Son Up To Son Down : And then he was one!

Here we are on the eve of my baby Jack's first birthday! ...I remember very vividly the afternoon almost three years ago when I wrote a 'first birthday' letter to my firstborn, Quinn. Now, I'm about to embark on the same journey to try and recall all my very special memories for Jack. This is so bittersweet for me! I love watching the boys grow (amazingly, before my eyes). But when I realize, from time to time, how quickly time is going by, it's a little bittersweet!

I continue to recall how I felt last year at this time! I was now nine days overdue with Jack, yet, I didn't feel too terribly big or uncomfortable. It didn't seem that I could be that far overdue. I had had another doctor appointment the day prior. The doctor told me she would be in the hospital on Wednesday, January 11th, and wanted to schedule my induction date. I told her, that unless she felt it necessary, I would wait it out until I got to the 42 week pregnancy mark. I wanted to allow this sweet baby of mine to take all the time he needed to grow and get stronger! I had a stress test and an ultrasound. Both went like clockwork and everything measured just how it was supposed to. I settled in for another five days of pregnancy. How surprised I was, Jack, when I received a voicemail from Doctor Koss letting me know there 'may' be some mecodium in your amniotic fluid and that an induction was necessary for your health. My heart skipped a couple beats I'm sure! If it was 'medically' necessary, I had no problem getting an induction date on the calender! Now it seemed real, that soon I would be having my baby!

A year ago today, on 1/10/12, it was 50 degrees outside and Quinn and I walked to the park that was far from our house. I wanted to walk as much as I could, thinking, somehow I'm sure this will help with my labor tomorrow! I was nervous, anxious, excited and happy! I relished my day with Quinn. I recall he wanted to 'help' walk Tucker, so, not quite two, I allowed him to hold the leash. A couple steps down the street and Tucker mistook Quinn for a fire hydrant! ...I remember thinking how surreal it felt, that in one days time, I would have a baby in my arms! Jack, I knew without a doubt, that you were a boy! The second I found out I was pregnant, I knew I would have two wonderful, special sons. It came as no surprise, only confirmation when the doctor held Jack up, right after he was born and said, 'It's definitely a boy!'

Dear Jack,

This year has been such a delight with you in it! Oh, how you 'fit' in, just right! Your spunk, that sparkle in your eyes when you smile and laugh, the mischievous way you are, you do keep your mommy and daddy's life busy! I have learned a lot with having two children, two children of the same gender. I am learning not to compare. Although I'm sure I'll have to continue to remind myself not to do this through the years, I already realize what a completely different child you are than Quinn. And I'm happy for that. I know I'll have to rethink how I approach you, teach you, discipline you, care for you. The things/techniques that work for Quinn, do not work for you all the time! I'm learning how flexible I have to be when parenting two completely different children. I'm so glad for this, because my life is not boring at all, Jack! That's what I mean when I tell you that you keep your parent's very busy!

Jack, you are such a little snuggler with me, and I love that about you! You are most content in the early mornings when you wake up, and I bring you into bed to sleep beside me for the last couple hours of the very early morning. You are also a very silly little boy, always quick to laugh or offer a smile! You are already keeping your mom, dad and big brother Quinn, laughing around the supper table. I love watching you do something silly, than laugh at yourself, I'll look over and see that you have dad and Quinn laughing right along with you! You also love to throw things! ...Kiddo, you have quite the arm on you too! I can hand you anything, balls, books, cars, you name it, Jack's gonna throw it!

Jack, I say this is the kindest of ways, but you are my fiesty little fellow! When you are in your highchair and I don't feed you fast enough, or the kind of food you think you should have, you tend to get quite upset with me! It's not unusual for you to move your entire highchair (it's on wheels), all over the kitchen...flinging yourself every which way until you get what you want. You also scream, yell and grunt. Oh boy, you are noisy at times! Someone very recently told me that the second child needs to be loud and vocal, as mom is usually preoccupied with the older child. I suppose that's probably true, and you just want mommy's attention, too!

My sweet little, feisty, snuggling Jack! I am so glad you are in our family. You have been such a fun little guy to get to know. I know your big brother Quinn now considers you his best buddy.

...It's not unusual for Quinn to ask us (mom and dad) every night before bed, 'is Jack sleeping in my room with me tonight?' We respond: 'Yes, Quinn. This is Jack's room too!' Quinn: 'I like Jack sleeping in my room with me!'

