Letters to Our Sons | September 2012

To my sweet, sweet Jock,

 A year.  That is how long that we have had you in our lives as of yesterday and what an absolute joy you have been!  I remember so many moments over the past few years, from the time we decided to add to our family, to finding out you were in my belly, to sharing the news with your big brother and to the moment we got to see your sweet face for the first time.  One of the memories I hold most dear to me is the moment your big brother got to see and hold you for the first time.  The pure joy and fascination that was on his face and in his heart all because of you made me realize even more so how important a sibling is….even if they are seven years apart.

 Your personality is pure sunshine and I don’t think I’ve ever known a happier baby that LOVES to get a good laugh out of others by the silly things he does.  One of those moments was the other night when your daddy, brother, granny, papaw and myself were watching you do your “spider monkey” crawl just because we were laughing at how funny and fast you were.  The laughter that filled the room because of your silliness was so infectious, causing even you to erupt into fits of laughter with us.  You love people and do not know a stranger and while I’m certain I will be nervous about this trait of yours in the future, for now, seeing you reach out to others to hold you and then watching you study their face is just intriguing to me.  I would love to know what you are thinking about as you study others and the world around you!

 Probably the one that you study the most is your big brother, Lawyer.  You can be somewhere else in the house and if you hear your brother’s voice, you don’t hesitate to figure out a way to get to wherever he might be.  The love between the two of you makes my heart swell ten sizes each time I see the two of you together.  Your brother BEGS to wake you up in the morning or get you up from your nap, he just can’t get enough of his baby brother.  And likewise, I know that if you could talk right now, you would probably ask to go wherever your big brother goes.  One of my favorite things to watch is how we get home from dropping Lawyer off at school and you immediately try to put Lawyer’s football or baseball clothes on, practice throwing your little stuffed football or even sneak up into his room to just look around and be surrounded by his stuff.  I am beyond blessed to have the both of you and also watch the two of you grow up together.

 My sweet Jock, I pray that you continue to shine your light from within and bring joy everywhere you go.  I continually thank Our God that you have been given to us and I pray that I can be the best mother possible to you and your brother.  While the baby is slowly being replaced by a little boy, I know that I should remember and cherish every minute of every day because one day I will blink and I will no longer have a precious baby to carry around.  He will be replaced by a little boy that will let me hold his hand instead and in turn that little boy will grow up to be a young man that might not be interested in having his mom give him a hug in public and then I’ll have a man before me that hopefully will know that I am here for him, whether it’s to give him my hugs and kisses, hold his hand, give him guidance or just be there.

 Thank you Jock for all of your snuggles, your sweet kisses, and your huge grin as you reach up for me to hold you.  You are so incredibly precious to me.

 I love you,

 Mommy

I recreated the above image (with permission) from my sweet friend, Sara Seeton of Sara Seeton Photography.  She came into our home after those first few days home with Jock and documented our family perfectly.  Below is the image that she captured of Jock and I that is one of my absolute favorite images ever….just my little old man of a newborn and me.

I’m part of a wonderful group of photographers that is joining in a monthly project called “Letters to Our Sons”.  Please follow the link to Megan Cieloha so you can read her letter and see her images for this month.  She will in turn have another photographer for you to follow through to.  I hope you enjoy following along!

Megan Cieloha