david is one lucky man! i mean, how do guys like us end up with such awesome families? there is, of course, a simple answer: as manly men, we tend to attract beautiful women who — also as a result of our manliness — tend to produce awesome families. but that’s all so scientific. i’m more interested in going even further back, to what first attracted our partners to us, thereby initiating the awesome family-building process.

for instance, was it our exceptional level of intelligence? perhaps our highly developed sense of humor? our devilish good looks? for me, these are all likely possibilities. for david, however, his sense of humor is the more likely cause.

david has pretty much kept me in stitches since we were in the sixth grade. (not to say that he wasn’t funny before that; i just didn’t know him.) i’ll never forget the self-analysis he wrote in high school english. it was not only a perfectly structured and grammatically advanced essay, it was also a hugely funny stand-up routine. “i am so humble,” he wrote persuasively in his last body paragraph, “on a scale from one to ten, i am a negative eleven.” ha! (i don’t know. maybe you have to hear the whole essay. but if you didn’t find that funny, there are some other really good examples, too. trust me.)

that wit really paid off. candi always did have a weakness for the truly funny guys in our class. and since david was the only truly funny guy in our class, she was pretty much stuck with him. after graduation, they were married. and considering the fact that candi was one of only two girls cool enough to be invited to my sixth birthday party, i’d say david got a pretty good thing. (in fact, if i had it to do all over again, the only other girl i’d invite would be the six-year-old version of eileen.)

and now there’s natalie, the cutest little david/candi/cabbage-patch-doll clone you’ve ever seen. she smiles like candi, scowls like david, and has a wonderful sense of curiosity and independence. that part comes from the cabbage patch doll. and to think: she’ll soon be a big sister!

we’re so excited to see how your family is growing, you two! we had a ball spending the day with you and natalie. looking forward to doing it again soon…

above: the greenhouse where soon-to-be “dr.” david grows his cannabas. (purely medical.)

natalie clearly shares her mother’s great taste in fashion.