Dear Brooke Allen

Dear Brooke Allen,

2012 has begun, which means big changes for our family.

In 2012, we will go from being a family of two + dog, to a family of three + dog.

We've been pretty ordinary up to this point.

Just a husband, a wife, and a dog.

Now we'll be a daddy, a mommy, a baby, and a dog.

You are going to change EVERYTHING about our ordinary little life.

Not that I am complaining. I am so ready for you to change everything.

But your daddy and I sometimes forget how big these changes are going to be. For example, we were talking the other day about trips we'd like to take, things we'd like to purchase, and the time and money to do those things.

Then it dawned on us...oh yeh...we'll have a baby to figure out with all this. This means no spur of the moment trips, no easy planning for quiet nights alone, no going to concerts or out with friends (unless there's a babysitter of course).

Once you join our family, our every moment is going to be consumed about what's best for YOU and not what mommy and daddy want.

To be honest, Brooke Allen, you already consume my thoughts. I think about you all the time.

I mostly think about you because you remind me to think about you while you stick your long toes in my ribs.

But I do. I think about you all the time. I think about what you'll look like and what your personality will be like. I make plans for your room and our schedules. I go over the pros and cons of making your baby food about 100 times a day. And I DREAM of what it would be like to be a stay at home mom with you, but I reality check myself quickly when I think about how fast the bank would foreclose on our house...

Then I think about life next year, when you'll be walking and saying words. And then in five years when we take you to kindergarten. And then in 15 years when you start talking about cars and boys. And in 18 years when we drop you off at your college dorm.

I think about what good friends we will be as you get older. I'll teach you how to love shopping with me and GiGi. I'll teach you about make up and hair and how to be a lady. We'll put you in ballet classes or cheerleading, and of course, softball. Daddy says no pageants, but we'll see about that.

I think about how you are going to be Daddy's princess. He is going to adore you, and you will have him wrapped around your little finger. He is going to dance with you, and let you put lipstick on him, and make him play dolls with you. Then he's going to embarrass you at your first Homecoming dance by making sure he's dressed in his police uniform when that little boy shows up nervously on our front step.

Brooke Allen, you are going to completely change our lives. But you are going to complete our family. Your birthday is going to trump all other favorite days of mine. I can't wait for the nurse to lay you on my chest and kiss those toes that are poking me all day long. I can't wait to see your daddy's face when he holds you for the first time.

Your first breaths, your first cries, the first time you open your eyes.

These little things are the big things that will complete my heart.