to the father of my child(ren)

"[My father] didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. - Clarence B. Kelland

I met you as a stranger nearly five years ago and since then have watched you bloom from stranger to friend to boyfriend to fiancé to husband and finally to father.

Everything about you is special to me. I have always known you to be a wonderful confidant, a hard worker, a sports enthusiast, a brilliant musician, a wordsmith, and a person who makes me laugh. It is a pleasure to stand by your side and be introduced as your wife. It is with great pride that I talk about you and all you have done for my family, for yours, for me, and for yourself. It is with great satisfaction that after singing the entirety of Bohemian Rhapsody in a Borat voice at karaoke, you come over and kiss me. Not all those other cute Utah girls who always say the right things and actually wear pants- but me. It is with humble gratitude that after a long day of work and school that you still come home and offer to help me with the things I need. 

Three months ago you encouraged me and cheered me on as I brought our tiny baby into this world. He arrived blue and squishy and gasping for breath and suddenly we were three. Before his birth I constantly worried that our relationship would never be the same; that we would be too tired to eat donuts and watch Jimmy Fallon every night; that we would be too preoccupied with screaming and crying to record music and videos. My time with you was precious to me above all else and I was worried we would never know those sweet moments again. But as our tiny baby took his first breath and roared his little Simba roar, I saw your eyes light up and a smile spread across your face that I will never forget. And I knew that even though we were three, we were still you and me. 

I have watched you grow from stranger to father in five very short years, and while I have loved every aspect of my life with you, my greatest joy is seeing you become daddy. You've figured out how to bounce Milo just the right way to calm him down in an instant. You can get him to burp in a matter of minutes after I have spent seemingly hours patting his back trying to do the same. And don't think I can't hear you humming the Jurassic Park theme to him as you rock him to sleep every night. He will never know the sacrifices you have made and continue to make to be his father yet he will love you and model his life after everything you do. He will look up to you, just as I do, and I can't imagine a better person to look up to. 

Much love,

Catherine Carol