To Jack on His Third Birthday

Jack,
You are my first born child that your father and I tried so hard to have. It took us a frustrating 2 years from when we first decided we were ready to have a baby to actually have you. Mommy was so happy when she saw the word "pregnant" on her pregnancy test that she couldn't wait to tell your father (who was out of town at the time) the good news. The night that you were born, they whisked you away to the NICU and Mommy had to go to the Maternity ICU, but on the way they wheeled me by to see you and you were so big and so beautiful. Mommy was so frustrated because they wouldn't let me hold you until the next day when I was finally released from the ICU. Even though they kept you so far away, Mommy shuffled her way down to see you every chance she got. I was devastated when they told me that I was going home but you had to stay one more night in the hospital. It was so hard to go home without you, but Mommy and Daddy got up bright and early the next day to come and take you home. When you finally arrived home Mommy and Daddy had set up a bassinet for you to sleep in our room. I'll admit that I didn't sleep much because I was always getting up to check to make sure that you were breathing and OK.
You were the best baby. You slept when you were supposed to sleep, you ate when you were su pposed to eat, you hardly ever fussed and you always knew how to make us laugh. You have grown so quickly from a baby, to a quiet, cautious toddler, to a preschooler that could give the Supernanny a run for her money.
You have so many good qualities that even when you are at your worst we still love you so much it brings tears to our eyes. On your second birthday I remember putting you to bed, rocking you back and forth and singing your bedtime song and tears sprung to my eyes as I thought, " This is one of the last nights that we have to ourselves like this, with you as my only baby." Soon a new brother would be arriving and you would have to share us with him. I didn't want to leave your room that night. I just wanted to watch you sleep and enjoy alone time with my first born as long as I could. Five days later Drew was born and you took it in stride, visiting Mommy in the hospital and not once fussing about having to go home without Mommy. Then we came home and you showered your baby brother with love and always wanted to hold him in your lap.
Not to say that you didn't have trouble adjusting, there was the biting stage and you became an expert on how to serve a "time out" on the steps. You learned the word "No" and used it every chance you got. You pushed your limits everyday until Mommy wanted to pull her hair out and scream, but all of the cute things you did outweighed these trying times in your Mommy and Daddy's hearts. We loved listening to you begin to speak sentences and learn the alphabet in record time, count to 20, and play sports in the backyard. We can't believe how much you have learned this past year and how much you have grown. We've watched our baby grow into a little boy who is most times polite, has a great sense of humor, and has a great love of the outdoors and trucks. Oh the trucks. If you could have a million trucks you would and you would know exactly which ones were missing and which ones were broken. You carry your trucks around in your Lightning McQueen backpack so that you can get them up and down the stairs all at once. You love to lay on the kitchen and bathroom floors and play and sometimes you even let your brother join in.
You are kind to others and seem to genuinely worry about your friends well-being and you love to share your toys with them. On your third birthday, you weren't as excited about the presents you were sure to receive as you were the cake. All you talked about was the cake and how it would have three candles on it. You blew out all three candles on the first try and I'm sure you got your wish. Your Daddy and I got ours too :)