For those of you who haven’t heard, my brother and sister-in-law, Andy and Megan, had their first child early this morning. I’d liked to congratulate them, send them all my love and introduce the tiny handful of people who read this blog and don’t know this already to Benjamin Frederick Gorman.

Ben,

I’d like to introduce myself. I’m your uncle Alex. Now, your parents will spend a lot of time telling you how wonderful I am, but I don’t want you to start thinking that I’m some sort of celebrity. I’m looking forward to getting to know you and hanging out. Although, to be honest, you’ll probably want to spend more time hanging out with these two:

They’re your cousins, and they’re pretty excited to meet you, too. I tried to get Gabe to say, “Happy Birthday, Ben,” this morning, but all he managed to say was, “Happy.” So, on behalf of your cousin Gabe, I’d like to wish you, “Happy.”

And your cousin Abigail provided a bonus quotable, special for your special day. On the occasion of the birth of her cousin: “He’s lucky to have my Aunt Megan for a mama.”

There are a lot of other people around you’ll want to get to know. Listen to those Knight girls. They’re older and have more experience and I’m sure they will take good care of you as you navigate the complex hierarchy and pageantry of the Petaluma Gorman community.

But most importantly, welcome to the world, nephew. You’ve got great parents and a great family. And Jessica, Abigail, Gabe and I can’t wait to meet you in person.