From the heart

Alexis,

When I started this blog during my pregnancy with you,
I decided early on that it was going to be all about "you".
It would serve as your "baby book" of sorts
and provide little snapshots of you at a certain moment in time.
It was not going to be a place for me to share all my thoughts and feelings.
It would be lighthearted.
And, for the most part, I think it has served this purpose.

I hope that in the years to come, we will read some of the posts together...
and smile and laugh and remember.
I hope you will come to cherish it,
just like I treasure the baby book my mother created for me as a child.

The funny thing about a blog, though, is that it can sometimes make our days seem perfect.
It can give the illusion that all we do is take pictures and plan playdates and parties.
And, of course, that's just not the case.
Like any other family, we have our ups and downs, our good days and our bad ones too.

More than anything, though,
I hope this blog shows you how very thankful we are for the gift of you.
How blessed we feel to be your parents.
How lucky we consider ourselves that we get to guide you
and teach you and support you.
How much happiness you bring to each of our days.
How we don't take a single one for granted.

On the day you were born,
your father wrote me a beautiful note.
I keep it on the dresser in our closet.
Not a day goes by that I don't stop to read it.
I won't share his exact message -
as that's something special just between he and I.
But the gist of it, that I can share.
It says that you are our very best gift -
and that he could not love you more.
I feel the exact same way.