Letter to our ONE year old

Dear Lucy,

You haven't received the same treatment when it comes to letters.  But let me tell you how amazing we think you are.

In the past year, we have found ourselves completely taken aback at the amount of love one child could bring our family.  It was a complete surprise when we found out we were expecting.  Not to Luke of course, he KNEW he was getting a baby.  And when we found out you were a girl, we were completely shocked and had the ultrasound tech double check.  Luke of course was not surprised...not only did he know we were pregnant, he knew you were a girl.

When you were born we couldn't believe that you were the biggest baby yet!  At over 9 pounds, we just were in awe at how big you were!  And your cry!  Oh my gosh!  Best cry ever.  And talk about being laid back, you really were easy going.  I think you knew you were a third child and was just going to have to wait your turn.  And your cheeks - I think they were the chubbiest cheeks I've ever laid eyes on.

We put you in daycare much sooner than your brothers, at only 6 weeks.  I came every day at lunch to check on you and nurse you and cuddle you.  You didn't mind being left and actually became excited every time we'd walk in to school and even more excited when you saw your teachers.  You've really come to love them and we trust them with you.

You finally started crawling right at a year old. Every time we tried to put you on your belly for tummy time you'd lay your head down and just cry.  And when we finally came to pick you up, you growled at us to express your hatred for tummy time.  You definitely have a stubborn streak...I hope it serves you well over the years to come.

You love love love your brothers.  And the feeling is reciprocated.  Luke is awesome at walking you around the house, Owen loves to help feed you your yogurt in the morning for breakfast and you just love any attention they're willing to give.

And you love Baxter.  You constantly say 'Bax' and go off looking for him.  I'm not sure if it's because you want to pull his hair or make sure you keep track of everyone in the family, but it's really sweet.  And he takes it because you constantly drop food from your high chair for him to eat.

You love your bath time.  Splashing and playing with your bath toys can take you from cranky to happy in milliseconds.  Some days it's really hard to get you out because of the great time you're having and your unwillingness to get out.

We are so excited to see you grow this next year, but not to fast sweetie.

We love you!
Mom and Dad