3. we are thankful...

...that even though our family lives all over the place, you actually still get to see them quite a lot.

The award for worst timing in the entire world goes to your daddy and I. I went over to grandma and grandpa's house to tell them about your impending arrival about two weeks before they moved out of North Olmsted and down to Hilton Head, South Carolina! They, of course, were bummed by the timing: as they were leaving, you would be arriving.

However, Grandpa is retired and Grandma is a flight attendant and is actually still flying through Cleveland all the time. I think she has seen you every month of your life. They spent the summer on their boat in Sandusky, which was about 45 minutes away, and we went out to see them a few times this summer. (You did not get on the boat though--it was too hot and there were no infant life jackets to be found.) Uncle Alex is in the Air Force, but he just finished with his active duty orders and is living in the nearby state of West Virginia, and is even coming to see us this week! Your great-grandma lives in Buffalo and wishes she could see you more, but she will be moving down to South Carolina in the near to distant future and you can see her, Grandma, and Grandpa all in one fell swoop!

We are trying to coordinate some sort of visit down to Hilton Head to see Grandma and Grandpa's new place (I can't believe it has been over a year since they moved!), which would be your first plane ride (and Daddy's second!), but budget and timing restraints have prevented it thus far. Daddy has not travelled much at all, with the exception of a basketball tournament in St. Louis and Spring Break in Florida, and growing up, my family always took vacations. We agreed that showing you the world is going to be a priority for us, which is going to be easy, given that we also have family and friends in Florida, Virginia, Oklahoma, Texas, New York City, Pennsylvania, and more!

You bring such joy to our lives and we know you do the same for others. We love the fact that even though our family might live far away, they live close enough where they will be a big part of your life.