Happy Birthday

It has been an exciting week. Jackson turned one on Wednesday and we celebrated with family on Saturday with the first snow of the year. It is kind of unbelieveable that it has already been a year. Time has really flown by! However, it has been such a great year!

When my brother and I were little, my mom had a little tradition of waking us up on our birthday with the Happy Birthday song and a picture with our eyes just slightly open. I want to carry that tradition so I made sure to take a picture of Jackson. However, he was already awake when I went into his room but the sleep was still fresh in his eyes! :)

We had a great day. I took the day off to spend with him. We were able to get his birthday pictures made and Grandma and Nana came over that evening to spend some time with him and he was able to open some gifts!

Another tradition that I wanted to begin was to write him a letter for each birthday. It will definately be a special addition to his scrapbook. So, here goes:

Dear Jackson,
A year has already passed us by! I can’t believe it. Just a year ago today, Daddy and I were anxiously awaiting your arrival. We wanted to meet you and see the little boy that God had given us. This has been a busy year and a year full of learning. Not just for you, but for Daddy and me as well.

I think the first few days at home were the hardest to get through. We all were trying to adjust to our new life. On a humorous note, the first night we were home, we couldn't figure out any way to make you stop crying. I think you were just as frustrated with us as we were with the situation. We were all very tired and just wanted to sleep, but you just wanted to cry. Daddy walked out of the room, went to the bathroom, came back in and said "It was so much easier with just the two of us." He was very serious in the moment, but we both just look back on that and laugh. We used to tell everyone that you came out at night. For the first couple of weeks or so is when you decided it was time to stay awake and cry. It was great when you figured out that when it was dark you were supposed to sleep!

We got a very slow start with your feeding schedules. Your doctor was getting a little worried because you were losing some weight instead of gaining. We were able to adjust your milk intake and you finally started gaining weight again. Mommy and Daddy also learned very early on that you wanted to sleep a lot (which may have been some of the reason why you lost some weight in the begining too). It was great because we could sleep too but we did get worried a few times when you didn’t wake up to eat. We made it through though.

It has been fun watching you grow and learn new things – watching you smile for the first time, beginning to eat solid foods, sitting on your own, rolling over, beginning to babble, and of course crawling and then standing with help. Learning your personality has been a joy as well. It still amazes me how much you have been able to take in this first year of your life and how much you have learned.

As we begin to embark on your second year, I am so excited to see what is to come. Daddy and I love you very much and are so blessed to have you in our lives.

Love You Always,
Mommy