Your 1st Christmas Eve

Dear Baby Ryan,
This is your 7th week in this world and your first Christmas Eve.  Yes, it is still a little hard to imagine when the doctors pulled you out of your mother's tummy - you were purple, slimy, quiet, and almost lifeless.....  Tonight is Christmas eve, your uncle Jim, mommy, and I played scrabble, had snacks, and drank wines just like some of those evenings before you were born.  Tonight, you were sitting in your swing with your pacifier, listening to Christmas music, and staring right back at us.....

Ryan, I know that you are leaving in the next three weeks or so to go back to Thailand with your mother but I want you to know that the time that we have spent together changed your uncle Jim and I - forever...  Your uncle Jim has never changed a diaper in his life even though Zoe and Gabe were his first niece and nephew.  Now, not only that uncle Jim is an expert in diaper changing, he is also a well-trained baby-burper, car-seat securer, and sometimes even as your baby mattress.  As for me, not only you are the first baby diaper that I have ever changed, I also embraced the baby squeal that I once can't tolerate.  These days, every time when you cry with your high pitch voice, I just know that if I did something different, you'd be more comfortable and you'd quiet down.  It has become my responsibility to ensure that your needs are met.  And that, is a new concept to me...

As I sipped the last glass of Merlot and listened to Josh Groban with you on my chest, tears almost fell out of my eyes...  What I want for you baby Ryan is the best that there is to have, and I wish you the best for you when you go to Thailand with your mother.  No matter what life throws at you, you'll always have your uncle Jim and I here thinking, missing, and wishing you the best.....  Ryan, thank you for having changed our lives, thank you for only demanded what you needed and not more, and thank you for allowing us to contribute to your life the only way we know how.  Watching you grow day after day is one of the biggest reward in life that I have ever experienced.  Thank you Ryan, and good luck.  We will miss you terribly...

Auntie Anny