A Letter to My Firstborn

Owen's behavior has changed since we brought Henry home, naturally. He has been argumentative, has had public meltdowns, and has even refused to eat at times.

Fortunately, Owen is still very young and most likely will not remember how badly he has behaved or the number of timeouts we have given him...but that just means he also won't remember all the wonderful things he has done.

And that is why I wrote him this letter - to let him know that he was actually a pretty great kid during a pretty crazy time in our lives.

So here it is - a letter to my firstborn:

Dear Owen,

It's been about 7 weeks since you've gone from being an only child to being a big brother. And although the transition has been challenging for your Daddy and me, I know it's been rough on you too.

You no longer have my undivided attention...

Our mealtimes are almost always interrupted because the baby needs something...

When you need help putting your train tracks together, you're usually put "on hold"...

The moment Daddy gets home, he attends to the baby so that I can finish cooking dinner...

Our day dates have gone from every other day to once a week...

We don't go to Disneyland as much as we used to...

You don't take naps with me anymore...

And other things...

But you know what's so wonderful about you? You have never acted unfavorably towards Henry.

Henry is the first person you want to see the moment you wake up...

And when he's sleeping upstairs and we're downstairs, you spend a majority of your time watching him on the baby monitor. And the moment you see him fussing, you exclaim, "Baby cry!", and immediately rush upstairs to check on him...

And though you usually are a tornado tearing through the house, you are always so calm when Henry joins you for a bath...

And you love showing him all of your toys, even though he's too little to play along...

And when Henry is in his Dockatot while Daddy and I are doing chores around the house, you're constantly checking in on him and giving him so many kisses...

And when we're holding him and talking to him in our ridiculous high-pitched Mom and Dad voices, you happily join in and say, "Hanky Babbbyyy!"

So, despite all the crazy changes you've gone through, you remained our sweet and tender-hearted little boy; and your Daddy and I cannot be more proud of you. Never ever change.

Love always,
Mama & Daddy


Until next time!