my dearest baby finn,
i am already in tears as i'm typing this. i seriously cannot believe you are one year old. it is such a happy occasion, and i am so glad we made it through this past year! i just can't figure out why i keep crying. i think part of me is just so sad to see you grow up so dang fast. the last year has been an absolute joy for me. staying at home with you, watching as you grow and learn and become the boy you are today....i have loved every second of it, and am so proud and honored to call you my son.
i feel like there must be a special place in each mother's heart for her firstborn. afterall, they are the ones who teach her everything about being a mother. it was you who taught me patience and sacrifice. you who brought a whole new meaning to my life. i had always dreamed of being a mom someday, but until i held you in my arms for the first time, i never knew that this kind of love existed. i would give anything for you, i would do anything for you. you mean the whole world to me, and i am so thankful to our heavenly father every single day for allowing me the privilege of being your mom. i am thankful to you for wanting to be a part of our family. even though things can be crazy at times, your dad and i couldn't have dreamed of a more perfect baby boy.
you have such a special something about you finn, i can't even put my finger on it. i just feel like you have a very special and unique spirit, and i know you will be called to do great things in our heavenly father's church and kingdom someday. i hope that as you grow i can do my part to teach you the principles of the gospel, and help lead you along the correct path in life. i hope you will gain your own testimony as a young boy, for you will need it to help you get through all the trials and challenges that this life brings. i hope you will have the desire to serve a full-time mission, and get married and sealed to the love of your life in one of the lord's holy temples one day. i also hope you will have a desire to learn and receive a good education. i hope you will have your father's work-ethic, and desire to provide a suitable life for your future family. i hope you will be a good example to your younger brother and other siblings, for i know that they will look to you as a beacon. i also believe you are the biggest blessing your father will ever receive, and i think you will do great things for him, spiritually speaking.
okay, enough of this mushy business, let's get onto the fun stuff! as in every other month, you learned to do so many new things this past month that it just astounds me. i can't believe how much you grow and change in just one short month.
.....your fifth and sixth teeth popped through (top left and top right). you now have four teeth on top and two on bottom...a little top heavy but i'm sure you'll get some more bottom teeth in no time! for the most part you are still really good when teething, half the time we don't even realize you have a new tooth until it's more than halfway poking through.
you are still a really good eater and will eat most things we give to you. when it comes to actually eating the food, you've become quite silly. if you are eating something pureed or watery, you will just sit there and gargle it. haha it's kinda gross, kinda funny! you also love to babble with a mouthful of food. lol these things are quite cute, considering you're so tiny, but we'll have to teach you some table manners as you get older. ;) when it comes to food, i have to say that you have a major sweet tooth, and it makes me kinda nervous. i'm sure it's normal for babies to like sugar once they've tasted it, but you know exactly what it is and as soon as one little taste of something sweet hits your tongue, you are a goner, and will yell and scream at us until we give you more! most of the time it's pretty funny, but it can get a little obnoxious. haha i'm hoping you'll still like to eat fruits and vegetables as you get older, and not one of those kids who only wants candy and ice cream. ;)
as was stated in a previous post, and probably one of your biggest accomplishments to date, you took your first steps on march 17th. it was just three small steps, but you got braver and braver each day after that and about two weeks later you were full on walking! of all you've learned to do in the past year, this is probably my favorite to watch. there is nothing cuter than seeing your little baby, all grown up, walking around the house like he owns the place. the way your belly sticks way out in front of you, and how you walk a little bit lop-sided with one side of your body farther ahead than the other....these things just melt my heart, they are so incredibly cute!
you saw the first pictures of your baby brother this month! until a couple days ago we didn't know it was a brother, but now we do and we are all thrilled! even though you probably won't know what's going on for a while, i have a feeling you'll grow up to be best friends, and that makes me so happy and excited. :)
you have become more interested in and attached to your blanket and the stuffed animals in your crib. :) at first i used to worry about this, because in all honesty, i don't want you to be that five-year-old boy who has to take his blanky to kindergarten, but it doesn't worry me too much anymore because you don't need it, you just like it. if we are in the car and your blanket is close enough, you will reach for it and kinda snuggle up to it as we are driving...it's adorable. :) same thing in your crib...you reach for it and bring the soft side right up to your face. you also have some stuffed animals in your crib that you used to pay no attention to...sometime you would actually throw them out of the crib haha but this month you've started grabbing them and snuggling up to them when you sleep at night. melt!
as the weather got warmer we started playing outside a bit more, and one of your favorite things to do is to play on the trampoline! you love to crawl around as we chase you from the ground. it's a fun little game we play, and you get the biggest kick out of it! the trampoline scares the crap outta me (pardon my french), but since you haven't tried walking on it yet i still feel comfortable enough playing our little game.
you love, and i mean looooovvvve, bath time. one time we were playing hide and go seek.....you went into the bathroom and crawled into the bathtub, lol! it was the funniest thing ever. mostly your daddy baths you, and you just love to sit in the tub and splash around. i think you could spend hours in there! :)
we have been trying to teach you how to wave for months, and i think you kinda figured it out a while ago, but just in the last couple weeks you have really caught onto waving and now, anytime you hear the words "hi" or "bye" you'll lift your hand and wave. the other morning we were eating breakfast and i said, "baby finn, can you say hi." i was trying to get you to actually say the word "hi," but instead you lifted your hand and started waving! afterall, to you that is hi. it is seriously the cutest thing!!!
you're still not speaking actual english, but you speak your gibberish language all day long and i just love listening to it. sometimes i'll speak back to you in gibberish, and i swear we have conversations because you respond as if you completely understand what i'm saying. ;) it's so cute. i do look forward to hearing actual words come out of your mouth, but in the meantime i'll continue to enjoy your own special finn language. :)
we have had such a good run of it this past year. you make me laugh every single day. you make me smile every single day. you bring tears of joy to my eyes almost every single day. i know that people who read this must think i am just posting the sunny side of our life, but in all reality, being a mom has been all sunny for me. i feel so lucky, because you have been healthy, you are happy, and you are honestly the world's easiest baby. you eat well, you sleep well, you play well. you rarely cry. you're just so easy going and laid back, i couldn't ask for a better baby to spend all my time with. i realize that i am one of the very lucky few, and i am grateful for that. i feel like the transition into motherhood has been very easy for me, and i have you to thank for that. i worry about this next baby, because it seems as if the other foot has to drop at some point. needless to say, i am a bit scared to see how things go with your little brother, because you have set the bar so high.
i love you more than you'll ever know.....to the moon and back x infinity and beyond. you are one of the loves of my life, and every day i think back to april 10, 2011 - the day you were born - and thank my lucky stars you're mine. :)
love,
mom
