Happy Birthday, Caleb
My dearest Caleb,
Four years and few weeks shy of 9 months ago we found out that Mommy was pregnant with you; That we were going to have a little baby, and boy did you rock our little world for the better.
Today, on your 4th birthday, it is very difficult for me to even comprehend what our life was like before you were born, and while it hasn’t always been easy raising you, I cannot (and don’t want to) even fathom what it would be like to live a life without you.
A day without your smile and laughter is no day at all.
Somedays I have to remind myself that you’re still so little, and that you’re still learning every day, but it’s no small feat when I listen to how well you speak and present yourself, or when you come through from the kitchen with a glass of juice you’ve poured yourself, having packed away the juicebox in the same place you found it in the fridge. It feels like just yesterday I was watching you learn to walk on your own, and yet it feels like a lifetime ago that you were wearing nappies and couldn’t wipe your own bum.
It makes me both extremely happy and sad to know that you’re becoming self-dependant, and if the shelves in the pantry weren’t so high, I am sure you wouldn’t even need me to make your Weet-Bix cereal any more.
This morning as you unwrapped your presents and shared your new toys with your brother and cousin, I couldn’t help but feel immensely proud and joy in my heart — a happiness that cannot be synthesized.
You’ve grown up to be such an amazing little boy. You’re kind-hearted and always friendly (don’t worry, we know the little tantrums and cheeky-talk is just a phase) and at four your selflessness is astounding.
Your imagination is something I wish I possessed and it’s something I will continue to encourage.
You have the world at your feet and it’s a world I don’t want to leave.
It’s an honour to be your Dad and an honour to call you my Son. You make me the proudest human on Earth.
Happy 4th Birthday, my boy. Don’t stop being the little person that you are.
All my love,
Dad