To My Son...

...on the eve of his first birthday party.

R Wasylyshyn photo

R Wasylyshyn Photo

Well, my sweet son, you are one year old.  Today, I took you to the doctors to get you checked out and Dr. said, ‘my goodness, this year has gone by fast’.  And, sweet baby boy, it sure has.  It is hard to believe that God has blessed us with your presence here on earth for one full year.  The day you were born was one of the scariest days of my life.  I remember feeling myself going into labor in the morning.  I was so scared, I begged your daddy to stay home from work.  The thing was, I had begged him before, so like the boy who cried wolf, Daddy told me I’d be fine, we’d see how I was doing in a few hours.  A few hours later, I was sitting at Busie and Har Har’s house in such pain I thought you were going to force your way into the world too soon.  Turns out, I’m just a weanie.  By the time we got to the hospital, we found out you were on your way but it would be awhile.  We settled in for the night, until I started to get sick.  We called in the nurse and before we knew it, things got a little crazy.  Your heartbeat started to drop, there were lots of people in the room and I was wheeled to surgery to make sure you were born safely and healthy.  When you were born, I was so happy I yelled out loud. I have NEVER been so relieved in my life.  You were brought over to me and just the most perfect little boy.

r wasylyshyn photo

The first thing I noticed about you was your long toes and your long fingers.  You know, one year later, life gets really busy, and I forget to regularly inspect every inch of you.  Just the other day, I was looking at your toes and they are still SO LONG.  Joey, I mean freakishly long. I mean, ‘google in the hospital...are long toes normal on newborns?’ type of long!  But perfect. Oh my gosh, every part of you was and is perfect.  You have the most beautiful skin tone, eyes that are deep and a smile that refuses to stay at just your mouth and instead encompasses your whole face.

r wasylyshyn photo

When we brought you home, I was a bit nervous.  Two babies, recovering from a c-section, and knowing dad was going back to work. I wasn’t sure how our family of four was going to fare.  But oh, my Joseph, people say the Lord knows what he is doing and he certainly knew what he was doing with you.  I have been around babies my whole life and I have never ever met a baby more mild mannered by you.  Completely content to watch the world go by for the first seven years of your life.  More than a few people commented on what a good baby you were.  Where many babies cry and cry during the first few months, you rarely cried.  The recovery from bringing you into the world was tough, so your temperament was essential.  Sweet baby boy, sometimes it’d be easy to take you for granted because you were so content just to be held or placed somewhere comfortably.  I remember telling Har-Har when you were about three months old, ‘I am totally ready to do this again!’.  And Har Har reminding me that, ‘not every baby is like Joseph’.  Remember that smile I told you about?  My gosh, when you started flashing it, hearts melted.  Wanna know something funny though? I can’t seem to catch it on camera ever.  I think, because when taking pictures, you look so intently at the camera, you forget to smile, or you half smile which just ends up being creepy.  But, that might be a good thing.  The strength of your smile is something people get the privilege of knowing when they meet you.

r wasylyshyn photo

It’s not easy being the second child.  I am so excited that you have your older brother to watch out for you, to protect you and to love you.  Today, after your doctor’s appointment, you were cranky.  You received a bunch of shots and had a Band-Aid on your leg.  You started to cry, I think just because it was sore.  Aaron walked up to me, true concern in his face and said, ‘what’s wrong?’ I told him you had a boo-boo.  He went and found you a pacifier, his most prize possession and gave it to me to give to you.  My heart stopped right there for a hot second love. I am so glad you have an older brother to look out for you, who will say ‘what’s wrong?’ when it hurts and hopefully always help you find a solution.  I love to watch you two growing up together and I love to think of you older, hopefully being the best of buddies most of the time.  That being said, there are times when being the second oldest is rough.  Your brother Aaron struggles to know the difference between rough housing and hurting.  Sometimes, he struggles to share and you get frustrated, because you just want to play with him.  We will work on those things together.  And, as lil’ A gets better at it, he will teach you to be good at it for your younger brother.

Your younger brother!  That’s right, mommy and daddy were blessed by God and trusted with another little baby when you were five months old.  Can you believe that?  I sometimes look at you and I am so happy that you get the experience of being an older brother as well as a younger brother. I know people say middle children have it rough, but I think you get the best of both worlds.  A brother to look after you, and then a brother you can look after.  We will work to make sure that each of you feels the love you deserve and that you love each other in a way that makes Jesus proud.  God just keeps pouring blessings on our little family huh?

I want to tell you something, your daddy is in.love. with you.  The way you snuggle on him and offer him your special smile just makes him putty in your hands.  He loves to hold you and to give you kisses.  He LOVES to make you laugh.  Sometimes, when daddy is wrestling with lil’ A, you try to get in on the action. Daddy always makes sure to include you while still protecting you from the unwanted kicks of your big brother.  I know that you made your daddy’s life more full by being brought into this world.  I know that your joy has made him a better man and a better dad and for that, I thank you, sweet son.

Of course, it’d be silly to pretend everything has been all roses this year.  I am sure you have heard by now, but I am trying to make sure I send each of my children to the emergency room before their first birthday.  Your accident was right around the six month mark. I left you on the table, alone, and you used your go-go-gadget arms/fingers to reach out and pull yourself off.  You fell down, there was a lot of blood. I was so upset Joey.  Turns out, you cut your finger almost to the bone. I held you in the car, under a blanket as we drove to the ER. I hung my head in shame as we told the doctors what happened.  And I, of course, laughed a bit as they made you higher than a kite to stitch you up.  I am sorry for that, I am working on being more careful.  And remember how I said for the first seven months you were just the most content baby in the world?  Well, my love, you certainly made yourself known these last five months. I don’t think I have met a baby who will cry as loudly, for as long, when they are not happy with reality.  And sometimes, we don’t even know why. I’d love to tell you I have been patient and loving, remembering that babies do not cry just to annoy you.  But, that’d be a lie.  Lots of times I have been short tempered. I have begged you to stop, I have yelled at you to be quiet, I have cried with daddy about your stubborn and loud pleas!  The great news is baby boy, it seems we have turned a corner.  AND we always had your sweet smile to get us through the rough patches.  Thank you for still snuggling up to me when we have had our bad days.  Thank you for forgiving me with your laughter when I say I am sorry for being hard on your tears. 

Joey Mike, it is hard for me to put into words how much you mean to me and how very different my life is because God has allowed you to be a part of it.  I feel, in a very real way, that you made me a legit parent.  I get tired sometimes, especially with your baby brother cooking in such a high maintenance way…but then, I think ‘I am a mom to three sons’.  Sometimes, when you are playing and I am feeling sick or overwhelmed, I say in a sing-song voice, ‘joey michael’ and you turn up for just a second to let me know you hear me and to flash me one of those stunning smiles, and all this well with the world.

I can’t wait to watch you grow up and I feel so blessed that you are my child.  I hope we are always aware the gift that we have been given from God in our family. I promise I will try to always help you remember who God is and what He has done for us.  I promise to continue to try to be the best mom to you that I can be.  And to give you all the snuggles you need.  I love you so much- and will never EVER stop loving you.

Mom