Dear Ryder,
"The days are long, but the years are short..."
I don't think anything could capture this time in our lives more perfectly.
As I look back over the past year, I'm baffled by how quickly it's gone. You have accomplished so much in such a short time!
You have eleventy billion toys, yet you usually prefer to play with other odd things...
Inside your upside down car seat. |
Underneath a bucket that's meant to hold beach toys. |
You took your first real steps on Easter Sunday and never looked back. Once you realized you could walk, you didn't really bother with crawling anymore (not that I blame you). Nana and Papa decided this meant that you were ready for your first pair of real shoes. They promptly took you to the mall for a stylish pair of Sambas. |
We are still struggling with sleep issues, and now it's officially been an entire year since any of us have slept through the night. I'm ready for this stage to end, little |
You get lots of cuddles from Daddy, too. |
I'll really miss the Duck Bath you got from your cousins, but it was time for you to graduate to the Big Boy Bath. You hardly knew what to do with all the space and new bath toys! |
You passed your routine one-year checkup with flying colors! You are 29.72 inches tall (40th percentile) and weigh 21 lb 6 oz (49th percentile). Your head size continues to be in the 99th percentile (obviously because your brain is so big and you're so smart!)
The doctor noted that you are developmentally right on track with walking, throwing balls, high-fiving, clapping, attempting to handle cups and silverware at mealtimes, feeding yourself with your fingers, saying "mama" and "dada" and responding to your name.
You had a big round of immunizations, including measles and chicken pox, which I had been waiting anxiously (measles has been on the rise since you were born). It's so odd to me that children are immunized against chicken pox now. When Daddy and I were kids it was considered kind of a rite of passage! But I'm glad that it's just one more thing I'm able to shield you from in life.
I was super proud of us for making it all the way up as a family -- two miles round trip and you were such a trooper! |
I think you were more tuckered out than Mom and Dad... |
Let's not forget about the main event this month... your first birthday! We celebrated your Cinco de Mayo birthday with a fiesta-themed party at our house. All your favorite people were there including grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and good friends. I may have gone a little overboard with everything, but it's not every day your firstborn child turns one! |
You ended your first year of life the exact same way you started it -- cradled in Mommy's arms. |
It seems like just yesterday I stared in wonder at you for the very first time. |
And I still stare in wonder at you every single day.
The past year has been an incredible adventure, and now that you're in our lives I can't imagine going forward without your chubby little hand clutched firmly in mine.
You are my joy, my world, my everything.
Being your Mommy is the most incredible thing I have ever done. Each new challenge is worth every amazing reward. I can't wait to see what the years ahead hold for us.
Please, don't ever forget the important words that I said to you that very first day when I found out that I was pregnant:
"We wanted you, wished for you, hoped for you... Imagined the joy of loving you. You were loved before you even existed. This is what I hope you will always remember. You are wanted and loved, always."
No one will ever know the strength of my love for you. After all, you're the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside.
He is absolutely adorable and getting so big! It makes me excited to watch our little girl grow up starting in August, but sad at how quick it will go!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful letter! Still can't believe he's 1!!!!! I hope he sleeps through the night soon for you too!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful! And he just gets more and more adorable! :)
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