Dear Santino,

A year ago today, I sat down and wrote a letter to your big brother and right now, I do the same for you. In his letter, I talked about YOU. And how he was going to have a brother and our lives were going to change. And here we are, a year later, and you are coming up on your 1st birthday already! Time flies.

My second baby. My final baby. Oh, my sweet boy, how you have changed our lives.

Currently, you are bouncing away in your bouncer, as I type, wondering why I’m not holding you. I’m sorry! You are so patient as your mommy works at home and you share your time with her computer. You tug on my headphones as I do conference calls and my clients know you by name. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. You are already so smart. You are almost walking. You are eating a lot of new foods. You are smiling and dancing and talking. You are a ball of energy, just like your big brother. You look up to him with eyes that I’ll never stop trying to capture in a photo, because they are priceless.

Mommy had a much easier pregnancy with you, than with your brother. You arrived exactly one day before your due date, at 7 lb., 6 oz, 21 inches long and with a full head of beautiful hair.

You have changed our lives with your arrival and now mommy and daddy say things like “our kids” and “our boys” which makes us feel really old, but also really loved.

We couldn’t have asked for a more precious family. We fiercely love each other every day and we love you more than words (even if you never sleep and are kinda grouchy when you’re hungry, as your brother would say).

Your brother loved you from the very first second he saw you. He is so proud of you. He always makes time to feed you a bottle or play with you or dance with you. He shares his toys with you and the two of you laugh and enjoy being brothers and best friends. You have helped your brother grow, mature and learn about love and friendship.

I never want you to lose that love. Even with your brother gets older and might not want to play with his little brother quite so much, know that he loves you a ton and it’s just a silly phase he’s going through. He is your best friend for life. And he will always look out for you. I want you look out for him, too.

You are not even a year old yet, but you’ve grown and changed so much. We had to cut your hair before your first birthday (sorry, Pap!) because it was getting into your eyes and ears and driving you crazy. But it’s part of your personality and we will cherish these photos forever. Whether your hair is long or short, you’re adorable and wonderful and perfect just the way you are. Never forget that.

I want you to know that just because you were born second, doesn’t mean a thing. Your brother had a lot of time with mommy and daddy before you were born, but now you are getting a lot of attention and your brother is giving up some of his. Since you are so far apart in age, you need a lot of extra care right now and sometimes you make your brother a little jealous.

I want you know a few things and I promise to write you more letters as you get older. But this being just a month shy of your first birthday, here is what I want to say:

You are amazing and loving and caring at such a young age. Never lose that.

Even when you wake me in the middle of the night, or throw food all over me, I still love you more than life and I know I’ll miss those moments when they are gone. 

Thank you for being there for me as your brother went off to kindergarten. If I didn’t have you by my side every morning as I drop him off, my heart might just explode with sadness. My first baby is growing up and my second baby, you are there to help me understand that and give me extra baby hugs and kisses when I need them most. 

I miss you anytime I’m not around you. I love our time together, just me and you. When we talk about our plans and the awesome life you have ahead of you. 

I can’t wait until you can talk and we can really understand each other, although, I feel like we already understand each other right now, using no words at all. 

Below are the same things I wrote to your brother and they are 100% true for you, too:

I cry when I think about you getting older and not needing me as much anymore, because I’ll always need you. 

You will always be one of my best friends.

You will always be the person I wish I could be more like.

I will always hold you, hug you, love you and help you in any stage of your life.

I promise to plan special days for just you and I for the rest of your life.

Santino, your name means ‘the savior’ in Italian and you surely are one. You are our dream come true. You are our second baby, our final baby, the last piece to our family puzzle.

I’m proud to be your Mommy. My son, I love you.