Dear Luke-
I had to leave you this morning to go away on a business trip. Those are the worst mornings for me, because it feels unnatural to leave you and being apart from you makes me sad. Before I go, I always sneak into your room where you are all snuggly in your crib and just wish I could climb in there with you and watch you snore your little baby snores all morning. This morning I heard you waking up on the monitor when I was down in the kitchen and although I should have been leaving, I raced upstairs to tell you good morning and get you dressed. I almost missed my flight but it was well worth it to see your sleepy little face!
In a few days you will be turning 1 year old. It makes my eyes well up to think about telling people I have a 1 year old at home. People always say they wish they could keep their babies from growing up, but watching you grow is so amazing that I would never want to hold you back. Every day you surprise me with something new you’ve learned. It seems like overnight I’ve gone from having a baby boy to a toddler. And toddle you do! You pull up on anything you can wrap your little fingers around and spend hours each week circling the coffee table, each time a little faster. I just know you’ll be taking those first steps any day now and I pray that you’ll wait for me to get home in a few days so I can see you do it.
You are getting so confident and brave now. You let go of whatever piece of furniture you’re holding onto and look over at me with an expression that says “Are you seeing this? I’m standing!” It makes me smile until my face hurts some days. I never thought I could be so proud of someone as I am of you.
We think you said your first word recently, “Daisy”. And I am not entirely sure but you may be trying to say “dog” now when you see the dogs in the morning and at night when you come home from school. You laugh when you see them and have taken to crawling straight over Roux’s belly when he is stretched out on the floor in the living room. Luckily he doesn’t seem to mind.
When I pick you up out of your crib in the mornings, you wrap your tiny arm around my neck to hold onto me. It is the best feeling in the world. I am glad our birthdays are so close together because you coming into my life last year was the best gift you could ever give me, and I get to be reminded of that every year now.
Your Daddy and I love you so much Luke. No matter what is going on around us, if you are happy, we are happy. If you are laughing we can’t help but laugh with you. And it is so hard not to spoil you, because we would give you anything to make you smile, on your first birthday and every day. I hope you always know that. You have my heart sweet angel, no matter where I am, it is always with you.
All my love,
Mama
One of my uncles uncovered this really cool photo of my grandparents from 1938. Seeing it really brightened my day so I had to share it here. I just love old family pictures. We lost my grandmother about 8 years ago and I still miss her terribly. I wish Jay could have met her. I so wish she could have been here to see Luke. They would have had a blast together. She was such a cool lady and so much fun to be around. I can actually see a little of myself in her in this photo which makes it extra special. Except I don't think I was ever that skinny!
