To Samuel: Year 1

I have already written 3 letters to Luke, now I can't believe I'm writing my first one to Sam! How he got so big, so fast is a mystery to me.

My sweet baby Samuel,
I have never known a baby that is as loving and stubborn at the same time as you are. You already know exactly what you want, you want it right now (you got that from your mama!), and if you don't get your way, everyone knows about it! But you have the biggest smiles for your favorite people: mommy, daddy, Luke, and your grandparents. You are a complete mama's boy, and I totally love that! You hate to be put down. You always want me to carry you around, which gets kind of tiring, but the fact that you love me so much makes me enjoy you clinging to my legs.

Some of your favorite things right now are your blankie and pacifiers. Giving up pacifiers is not going to be easy, I have a feeling. You also love climbing up and down everything. You love cars and you can already make car noises while you're driving them around. You like to "race" Luke around, you pushing your walker and Luke pulling his suitcase. Or basically doing everything Luke does. I'm pretty sure you like to get into trouble. You know what you're not supposed to do and continue to do it, even after being told no. You loooove being in the bathroom, mostly because you're not supposed to be in there. You love food, but mostly starchy foods (like bread, pancakes and macaroni) and fruit. It's become a challenge to get you to eat meat or veggies. You eat a banana every morning and I think that would be classified as your favorite food! You LOVE to be outside. Anytime you can, you race for a door that's opened.

I hate that you've already had to have surgery. Your tear ducts were blocked, and the in-office procedure didn't work, so you had to go under general anesthesia and get tubes put in. It made me very sad to know that you had to do this, but you were a trooper and did perfectly fine!

You can already say several words. Your favorite phrase is "uh oh" as you purposely drop things on the ground. You can also say "mama," "dada," "nana," (banana), "bye bye."

I am so in love with you, your big blue eyes, the way you love me and snuggle me, and even your stubbornness. I love that you have such a big personality at such a young age. And I pray that God will use you in mighty ways. That you will be a man of God, following his path for you.

Love you,
Mommy