A Year in Review.

Dear Baby O:

A year ago today, you were born.

When I heard your cry in the operating room, I felt such relief.

You see, we loved you for a long time, your daddy and I. We tried for so long, and went through so many times where we thought we might never be parents.

To have you was like a dream come true.

And you were so perfect. And SO tiny.

And then we brought you home, and watched you grow.

I’ll admit, those first six weeks or so was a little overwhelming. You ate a lot. You slept a lot. We didn’t really know what we were doing as parents. But we did know a few things.

1. You loved your baths. In fact, that’s where we’re pretty sure you smiled you first smile.

2. And even though your daddy and I were tired, and overwhelmed, we knew we needed to keep laughing.
(Granted, it was sometimes at your expense.)

But it was always in good fun.

And as spring came to Massachusetts, in full force, you woke up and started to become curious about everything.

Like the flashy thing I used to take your picture.

Or the pictures in books.

And then? You met your bear blanket. And it was love at first sight.

And then it was summer, and your personality really came out to shine.

And even if you didn’t seem to have MUCH of a sense of humor at that point…

… it didn’t seem to matter, because you loved us anyway.

(Or maybe you just REALLY liked your bath.)

And then it was fall, and we took our first family vacation, and brought you out on your first hike. Which we thought you really enjoyed – until we noticed that you had just fallen asleep.

But during that trip you discovered a love for Dr. Seuss. And we read you “Green Eggs and Ham” over and over and over in the next few months.

And then you started rolling. Everywhere.

In your crib, for example.

We couldn’t put you down on your activity mat and leave you. Because we never knew where you’d end up.

And in the early fall, you started eating real food, like cereal – and thought it was pretty good.

And then, you started being more and more happy, smiling all the time at your daddy and me.

You smiled when your daddy tickled you.

You smiled every time mommy brought out the camera.

And as fall made its way to winter, you started to discover that you had toys. And when you sat up and played with them, they were fun.

Like your toy drum, for example. (Which is STILL your favorite toy, even now that you have a bunch.)

And then it was the Christmas season. And you helped mommy and daddy pick out our tree.

When we came home to decorate it, we did our christmas card shoot, too. You didn’t seem to mind the Santa suit – I think mostly because you were fascinated by the lights.

And it was good that you didn’t mind the santa suit and hat, because by then your hair was out of control.

So our first order of business in the new year was your first haircut. Which you handled with dignity, grace, and bravery.

Ok, well, you cried a lot of tears.

But Mommy was proud of you anyway!

And then you discovered crawling.

And pulling up. And our entertainment center, with all the DVDs. And your new favorite hobby was pulling those out to play with them.

You figured out how to play UNDER the furniture, too…

… and discovered that the remote makes a REALLY neat toy.

And you decided that wearing a hospital johnny wasn’t all that bad, even if you had to wear it because you had to get tubes in your ears.

Through this entire year, your daddy and I have watched you get bigger with such joy. And pride.

And my love for you is deeper and wider and bigger than the entire universe. Every day I wake up feeling lucky to be your mom.

And I am SO looking forward to sharing the next year with you; showing you how awesome the world can be.

I love you more than anything in this world, Baby O. I hope this is the first of many fantastic birthdays in your lifetime.

Love Always,
your mom.