Gabe- One Year

Dear Gabriel Clark,

Today is your first birthday.  Exactly one year ago you came into our lives, and changed it forever.  You have been the brightest ray of sunshine that I have ever known, and I have loved every single day living my life as your mommy.

I remember like it was yesterday the moment when I realized that the cramps I was feeling were the beginning of labor.  I remember feeling excitement and anticipation like I had never felt before.  I wasn't a bit scared about the hours that lay ahead of me- I was overjoyed at the thought that I was finally going to meet my baby.

The final weekly belly shot before you were born!

The moment you were born was like a dream.  It was positively surreal that this being I had grown in my belly for nine months was now a living, breathing boy in the outside world.  When they put you on my chest, it took me a minute to fully comprehend the magnitude of the situation.  Then, I cried the happiest tears I had ever cried.  You and I, in that moment...we belonged to each other.

Those first few months after we brought you home were nothing like I thought they would be.  I imagined that I would feel an extreme exhaustion like I had never known, that I would sluggishly trod through the days, and that I would feel like everything had been turned upside-down.  Instead, I felt the exhilaration of the new life I was leading, the life of a mommy.  Those were very happy days.

As the months continued to pass, I watched in wonder and amazement as you grew and changed and learned all about the world around you.  You smiled.  You rolled over.  You grew teeth.  You laughed.  You tasted solid food.  You crawled.  You played.  You stood on your own two feet.  And just last week, you walked.

Even though you are growing to be a big boy and leaving your infant days behind you, you should know something.  Sweet Gabriel, you will always be my baby.

With all the love that my heart knows,
Mama