Sweet little Mika Alex … well, your Daddy wouldn’t call you “little“, in fact his nickname for you (amongst many others) is Fatty He means it with all the love in his heart … for you are one of those deliciously chubby little guys, with hands and feet that look like they’ve been screwed on, like a plastic doll.

Today, Mika-moo, you are one. Well, tomorrow you’ll be one. I’m writing this last night … in the past, if you will BUT, you are one. You have lived a whole year already. In some ways I am relieved to have the “baby” times behind us now, and that you are becoming a mobile little guy, relying less on us to do everything for you. I guess I’m relieved because the first couple of weeks of your life, well, from around 8 to 16 weeks, were pretty darn hard for me. Yip, mommy struggled at the start … it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I should have been a “seasoned professional” after having been a mom once before already, right? Er, not so much.

BUT, here we are … a year later. You’re a happy, healthy (not right now, because of teething, but in general) little guy who has yet to sprout a tooth, but who has already said his first word (“HELLO!” into your hand/a shoe/a banana/a phone/whatever is at hand) and learned to wave goodbye and say “ta ta!”. You dance when music plays and you are SUPER ticklish. You also have the same sense of anticipation that your big brother had when he was a baby too … your Daddy slowly approaches you to give you a kiss or a tickle, and you burst out laughing before he even gets to you. It puts a smile on my face. Every. Single. Time.

You LOVE sitting in the bathroom and unrolling the toilet paper. And then eating it. Yes, you do. You love standing at the Trellidoor in the kitchen, yelling at the dogs and throwing stuff outside. You LOVE bathing. You LOVE strawberries, avo on toast, noodles, tomatoes, olives, Flings and almost any other food placed in front of you. You HATE getting dressed after a bath. You HATE taking medicine or being fed by anyone other than yourself. You ADORE your brother to the point of obsession, which drives him ever so dilly at the moment.

We had your birthday party this past weekend, in our own beautiful garden. It made your Daddy and I so, SO very proud of you and of ourselves. When we had your big brother Luca, three and a half years ago, we started our family. Then you came along and completed us. We are four. We’re a team. (Luca doesn’t love you ALL the time, just yet, but I’m working on him, see?)

Our favourite moments with you and your brother are spent snuggling under the duvet on Mommy and Daddy’s big bed on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Not having to get up and get ready for work on the weekends is amazing … having you and your brother there to snuggle, priceless. I love my work, little guy, don’t get me wrong … those two days every week, when I get to spend every waking moment with you, are precious. They are my treasures. As are you and your big brother, Luca Jack. You two ARE who I am. You ARE who your Daddy is. You are the reason we live and breathe …

HAPPY BIRTHDAY my darling Mika … I’ll love you longer than all the rolls of toilet paper in the world, unrolled and layed end-to-end … you know what I mean

Mommy x