Dear Jack,
I can't believe that an entire year has passed since that very first moment that I held you in my arms. I will never forget the way it felt when your eyes met mine for the very first time, and you grabbed on to my finger with your sweet, tiny hand. All it took was a single second, one brief moment in time, and I was instantaneously and completely in love. In many ways it seems as if this year has gone by much too quickly. Where has my tiny baby boy gone? But in others ways it is hard to remember the days and years without you. I am not sure how we ever got by. One thing I know for sure is that our lives are better,because you are in them. Our family is better, because you are a part of it. I am better, because you are my son.
You have grown and changed so much during this first year of your life! You are officially a walker (sometimes a runner), and recently you learned to clap and to dance. Two of the most precious sights that I have ever seen. You are also saying a small handful of words (daddy, kitty, uh oh), but you refuse to call me Mama. It will be sweet music to my ears when you finally say my name! You also love to wave bye bye, and to put a pretend phone up to your ear when we say hello. At one year old you have eight teeth, four on top and four on bottom. Your smile can light up a room. I LOVE to hear you laugh. It is deep, and rich, and contagious. You love balls, and books, and cars. You also love your sisters. Watching the three of you together fills my heart with more joy than I ever knew was possible. I pray that you will always be close.
You still love to eat anything that you can get your hands on, and you are still covered with delicious little rolls. Kissing and nuzzling you are two of my most favorite things to do. And when you give me a "loving" back? The best feeling in the entire world. Watching you sleep is another of my favorites. You curl up on your tummy, tuck your hands in warm under your body, cross your little ankles, and stick your cute little tush in the air. Pure peace and rest fills your face and my soul. You are now sleeping for nine to ten hours each evening, and Daddy and Mama are beginning to recover from the fog that is the first year of a child's life. It has been exhausting, but I have no doubt that we would choose this year over and over again, if we were given the choice. We would choose you over again.
Jack, you are such a blessing to our family. You are such a blessing to me. I am not sure how we got so lucky as to be the ones to know, and to love, and to raise you. But I am grateful. I will always be grateful. Happy first birthday, little man. I love you to the moon and back.
Mama
