Happy Birthday Cale-y Bear (A Letter From Mommy)

Cale-y Bear,

It is morning on the day of your very first birthday. You're still sleeping soundly, and I'm writing this letter to you as I listen to the sound of your precious breathing through the monitor.

I don't even know where to begin. How do you put into words all the emotions that a mother has on her baby's 1st birthday. I certainly don't think it is possible for you to fathom how much love I have for you in my heart, in my head, in my gut, in my arms, in my whole body. The best way that I can describe it to you is like a giant, perfect hug. I want to surround you with love. When you wake I'll give you one of those perfect hugs. I hope that you never stop letting me hug you. You were born into a family of huggers, so you better start getting used to giving and receiving hugs!

As I'm writing, tears are rolling down my cheeks. I close my eyes and I see your sweet smiling face, your big brown eyes. I can hear your contagious laugh. Yet, I can also imagine you as the tiny little 6lb, 7oz, 19.75lb newborn who loved to cuddle on my chest. Now you can't sit still! When I think about how much you've changed over the past year, I am absolutely amazed. I thank God every day for bringing us a healthy baby boy. You made it through your first year of life without ever being sick despite numerous occasions when we thought it was inevitable.

Not only are you healthy, but you are also blessed physically. You've always been a strong little boy from the time you were born. In the hospital, you were already holding your head up so well. Then at 5 weeks and 6 days, you rolled over for the very first time. You quickly learned to sit, crawl, and you have now been walking for 2.5 months. Actually, you mostly run places these days! Mommy and Daddy like to think that you'll be athletic and play lots of sports like Baseball and Soccer. But you also seem to be very interested in music. You love to play music and sing, and you LOVE to listen to music and dance. Know that no matter what activiites become of interest to you, Mommy and Daddy will always support you and be there to see you "do your thing!"

I may be biased as your mother, but I also think that you are pretty smart. Just within a few weeks you've really started communicating with us. You can emphatically wave hello and bye-bye. You point to things when you get excited. You learned the baby sign for “more” in a matter of hours. You can say LOTS of words, and you know what they mean:

Water
Milk
Bottle
Mommy
Daddy
Dog
Cat
Bird
Duck
Ball
OJ (our cat)

You make a “woof” sound when you see a dog, or when you hear a dog, when you see a picture of a dog, or when you are asked what noise a dog makes, or when you are asked what noise a frog makes. I think the words “frog” and “dog” must sound the same to you right now, but since frogs seem to be your favorite animal, I’m guessing it won’t be long before you’re saying “ribbit, ribbit.”

You also understand what we are saying. You know that you are supposed to pet OJ even though you’d rather squeeze him and suck on his fur. You know exactly which window to go to at GranB and Pop Pop’s house when someone talks about the ducks. You climb onto the couch to watch the birds when we mention birds. And sometimes when you’re not too busy playing, you can bring toys to mommy and daddy when we ask. It is so wonderful being able to communicate with you, and I can’t wait for the day when we can have whole conversations as a family while eating dinner.

Caleb, you have made mommy a better person. You have made me see the joy in the little things that happen in everyday life. You have helped me to live in the moment, to cherish today rather than living for tomorrow. You have showed me that I could love more than I ever thought possible. You have taught me patience even though I still have a long way to go. I cannot imagine my life without you in it, and I feel blessed to call you my son.

One year ago, I couldn’t have imagined all the things you have learned since you were born and all the ways that you have changed. Now I know that time moves quickly, and little boys grow up fast. I hope that you don’t grow up too fast, but I am excited to see what the future holds for you. I am so proud of the little boy that you are, and look forward to growing with you through the years to come! I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect boy to call my son. Happy 1st Birthday, Little Man! I LOVE YOU!

Love,
Mommy


P.S. Did you suddenly realize that you are a little boy? These pictures are pretty much all the evidence I need to show that you are no longer a baby!