Eek! My adorable little cuddle bug…I can’t believe you’re so big now. In this age of digital files and electronic gadgets, I watch video of you and flip through photos when I am away from you, and I think of you as that child, that little toddler captured on my screen. Then I get home. As I climb the stairs, I hear you yelling, “Mommy! I here! Mommy! I here!” I get big hugs or else I get that sly look that says, “I love you, but I’m playing with you and you have to earn or steal a welcome home kiss from me.” I can’t wait. I steal. We both laugh. I watch you run around, compulsively moving objects from one spot to another, ‘helping’ me sew or cook or clean, and all the while talking to me in complete sentences, in full comprehension, and I wonder where my baby has gone!
I think all mothers miss their babies, and I do miss that chubby little bundle of smiles, but I also can’t believe how much I love my child! When we sit in your rocking chair at night and read book after book before snapping off the light to rock in the dark, I am at such peace. When you run back and forth behind me on the couch and then suddenly wrap your arms around me in a huge hug just because you can’t hold it in anymore, I melt. When you sneak up behind your daddy, grab his shoulders, and twist around so that you’re nose to nose and yell, “TOO DA!” I just laugh. When you end up in a time-out on your little chair and sit sobbing patiently until your time is expired, I am in love. When you kneel down and fold your arms and say the prayer yourself, repeating such simple words with such a sweet voice, I find a tear in my eye.
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| Hannah |
Oh my goodness! I can’t believe how much I love my child. Happy Birthday, my Hannah! I cherish you so much and so look forward to your next year, and the year after that, and on and on, building more memories on top of the amazing happiness I am already so grateful for. You are my light and my life, and your daddy and I love you so much!
