Happy Birthday, Quacky!

Dear Andrew (or should we say, “Quacky”?),

Eight years ago we were so very eager to meet our new baby.  We didn’t know if you would be a boy or a girl, so there was a lot of suspense!  Finally, on a dark November night, you were born…and we had a little boy!  Our Andrew.

But before very many days at all had passed, you had another name!  You see, during the months we were waiting for you to arrive, our family and friends brought us many baby gifts.  Since they didn’t know whether our baby would wear blue or pink, they brought yellow --  lots of yellow – so either a baby boy or a baby girl could wear it.  And do you know what cute baby animals are yellow?  Yep.  Ducks.  So pretty much all the sweet little baby clothes that were waiting for you had ducks on them.

One of the little outfits was a white terrycloth pair of pajamas with a (yes, you guessed it!) DUCK on it.  Underneath the duck were written the words “Quack Quack.”  Original, right?

May we mention another thing here?  You cried.  A lot.  For about six weeks solid. 

So, anyway, when Mom would dress you or change you or play with you, you would cry (because that’s sort of all you did for a while there!)  And you would be wearing your little “Quack Quack” outfit, and Mom would say, “Oh, quack, quack, quack, is my little Quacky quacking?” 

Moms say silly things sometimes when they have new babies.

Pretty soon Mom was calling you “Quacky” as much as she called you “Andrew”!  And that’s how you got your nickname.

So, fast forward eight years.  The good news?  You stopped all the crying.  The bad news?  You won’t let us buy you clothes with ducks on them anymore.

We still can’t believe how that tiny little baby we brought home eight years ago has grown and changed.  We are so proud of all that you are and all that you are becoming.  You are your dad’s best buddy.  You are your mom’s heart.  You are your little brother’s hero (even if he doesn’t realize it yet).  You are your little sister’s prince (because, you know, she thinks all the princes are the princesses’ brothers). You are funny and bright and full of promise. We are excited to see what God has in store for your life.

But no matter how big you get or where you go in life, remember this, Andrew:  You will always be our little Quacky.

Love,

Mom and Dad