."

So whenever I hear "Hallelujah" from now on, I will think of you, Julia, your big brother and what a blessing you all are in our lives already.

Music Man

I don't know when it started Aidan, but you've got some music in your heart and a song to sing. You've always been pretty fascinated with music (having your favorites), and certain songs (that we have to listen to over and over again), and instruments (you like to play my guitar and the big bass and LOVE to drum). I remember that zaideco music was the only thing that would calm you during those witching hours when you were an infant. You've loved trying to sing "Twinkle Twinkle" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider" for a while. But something recently just clicked on in your brain, turning into a full fledged music man!

We've been working on singing for a while, learning crucial songs like "Let it Be" and "I'm a Little Tea Pot."
You love the Beatles (whom you call the "Beatle-bees"), and love singing duets.

 But, imagine your mother's and my surprise when you recently just started singing whole songs solo! You rock out to the ABCs whenever you get a chance, but you also serenade yourself with some Beatle-bees too! Your Mom was quick enough to catch you in action!

Oh, and that awesome backbeat...oh yeah, that's drumming.

You LOVE drumming. In fact, I'd say you're obsessed with it. It all started with the Muppets, because we all know that Animal can lay down a killer beat. Some old favorite songs of yours have been heavy on the drums: Muppet's Bohemian Rhapsody, Man or Muppet and Rainbow Connection (from the newer movie). You love to drum at the appropriate parts, and/or run out to let us know "drum! drum! drum!"

Recently though, Aunt Rebekka and your Daddy have been bringing out your inner Ringo. We made a CD for Mimi's 70th birthday party, and you LOVE to listen to the songs. One song, which you named "Bekka sing" or "Bekka drum" really gets you going on a drum trip.

And this practice happens just about every time we get in the car. You're getting REALLY good at drumming, which is part rhythm keeping, part looking awesome. I think you've nailed both components of an awesome drummer.

So, yeah, you love to drum! Drumming is one of your favorite musical activities (aside from singing, maybe). And recently you've gotten a few chances to drum on real drums at the Children's museum (in a fireman hat, and in an African drum circle)

You also play a pretty mean trumpet, dance to the music, and play DJ too:

You're working on the words, though really we're already very impressed with how many words to songs you've picked up just from listening:

Drumming, singing, guitars, dancing, clapping, trumpets, Beatle-bees and Nursery Rhymes: you've got the music in you, young man. Your Mom and I can't wait to see how you continue to, as you say, "Rockout!"