his first birthday letter

Hey, little dude. You don't know it and you won't be able to read for a while, but every year, I try to write you a little letter. This is for you, so you can look back and see how I've loved you over the years. It's for me, because I have All The Words and sometimes there's an overflow and it all just needs to come out. And, for now, I share it, too. Because you have lots of people in lots of places who love you and sometimes it's fun for them to see this side of who you are.

So here it is. You're one now, and I get to write you your very first birthday note.

and... I can't quite think how to start. 

There's so much.

Here's the biggest idea:

You are my third baby. By the time you arrived, our family had a rhythm of its own. With J, and then somewhat with K, the family rhythm formed around who they were.

But you didn't really have that luxury. 

And you know what? 

If I had the option to special-order you from God, the most perfect possible child for our family, I could not possibly have done as well as God did. 

You fit. You fit perfectly. You are exactly the piece this home needed. You add so much joy, I can't even begin to express it. I adore you. Everyone does, actually. From your big brown eyes that are smiling all the time to your perfect, delicious little toes, you are awesome. I frequently describe you as "as laid-back and delightful as babies come" and I'm not exaggerating. This is excellent because when you were born, you had two sisters under the age of four, and sometimes their adoration looks like assault. But you just handle it. You handle it so well and so often I had to give the phenomenon its own tag. 

You are patient. 

So very, very patient. There's a lot of mom guilt that can come with having a not-first baby... there are so many needs and only one me and sometimes, it's the smallest who's going to have to wait. Because, for example, early on when all three of you needed lunch right now, I could get your sisters lunch in five minutes or less (if I was quick), but feeding you could take 45 minutes. And you needed it more, there's no question. But I could let one wait for five minutes, or I could let two wait for 45 minutes (probably disrupting your meal the whole time), so... you had to wait. As a teeny, tiny baby. And your needs aren't always last. I try to work things so you're not always getting the short end of the stick, but the fact remains... you do. A lot more often than the girls did. But do you complain? Not usually. Why? 

Your left thumb.

Oh, my goodness, do I ever love your left thumb. 

So do you. 

I know there may come a day when you and I struggle mightily against your thumb-sucking habit, but this year? It's been perfect. I can't even tell you how much I love that you've always been able to soothe yourself. I love that you let me know that you need me for a second, then you find your thumb and wait patiently (even happily!) while I try to get through whatever I have to before I can get to you. Obviously, it makes my life easier. But you know what? It makes yours better, too, and not just because you're calmer during the wait. Because, whether you self-soothed or not, I would still have to meet all the needs of all the little people, and you'd still need to wait sometimes. But instead of yelling at me and raising my stress levels while you wait, you make it easy. So when I finally get there, I'm not frustrated or anxious. Instead, I'm really, really grateful. And a grateful mom is a better mom for you. 

And speaking of anxious...

Something else that surprised me was how much you calm me down. I remember when you were weeks old. I was struggling with postpartum anxiety for the first time ever, and it was sucking all the fun out of my life, which was a bummer because I knew, even then, that my life was a pretty good one. But one morning, when I was ridiculously overstimulated and on the verge of completely freaking out, I laid a swaddle blanket on the floor. I set you on it. I grabbed some coffee and just... sat. And the toddler chaos continued around me and it was loud. But somehow... you and I? On that blanket? We were OK. I wouldn't have ever guessed that a newborn would become a calming influence, but there you were. 

"Oh! Are you trying for a boy?!?"

This is the question that people inexplicably asked through the first half of my pregnancy. And, setting aside all the things that make that one of the more awkward questions people ask (besides, perhaps, "don't you know what causes that?!?"), the answer in my own heart was "nope." I had your sisters. I knew girls. I liked girls. I was comfortable being a "girl mom." I was intimidated by the idea of figuring out a whole 'nother gender. Neither your daddy nor I were really worried about "carrying on the family name" or anything, so when the ultrasound tech told us you were a boy, we were quiet. I wasn't sure what it would look like, this whole "boy" thing. 

But then you showed up. And people still ask me, "Ooh! Aren't you glad to have a boy?!?" But now the answer is totally obvious. "I'm glad to have HIM." Everything, from your very special name to your shining eyes to your belly laugh and your easy personality... I like you. Not because we "finally got our boy," but because God gave us you. 

I love you, little mister. 

You're growing up exactly right. I'm excited to see who you become. I could go on for pages and pages about the things I want for you. (I'll condense: I want Jesus to draw your heart to himself.) But for now? My attention is pretty consumed with who you are right now and how much I love this amazing little person.