Dedication, Part 2

My big headed 6 year old boy...

Tj was born on a quiet Sunday in a freestanding birth center... his birth was attended only by my husband and our midwives. That day it felt as if the entire world had stopped in arrival for our sweet baby. He was named Thomas for my grandfather who passed away when I was young. I remember once after he was born having a dream that I was showing TJ to my Morfar.. I know he would have been proud of his namesake.

As a baby, T was always fairly laid back. He was a big chunky baby with large brown eyes. At 6 mos old old he weighed over 20 lbs... he was content to sit back and wasn't in a rush to walk, saving that until he was 14 months old. That set the stage for what kind of boy he would be.

Today, he is still pretty laid back... sometimes this manifests itself in "laziness". We will say, "TJ pick up your shoes", to which he will reply " Why do I have to do EVERYTHING?!?!". Dramatic, much? He is very sensitive and is the type of child who thrives on physical contact, always wanting a hug or to lie by Mommy and rub my feet. When I had my homebirth with his sister, TJ spent time at my feet during transition doing just that.... gently stroking the tops of my feet, quietly soothing and relaxing me.

He has a love of Spongebob Square Pants, something I will never, ever understand. He loves to be read to at night before bed, though without fail when it comes to actual bedtime we often experience tantrums of all sorts. He is discovering helping Mommy cook in the kitchen, which fills him with enormous pride when he exclaims to the family about how HE made the garlic bread. Funny enough, one of his favorite things to wear is "army clothes".. meaning anything with camouflage on it. At the age of 2 my Mom had bought him a pair of camo sweatpants which he fell in love with. We haven't been able to shake it since.

Next month he turns 7 years old... it is unbelievable how time flies by. Soon he will more interested in talking to girls than snuggling up with Mommy.. or will want to take off to the movie theater, rather than stay home eating "munchies" while watching a video. Where does the time go??