Happy Birthday Big Ben!

Dear Ben,

Yesterday you turned 1! What happened to that tiny premature baby that was in our arms? You are SUCH a big guy now! Ben, you came into our lives under the most challenging of circumstances. I remember feeling quite overwhelmed that I would never be able to give you the attention you deserved while taking care of a child with Cancer and caring for your other siblings. But, into the world you came- a full month early-as a tender reminder that we really aren't in charge in this life, but are graciously given to nonetheless. You are nothing short of a miracle and a gift from Heavenly Father. I honestly believe you were a little "reward" for some of the hardship. You are everything joyful, patient, calm, understated, and blissfull. You are like an answer to a question. Every member of our home relishes in you, Benny. From your chubby little toes to those weepy, but rather large eyes...you have totally STOLEN our hearts. We look forward to every little second we're lucky enough to spend with you. Thank you for being exactly what our family needed, without us even knowing it.

Here are some of your favorites at age 1:

-Books-you are such a book worm...hence the cake. You spend a HUGE amount of time each day perusing books, which I find fascinating. You have a large attention span for such a "little" guy.

-You LOVE to throw your food at meal time-and anyone sitting on your right side is really unfortunate. They end up with a facefull of food. But, you didn't throw one stitch of your birthday cake. You discovered a new love for sugar...oh my.

-You LOVE your siblings. Each one makes you light up. We love your reaction when they walk into the room.

-You love to roll a ball back and forth.

-You love pounding on the piano and will even sing along, but when we pull you away from it, you get ticked.

-You love rain and love being outside.

-You love animals...especially our dog, Annabelle-and feed her fistfulls of food at mealtime...so busted.

-You can say:

dog dog, dada, mama, ahh ohh when something falls, you make a tick tock sound for the clock, you impersonate lizards and giraffes with your tongue sticking out, and make lots more sounds!

-You are the cuddliest baby ever. You love to snuggle up and will just giggle and stare up at us as you cuddle. We A.D.O.R.E. you! Thank you for being in our family. Can't wait to see who you will be as you grow up!

Love,

Mom and Dad