We went to Barnes and Noble on my 32nd birthday to look through name books for our baby. We chose not to find out the sex and be surprised-which we were-very much so.

Since I’d had to pressure you a bit to have a child, (you didn’t feel you’d made it enough in your career) I thought it would make you happier if it was a boy- someone you could play soccer with and talk sports. But 1/2 way through my pregnancy you announced that you were hoping it was a girl.

For a girl we decided on Audrey or Ella- but since most people were convinced I was having a boy- we mostly worked on that one. We liked Tucker- but decided it sounded too southern and had a bad rhyme. We liked Jack a lot…and you liked Jackson. In the end, we somehow decided on Mason.

I read that talking through a toilet paper roll helped the baby to hear you. You quickly went with the idea and even drew and wrote on the roll: “Daddy phone,” talking into my belly all the time. Around my 20th week, I thought it’d be nice to take pictures, and you said you could do a better job than anyone, so that’s what we did. You chose the time of day- morning- when the light was best in our room- then you got to work. Afterwards, we made an album of black and whites- they came out really good and made me feel good. We said maybe you should start a side job taking photos of pregnant women.