12 years

I'm a little late. But so were you. You had to be forced into the world. And we weren't quite sure what to with you when you got here.
You threw us for a loop at the very beginning. By the time you were four weeks old, you had transformed me into the 'Mama Bear' I am today.
You taught us to be strong advocates for you and your brothers. Pyloric Stenosis. That was scary. Pneumonia. Every scarier. They made the occasional bouts with croup seem like sniffly nose.
You convinced me to quit work and just stay home. It was a choice to keep you healthy and to watch you grow.

And boy you grew. I feel like it was just yesterday that you learned to walk. How did you get so big already?

From the get go, you were always the funniest thing we'd ever known. You have brought us so much laughter. Kid, you are a hoot. You have always been our entertainment.
It was because of you that we started homeschooling in the first place. We just wanted the best for you.
You were patient and you taught us how to be good parents.

And we can't even claim credit for your level of awesome-ness. I don't think we had anything to do with it. We just got lucky. You're so smart. You're creative. You work hard without prodding. You're kind. You're polite. You're the best big brother that any kid could ask for.
I'm so impressed at with the young man that you're turning into. I'm proud of you and I'm proud to call you my son. I don't what I did to deserve such a great kid. But I am thankful.

We have such great faith in you. We know you'll be able to do anything you ever want too. You'll approach every new thing in your way....with hard work, sweetness, determination, creativity, and a good bit of humor.
I don't know what your future holds. You have your own plans and we will do all we can to help you all that you want out of life.
Our first born.....
may you always be content. May you always seek to learn. And may you always love.