Dear Little One

**Originally written on December 29, 2011…. the day we found out about Slade. I found it the other day in my Drafts folder, and realized I never posted it. Better late than never… right? PS. I totally cried when I found it. **

Dear Little One,

We’ve prayed for you. We’ve waited for you. We knew, from the first few months of Zoe’s life, that there was a perfect timing for you to join our family… and that somehow, we would just know. About a month ago I started thinking about you all the time. Your daddy and I were laying in bed one night and I whispered, “I think I’m pregnant”. He asked how I knew and I said, “I don’t know. It’s just a knowing. My thoughts are towards this child, and I can’t seem to stop thinking about my second baby.” That was a good enough response for him, and since that moment we’ve just waited for the test to confirm what was already in our hearts.

That conversation took place mere days after you were conceived.

The tests didn’t confirm it until 6 weeks later.

Today has been filled with unspeakable excitement. The limbo of waiting for you to come has ceased, you’re coming! Now, I just have to wait a few months until I get to hold you in my arms. Just typing those words to you fills my heart with gladness. You see, there is nothing quite like the first time that we meet. When the months of waiting, the months of praying, the months of preparing are finally met with the moment you take your first breath, the moment of the first “hello”. Already, it feels like August is an eternity away, and yet, I know it will be here before I can blink.

We went out to celebrate you tonight. Zoe bought a “Big Sister” sweater so that she can tell the rest of the family over the weekend. Zoe is already excited and she doesn’t even know why. Do you know what I love? Neither one of you will have a single memory where the other person doesn’t exist. I love that. I have that with my sisters, and it’s a wonderful thing. Every memory that I have of my childhood has your Aunt Jess in it. You’re a lucky kid, big sisters are a wonderful thing to have. You have a built in best friend who will laugh with you, play with you, dream with you, get in trouble with you, get in trouble for you, defend you, and throw you under the bus. She will be your secret keeper, your confidant, and your adviser. And, let me tell you, she’s a really cool girl. I’ve never met anybody like her in my life… and I’m completely convinced that you’ll love her.

Is it wrong to tell you that I already have a special fondness for you because you’re #2? You have my spot in the family. It’s a wonderful, and sometimes tricky, place to be. But, know this, you have been placed in this family, at this time, in this position for a reason. God is knitting you together in my belly, and he’s creating in you a uniqueness that can’t be replicated. You are already perfect, every square inch {or centimeter} of you is precise and crafted with love. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for blessing this family with your presence. We aren’t complete without you.

I love you to the moon,
Mom