Happy Birthday My Little Man, Tyler

Our precious pride and joy Tyler,

It was six years ago to the day that you arrived on this Earth and into our lives. Your original due date was 8/25 but you decided to stay in utero for nine more days since it was so nice and warm in there. What’s the rush, right?! We couldn’t wait to meet you so every single day that we had to wait is another day of anxiety and restlessness. Not to mention the thought of being a parent, having to take care of someone else besides oneself, is terrifying to say the least.

But we knew we were ready (so we tell ourselves), and you were ready to welcome us into your life as well.

That day was Labor Day (how appropriate huh?!), September 4th, 2000 at 9:10AM, after two hours of excruciating and painful labor (I’ll save you from all the gory details), you came out crying on the top of your lungs. The first thing that I heard, through my own sobbing is that “it’s a boy!” We knew that from the Ultrasound but still, it’s not exactly 100% for certain. But regardless of the gender, you came out with ten toes, ten fingers, healthy and just PERFECT. Here’s what you looked like, the love of our lives, Tyler:

Once you were weighed (holy smokes 8lbs 11oz), measured (21”), and cleaned, the nurse brought you to me and all those childbirth pains and stitches subsided and erased instantly. Mommy melted at the sight of you. We both marveled at your pinkish skin, touched your delicate tiny toes and fingers and we both pressed our noses and lips to your chubby cheeks so we can take in your baby scent. All Mommy wanted to do was to press you close to my heart to feel the tiny beating of yours against mine forever.

There was happiness mixed with apprehension of the road ahead, the road of Parenthood. It’s unknown territory for both of us, your Daddy and me. There is no complete manual for Parenthood, there’s only trial and errors and we silently vowed to protect you, nurture you, love you unconditionally with all our heart, and soul until our last breath on this earth.

Tyler, you have grown into a sensitive, considerate, inquisitive, caring, smart, funny and kind-hearted little man. You have taught your brother to be patient “don’t be frustrated Trent”, you are a peace maker and a negotiator when Trent wanted a toy from you “let’s try this game together Trent.” And when Mommy’s about to be mad of something, you would say “don’t be angry Mommy!” Oh, you had your moments of tantrums and melt downs of course (even us adults have them too), and most of the time, you would come to Mommy afterward and give Mommy the biggest hugs, kisses and Eskimos Kisses (that’s our ritual) to say that “you’re sorry“.

Recently we had a birthday party for you and your Kindergarten classmates here. We suggested that it would be good to donate your friends’ gifts to Boston Children’s Hospital, you didn’t understand why we need to do that but once we explained to you that the children at the hospital are sick, they are away from their family and they don’t have any toys to play with, you replied with the saddest expression and said “that’s sad Mommy and I want to share!” Here you are with a total of 31 gifts from 11 of your very generous friends, some of whom even donated two to three gifts each.

This is one of the many reasons why you are so SPECIAL Tyler. Happy 6th Birthday to you!! May your life be filled with endless love, abundant good health and boundless happiness.

We love you more than life itself, more than the air that we breath, and more than words can ever express.

Your Mommy and Daddy

PS: Don’t let Daddy knows that you know this, but Daddy got all teary-eyed last night when he was watching old videos of when you were born.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 3rd, 2006 at 9:46 pm and is filed under CHILDREN, PARENTING. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.