Oh Monte, You are SUCH a Miracle Baby!

To: My Dear Little Monte Moo,

It is almost exactly one year since you came roaring out into the world! To say that we all love you, Mr. Moo, is such a huge HUGE understatement!

Gma flew out to see you almost every month of your first nine or ten months! And soon Gpa and I will begin to spend our winters out in Denver, at our new condo. Oh we are going to have soooo much FUN!

I want to tell you what an amazing influence you have had on Gma this year. Almost immediately after you were born last November, I started writing a long novel about my great great grandmother; she had a baby in November of 1870 -- 152 years before you made your entrance. That probably sounds like a very long time, like it happened in ancient history, but when you turn 70, time no longer feels long -- it feels like hey I'm getting closer to 100, maybe 1870 isn't actually "ancient history."

But what is so magical is that your arrival put Gma into motion, time-wise. I also turned 70 last November; the combination of my big birthday and your EVEN BIGGER birth - day was to make me see so completely how time is fluid. I wrote you a letter a year ago in which I "saw" you all grown up, living in the woods of Colorado!

That Saturday you arrived, your Mom and Dad called us about 6:30 in the morning, but that was OK because HEY YOU HAD POPPED OUT NINE DAYS EARLY!

And then they told us your wonderful name, MONTE, the word "mountain" in Italian! And that very same day I got a text from my brother Rich because he and his family had made a trip back to Italy to MONTEREALE, the region of northern Italy where many of your ancestors were born.

Wow, what a coincidence that was, but hey many people say there are absolutely no coincidences!

All I know is that I began to slip back and forth in time. In a matter of a few months, I wrote a 335-page novel about your great great great great grandma, Filomena Scrivano. If and when you're interested, I will send you a letter about her that I wrote to you and your wonderful cousins, Ro and Dani (or little Dee!)

GMA is feeling a lot of nostalgia

about the day you were born, and the months that followed. That's very natural, especially for someone as sensitive and caring as your Mom! You two are amazing together, you laugh and then she laughs and then you laugh harder and on and on.

And you and your Daddy have a very special relationship too. We just LOVE all the really imaginative photos Daddy

has taken of you this year. How lucky you are little guy to have such a wonderful father, I'm so SO happy for you!

Oh yes, we are very very grateful to have a little grandson as special as you are, Monte Moo! I told you that in the first letter I wrote to you a few days after you were born.

And so, we are super excited to watch you continue to grow. You took your first steps when you were only 10 months old (like your great great grandmother Dena, my mother!) And now you are running about the house, pushing and pulling toys, emptying laundry baskets, making puzzles, chewing on books and otherwise playing so so well by yourself.

You are a big personality, following in the footsteps of several of your family members, including of course your mom and dad, and your mom's and dad's parents and grandparents.

Have a fabulous birthday darling Monte. The adventure of your amazing life has just begun! love, Gma