My First Birthday Wish

Two-month-old me modeling my C:W onesie. See more here.

Tomorrow’s a pretty big day. Or so I hear.

Turns out, people like to celebrate whenever somebody lives for 365 days in a row. It also turns out that I’m 365 days old on Friday, so tomorrow’s my first birthday! Woo hoo! Now truthfully, I’m not entirely sure why I’m “woo-hooing,” other than I know it means I get to have some friends over, get hugged and kissed a ton by family, and try out this thing called a birthday cake. (My cousin Hudson says it’s amazing, so I’m pretty stoked!)

What’s even cooler is that, because I’m adopted, we get to celebrate the day after my birthday too — what Mom and Dad call my “Gotcha Day.” I guess it’s the day I legally became a part of their family. (Except my Dad tells me all the time that I’ve been a part of the family long before that day…only God had a few pieces to put in place first.)

So yeah, one year in the books.

I’d say it’s been a pretty great year. I got to travel a lot—hit up 11 states actually. Met lots of new people—many of whom cried the first time they saw me, but tears of joy I’m told. (Not like mine.) I also figured out how to crawl…until I got bored and started the walking thing a couple months later. I learned that Dad takes lots o’ photos—of me and of weird stuff. And I found out that if you shake your head and move your hips when a song comes on, the crowd around you goes wild. So yeah, I think it’s safe to say it’s been the best year I’ve ever had!

Oh, and I also learned that you get to make a wish on your birthday. And even though I heard from my friends that you’re not supposed to share your wish with others, I think this one’s just too important to keep to myself. So here goes.

I wish that other kids in other countries would live 365 days…again…and again…and again.

And I wish you would help them today by donating just $1 to Charity:Water. Just $1 because I’m just one year old, but also just $1 because that small amount can go a long way in helping other kids fight off things like diarrhea and dysentery. They need a better water supply, sanitation and hygiene. They’re getting sick, and they’re dying without it.

We kids need to stick together. We’re your future, right? I think we all deserve clean water! Thanks for reading my first blog post ever. I’m sure Dad will ask me to write some more soon. Until then, thanks for making my birthday wish come true!