“And she loved a little boy very, very much – even more than she loved herself.” -Shel Silverstein

Our baby boy is officially ONE! This last year of life has been such a gift. Having the presence of children in our daily lives brings so much laughter & joy & growing to Noah & I both as people & as parents. It is SO worth it. Adding Sebastian to our tribe has brought us into a better place in life. They say that children are gifts & it is true. Each of our children are gold. They are true treasure. And getting to watch our children grow together as siblings is just a delight. It’s love displayed. We are blessed. That’s for sure.

“What greater aspiration and challenge are there for a mother than the hope of raising a great son or daughter?” -Rose Kennedy

We celebrated Sebastian’s birthday on a sunny Saturday at our home. Noah & I decided on a fiesta theme with llama’s as the center point. I wanted something fun & bright & funky for his special day. So with that, I made adorable invitations (if I do say so myself), got them to our friends, family & neighbors, bought the raddest cactus cupcake toppers on amazon & voila, the party makings began. The week leading up to it I made more decorations & had assistance from my brother when I decided to attempt making traditional Mexican paper flags called papel picado. They took quite a while, but the end result was better than I was hoping for! They turned out great! The morning of the party I had reinforcements help with getting our taco bar ready, chilling the water & infusing it with fresh mint leaves, cucumbers & strawberries, hanging decorations, spreading mexican blankets across our yard, placing llama pinatas around the house & outside for decorations & keeping me calm. Just kidding. But really. Parties are great, but they are a bit stressful when you are a perfectionist like me. I am pleased to say that the party looked perfect & ended up being exactly what I was hoping for.

Our neighbors, friends & family arrived, people ate yummy tacos & raved about the cauliflower, socialized, the kids ran around outside & Sebastian was as content as could be. After eating, we passed out chocolate cupcakes, sang to the birthday boy (whose sisters blew out his candle) & we watched him eat his first “artificial” sweet ever. Thank goodness for boxed cake mix when you are on your third child man. After that, all the kiddos “helped” him open up his presents & then play with them. We now have lots of balls, trucks & books about trucks. That was a new experience for us as far as birthdays go! No princess books this time. After that, everyone was amazing & helped clean up & we then put the birthday boy down for his nap. It was a wrap. SUCH a great party. Such ideal weather, amazing decorations, yummy food, incredibly nice people & SO MUCH LOVE for the birthday boy. I couldn’t have asked for better.

With that, here is your very first birthday letter from me to you, my son.

Dearest Sebastian,

Oh how I love you. You are a dream come true Brother! And I can’t believe that you are ONE! This last year of life with you has been marvelous. It has been an adventure, full of life & laughter & keeping us on our toes. You are sweet, bold, full of joy, smart, funny, strong, kind, attentive, daring, sensitive & really really fun. Watching you grow & thrive & develop more & more into a little person this past year has been a delight. It never ceases to amaze me how beautiful our King is & how intentional & incredible He made life to be starting at the very beginning. I can truly say that I see Him in who you are & in the way you have grown since the day you were born a year ago. What a testament you are Sebastian to the goodness of God! Son, you are a treasure. You make my heart literally feel like it is expanding with radiating love for you inside my chest. I loved you from the second I knew you were growing inside my womb & I love you even more today. Getting to be your Mama is such an honor & delight. You make me into a better person. I love the relationship you have with your sisters; watching you play with them, hearing you talk to them, seeing how you all love each other with such tenderness & fierceness. I know you three could take on the world together because you love each other so well. Your name is so true, you are growing into a honorable protector & so much more than that. I also love seeing you with your Dada. He is the champion of your heart, you admire him & love him. He can calm you down with snuggles when no one else can & he makes you laugh with his whiskered kisses. You love being on his back in the backpack when we go on walks & you love playing “chase” with him while you crawl away as fast as you can. It’s the cutest. I also love the way you are with me. Your mama. I love that you love me with such fierceness. I love playing with you, I love breastfeeding you, I love how you hum & throw your blanket over your head while you’re nursing, I love how you push on everything with your feet, I love that if you could, you’d be in my arms as much as I’d let you. I love that your are like a little otter & love to grab toys & roll onto your back while you play with them, kicking your feet in the air. I love reading books to you, I love speaking blessings over you as I lay you in your crib at night while I caress your sweet head, I love how your “boy-ness” is coming out & the surprises that come with it, I love waking you up in the morning & snuggling with you to start my day. I love getting to be your Mama! Thank you for bringing me such joy. I am truly overwhelmed with gratefulness that you are mine & I am yours. I love you so much Sebastian. Happy 1st Birthday to you!

With all my heart,

Your Mama.

“Son, you will outgrow my lap, but never my heart.” -Unknown

 

Cheers,

Katie.