Exactly 365 days ago you came into this big world and blessed our family as our second son. We knew within the first 5 minutes of your life that you were different than your brother. I think you cried once in those first couple of minutes, even laying sprawled out on the table, and rarely cried thereafter. I finally had a baby that only cried, when he needed something.
It was almost as if you could see into my soul, right from the start. Like we were still connected in some way, and continued on that way. We did everything together until I went back to work, and you loved it - but so did I. We shopped, we went for walks, we hung out, and you cuddled with me. After Tyler, I think I said 100 times "My next baby will want to rock in the chair with me!", and that is you. To this day, you can cuddle with us just right in the rocking chair, and just hang out. Tyler, on the other hand, was done rocking the second he was done eating. During those moments it's hard to not just melt away. It's just wonderful. Anything frustrating that has happened during the day or the week, just slides off our minds. During those moments, it is just us in the world.
At just under two weeks old you gave us your first official smile, and you haven't stopped. You smile all.the.time! I see you in the morning, and you're smiling - and the last thing before you go to sleep at night, you're smiling. I swear you just light up whenever we walk in the room.
The year has gone so fast, and there are so many things going on at one time sometimes that I miss the basic things you are doing, saying and accomplishing. You started walking a couple of weeks ago, and I think we clapped and said horray, then chased your brother out of the street.
You are also going to be one of the strongest boys ever if you survive your brother. He's tough, but I, for some reason, think you are tougher. You have a quality that is deep within you, that doesn't let little things bother you, like they do your brother. It takes quite a disturbance to get you ruffled, whereas your brother can crumble at just about anything, depending on the day. You will be strong, both mentally and physically, and also have a driving force to accomplish whatever you put your mind to, but only when you're ready.
Your first year wasn't without challenges though. You got your first cough when you were 1 week old, and at 4 weeks old we ended up in the hospital getting chest x-rays because it had not gone away. This continued on and off, and still happens today. At 8 months old you ended up getting tubes finally, after a few horrible ear infections. You have been a different kid since then, and although you continue to fight the viruses that go around daycare, you seem to get stronger every day.
We also learned, the first year, how much a baby can fight sleep. Holy cow, are you a sleep fighter. If you aren't ready to go to sleep, you won't, and can survive on such little sleep sometimes it amazes me. You sleep less than your brother does now, and sometimes, less than us!
It's just amazing how fast the first year goes. You go from completely dependent on us to do everything, to wrestling with your dad and brother on the floor. You will play with your toys for hours now, and just throw them and crawl to them and giggle and laugh. You have such a good time. You also went from nursing every hour and a half, to eating handfuls of lasagna - your favorite!
Happy Birthday Little Guy! The years to come will just be that much more fun!
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