HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALICE!

Dear Alice,

Today is your sixth birthday!

Do you know how much Daddy and I love you? Only with everything we've got.

You are a remarkable little person. Witty, kind, smart, bold, creative — it is a privilege to be your parent.

You have certainly brought out the best, and the worst, of us both. For that, we thank you.

I'm sorry I haven't ended world hunger, or poverty, or war, like I offered to do in exchange for your healthy arrival. When, humbled by my third miscarriage, I surrendered myself to God's will and promised to help the entire world if he would just make me into a mother.

Here is a promise that I will keep: to do my best to fit you with all the skills and knowledge you will need to make a good, fulfilling life for yourself, filled with love and adventure and, when it's time, to have the courage and wisdom to let you go.

But today, you are six. A perfect combination of 'big girl' and my little baby. Too big for the sling but not too big for my or Daddy's arms.

Happy Birthday Pumpkin! Have a great, great day!

Love,

Mommy (and Daddy, too)


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COMING SOON:

FATHER'S WEEK

New research shows that fathers get some of the same cognitive and physical benefits from their own altered biochemistry, as mothers do, once the baby arrives.

We'll be asking a few Dads we know if there is such a thing as a "Daddy Brain".

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