Seven months ago to the day, you became a father. I remember when Henry was born, we both looked at him, then at each other, then back at him, and you said, “He’s perfect. He’s absolutely perfect.”

And while my love for our son has no limits and the weight of it is sometimes overwhelming, you must know this: my love for you continues to expand and stretch every day. It’s true that I loved you when we got engaged. And on the day we were married, I loved you even more. And each year after that, I continue to think, “How can I love this man so much?” And though my love for you six years ago was real–very real–I know now that it doesn’t stop growing and changing. Love matures with age. It gets more beautiful. It gets deeper, richer. It gets worn and then polished from disagreements and reconciliations. It’s ever-changing and that’s a good thing.

Watching you embrace fatherhood has been one more way that my love for you has grown. You didn’t have a lot of experience with babies before Henry. And anyway, even if you had had experience, I don’t think any previous experience can prepare someone for their own child. But you jumped in and I jumped in with you and we figured it out together. It’s been a learning curve that we are still winding along, but we’re winding along together.

I’m not a perfect mother and I’m sure you’re not a perfect father either; perfection is impossible to achieve as a human. But I know you’re the best father our son could ever have. Thank you for loving him unconditionally, but maybe even more, thank you for continuing to love me unconditionally. Perhaps one of the best gifts we can ever give our son is our love for each other.

Happy Father’s Day, Kevin. I know I’ll continue to love you more as the years go on, but right now, I’m loving you in the biggest way possible.