...On Saturday mornings when mom and dad aren't as early risers as you and big brother Quinn, it's also not uncommon for Quinn to keep you entertained for close to an hour, throwing stuffed animals and toys into your crib to keep you happy, playing peek a boo with you (as you roar with laughter), and also singing songs to you to keep you happy. When Quinn is playing with you, he is also quite prompt in letting mommy or daddy know when 'Jack has a poppy diaper, change him please!' Quinn has recently added the title 'Jack's bodyguard' to his resume, as he is forever taking care of you when we're out and about, making sure no one messes with his little brudder, Jack. This, makes the crazziness of having two kiddos in less than two years worth EVERY SINGLE challenge. Jack, we are so glad to have you in our family, we are so glad to have you as our sweet son! You keep our lives fun and full of adventure! Happy first birthday, Jackers!

Love,
Mommy

For fun, I just tracked down the letter I wrote for Quinn's first birthday, back in February, 2011.

Dear Quinn,

Somehow you are already a big one year old! Smiling, playing, exploring, destructing, putting back together, moving, shaking, dancing, babbling, and bringing joy in to our lives daily!

Every parent says the time goes so fast in their baby’s first year of life. It sure does! There were many days in the last 12 months when I would get you after a nap and would swear you grew an inch in the two hours you were sleeping! I had a hard time keeping up with all your accomplishments and finding the time to grab your baby book from your bookshelf to record all the new things you were learning and doing! Now I also understand why so many baby books end up incomplete, as babies grow too fast for mamas to keep up! The most exciting part of parenting you is watching your very own personality grow and become more and more apparent. It’s like being able to glimpse into the future and get a little taste of what type of little boy you will become as you grow older. I love what I see – I love who YOU are.

I have many wonderful years under my belt. I have lived a great life so far and am excited for my future, and I can honestly say this past year with having added you to our family have been the very best year! You hear everyone has their ‘glory’ days, a time in their lives that they enjoyed so deeply and miss when they are gone. I know many people say their high school days were their ‘glory’ days. I believe I am presently living my glory days! I believe being a mom to YOU and a wife to your daddy is my glory days!

That’s not to say it’s all been easy, Mr.! When you were just born and your daddy came home from work around suppertime you would cry and cry… from around 5:30 and into the evening you would just cry… Luckily for me, I got to see your more content disposition during the morning and afternoon. Your poor daddy only knew the Quinn who cried! … Daddy and I muddled our way through those sleepless, overwhelming early days in your life. We didn’t know if it would ever get easier! We wondered how parents could ever handle more than one child! We learned more and more about each other and become closer in our new family of three. Slowly we eased out of those sleep deprived days and started getting the hang of it! My arms got stronger and stronger, so that holding you constantly and lugging your baby car seat and diaper bag everywhere became second nature! The thought of going to the grocery store with you didn’t worry me as much as time went on. I started to let go of the worry that you would start screaming at the top of your lungs during church or in the middle of the line at Target and everyone would be staring at me! …It got easier. We got to know one another, you and me. Daddy and I started seeing big smiles and hear your little baby giggles and it gave us the confidence that we were doing a good job!

You have amazed us with your ability to move around so much from the very beginning! When I think back to your life during the first year, I will remember with great fondness your activity level! Quinn, you were always moving! Turning over, grabbing for things, army crawling to be by Tucker when you were five months old, crawling shortly after, pulling yourself up in your crib and cruising around furniture all day every day until finally, at nine months old you felt brave enough to let go of the coffee table and just walk on your own! You haven’t slowed down since! … You love holding your hockey stick and walking around the house! Sometimes when I cuddle with you, the hockey stick cannot be pried from your little chubby hands and I cuddle with your hockey stick, too! You love playing in ‘your’ Tupperware drawer in the kitchen. You like the bright colored bowls and you carry them over to the bench in the kitchen and stack them in a line! You love then going into our living room and grabbing little blocks or leggos and bringing those into the kitchen to place in the bowls. You are so busy and look so determined and I often wonder what is going on in that head of yours! I think you are doing experiments to learn how the world works!

I cannot leave out your social nature! One day in particular comes to mind when I think of how social you are. Grandma Jan and I took you to Panera Bread for breakfast and we choose a table close to the big window overlooking the parking lot. You loved looking out the window and getting so animated when people would walk by! You would wave and smile and we felt like our table was the official greeter table for Panera Bread! They should have paid us! You are the same when you are in your cart at the grocery store, or when we go to church, or when we visit great grandma Sophie at the nursing home and all the old ladies just love on you with their big smiles or sweet words! You love visiting your grandma and grandpa Sattler out in the country and seeing their dog, Jack! You love all your aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas and friends.

And Tucker! After mommy and you have been out and about running errands you get so excited when we run downstairs together to let Tuck out of his kennel! When you are busy playing in the kitchen and spy Tucker lounging in his dog bed you take a moment out of your busy playing to toddle over to him, dive into his bed with him, and snuggle for a minute or two!