As I put you to bed last night, I had to sit and watch you for a few minutes (and there may have been a few tears roll down my cheek). I wanted to etch everything about the moment in my mind knowing that you, my youngest little one, will wake up tomorrow morning as a one-year old and begin the second year of your life.
The past 365 days have been as much of a new experience for me as they have been for you. I'd done the mama thing with your older brother, but I had never done the mama thing for two kids and let me just say that this year has been both long (we've had so much going on...) and short (how can a year already have gone by since you made your debut?), both easy (I've done the newborn/infant thing once already and had a pretty good idea of how to be a mama) and incredibly hard (ah, but being a mama to two is very different than being a mama to one).
A few things about you, our family, and this past year.
- Your arrival was a surprise. At a month early, I will admit, I was scared. But, you made your debut and have been full speed ahead since.
- The burst of joy and love my heart felt when I heard your first cries at 1:05pm on that Sunday afternoon...
- That infectious smile you have...
- That super cute gap between your two front teeth --- makes me want to kiss your little face off...
- Your love of giving high-fives...
- Your go-with-the-flow personality...unless a car-seat is involved, then you aren't a happy camper --- take you out of the carseat - happy baby. Put you in the carseat - opposite of happy baby.
- Your infatuation with pillows on the floor. All I have to say is, "Ellis, where is your pillow?" and you will walk (yes, you began walking at 11.5 months old) over to it and fall down on it.
- Your nicknames --- there are so many - Ellie, E, Ellie bellie, El-Bell, Jelly (Joseph Ellis), Jellybean
- You have grown so much that I can no longer tell whose clothes are whose, because you and RF can wear a lot of the same sizes.
- Perhaps one of my favorite things is catching a glimpse of your big brother in you. There are moments when you will do something that I am reminded of my early mama days with your brother and it reminds me just how quickly time passes.
- Speaking of your brother - you are enamoured with him. Seriously. You want to do everything he does, play with everything he does, eat/drink everything he does. You cannot get enough of him.
- There is also no one in our family that can make you laugh like RF can and it is the deepest, belly-rumbling laugh known to man. You love, love, love your big brother (and he loves, loves, loves you).
- Your love of Baby Genius - Nursery Rhyme sing-along songs --- you can be two rooms away, but if I turn on 'Ellis's songs", you will make a bee-line for the living room.
- Your love of your sing-along songs have taught you to dance --- and how hilarious it is. You bend your knees a little bit and bounce up and down --- absolutely adorable.
- You are a climber. I have found you on top of the train table, and most recently, on top of the coffee table at Nana's house. Gives me a heart attack, kid --- cool it with all of that dare-devil stuff.
- You love to clap. And you love to take my hands and make me clap. While you clap, you have the biggest grin on your face (as you do most of the time) and it melts my heart.
- I am not 'mama' to you. I am 'mamamamamama'. Not sure why, but hey, we'll go with it.
- Water, water everywhere. You absolutely love the water --- bathtub, sink, waterhose, slip N' slide, pool --- if there's water involved, you are good to go.
- Our evening routine --- probably my favorite thing about you. You see, being the second child I don't get to spend a lot of 1:1 time with you, like I did your brother. But in those night-night moments, you and I are in sync. Just us. The quiet, cool, dark room. Rocking. Singing. Snuggling. Sniffing your freshly bathed baby-shampoo smelling hair. Whispering little sweet things in your ears as you drift off to sleep. And, I will openly admit that I usually rock you/hold you a little longer than I should. I suppose it's my way of keeping you from growing up too quickly and embracing your baby-years.
You, my littlest man, are a joy.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for choosing us to be your family. You have made our family even more complete and perfect than we thought possible.
Happiest of Birthdays to you, Joseph Ellis Hawk.
Mama and Daddy
