A Decade Old.....

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Tate, Happy Birthday to you!!!

Tate turns 10 today!!!

Hard to believe that my first little baby boy is 10!! I am not sure where the time goes....in my mind it seems like only yesterday that we were sitting in the hospital waiting...and waiting...and waiting for me to progress in labor....we sat there all day with no progress...no contractions, no pain, but definitely no gain either. After a long day and no progress, around 11:00 pm it was decided that we would take our little baby boy by c-section, not knowing what the problem was...Tate was under no distress...but nothing was happening.

At 11:56 pm our little Tate Tyler Peterson was born, our first born son!!

Obviously, being first time parents, we did not know, understand, nor comprehend the amount of love we would have for that little guy. They steal your heart from the moment you see them!! Tate brought immediate joy and love into our home...our world revolved around that little boy...we would do anything for him!!! He was born with dark hair, but soon his hair lightened to a little toe-headed blonde baby boy. Tate was a very happy baby and was very easy. I went back to work 8 weeks after having him and was heartbroken the day I had to leave him.

Tate was a very fun toddler, very easy going, a little spoiled!! But so much fun...he loved being with his cousins!! When he was 18 months old we moved into the apartment in my parents basement to save money for a house. He loved living so close to Grandma Jean...he loved the freedom of walking up the stairs anytime he wanted to visit. When we moved out to our new home, he was so mad, and it took him many weeks to get over the fact that Grandma Jean didn't live upstairs.

When Tate was three and four, he loved to dress-up as a cowboy, with boots, hat, gun, and his stick horse Spirit! He would ride around our house on this horse and we have repaired many dings in the wall from that stick horse!!!

As Tate has gotten older his interests have changed, he has grown out of all those toys he once loved and cherished. Spirit the stick horse, animals, Star Wars figurines, and Rescue Heros. We have now entered the realm of gift cards, money, video games, ipods and cellphones!!

Tate is such a good kid!!! He is so smart, athletic and responsible. Tate is an awesome big brother and loves his little brothers. Tate is also very tender!! He has a very sweet and tender heart and is very thoughtful of everyone around him. Tate is a good friend and is always looking out for those around him.

Tate is a good little athlete that is fun to watch...all of the coaches that he has played for in the past describe Tate as...very intense...tough...never gives up and plays hard!!! He is one little tough dude!!! We can not wait to see where his toughness, intensity and love for life will take this handsome dude!!!

The other night we were at dinner with the boys and our parents for Ty's birthday, and Ty leaned over to me and said, "now Tate is turning 9 right?", I said "NO, Ty, Tate is turning 10!! He was born in 1999, he is 10 not 9." Ty started to cry...I think that sums it up about how we feel about our first born baby boy turning 10!! We can hardly believe it!!

Tate, we love you...we are so proud of the boy you are becoming. We feel so blessed that we get to be your parents and get to be a part of your life. We know that we are not perfect and we know that we mess up as your mom and dad, but we want you to know that we love you and we only want to give you the best and provide you the best experiences that your life has to offer.

We are so happy that you are in our family, and we know we give you a lot responsibilities, but we also know you can handle it all!! You are a strong person and somebody that always wants to do what is right!!

We love you and hope you have a WONDERFUL 10th BIRTHDAY!!!!