.grayson turns one.

The moment they laid you on my chest—the very instant you were born—I was in love. All intense pain ended, and in that moment, all I could do was cry and laugh, both at the same time. Your cry was loud and masculine. You just looked and sounded like such a BOY. And you had more hair on your head than any baby boy I had ever seen! That day seemed like just last month. Yet a full year has flown by, right before my eyes.

In this quick year, I’ve learned a lot about who you are, and who you might become. Here are some things we’ve all come to love about you:

-- You are such a GOOFBALL. You do goofy things just to get us to laugh (and we do every time).

--You’re a daddy’s boy. You crawl as fast as you can to the front door every time daddy comes home, while shouting in your boyish voice, “DAHHH!!! Dadda Dadda Dadda!!!” 

--You LOVE—and I mean LOVE—AIRPLANES!! …Just like your daddy. If you hear someone just wisper the word, “airplane” softly, you immediately look upwards to find one, and point.

--You are basically a puppy. Which really cracks me up, for soooo many reasons. But I will say that, as much as Sky has been begging me for a dog for the past couple of years, it is nice that she can pretend you are her pup. :)

--You’re not shy. I just love this about you. You will look at any person and give them the biggest smile. You’ve done this since you first learned to smile, when you were 2 weeks old. Old ladies love you because of it.

--You have the bluest eyes of anyone I have ever seen.

--You love ESPN. When it’s on, you stare at the TV. I hope you are like Uncle Bud in this way.

--You are obsessed with the guitar! We leave it out, so you can strum it. When daddy picks it up and plays it for you, you laugh with excitement just in anticipation of hearing him play.

--You love to dance. And you’ve already got moves.

-- You love to go to sleep in your crib. I just put you in your crib, and you go to sleep. This is still so completely foreign but oh, so wonderful to me and to daddy but we are LOVING this about you!

 --You’re tenderhearted. You love to pat Sky, just to show her affection. You stroke her hair, instead of pulling it.

My prayer for you since the very day that we found out that you were a boy has been that you would be joyful, and that you would grow to know and love the Lord all the days of your life. Mommy and daddy both pray this every day for you. You are such a beautiful blessing to us… and we love you, Beautiful Boy. Happy First Birthday, Gray.