Mother's Day letter to Elijah 2010

Dear Elijah John, my precious boy.

It is my second Mother's Day since you have entered this world! There is so much I thought about telling you. It's hard to put into words. I never really understood what it truly meant when they said being a parent is having your heart walking around outside your body. I do now.

I never thought I would have a little boy of my own, especially not as perfect as you. From the moment I found out you were growing inside me the love I felt grew and grew. You were my little miracle baby! I have never in my life felt an emotion as strong and indescribable as the ones I felt when you entered this world. Your first tiny cry, the way you blinked your eyes, the way it looked when your father first walked over to me with you in his arms, how you snuggled into his chest all safe and warm. Your became our world, the start of our family. You turned out lives around and suddenly everything had a purpose. I will never forget a second of it. It was honestly the best day of my life.

As a infant you continued to amaze me. You were so smart and strong, doing everything ahead of schedule. Too fast actually. It seems like I only held you for a week before you were ready to be independent! You were so happy to sleep in your crib by yourself, I missed the naps together that we shared for the first 2 months. You would lay with your forehead and nose pressed up against my face. I would lay there and breath in your scent, stare at your sleeping face, and kiss your tiny chin. I would just think over and over how lucky I was to have a little angel so tiny and perfect. I would try to think how it was possible to love someone so much more already than you ever loved and know that love was only growing bigger by the second. I have pages and pages of memories from those months written down and could go on and on.

Everyone you met was immediately wrapped around your finger. You have always been so cute and knew it right away! Your charisma was +99 and people couldn't wait to hold, kiss, and play with you. Your beautiful big blue eyes and blonde hair, a smile that could melt any heart, how could they not?

Now that you're a toddler it seems everything flies by so fast. You were 25 pounds and 34" tall at the doctor last month. I am almost afraid to know what you will be when we go back. You grow and grow and grow out of your clothes before you even wear them all! I'm buying you new shoes every week! When you were born they took a foot print and stuck it on a card. The nurse said you were the first baby she ever saw that filled up the whole card! You never could wear newborn shoes! You started at size 2 from birth! Now you are already wearing 7/7.5!

You love to dance. You love ducks and moose. You love Mama, Dada, Da-Duck, Ma-Muck, Gamma, Nee, Beth. You love all your family and friends and are so wonderful at showing it. You give kisses and hugs and full tooth grins. You love to play with Dada and would be happy if we just let you swim in the bath tub all day every day. You talk nonstop and say silly made up things like 'Shukah' and then you turn around and say full clear sentences such as "Baby has milk" or like today when you said "Beth has *woof* *woof*." Barking as loud as you can while you tell us about your doggie cousin, Jake.

You know all your animals (well basic farm, domestic, and some jungle) and can point out their pictures and make their sounds. You can name and point to pretty much any simple object in the house we ask. You can jump, run, sing, high five, climb, and even know how to turn on and off every electronic we own.

EJTP, I could talk about you and how proud of you and how much I love you all day. I DO talk about you all day. But I think I will close this with one more thing. In a favorite book of mine a mother gives her daughter a very special locket with a very special saying engraved on it, "Plus que ma propre vie." In French it means 'More than my own life.'

Never in my life has a saying been more beautiful or more true.

I love you Elijah John, my son, plus que ma propre vie.

This letter was also featured on the Baltimore Sun Newspaper's Charm City Mom's blog.