To Maverick on Your FIRST Birthday!

Your first photo!

Dear Maverick,

In the blink of an eye a year has flown by and today you are ONE!

One year ago I was heading to work, and I decided to stop by the doctor's office on my way to the office because I thought I might be in labor.  You weren't due for another two weeks, but I had a feeling you were excited to enter the world!  Sure enough, our awesome doctor said "Let's go have a baby!" And off to the hospital we went!  Just a few hours later you were born, and daddy's eyes lit up when he announced "It's a boy! Another boy! We have two boys!!"

We named you Maverick Kai; Maverick, which means independent, and Kai, which means ocean -- an homage to your Great Mimi and Great Granddaddy, both SCUBA instructors, who introduced me to a love of everything under the sea!  That's why for your first birthday we had a shark party!

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Little Braveheart.

You sure do live up to your name, Maverick.  You're fiercely independent, and truly a wild man.  You are happy, smart, STRONG, and brave -- never afraid to take a step out into the unknown, even if it means you might end up with a bump or a bruise along the way.

At one you are a talking and walking machine!  Your first word was "mama," but quickly after that you said, "dada," "baseball," "hi," "bye," and SO much more!  You learned a lot of sign language from your brother, and you like to make sure your opinion is known.  You started walking a few weeks ago, and you went from taking just a few steps to running in no time.

These are your favorite things:

1. Baseball.  Like your big brother, this has been a favorite since day one.  You really like to bat!
2. Airplanes.  You went on your first airplane ride to Grand Cayman, and I've never seen someone become SO excited to see an airplane -- I think everyone in the airport heard you every time you saw a plane!
3. Stuffed animals.  You love to play with stuffed animals in your crib (when you should be napping), and you like making all of the animal sounds when you play with them!
4. Ryker.  Since the moment you laid eyes on Ryker (and he on you), you two have been best buddies.  You like to wrestle him, give him lots of kisses, and make him LAUGH.  I love seeing you two together.

Maverick, you have opened our eyes to a whole new world, and everything you do is miraculous.  You make things look easy, but I know your brain is working hard every day to make the connections it needs to make you move!  Like your brother, you are a constant reminder of how awesome God's creation of LIFE is.

Happy birthday to you, Maverick, I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for you!

You are my FAVORITE one year old in the WHOLE world!

Love,

​Mama

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Maverick Kai Steen | September 5, 2017