happy 1st father’s day, joe!

Joe,

Almost one year ago to the day, you became a father.  On the night that Sam was born- as we were all about to go to sleep- you looked over at me and said, “Jen, he’s so amazing.”  It was love at first sight for you.  Since then, your love and affection for Sam has only deepened, and it has been my joy this past year to watch those feelings become mutual between the two of you…

You are an incredible husband, so I knew that your role as a father would be no different.  You saved my life (and Sam’s!) the first couple weeks after bringing him home from the hospital.  I was so exhausted from labor and delivery and you were there to wake me up and remind me to feed Sam.  Sam is especially grateful for that.

You also woke up every single night to change Sam and rock him back to sleep after he ate.  You also held things together for me when I spilled an entire bottle of pumped breast milk, you reminded me that there was ‘no use crying over spilled milk’- which made me chuckle even through my tears!

I knew that you would be an “involved” dad when I walked out of the bedroom one night to find you holding Sam “Lion King” style up in the air surrounded by a semi-circle of  his stuffed animals.  You jokingly referred to him as our “Samba”.  I was still pretty exhausted after the delivery, so I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.  Looking back, though,  it is probably one of my favorite memories of the two of you.  Maybe one day I will be brave enough to post the picture.

I think one of the greatest joys in my life is watching the two of you together.  I know Sam loves me.  I’m his mom.  However, Sam is in awe of you.  You get a reaction out of him that I never do.  Nothing makes me happier than seeing Sam adore you.  I want our son to grow in his love and admiration of you- it is right and good for a son to want to be with, and emulate, his father- especially when the father is a man like you.

I will never forget the day you came up to me and asked me if you could go ‘wake Sam up from his nap, so he could fall back asleep on you.’  This is the picture I snapped that afternoon and it will always be one of my favorites.

I am deeply thankful that you are so affectionate with Sam.  I think it is invaluable that our son will never know a time in his life when his father didn’t hug him and kiss him and tell him that he is loved.  Thank you for lavishing your love on him.

Thank you for the countless hours of help and support and counsel with raising Sam.  Thank you for waking up early with him most mornings so I can get more rest, thank you for changing hundreds of diapers, thank you for making bottle after bottle, thank you for helping with bath-time and night-time routine, thank you for spending so much of your time and energy playing with, holding, singing to, laughing with, and reading to our son.

Raising a little boy to one day become a humble, courageous, strong, hard-working, teachable, responsible, faithful, dependent, loving, merciful, and respectable man of God feels like an impossible task.  I am thankful to God for his grace towards us in Jesus that makes a responsibility like this one not only possible, but incredibly exciting and hopeful.

I want you to know that there is no one else I would rather raise our son with than you.  Sam and I are rich because you are the man that God has chosen to lead our family.  If Sam could say more than “Da-da”, I’m almost positive he would echo everything I’ve said.

If ever there were two people fit to be father and son, it most definitely would be you and your Sam…

Happy 1st Father’s Day!  We’re crazy about you.