Happy First Birthday Owen!

Last year on this day at 8:47 pm my life changed. It was a wonderful change, one that can be brought about only by the birth of a child. One year ago today my second son Owen was born. I am blessed to have him. As I celebrate him today and thank God for giving him to me, I am also a little bit sad as I think of our angel baby. Owen's twin did not make it to celebrate this day with us and that is hard.

Owen,

There really are no words (or maybe there are just a while lot of them) to begin to describe my love for you. Your arrival truly completed our family, and certainly completed me. For the past year, through all of the ups and downs, you have added happiness, smiles and endless love to every single day. I have loved watching you grow. Every milestone you reach has given me endless joy. Seeing you smile, roll over, sit up, babble, and walk has been priceless. I have been through this type of joy before with you big brother, and I can say for certain that it is just as wonderful the second time around and love truly does multiply. Speaking of that big brother of yours, one of my favorite things to watch lately is your interaction with him. Seeing the love that you and Carter have for each other, watching you cuddle or play or chase each other is extremely heartwarming and rewarding.

You are a fighter. You are my tiger, my strong Little Man. You have been through more this year than any baby should have to endure. One of the things that I love most about you is that through it all you have been so happy. Always having a smile on your face and bringing smiles to those around you. I don't want you to hurt and I wish you didn't have to fight, but I'm so thankful that you did. I also know that you will continue to fight and that the future holds great things for you. I can't wait to see what those things are. Most of all I want you to know that I promise to always be right there beside you, fighting along with you. You are lucky to have a wonderful Daddy and a great big brother who will be there for you also.

I love you Owen, thank you for being the one and only you. I hope that your second year is even happier than your first.