JT

Sometimes I look in the rear view mirror and I can't believe what I see.  No more babies. It goes so fast.

Seven years ago, on Mother's Day, I had a baby.  A sweet baby boy.  We named him JT.  People thought it was weird that we called a baby by his initials, but we loved it.  We actually loved two names, the initial one and the name Everett.  For the first year of JT's life, we thought maybe we made a mistake and every now and then we called him Everett to see how it sounded.  But now I know.  I know JT is perfect for our boy wonder--simple, easy to say, tough, sweet, friendly, someone who could be a poet or a professional athlete.

JT may be one of a few kids with initials for a name, but it fits.  He's the kind of a kid that's one of a few for a lot of things.

He's one of the few kids I know that had an amazing curly, white afro as a toddler.  Not a look that would work for everyone, but it fit.

He's one of the few kids I know that can charm anyone.  I'm not exaggerating.  People love him and that makes me love people.

He's one of the few kids I know that could use chop sticks like a pro on his first try. After his Grandpa came back from China and gave him chopsticks, JT was hooked and wanted to use them for every meal.

He's one of the few kids that is pretty small, but plays with the big boys and isn't phased one bit.  

This is one of my most favorite pictures ever. 

JT is full of joy and happiness.  He dances or skips instead of walks.  

He makes people laugh.  He is a sweet combination of lovable mischief, a silly sense of humor and a kind heart .  

He's both little brother looking up and big brother looking after. 

He's both "hey, let me play, I want to play" and "stop following me, I want to do my own thing."  He's both rule breaker and rule follower.  

JT is a fighter who has fought some tough battles already.  Learning to find the words and then say them clearly took years of therapy.  

And every now and then he says "no one knows what I'm saying sometimes."  He looks sad for a minute, then he smiles and says "but that's okay, you guys know what I'm saying."  And then he runs off to play baseball with his brothers or make believe with his sister.  

He is one of the few kids that feels pretty yucky sometimes because of Celiac disease.  

Since he was diagnosed several years ago, I have only seen him get upset a handful of times because he was left out of snack after the game or cake at the friend's birthday party.  Even then, it was just for a minute, then he smiles and moves on.

JT is our wonder boy full of light, laughter, killer dance moves and mad baseball love. 

Maybe he'd be all that with the name Everett, but I don't think so.  JT fits--he's simple, tough, sweet, friendly, someone who could be a poet or a professional athlete, or anything he wants to be.  And whatever it is, you know he'll be smiling and dancing.

Happy birthday to our boy wonder, JT.

But seriously, how did the last seven years go by so fast?  It seems like just yesterday Lucy was "decorating" baby JT's head with ink.

I made this video for JT's birthday last year and it's still pretty sweet.