Dear Karson

My Dearest Karson,

It has now been a year since you graced us with your presence and life has been one big adventure since June 22, 2013. I wanted you so much. We had this one wonderful little boy and just knew he'd be the best big brother ever. He deserved a sibling and we wanted to give him one.

It took a year. As you know, I can be impatient so it was a hard year for me. I had a plan. Plans change. That is okay. You were worth the wait.

My pregnancy was harder than the first. I was so sick for the first half. My hips hurt so badly that my runs were very short and I had to stop them by 30 weeks. Fortunately, I kept up workouts using the elliptical and yoga and weights. As you know, mommy isn't herself if she can't workout.

You came into this world in true Karson fashion meaning that not only were you not head down but you were footling breech causing me to have a c-section. You initially had to spend time in the NICU but you are strong and pretty adamant about moving along so it wasn't long before the nurses brought you to me for good.

You don't require sleep. I have never seen anything like it but you don't want, need, or like to sleep. Sometimes you don't feel good which makes the sleepless nights really hard on us. But, you are so stinking cute that I forget almost immediately that we are tired. (And I mean really tired. One day you'll have a non-sleeping kid and I will just smile when you whine about how tired you are.)

You are smart and funny and love a good reaction from us. You have bright red hair and big blue eyes. I never dreamed I would have a baby boy with red hair and blue eyes. Sometimes people mistake you for a girl so I try to dress you in "boy" clothes as much as possible. You have the temper that comes with the red hair and you get really mad when we tell you "no" and won't let you pound the glass or stick your fingers where they don't belong.

You LOVE your brother. We knew it. We knew he'd be a great big brother and we were right. He is so good to you and you absolutely adore him. Your whole face smiles when he comes into the room. It. Is. Awesome.

We celebrated your first birthday yesterday. You are walking by yourself (about a dozen steps) and you can feed yourself (it is messy but you do pretty good). You are 100% boy. If you have boys someday then you'll understand.

I love you. Your father loves you. Jackson loves you. You complete our little family and make everyday an adventure.

Happy Birthday itty bitty.

Love,
Mom