{ my sweet karsyn }

as much of a toot as you were today, i want you to know ...

i LOVE the way you ...

... look to me and dada for guidance. like when you’ve just plowed into the wall and you can’t decide if the bonk to the noggin hurts enough to cry or not, so you read our faces and follow our example (laughter and smiles are usually the way to go!). or whether you’ve just attempted something new, like climbing on the dining room chairs, and you want reassurance that what you’ve just done is a good great thing, which it is, though we’d much prefer the climbing to take place closer to the ground, and on carpet, please.

... glance at me out of the corner of your eye and toss a half smile just after you’ve projectiled your semi-chewed peas into my hair. i hate the yucky, mucky spit part, but that sneaky, "ha! ha!" face you make reveals a deeper, more mature side to your personality and I crave watching each level develop and come to life.

... make your voice heard. whether you’re giggling with dada, squealing with delight or making one of your 10,000 crazy noises, your little voice is the sweetest, most precious sound to ever echo in my ears … and in my heart.

... hug. you wrap your little arms around my neck, bury your head in my chest and squeeze so hard that you make the world stop spinning and, for a moment, it’s just you and me suspended in this special place made only for, and by, your little hugs.

... indulge me and dada on saturday mornings when we plunk you right between us in bed and cuddle you and love on you and breathe you in. you look at me and smile, and grab a wad of my hair in your tiny little hand only to flip over to dada and look at him and smile, repeating the process over and over, flopping around like a fish out of water… it’s your silly way of getting in good face time with both of us.  speaking of face time, next time, leave the eyeballs in place, please!   

... love. you have never met a stranger, never refused to pour on that karsyn charm. you make everyone around you smile and delight in the simple pleasure that is your company. you, just being you, with all of your quirks and crazy characteristics, reminds us all that life is precious and perfect and beautiful, even with all of its little disasters. how could life not be precious and perfect and beautiful when God blesses the world with such amazing little creations like you?

i love you.  i love you.  i love you.  you are my light, my life, my love.