Here’s my little family in our little kitchen.

I’m excited for our future, but I’m just a bit nostalgic for the fading present. Things are about to change, for the better, I know. But sometimes a guy likes to take a moment on a Sunday night to appreciate his girls and the way things are right now. At the risk of being sentimental for a moment, they make me awfully happy.

But change is coming, to be sure. To help Alden understand, I took her to visit our friends who had a baby just last Tuesday. Here is little Sora at approximately 48 hours.

Alden spent about seven seconds looking at Sora. She pointed to her tiny sleeping head and said “Baby. Baby.” And then she demanded to go outside and commune with the chickens.

They were, admittedly, a good deal more lively than Sora, who has yet to cultivate many interesting stories, jokes, or party tricks.

Alden and I drove out to Eastern Neck Island the other day for one last stroll along the boardwalk before Tarzan comes and gobbles up half of my available paternal love.

The day was cold but clear and not too windy. There were fascinating things in the reeds below our feet.

Look at Alden run. Where is she going? Onward daily. Yesterday she learned the letter “W.” Today she built a tower 11 blocks high.

Who knows what she will learn before this week is through.

As for her parents, we’re in for a big week as well. If all goes according to plan, by next Sunday night, we’ll have another mouth to feed, another tiny butt to wipe. But what else? The fun is in not knowing.

At times I try to remember my life before Alden arrived, and I simply can’t do it.

I have a sense my heart’s about to grow another chamber.