February 13, 2022
To my Rainbow Baby, Henry,
You are one year old! How can that be?! It seems like yesterday, you were the teeny 6 pound 13 ounce baby that was swimming in his going home outfit as we left the hospital, sleep deprived and awestruck that they were actually going to let us take you home and be in charge of keeping you alive. Now a whole year has passed, and you are our solid, silly, wild thing!! We’ve just wrapped up your birthday weekend, and we’ve shared so much laughter and celebration with friends and family. So before your first year officially comes to a close, Momma wants to reminisce on this past month.
You have finally gotten the hang of hands-and-knees crawling, and you are motoring all over the house. You pull to standing on anything you can reach and cruise over anything that is in your path, but your favorite is walking around the house with someone’s help. You are practically running, and just today, you started getting brave enough to walk around the house holding on with only one hand! You are also getting more balance, and will let go of things to stand independently for a few seconds. We know at any moment you will take that first unassisted step, and then a whole new chapter of wildness will begin!
You have become quite the chatter box! You love to hear all the different sounds your voice can make, and you are constantly saying, “mamamama,” “dadadada,” and “babababa.” You’ve even been doing “baby,” but none of them have attached to an object yet. We can tell you’ll be getting an official first word soon; we’re just waiting to see which one sticks!
We got a whole bunch of snow here this month, and you got to have your first snow days with Momma. It was such a wonderful bonus to get some extra time at home with you, especially since Momma has been busy at work with conferences and talent show preparations. Momma and Gammaw took you outside in the snow for the first time, but you weren’t really impressed. You for sure did not want to stand in it, and when I sat you down, you sort of just stared around for a while and didn’t really want to touch it. We were only out there for a few minutes, but you made it pretty apparent that you were done! It wouldn’t surprise me, though, if never year you are raging around out there!
We went to see Justine for your one year pictures. She did your newborn pictures a year ago, so it was fun to see her again now that you are much bigger! You were so serious and stoic the whole time; it was so funny! Usually we can’t get you to sit still, and singing “The Wheels on the Bus” or playing peek-a-boo gets a smile and deep belly laughs out of you. But during your pictures, you looked at Momma and Gammaw like they were crazy, sat super still, and didn’t want to pull to standing on anything! Justine still got some awesome pictures of you, and it will be a funny memory for years to come. You truly have such a complex personality that has so much from both Momma and Daddy. I love seeing all the different sides of it!
Preparations for your birthday party kept Momma and Gammaw busy for the last few weeks. We did a Where the Wild Things Are theme, with lots of jungle-inspired decorations and gold crowns galore. We had so much fun making banners, a centerpiece, picture displays, and a balloon arch. The day of your party was wonderful. We just had a small group of friends and family who were able to make it, but the day was filled with so much love for you! You wore your Max costume and looked absolutely adorable, you gobbled down your barbeque lunch and had a blast smashing and devouring your cake, and then you opened some presents before we said goodbye. Then you and Daddy had a crash-nap before we did some more presents with just Gammaw and Pup Pup. We think you had a combination of a belly ache and more teething pains, because sleep the night after the party was a real struggle, but by Sunday, you were ready to get caught up and took an epic nap in the afternoon. Birthdays sure are hard work, but we loved every second of celebrating with you.
And so your first year is over! I still cannot believe it. As you grow and get even busier, I know that even monthly letters will be a stretch now, so my hope is to keep up the tradition of writing you a letter after every birthday. So my prayer for you for this next year is that you keep growing and learning right before our eyes. That you will walk and talk and run and play and do all the things that little boys do. That you will be healthy and safe and happy. That you will know you are loved so much- by Momma and Daddy; all your grandparents, aunts, uncle and family; and most of all, God. And that when I write you a letter again next year, that you will still be my silly wild things when you are two years old!
Love, Mommy
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