Happy Birthday, A.J.!
Aug. 23rd, 2005 11:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
navygreenToday was A.J.'s birthday! My first 'baby' turned 7 years old today - my, how time has really flown by!
I was so nervous when A.J. was born. I lived with Philip's family in Bridgeport, West Virginia, and we had to wait until the baby (we didn't know yet what the 'it' was) was born to get married so that I could be covered under my parents' insurance. My family had already moved a state away, and it's a nervous thing having your first baby without your mama around. Philip's mom was there, though, and she even came into the delivery room with us.
Before I knew it, it was all over and the doctor had plopped a perfect little person onto my chest. He was quiet the moment they gave him to me, and he was so beautiful. Philip had the biggest 'crocodile' tears streaming down his face as we got our first looks at A.J.
He was so independent, right from the very beginning, even. He didn't want to be held or coddled - he wanted to do it by himself. At 4.5 months old, he'd had enough of being held and touched while feeding, thank you, and he abruptly ended our nursing relationship right then and there. I was so sad, but I moved aside to let him accomplish things on his own. He climbed out of his swing by 5 months old, crawled up stairs by 6.5 months old and walked on his own at just 7.5 months of age. At his 9-month doctor's appointment, I had him RUN over to the doctor... yeah, he was definitely ahead of the game!
He sang his first complete song (his ABC's) at 15 months old, and he wanted NO help with his puzzles. He and the special kitty he picked out and named (Kiki) became the best of friends in his second year, and they were inseparable.
When Jack came along, A.J. was the most diligent big brother. He wanted to help in every way. He helped a little *too* much, in fact - teaching Jack to speak just as well as he himself did. Now it's NEVER quiet in this house!
He headed off to school in his fourth year, and he never looked back. He's got a sensitive spot inside, though, and when his first "girlfriend" broke up with him, it took him 3 weeks to recover. :-( Pretty soon, though, there was another girl stepping in to take her place.
In his fifth year, he grew by leaps and bounds. He still loved playing with Jack better than almost anything else, and the "jokes" he liked to tell started to - finally! - get a little bit funny! The teeth started falling out, and we knew every last bit of "baby" was gone then.
This last year, A.J. changed so much. He became a real "person" now - a person with identifiable needs and desires. He relished his "alone" time now, even though his best bud is still his little brother at times. He reads so well and understands so much now - we're able to have real conversations all the time now. He misses his dad so much, but he's trying so hard to be the "man of the house" - a little too hard, sometimes.
There's so much more in store for my A.J. now, so much that he has the skills and abilities to accomplish this year. He amazes me all the time - the things that he understands and then the things that he doesn't. He's still a kid, but he's growing up so fast.
Happy birthday, A.J.!
I was so nervous when A.J. was born. I lived with Philip's family in Bridgeport, West Virginia, and we had to wait until the baby (we didn't know yet what the 'it' was) was born to get married so that I could be covered under my parents' insurance. My family had already moved a state away, and it's a nervous thing having your first baby without your mama around. Philip's mom was there, though, and she even came into the delivery room with us.
Before I knew it, it was all over and the doctor had plopped a perfect little person onto my chest. He was quiet the moment they gave him to me, and he was so beautiful. Philip had the biggest 'crocodile' tears streaming down his face as we got our first looks at A.J.
He was so independent, right from the very beginning, even. He didn't want to be held or coddled - he wanted to do it by himself. At 4.5 months old, he'd had enough of being held and touched while feeding, thank you, and he abruptly ended our nursing relationship right then and there. I was so sad, but I moved aside to let him accomplish things on his own. He climbed out of his swing by 5 months old, crawled up stairs by 6.5 months old and walked on his own at just 7.5 months of age. At his 9-month doctor's appointment, I had him RUN over to the doctor... yeah, he was definitely ahead of the game!
He sang his first complete song (his ABC's) at 15 months old, and he wanted NO help with his puzzles. He and the special kitty he picked out and named (Kiki) became the best of friends in his second year, and they were inseparable.
When Jack came along, A.J. was the most diligent big brother. He wanted to help in every way. He helped a little *too* much, in fact - teaching Jack to speak just as well as he himself did. Now it's NEVER quiet in this house!
He headed off to school in his fourth year, and he never looked back. He's got a sensitive spot inside, though, and when his first "girlfriend" broke up with him, it took him 3 weeks to recover. :-( Pretty soon, though, there was another girl stepping in to take her place.
In his fifth year, he grew by leaps and bounds. He still loved playing with Jack better than almost anything else, and the "jokes" he liked to tell started to - finally! - get a little bit funny! The teeth started falling out, and we knew every last bit of "baby" was gone then.
This last year, A.J. changed so much. He became a real "person" now - a person with identifiable needs and desires. He relished his "alone" time now, even though his best bud is still his little brother at times. He reads so well and understands so much now - we're able to have real conversations all the time now. He misses his dad so much, but he's trying so hard to be the "man of the house" - a little too hard, sometimes.
There's so much more in store for my A.J. now, so much that he has the skills and abilities to accomplish this year. He amazes me all the time - the things that he understands and then the things that he doesn't. He's still a kid, but he's growing up so fast.
Happy birthday, A.J.!
