It is so awesome and so amazing for me to see that my baby boy has been with us for the past year. We have seen him grow up in a way that no other parent has and yet, at the same time, not seen him grow up like any other parent has.
He has spent half of the year with relatives on his mother's side as my wife and I had had difficulty finding a good caretaker for him. So we had to leave him there for most of the week since we had to work. But there were days in which he would be us and we would laugh and smile and worry and frown and cry over every little yawn, smile, grunt, or cry that he would make. Each movement he made would make us jump in the middle of the night (or morning) just to see if he was ok or if he needed anything. Giving him baths, feeding him, changing his diapers (and sometimes getting peed on), comforting him each time he would cry were some of the real joys that I have experienced as his father, precious moments that I would never ever give up even if it meant waiting a couple of hours before I can have a meal (or sometimes not finishing one), running up and down the stairs just to get his milk or his bib, staying up late to clean his bottles or only having less than a few hours of sleep. My only regret is that I didn't get to do this often enough as unfortunately, there were a few tolls on my body as I did get sick a few times during the year, more out of exhaustion, than anything else. 
This year was probably some of the hardest and most challenging months that I have ever experienced but they were some of the happiest that I have ever experienced. Everytime we had to leave behind, I would tear up or if I hear or see anything that reminds of him, I'd have to step out for awhile coz I would find himself about to cry. Strange for a guy to act this way huh? But yeah, I just want to be with him all the time. Unfortunately, the world gets in the way (plus our own innate need to survive).
I missed a few crucial things in his growth: his first tooth, his first time to crawl, his first solid food but I saw his first smile, I heard him call me papa for the first time. I was the first one to see him in the nursery and I got to choose what he got to wear when he first came out of the hospital. He is such a great boy and I am just so so proud of him.
As he turns 1 year old in a few hours, I just wanna shout out to the world that I love you my son. If there is anything else that you need to know about your father, know this: that I would give anything and everything to see you grow up to be the man that God meant you to be. That I consider you His greatest blessing and the best gift he has ever given.
Happy birthday Neil! God bless you with many more birthdays to come!
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