To our buddy...

11 months, 29 days old

Dear Buddy,

I've started and stopped this letter a few times, stuck on just what to call you. You are our buddy, our favorite little man, our Bubba, and so much more. While I write this just a few short days before your birthday, I'm amazed at how fast our time with you has been. It's been the best year of our lives. (I'm speaking for Daddy too. He's used to that by now.)

I'm completely amazed how each month keeps getting better and better. I loved you as a newborn but the pride of watching you grow and learn is the most rewarding experience in life. Your first smile, your first roll, your first laugh, your first steps are all painfully ordinary, but somehow extraordinary. Becoming a parent is unlike anything imaginable so thank you for allowing us to live it.

One whole year it's been since you entered our world. In one regard, I think it has been much longer but in another it feels like just yesterday that you rocked our world with your arrival. It's amazing how one date on the calendar can have such a profound impact on a person. Birthdays are always moments to celebrate and I don't think I fully grasped that until I became a parent. The day of your birth will always be something special to us, B, for no other reason than that it brought us you.

The sleepless nights, the crying, the aches and pains pale in comparison to the laughter, light and love you have brought. I will not mourn your babyhood but welcome this new phase of toddlerhood. I can hardly wait.


As we move through life, I have only a few wishes for you:
That you have loyal friendships to last a lifetime, that heartbreaks be minimal, that you explore your world as much as you do right now, but most of all that you always feel our love. It will never fade.



You make our life better. Thank you for changing everything.

Love, Mama