I can not believe you are already 12 years old.  As I kissed you this morning and wished you a happy birthday I remember the first time I held you in my arms and the very first words you heard were “I Love You”.  What a difference a year and 10 days was.  Your big brother was only a year and 10 days old.  His birth was an all day marathon event.  I pushed for 4 hours with him.  Your labor and delivery, beginning to end, was 4 hours and I only pushed for 10 minutes.

When G1 was born we didn’t know if he would be our one and only child.  We had been married almost 8 years by time he arrived but he was only 4 months old when we found out you were going to take us from a family of 3 to 4.  In a matter of 375 days we had gone from just your Dad and I to a family of 4.

The next morning, after you were born, was so terrifying, when you began spewing meconium.  They took you to run tests and your Dad, felt confident everything would be fine and had gone home to take a shower.  While he was gone, the nurse walked in and handed you to me and let me hold you for a minute before you were rushed to the NICU.  I couldn’t get ahold of your Dad (because he had fallen asleep before taking his shower-I guess our bed was calling his name).  That first day we were only aloud to go in and touch you, not even hold you and it broke my heart.  We lived at the hospital round the clock for a week while they ran test after test on you.  They wouldn’t let us go in with you when they did the spinal test.  It was so hard to wait, hoping and praying you would be ok through the procedure and that everything would come out OK.  We were there for a week before we were able to bring you home.

You are such a sweet hearted young man.  You think you live in your brother’s shadow but you are one of a kind.  You have such an amazing sense of humor and quick wit, that can make all of us crack up.  You always make sure you give your Mom lots of hugs and kisses.  I love that you come in every morning to give me a kiss and will give me hugs all day long.  You are such a loving and fun brother to your little brother and sister.  You are a great BEST friend to your big brother.

When you were little, you were always climbing the outer edge of the stairs, I just knew I would walk into the kitchen some time and find you on top of the fridge–thankfully that didn’t happen.  I did open the cabinet one day and find you in there.  I wonder what was going through your mind as you heard me calling and looking for you.  From then on, when I couldn’t find you, I knew to look in the cabinet.  You are still amazing at climbing trees.

You have been a wonderful blessing to our family.  I love you with every ounce of my being.  Some girl will be blessed to have you as a husband–she better love her mother-in-law though-hee hee.

Enjoy your last year as a PRE-TEEN.

Mom