John Wicks,
You are a whole year old {well, actually 13 months…}. Wow, this year flew by! It’s hard to remember life without our Wicksie/J-Dub/Boo-Boo. How fun it is having you in our family, sweet boy!
I love watching your little personality peek out as you grow and develop. You are so funny! You love to dance by twisting your shoulders, bending your knees, and shaking your little body. You do it almost anytime you hear music, and it’s hilarious.
You are very aware of everything that’s going on, and you don’t want to miss a thing. You do your best to keep up with you brother and get into whatever he’s doing. You are ALL ABOUT some food, and you watch me like a hawk from your high chair as I’m preparing a meal to make sure you don’t miss out on anything I pull from the fridge. You scream at the top of your lungs while I’m washing fruit because you just don’t think you’re going to make it during the one minute it takes me to get the fruit from the sink to your tray. You love cow’s milk and prefer it above juice. I’m glad that you’re such a good eater. You’ll eat just about anything.
You think your brother is hilarious. You mimic every weird sound he makes, and he mimics your dinner table shrieks, which can make for some loud, obnoxious meal times. Learning table manners is a work in progress…for both of you. Your mama is experiencing a wild ride on this boy train! I love seeing you get tickled and hearing that little belly laugh, though.
You love stuffed animals, and you always lean your head down and press your wide open mouth against their soft fur to give them kisses {you give me some pretty sweet kisses too!}. You sleep with “lambie.” You love your paci. I still utilize it a lot because you’re quite the screamer when you get upset {you’ve got a temper!}. When you’re well fed and rested, you’re pretty laid back, though.
You’re a sleeping champion. You sleep 12 hours at night and take a good nap or two each day. Most days you skip your morning nap or just cat-nap on the go, but some days you really need two full naps.
You’re cruising everywhere with your little “mailbox” push toy. I’m amazed at how you can maneuver that thing. You can back it up, turn it around, and always get where you want to go. You are cruising at top speeds, but you haven’t really gotten the confidence to take off on your own yet. You took your first few unassisted steps at your Nonnie and PawPaw’s house a few weeks after your first birthday, but you still mostly crawl unless you have your mailbox or motorcycle push toy.
You are into everything! “Operation destroy the house” could be the name of your mission each day. You pull books and frames off the shelves you can reach, and you splash in the potty if we forget to put the seat down. You love to shred toilet paper and paper napkins. You love my makeup bag and enjoy sitting on the floor with me in front of the full-length mirror {as I attempt to get ready} so that you can pull every single item out of the bag.
You enjoy looking at books and listening to me read. You make a lot of weird sounds, and are starting to say more and more words. You’ve started saying “taint tu” {thank you} every now and then when you receive your food. You were 50th% for weight and height at your 1 year appointment.
{You raise your hands like this when we say, “Do touchdown Wicksie!”}
My earnest prayer is that the Holy Spirit would regenerate your little heart at a young age. I pray that The Lord would move in your heart as He did in mine, enabling you to see and understand the depths of your sin and your desperate need for grace through Christ. I pray that you would respond in repentance in faith. Oh, that you might be captivated by the beauty, majesty, and fulfilling glory of Christ! May he become your ultimate treasure in this life and forever more. I pray that God would shape you into a man of godly character and conduct, and that He would use you to build His Kingdom for the glory of His great name.
I love you so much, my precious second son. I rejoice in the privilege to bear and nurture your little life—to play a small role in God’s grand plan to redeem life in a world cursed by death.
We praise the Lord and celebrate a year of life for you!
Love you forever,
Mama
Gospel-Shaped Womanhood 