Parker

Hey kid,
tonight I want to tell you about Parker. He's the family dog, and I doubt he will be around long enough for you to be able to remember him. He's about 12 years old right now and showing his age. He's been having trouble getting around as well as he used to partly because of arthritis and partly because of getting a little weaker with age. We've had him since he was about 8, so he's been our companion for about 4 years now.
He's the best dog. Since we've had him, he's barked maybe 3 or 4 times. He's just so mellow and well tempered, you can't help but love him. In his younger days he was a champion (in our eyes) ball fetcher. He was tireless as a player. We could kick the Kong and throw balls to him endlessly. He loved to swim. But, he would walk next to you loyally when you wanted to just walk with him. He's very social, too. At least with people. He doesn't really like to play with other dogs, but hates to be left alone. He loves to be included in any family activity. He's been spending the days at work with your mother pretty much since we've had him. He lays under her desk and is always there to keep her company. He's been everywhere with her. He's been her 24/7 companion since she brought him home in the fall of 2002.
Now, we help him get up and down the stairs, and help him get up sometimes. He also has been unable to control his bowels for a while, so we have to be ready to clean up his poop in the house. But, we don't mind because we love him, and he loves us back. We also think about how it is sort of helping us be ready to deal with changing your diapers soon. While he is slowing phisically, his mental accuity hasn't dropped. He still knows when someone opens a banana or an orange that he might get a bite of.
In the first picture here, he is looking stately in his bow tie at our wedding. The day before the wedding we had dinner at my parents house in Hood River. The kids there were throwing him the ball a lot and he really got worn out. So the day of the wedding he was content to be pretty mellow and just sit in the middle of the procedings without wanting to play. The other picture just shows his pretty face.
As I said, I don't know if you will ever really get to know Parker, but we might have another family dog while you are growing up. And if we do, we will always compare him or her to our beloved Parker.

sleep tight,
love aba

Competition

Hi sweetie,
Tonight I want to tell you a little bit about your mom and I. First, I guess I should say something about how we met. We were introduced by a mutual friend, Donna Frankel. I had met Donna online and we had dated a little bit. Donna told me that there would be no future for us because I wasn't Jewish. This frustrated me because she waited a while before telling me this. But, we continued to see each other occasionally on a friendly basis. Donna mentioned that she knew someone like me who was "driven," and said we should meet. So, the next time I saw Donna, who is a pretty high maintainence person, I said when do I get to meet this friend of yours?
Well, your mom didn't want to meet me right then. Donna hadn't told me but I learned later that your mom was sort of halfway broken up with a guy who was bad news for her. She was also recovering from a car accident and wasn't ready. Later your mom gave Donna the OK to give me her email address and phone number. So we traded chit chatty emails every now and then and traded pictures that way. Finally, we set a date to meet at a restaurant. It's funny to think back about it now, because your mom came to the restaurant from a yoga class and had on gym type pants. I say it's funny because she was dressed that way when we met, and now she hounds me because I like to wear what she call 'tights' all the time and she wants me to change when we go out in public. Anyway, we had a nice time and found lots of things in common to talk about. She was prettier than the one picture I had seen of her up to that point. I was taken by her dark beauty and trim figure.
The next time we saw each other, we met for a bike ride, meeting at your mom's work. I had gotten pulled over for speeding on the way there, and had to call her while the cop was in his car and tell her I might be late. We rode bikes around Sandy, ending up at the house she had just bought, which is where we live now. I think your mom thought she would out ride me, have to wait for me, etc. She had been a really good mountain bike champion in the past. But, I am pretty strong and had been riding more than she in recent years, so she said later that I impressed her with my riding. I was happy to have met someone who could ride with me. I know why I love riding, but it's hard to convince someone who doesn't do it why it's so compelling. Probably the key thing about that 'date' was how we parted. I think we shook hands, but I took her forearm in my hand and squeezed it a little. She knew what that meant, and says she thought "Oh, no. This guy wants to be serious." At the time she says she wasn't ready to go down that road, but fortunately, I wore her down and eventually married her.

Well, I made the title competition, so I better say something about that. Your mom and I are both pretty competitive so I think you might turn out to be that way, too. I don't have to be competitive at everything, but once you start keeping score on something, it's hard not to try your best to win. So, sometimes, we won't keep score. But, if we do, look out.

All right, keep sleeping and growing little one, we're getting ready for you....
love, aba

50

Hey there,
I am writing to tell you that I just turned 50 years old last week. Normally I don't make a big deal of my birthdays and really didn't want to on this one either. But, a few months ago your mom threw me a big suprise party. Since it was quite a while until my real birthday was going to happen, she really caught me by suprise and it turned out to be a lot of fun. I'm glad she did it, it shows how much she cares about me. I gave her a suprise party when she turned 40, but I didn't do a very good job of hiding it. She sort of knew it was going to happen, just not when. But the night we had her party, by the time she got home, she had it figured out.
But I didn't really want to write about parties, I wanted to write about age. Since I'm 50, I'm going to be a lot older than your friend's parents, most likely. Also, I will be 65 when you are 15, and by the time you graduate from high school I will be nearly 70. While I am 50, I don't feel like I'm fully grown up in some ways, so I don't think my age will be too much of a barrier in our relationship. I still remember being a kid. I plan to stay fit enough to take you on a cross country bike trip, a long backpacking trip, maybe a kayak float down the Yukon, nordic hut to hut skiing, and more. I think by the time you are able to do those things, I will still be able to do them.

Your mom and I want to have another child after you, so for your new brother or sister the age thing will be even greater. Your mom only has a few more years to be able to have another child, and she's a little weary of being pregant for most of the last two years so we will try for another pregnancy not long after you are born.

by the way, we checked your heartbeat today and last night. You were a little sleepy today, so your mom was worried and we listened to your heart again today. Last night you had a bit of a kick for us when we were checking it. Both times you were pumping along at about 140-145 per minute.

I guess I should tell you that there was a big event this past week. I told you I had been spending time on the phone convincing people to vote democratic. The election was a big success for us. Democrats took over the majority in both the house and the senate, against the predictions of some 'experts.' I felt great about my small part in making that happen. I really enjoyed talking to people all over the country: New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington, California. and Nevada.

Anyway, we are expecting you to be born in 49 days. It's exciting and scary at the same time. I'll write again soon.
Love, aba