Life as we know it....

Dear Matthew -

As I sit here tonight and held you as you went to sleep, I looked at your beautiful face and touched those precious cheeks and I can't help but think back to when I saw your face for the very first time exactly 2 years ago. Your Daddy and I went back through and read our emotions that we felt when we saw your face for the first time. We knew instantly when the call came in from our agency and we looked at your picture that you were our precious son, our very own gift from God. Little did we know at that point that our lives would be ever changing and amazing.

We look at that very first picture of you that we treasured for months just longing to have you in our arms...and we see how much you have changed and how your smile just lights up our hearts every single day. Here are some of just a FEW of the things that we love most about you:
- That you wake up every morning with a smile and wanting to snuggle close to us before getting up for the day
- That you love to run away and giggle as we try to get you dressed and ready for the day
- That you sweetly sign please eat and pull our hands to the refrigerator showing us what you want to eat (and your favorite right now is popsicles!)
- That you get SO excited and do the Mickey Mouse "hot dog dance" every morning as we get ready for work...but you don't do it alone, you come grab our hands and make us do the dancing too!
- That you now wear your sound processor and babble away and make all new sounds in the car on our way to school, we have actually had to say shhhhhh once or twice! Now we just await the words!!!
- That you want me to hug and kiss you and sign I love you before I can leave you at school or daycare....you get sad if you see one of us, and know you aren't coming with us.
- That when I walk in to pick you up at the end of the day, you run right to me and jump in my arms with a huge smile
- That ornery smile you give us with those big brown eyes when you have done something you aren't supposed too....your Daddy and I have to turn away and giggle most of the time!
- That you just LOVE family date nights for grocery shopping or a trip to Target where we all meet together and that your routine includes driving in Daddy's truck on the way home!

Wow, I could go on for hours, Matthew, about all of the things I love about you......every minute that passes, I learn more things about you and more things that I love so very much about you. Every night that I get to hold you in my arms, I soak up that wonderful baby lotion smell and my favorite moment is when I look down at you, smile and tell you I love you, you smile with those perfect little white teeth, and then drift off to sleep.

Seeing your face 2 years ago tonight was the start of the most amazing journey of our lives....we love you dearly Matthew!!!