The origin of your nickname

Dear Baby Boots,

It's 6 in the morning on Sunday and I have just been furloughed from work, yehey! I was looking forward to spending a relaxing day with you and your daddy. It's supposed to go up to 90 degrees today and it's only April 26th. I'm happy though because I miss the heat so much.

I was awake since 4 in the morning because I just couldn't sleep and you or my stomach started growling. After a few growls, I decided to be nice and ate a small bowl of rice and beef nilaga. Now that you and my stomach are satisfied, I decided to go online and write you a long due letter from the past few weeks.

You are 18 weeks and 5 days as of today. I cannot believe how fast time has gone by. I am trying to cherish each moment that I have you in my belly. I know it's not easy to be pregnant and all because of all the changes one's body goes through, but I would not trade it for anything. Hopefully, I can share this experience with you one day and tell you how happy I am to be carrying you in me.

Before I keep blabbering on, let me tell you how your nickname Butiki came about and how it has evolved to Boots, and Bootsie : ).

Your great grandfather or Lolo Carmelo (my mom's father) was so eager to have a great grandchild as soon as your Papa and I were married in January of 2008. Everytime we spoke on the phone, he would ask us if we had a Butiki on the way. A Butiki is a small white lizard in our Filipino language. It's those little gecko looking things you will see on the walls when you are in a tropical climate like the Philippines. So, when I found out I was pregnant and having you, the first name that came to my head was Butiki because your grand Lolo mentioned it all the time. Your Papa and I thought it was a cute name and decided to call you that early on. Everyone in the family including your Grammy, Auntie Mandie, Uncle Tim, and Tophe thought it was a cute name to call you so it stuck ever since. Your Gramps wasn't too happy about it because he said Butiki sounded so little and that he was proud to say that you were not going to be little, but a giant baby instead : ).

From Butiki, came the name Boots. I was relaxing with your dad one day when the name just popped into my head. I thought it was a cute nickname for Butiki and have started to call you that since. We still call you Butiki sometimes, but Boots sounds sooo much cuter and people here in America can pronounce the word a lot easier that Butiki. Bootsie is my special nickname for you when I'm talking to you all by myself. I find myself talking to you a lot when I'm alone because I like to let you know what is going on around me and also, it doesn't make me as lonely.

So there you go...now you know where your nickname came from. I have a feeling it's going to stick around even after you are born. You will always be my Boots!

Love you dearly,
Your Mama

Conceived in Africa

My Dearest Butiki,

You are about 15 weeks and 6 days in my belly as of today. Mommy has been meaning to write to you for a long time now to tell you all the adventures I have been going through for the past 15 weeks since you were conceived. I have been so busy and also kind of lazy that I never started it until today.

Before I tell you about the adventures I have been through, I want to tell you about the time you were conceived or "made" because it was a very special time for your Papa and I.

We traveled all the way to Uganda, Africa in late December to celebrate the wedding of your Auntie Joan and Uncle John. Together with us during that fun filled trip was your Auntie Mandie, Uncle Andre, Auntie Fatima, and Uncle Dan. It was such an exciting trip because never in our lives have we traveled to the continent of Africa. It was the first time we all step foot into such a foreign and exotic country.

The trip had many ups and downs because traveling is not always easy, but we had a good time nevertheless because we were with great company. We were there for about two weeks and stayed in the City of Entebbe. We also traveled to the capital city Kampala, went to see the source of the Nile River in Jinja, and saw exotic animals in a safari called Queen Elizabeth National Park in Mweya.


That trip to Africa was not only memorable because we were celebrating Auntie Joan and Uncle John's wedding, but also because your Papa and I were celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary.

In the midst of all the celebration, your Papa and I conceived you. We can joyfully say that you were "Made in Africa!" When you do the math and all the calculations, the doctors say that you were conceived sometime around the new year December 30th 2008 to Jan 1st 2009 : ). What a great start for the new year for your Papa and I even though we did not know about you then. We found out about you two weeks after we got back from our trip.

I always tell my friends and close family that the best souvenir I brought back from Uganda was you. People joke about it that they bought many beautiful crafts and gifts from Africa, how come we get to bring home such a great souvenir of a little baby. I guess I have to say that we were lucky, or better yet, that God loves us so much he gave us YOU!

I have to say that you were not "planned." Your Papa and I did say that we were thinking of starting a family sometime in the year of 2009 but never actually planned on conceiving while I was traveling because I was taking malaria pills and didn't think it was safe for you. We were always open to anything God has planned for us and put him in control. He indeed was in control and gave us you, our little miracle. I can definitely say that you are the fruit of our love. Even though you were not in our plans, your Papa and I were overjoyed when we found out we were having you. You are indeed, the best souvenir we brought home from Africa.

Now, the trip to Uganda will not only be memorable because we celebrated a wedding and our 1st year anniversary, it will always be engraved in our hearts and memories because a great miracle happened while we were there, and we got to bring home YOU!


I hope you will enjoy this story my dear one.

I love you my baby,

Your Mommy

Letters to my little one

I have been thinking about doing this for the past few months already but have been so busy with my full time job in the hospital, taking classes part-time to become a family nurse practitioner, and carrying a new bundle of joy that I never got the chance to start it until now. Finally, I told myself that I just have to do it or I will never get it done.

When I found out I was expecting a baby, I thought it would be nice to write blogs to keep family and friends updated on the little one. But as I thought more and more about it, I wanted to do something more meaningful and something I will always remember and hopefully share with my baby one day. So, instead of writing blogs every few weeks to keep everyone updated, I decided to write letters to my little one and tell him or her all the different and new things going on in my life as a carry him/her in my belly.

One day, when my baby is old enough to understand, I will show him/her the letters. To me, this was going to be more intimate and meaningful and will probably give me more motivation to write the letters in the midst of my busy and hectic life.

I hope you will all enjoy reading it to...it's meant to be shared with you all or I wouldn't post it up in this website :)

I will try my very best to write a letter and post a picture or two each week.