Dear Jack,
Here we are, sliding into your third year on this world. Where does it all go, My Sweet Baby Little Boy Jack?

Every day I am stunned at just how much of a little boy you are. Who knows how many times I’ve wondered out loud, “Where did you learn that?” You have become quite the little sponge and your parents have to frequently remind each other to “watch their words.” I love our conversations, little glimpses of what the world looks like to a little two year old boy. A world where stuffed caterpillars get read to, superheros have soccer matches and robots dance. I wish I could bottle that world and keep it forever.

The world of motherhood has settled in quite nicely. The moments of sheer panic have drifted away with your infancy and have been replaced with a calm that comes only with time and experience. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when you are acting just the way a two year old should act (crazy and unpredictable) and I find myself daydreaming about going to work but I’ve started to learn the tricks of the trade. A change of scenery, a shifting of attention, a new activity…they work wonders on tantrums! In the end, I love every wonder-filled, exhausting, amazing, emotional day with you and know that in the blink of an eye, it’ll soon be a distant memory.

This next year will be quite exciting for you…at least that’s how I’m hoping you’ll see the arrival of your little brother, Maxwell, sometime in the Spring. I know it may be a bit rough in the beginning but I want for you what I have with my sisters, someone to travel down the road of life with. Sometimes leading, sometimes following, always hand in hand.

The last 12 months have been really tough and the loss we have felt has forever changed our worlds. I find myself torn in two directions every time you reach an important milestone in your life. Of course, I am overjoyed at how amazing you truly are but also a little heartbroken that some very important people in your life weren’t here to see it. Grandpa Gilbert would have gotten the biggest kick out of your soccer tricks and Grandma Brady would have just melted with one of your two-handed kisses. You were lucky to have them in your life, even if for just a brief moment. They will forever be embedded in your spirit, loving and guiding you through out the years of your life.

I love you, Jack.

Mama