Things I want to tell Mackenna...

• You've already been to one semester of grad school. You passed :-)

• You will never get to meet your paternal grandfather, but you will write his name every time you write your own.

• When your dad found out that he was going to be a father, the first thing he said was... Nothing. He was speechless for at least two minutes. You'll find out soon enough, this is a record for him. The second thing he said was "We are going to save a lot of money on wine." True.

• I hope you aren't allergic to dogs, because Bailey is already in love with you. She has been constantly resting her head on my stomach since I was three months pregnant. And when Ben is away travelling for work, she paces back and forth nervously.

• I knew you were a girl since the beginning.

• You very possibly could have the same birthday as me. Ben thinks that's be great- only one day to remember instead of two. 3 Year and 30 Year birthday parties the same day? I could share.