Dear Luke,
One year ago, Mommy and I were in the hospital. I remember seeing you for the very first time. You weren't crying yet, and your feet were all purple. Soon you took your first breath, and you didn't take long to start crying after that! I watched as the nurses weighed you, got you cleaned up, and took your footprint. You calmed down when I started talking to you, probably because you recognized my voice. Mommy held you, and sang to you. It was a beautiful moment that I'll never forget.
Over the next couple of days, we had so many visitors at the hospital who wanted to meet you. You were a popular little guy! Friends from church, and family members flooded into the room to get a glimpse of the tiny little guy with bright blonde hair. The nurses kept commenting on how cute you were, and how unusual your blonde hair was.
Being your Dad over the last year has been one of the most meaningful and joyful experiences of my life. I show my co-workers your pictures and videos all the time, and I constantly brag about you. I love to play with you, feed you, talk to you, read you stories, give you a bath every night - it's all such a joy. I can't wait for you to wake up from your naps and in the morning so I can see your cute little face. I am just so proud of you, Luke. I know that God has great plans for you, and I'm so excited that Mommy and I get to be a part of that.
We will have your one-year birthday party this weekend, and there are over 80 people coming! I'm so thankful that God chose for us to be your parents, and for you to grow up in such a loving environment. I've been feeling a little sad that you're not technically a baby anymore, but I'm really excited to hang out with Luke the toddler! He's going to be a lot of fun. Mommy and I will continue to pray that we can be good parents to you. I'm sure we will learn a lot from you as well.
I'm so glad you're in our family, little man. I can't imagine our life without you and the joy that you bring each day.
Love,
Daddy
AGE TWO:
Dear Luke,
Sometimes you'll have nightmares, and I have to go in there to comfort you. I hate that you have the nightmares, but I love the sweet moments that come out of it. I'll come in your room, and you reach for me. I give you a drink of water and sing to you. Then, you'll lay your head down on my shoulder and bury your face in my neck. It's the only time you do it, and it's very special to me. I love being able to comfort you when you're scared. Most of the time I sing a couple of songs, lay you down, and you go right back to sleep. Sometimes, however, you're too scared and I lay down on the floor next to your crib until you fall back asleep - and then I sneak out. On a few occasions I've slept the whole night on the floor because you were having regular night terrors.
Hard to believe, but you are already two years old! It's amazing to think about all of the ways that you have grown and changed over these last couple of years.
On a typical day, I'll come down from stairs on my way to work and you'll be sitting in your high chair eating breakfast with Mommy. You'll often smile and say "Dada!" I'll give you a kiss and say good morning, and when I head out the door to the office you sometimes say "Bye Bye." It's incredible how many words and phrases you know. Lots of days I also get to see you at lunchtime since I work so close to the house. You'll be pushing your little toy grocery cart around, or playing with some other toy on the floor. You're always excited to see me, and it really does warm my heart. I'm so thankful that Mommy is able to stay home with you and take such good care of you. I find myself feeling a little envious sometimes that she gets so much time with you!
After work, I come home and take over for a while so that Mommy can make dinner or take care of other things. You and I will often go upstairs and play together. We'll work on a puzzle, or play with a ball. Sometimes I give you a ride on my back, or I chase you around. I spend a lot of that time on the floor. It's so much fun! You're also quite the scholar when it comes to your letters and numbers. You know ALL the letters of the alphabet, and the numbers up to 10. Very impressive. You can pick them out, and say most of them.
Eventually Mommy will say that dinner's ready and we go downstairs. Speaking of which, you're going up and down the stairs on your own now - though we make sure you're always holding our hand. It's incredible how you used to not be able to walk at all, and now you're going up and down the stairs so confidently. Then, the three of us sit down together. We pray before the meal, and you're starting to learn that it's part of our routine. Sometimes you'll even say "Amen" when it's over.
After dinner, we go back upstairs and I give you a bath. Recently you've really been enjoying bath time because you have so many toys. You really like to fill the cups up with water and dump them out. You like it a lot when I stand up and pour water from one cup above my head all the way down to another cup in the tub. It makes a big splash and you like to watch the water fall all that way.
When your bath is done, we play for a while again upstairs. Sometimes I'll call Nana and Papa or Honey and Grandpa and let them see you on the phone. You like to play jokes on them and say "Nana!" if it's Honey, and "Honey!" if it's Nana. You definitely know their names, so we know you're being funny when you do it. After 15-20 minutes or so, I'll put you in your PJ's, and Mommy and I start your bedtime routine. I've been singing this song lately called "Skinnamarinky Dinky Dink" and you LOVE it. I often sing it when I'm putting you in your PJ's or changing your diaper. Lately you've started singing little parts of it with me, which is really cute.
After your PJ's are on, Mommy helps you pick out a book, and I brush your teeth (which you hate sometimes). Then we sing "Jesus Loves Me" and pray together. After that we lay you down in bed with your bear or another lovey, and you generally fall asleep pretty quickly. Then for the rest of the evening I have the monitor near me, which means I can hear the white noise machine that's playing in your room. It's become a very familiar sound in my life.
Sometimes you'll have nightmares, and I have to go in there to comfort you. I hate that you have the nightmares, but I love the sweet moments that come out of it. I'll come in your room, and you reach for me. I give you a drink of water and sing to you. Then, you'll lay your head down on my shoulder and bury your face in my neck. It's the only time you do it, and it's very special to me. I love being able to comfort you when you're scared. Most of the time I sing a couple of songs, lay you down, and you go right back to sleep. Sometimes, however, you're too scared and I lay down on the floor next to your crib until you fall back asleep - and then I sneak out. On a few occasions I've slept the whole night on the floor because you were having regular night terrors.
Luke, you are such a sweet, funny, intelligent little boy. Your Mommy and I are so thankful for you, and you bring immeasurable joy to our lives. Sometimes I wonder about how much of this time in your life you will remember, and I feel a little sad knowing that you won't remember most of it. Because these are incredibly meaningful times for our family, and there's so much love in our home. But, rest assured that I will never forget these days and the sweet little two year old that you are. I'm so thankful for you, my precious son.
Love,
Daddy
