March 2, 2012 - Happy Birthday!

Dear Logan,

One year ago today, you changed my life in an instant. Immediately, the only thing that mattered to me was helping to shape yours and that's what we've been doing together (me, you and Mom) for the last 12 months.

There are a couple of quick moments that really stand out to me right now as I write to you. The kind of moments that are unforgettable and indescribable.

The first was a moment of complete joy that took my breath away and essentially made me stop in my tracks - time froze. We were playing in the family room (what you know as your play room) on a Sunday night in December, so Uncle Chris, Grandpa Tom and Grandma were all over. And for the previous couple of days, you were showing us that you were ready to start taking your first steps. Well, on this Sunday night, you really wanted to show off in front of your family. So instead of a couple steps and a dive, you were taking 4 or 5 steps at a time.

I was so proud of you in that moment that the feelings all rushed in at once. It was so awesome, kid!

But the awesome part is this: For the first few months of your life, you were so helpless and so precious. You needed us for absolutely everything. On this Sunday night in December, with you being just nine or so months old, I saw in your eyes that you were ready to be done with that stage. You wanted to change and you went for it! I was so proud of how much you changed mentally that day as much as you did physically. You were so determined, so focused and so happy.

Seeing it happen all at once was absolutely incredible! Since that evening, I can't believe how fast you've been changing. You are so busy and explore everything. All you want to do is learn and move.

The other event I can't help but keep thinking about is when we went Christmas shopping together. Just me and you. It was a rainy Wednesday in December (don't get used to those) and we went to the mall.

When I pulled you out of your car seat and plopped you in your stroller, you sat up straight, put your hands flat on your snack tray and you were just ready to hang out. It was super cute, dude. I was fearing that you wouldn't want to be plopped in your stroller because of how active you had become. But you were just completely content to cruise around with me and help pick out gifts for your Mom.

So now here we are. You are a 1-year old kid now, not a helpless little baby anymore! Obviously I will miss those days forever, they are irreplaceable moments in time and they go by so fast. But each year will be completely different, and I'll be doing my best to reflect on our memories together from the prior year from now on.

This year, your birthday is on a Friday. You were born last year on a Wednesday. Last year on the first Friday in March we were taking you home from the hospital. We had no idea what we were doing when we got you home, and you didn't fit in any clothes. We were kind of freaked out as new parents, but all we knew is that we loved you and we were together - and that's all that mattered!

This year, you've got a 100-plus fever cooking on your birthday, and 2 days in a row at the doctor. I'm anxiously awaiting a report from Mom on how you're doing and we have some fun birthday stuff in store for you tonight and tomorrow!

I'm looking forward to it, and looking forward to the next year!

I love you buddy boy,

Dad