Firsts

September 1, 2010...can September already be here? Can it really be the 1st? As I sit here this morning I am struck by the word, first. The word first evokes specific meaning to everyone but to me I think of it as it relates to a special time or event. This leads to me to my real topic of the day, my first born Emory Abram. I will try to make it through this post without too many tears!

To my sweet baby boy,

Could it be possible that we are approaching your first birthday already? Where has the time gone? I am amazed that although it has gone by fast, it feels like we have a lived a lifetime in this past year. We have experienced so many firsts together as a family. You first day of life, your first night home, first bath, first smile, first Halloween, Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, first time rolling over, sitting up, first foods, first tooth, first road trip, first bottle, first play date, first time crawling, first steps, and the list goes one. This first year has been filled with milestones that I feel so blessed to be able to share with you. It is odd because no one event seems more special than the other, after all there were your first. You have become such an amazing little person in only a year.

I am not sure what the future hold or whether we will add more children to our family but always know you hold a special place in my heart because you are my first. You were the first to grow in my belly, the first I held in my arms. I will never forget the day I found out I was pregnant with you or how I felt seeing you on the sonogram with your Daddy by my side. I had no idea what the expect in the coming months and every week was filled with excitement to see what happened next. I enjoyed being pregnant and the time we shared together. When you were born, I was filled joy, excitement, maybe a little fear, but mostly love. A love that only a mother can feel and describe. As our first hours turned into days, weeks, months, and now almost a year my love for you has only grown. It is odd that although you have only been here a year, I feel like I have known you all of my life. So my sweet boy as I approach your first birthday, I want you to know that I am anxiously awaiting all of your next firsts and will be here to share each one.

I can't end this without giving acknowledgement to the one I loved first. To the one who gave me the most precious gift I have ever known. NK, I love you more than I could have ever imagined. I have shared so many incredible firsts with you, my first real date, my first dozen roses, my first time falling in love, my first puppy, my first home, and all of the other experiences we have shared over our 16 years together.

My first year as a mother has been a wild ride and although every day has not been easy, at the end of the day I have what I have always dreamed of... a family.