Little Miss,
Well your big day is finally here. Well maybe we should say your second big day is here.
A year ago you made your big appearance and immediately wrapped me around those little fingers of yours.
I’ll admit, I was a little hesitant at first when I found out we were having a girl but all those worries melted away when I first laid eyes on you.
Your brothers however were a bit more cautious. They weren’t sure about this new baby they were seeing in the hospital. But they assumed their big brother roles right away with Hayden being the constant protector and Ian being the gentle caretaker.
Coming home you quickly adapted to the noise and commotion that comes with two two-year old boys in the house. How you learned to sleep through all their craziness is still beyond us – but we’re so thankful you did.
Well mostly.
You slept so good through your brothers’ craziness that seemed to throw off your sleep schedule off. You would wake up in the middle of the night and take several hours to go back to sleep. Either your sleep schedule was off — or you just missed falling asleep to the noise. Even today you tend to sleep better with a noise machine running in your room (I think you get that from your mommy).
After the first few weeks at home, we discovered you followed in your brothers’ footsteps with major reflux and a milk intolerance. Our heart ached for you as we could tell it hurt you so much. We managed to get it under control initially with a cocktail of medicines but you still had a couple bouts of nastiness with it all before we found the perfect mix.
By the time your brothers turned three, you were three months old and we started to see the diva in you come out more and more.
You knew what you wanted and you weren’t afraid to let us know.
You also really started to explore the world around and would get upset when we didn’t keep you right in the center of the action. No matter if you were being held or sitting in your swing, you wanted to be sure you were facing the action to see what would happen next.
You always loved being held snuggled, and as much as every parent dislikes getting up in the middle of the night to feed a baby, I began to really enjoy the snuggle time with you as we would race to see who would fall asleep in the rocking chair first after you finished your bottle. It was also during these late nights that I wrote your special song to sing you to sleep and to calm you down when you were having a rough go of things.
As you’ve grown you continue to amaze us with your smile, your laughter, your personality and your constant desire to be on the go.
As soon as you learned to scoot across the floor on your belly there was no keeping you still. You have always been looking for the next adventure or a corner of a room to explore – this hasn’t changed one bit now that you’ve figured out how to walk throughout the house.
You’re now just as ready to explore behind the couch as you are to climb the step stool in the pantry to see what you can find on the shelves just out of your reach.
You have a way of owning whatever you do but it’s also clearly evident that you love your family dearly and would follow us anywhere.
It thrills me to see you and your brothers play as you follow each other from room to room.
Lately you’ve even begun to seek them out during their nap time – sitting by the door, calling Ian’s name or making your way into Hayden’s room while he’s napping.
My prayer is that the bond between the three of you only grows stronger over time and that family will always close to your heart.
You are so full of life and energy that I can’t wait to see where your journey takes you.
Never loose sight of your curiosity. Always be ready to learn new things – especially from those you meet along the way. Take the time to learn from their stories and lend a hand when you find them hurting.
As you learn about the world we live in, you will likely find that people can be cruel and inhuman at times but don’t let that discourage you or keep you from loving and caring for the hurting (even those who may be causing hurting others in the process).
And always seek the “third-way” of Jesus the peacemaker as you stand up for justice and mercy.
And finally I encourage you to remember the same thing I told your bothers at their age…
Love. Love God, love your family, love your friends and love even those who hurt you.
And build spaces of grace.
Little Miss, I love you to the moon and back. And daddy will never, never, ever stop loving you. NOTHING will ever change that.
Happy birthday to my beautiful daughter! Here’s to so many happy years to come.
– daddy
