Well, it is here. The day I have been dreading and anticipating for the past several months. You are a year old! I just don’t know how that happened. You have grown so much in the past year and have gone from a helpless little infant to a growing boy who walks, talks, and is always learning new things. It is a bittersweet day as I say goodbye to my little baby and hello to my little man. As you continue to grow I will try my best to give both roots and wings and not to shed too many tears :).
The day you were born our whole world changed. We became parents and were responsible for this little baby. Nothing quite prepared us for sleepless nights, hours of crying and ‘round the clock care when you first came home. But nothing prepared us for how much we would love you either. Your first couple months home were probably the most difficult for your dad and me as we learned about you…what you like, what you didn’t like. But we found our groove and those weeks while I was on maternity leave I had some of the most precious moments with you. One of my fondest memories was our mornings cuddling together. You slept in the pack n’ play next to our bed but when you woke up for your early morning feeding I would pull you into bed with me, feed you and we would both go back to sleep. Some days we would repeat this cycle until noon :).
You hit all your milestones right around the time the books said you should - rolling by 3 months, sitting up at 6 months, crawling at 8 months and now walking at 12 months. You are the happiest guy. Truly. You get many compliments on your toothy smile, belly laugh and sunny disposition. Many times a day, I look at you and think to myself, I never want to forget that face or that look. You are too funny and know the exact face to make to get a laugh. You are very sensitive. You used to get upset with loud noises but now you cry at a stern “no.” But it is nothing that a hug cannot fix.
You are a wild man! One of your favorite things to do is play on our couch because you can fling yourself around without getting hurt. A couple weeks ago you accidently fell off the couch but luckily landed on some pillows. You laughed and I placed you back on the couch. A few seconds later I look and you purposively flung yourself off the couch on to the pillows – crazy boy! You also like to try and stand on the top of Grandma Judy’s picnic table.
You love to eat and try new foods and you haven’t found too many foods that you don’t like. You could eat all day long and whenever someone else has food you go over to them and beg for it like a dog . But because you are so cute we usually oblige. You are at such a fun age and we are trying to soak it all up.
Your dad and I have many hopes and dreams for you. We hope you are always as happy as you’ve been over this past year and as happy as you have made us. I hope you stay the sweet little boy you are. And I hope you never stop laughing! You have such a big laugh that can brighten any one’s day and I hope you never lose that. Because as Bill Cosby says, “If you can laugh at it, you can live through it” which is wonderful advice as you go through the trials of life. The past year has been more than we have ever imagined and we look forward to the years to come.
We love you Carter Man!
Love,
Mom and Dad
"We never dreamed you'd be so beautiful...
In all of the times we tried to imagine
every last detail of who you would be,
thru all of the nights we spent quietly thinking
of how we would feel
when we first looked at you,
we patiently waited
and silently wondered.
We hoped and we prayed
and we tried to imagine...
but we never dreamed you'd be so beautiful."
- Unknown
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