Dear Zoe,
In the last one year we’ve been guilty of the following –
1. Forgetting to feed you on time. A lot. That you ate whatever we fed you, whenever we fed you, makes you you!
2. Force feeding you earlier or later than when you should be, because we needed to get someplace. That you didn’t mind it, makes you, you!
3. Letting you cry yourself to sleep, through Sleep training, so our life ahead would be a breeze. That you quickly got the point and learnt to sleep by yourself, anywhere and everywhere, makes you you!
4. Made fun of you. A lot. Of the donkey-like braying you do at times, to the insane ‘loca’ like behavior you have now become famous for. That you giggle along and still carry on, not caring a damn, makes you you!
5. Back-slap you hard, sometimes harder than needed, to burp you sooner. That you’re quick to burp followed by a broad knowing smile, makes you you!
6. Wondered if we could leave you at home asleep and go out for the night. Figured it would be ok, since you tuck in early and don’t rise until morning anyway. That you sleep so well that we can even plot such, makes you you!
7. Consciously kept your things to a bare minimum (except of course your expansive book collection) - a few clothes, a few toys, the essentials, with a random splurge here or there on occasion. That you’re happy playing with play-room communal toys and have invented your own tactics to entertain yourself and others, makes you you!
8. Making you dance to music we love as against trying to play “baby” stuff for you, all the time. That you always appreciate music of any kind with your now trademarked shoulder jig, makes you you!
9. Left you crying in your crib, thinking you’ll stop in a jiffy anyway. That you always did really stop in a jiffy, makes you you!
10. Snatched away from your hands, if you ever went to grab a remote control/ phone/ gadget/ laptop and kept you off all of these, so you could appreciate the non-gadgety side of life. That you let the lure of the gadget be so momentary, letting something else easily catch your fancy, makes you you!
11. Say “No No” to you more often than “Yes Yes”! That you just say “No No” back to us and still do what you want anyway, makes you you!
12. Singing out aloud to you, thinking we have great voices and superb rhythm. That you get really amused and giggle galore, playing us right back into thinking we sound great, makes you you!
13. Make ridiculous hair styles and mis-match your accessories, because we think it’s cool. And of course, because we didnt buy you two sets of the same kind. That you don’t care and carry it off in style, makes you you!
14. Leave the house often, with something amiss in your diaper bag. Either your sippy cup/ your dinner/ your milk/ even diapers and wipes. That you patiently hang in that wet diaper without crying or don’t mind eating a late meal, makes you you!
15. Non-ambitiously thinking you’ll do us proud and make a good receptionist someday. That you still have a grin plastered on your face at all times and uninhibitedly yell out “Hiiiiii” to every stranger you meet, makes you you!
16. Hiring someone to do what we could never do – be full time parent/s. That you were ok with it, since you were 8 weeks old and now happily wave ‘goodbye’ to us, each morning, makes you you!
17. Getting you to believe you’re being brought up by a single mom, more often than not, when your dad travels the world on work. That you make it so easy for her and go to bed early, that she pines for you to stay awake just a little bit longer, makes you you!
18. Making you the object of Mommy’s culinary experimentation with baby food. That you make faces, even try to spit it out sometimes, but always empty the bowl at the end of the meal, makes you you!
19. Taking you everywhere we go – bars, restaurants, museums, clubs, dinner parties, brunches, swimming, football, strapped on our backs through 100 deg day hikes, cold strolls through snowstorms (when we’ve forgotten your weather-proof sheet) and all our social events. That you enjoy company too and go from one person to another with ease, makes you you!
For these and many more reasons; some too controversial, others too personal to say out loud, dear little Z, when people congratulate us for doing a good job as your parents, on your first year, we feel the need to tell them to wish you instead of us. Not just a very Happy First Birthday but ‘Congratulations’ and ‘You did it’ to you as well!
You did it Z! You made it through your first year with us as your parents! That makes you you!
We love you! Thank you for loving us right back!
Your keepers,
S & A