Letter to Luke on his 1st birthday

My Sweet Luke,
Today you are one year old.  I cannot believe how fast that year went by, and yet how long ago it seems that you were born.  Oh, it has been quite a year!  You have brought so much sweetness, energy, curiosity and laughter into our home!  Your older brother loves you dearly, and I love to see the wonder and adoration in your eyes as you watch and follow him around, wanting to take part in whatever he is doing.  I love that you are happy by nature, in spite of rough days and nights from earaches, teething, and your desire to not miss anything exciting for something so trivial as sleep!  This birthday marks some happy milestones for you.  Today you took your first steps alone.  You were holding some stacking cups and you thought I was holding on to you, so you walked and were surprised to realize you had done it without help.  This month you have started communicating better with us.  It warms my heart to hear you say "mama" and "dada", "up", and even "woof".  I am delighted when you sign "more" and your daddy and I were giddy when you mimicked the way we signed "I love you".  I don't know how much you understand, but we can feel love just exuding from you.  You have so much love to give.  I smile every time you reach for me to pick you up and you rest your head on my shoulder for a moment.  I love those open mouth "kisses" you bestow, and the morning cuddles that never last long enough!  I'm just tickled to see you asleep under your blanket, holding tightly to your stuffed animal when I come to check on you.  There are so many things you do to give us great joy, and having you in our family means more to us than I can express.  I am still learning what it means to be a mother- a mother of two.  I am so grateful for the things you have taught me about patience, forgiveness, optimism, and God's love.  I am learning more about these things because of you and because of my opportunity to be your mother.  Luke, I love you dearly!  Happy birthday, Lukey- pie.
Love,
Your Momma