Dear Casey Happy 11th Birthday. I started blogging because of you. I was a new Mom and had so much I wanted to remember.  Handing you off to the daycare provider when you were 12-weeks-old broke me wide open. I was afraid she would call and tell me I had to come pick you up. You were really fussy. I needed a break so bad. I needed to feel financially secure. We all make sacrifices. You made them at 12-weeks-old, but in my heart, I knew we would be OK, and we are. We are joyful, happy and loving. You love me Casey and I love you. That is all that matters.

Anyhoo, my co-worker told me about this FREE blog (thank you, Ian!) he started one because all of his relatives were back in England. He said I should create one too. He showed me the site and I did it. You can read back on some crazy times little man. I hope what you gather from all of this is that I LOVE YOU something fierce. You made my dreams come true. I wanted you more than anything. I was OVER THE MOON when I found out you were coming. You may not have been an easy baby, but you made me stronger and smarter and kinder.

I want to help you remember who you are at this very moment. Casey, you are smart, artistic and funny. You like to say, "I know!"--but I want you to say, "OK, Mom." You are messy and you love to cook.  You are impatient and that worries me, because I can be really impatient too. If you slowed down and did a darn rough draft, your school work would be so much better. You are smart enough to do a "good enough" job the first go at something. But I want better than good enough. Sometimes you can be mean to Erik. Just be his brother, he doesn't need more parents. You are sensitive and can be a bit anxious and controlling. You want to wrestle. We will figure it out so you can. You love rock climbing right now, we need to help you do that more. You are excelling at Math this year and I am so happy for you. Man, I struggled. You are rocking at it and reading and writing. Fifth grade is awesome right now, you're not really into girls yet. For your birthday you wanted a 3Doodler so bad. You got it.

I want you to be happy, Casey. I want you to be proud of yourself. You are totally unaware of your size. You are taller than most and you wear a 9 1/2 shoe. I think you are going to be really tall, but maybe you'll just have big feet. Stand up for others, honey. Help those that need help. Use your size for good. We need to teach you how to throw a punch. Use your voice. Be sarcastic and funny. Laugh a lot and make eye contact MORE.

I love you, Casey. You are so loved. Return love to everyone you can. That is enough. Be loving.

Happy 11th Birthday, Casey Charles Bruce. Thank you for choosing us to be your parents.