Happy Birthday, Jack!

Dear Jack,
Happy first birthday!! I can't believe it was a year ago that I watched your sweet, wide-eyes taking in the world for the first time. A year ago that you and Scout first met, and she held you with a look of awe on her face. A year ago that your amazing parents became a mom and a dad.

My dear nephew, I just want you to know how incredibly loved you are. I honestly can't remember life without you. It seems I've known you much longer than a year. You are a very wise little person, I think. From the start, you've quietly observed things around you, preferring to process them internally before deciding to break into a smile or a laugh. I don't often see you cry; you exude a sense of calm that brings to mind a fat little zen man. You are adventurous, and will eat anything. You love to move around.

Scout takes toys from you a lot, and you are starting to stick up for yourself with a howl or a grab. "Oh, oh, oh!" she'll say. "Baby Jack is freaking out a little bit." Give him his toy back, we say. Soon you'll be walking, and the two of you will be even more of a force.

Someday you might have your own brother or sister, but right now it is just you and Scout, and you are kind of like siblings. I love this. I count on this, in fact. She is teaching you things, and you are teaching her things, too. How to take care of someone. How to share. How to adjust the volume of one's voice in certain circumstances.

At age one, you are a kisser, and will kiss us over and over again. All we have to do is ask. You are especially snuggly with your Mom. The two of you have the same eyes, and it's fun to see you watch each other. Your new game is that she pretends she's sleeping and you kiss her to wake her up. You're just such a wonderful little boy, Jack. Easygoing, and yet definitely your own person. In this, you remind me of your Dad. I think you will be musically talented, like he is.

You are also a clapper, a waver, and a babbler. You love to copy what people are doing, and will clap your hands and put them on your head to mimic Scout. Some of your nicknames are Quackers, Quackers T. Galoshes, Jackie Bear, and Jackie Robinson. We mostly refer to you as Baby Jack, and the joke is that you're going to be Baby Jack well into your teens. But I don't know about that. I can already see the little boy that you're becoming, and though I can still find the baby in your face, I know it's just a matter of time before you're talking and running around and being a kid.

I love you as if you were my very own baby, and I know that this is how your Mom feels about Scout. We are truly lucky that we live close to each other, and spend so much time together. I'm so happy, beautiful boy, to have you in our family.

Happy birthday!

Love,
Aunt Sarah