Happy Birthday Timothy!

When you came to us, with your brother, you were just one year old.  You would not make eye contact with us for more than a second, let me comfort you or feed you your bottle.  Your whole life had been turned upside down.  You were in pain from your staff wounds, confused and you were detoxing drugs.  I did what I could to comfort you.  I let you carry around your bottle and sleep with it like you were used to doing.  We took it very slow.  I had not had a baby in so many years that I just wanted to sit and hold you, comfort you and love on you but you pushed us away.  You needed time.

Very slowly you started to let me feed you your bottle and rock you.  I would  feed you your bottle so you had to look me in the eyes as you ate.  You began to relax.  Not soon after that, you let me start to sing to you as well and liked it.  You began to bond and enjoy being fed and loved on.  You became VERY bonded to me.  Praise God!  Soon you and your brother began to seek out being held by everyone else in the family as well.

You and your brother cried and slept a lot for the first many weeks you were with us but once you had been here for a while, you decided you loved us and we started to work on things you and your brother had never done before, like sit in a high chair for a meal or eat solid food.

To learn to play with toys and have fun!

You had your very own mommy who spent time with you and you were not going to let her out of your sight!  I loved that you choose to be with me constantly for love and comfort.  We both ate it up.  You melt me with your blue/grey eyes and strawberry curls.

For the first time ever, you knew the love of having a daddy and still to this day, get so excited when you hear him come home from work.  You run to the door to get picked up by him.

It took a while but you learned car seats were not for restraining but for going fun places in.

You learned how to behave out in public...

and got to play in the pool a lot.

Carolyn and you became swinging partners, swinging outside together every day that it is nice.

You love having so many brothers and sisters and they love you!

Even with your little quirks and behavioral issues, you are the sweetest, little, loving, guy.

You grew so quickly and lost all that baby chub.  You had a birthday and your first Thanksgiving with us.  You grew a gorgeous head of angel curls that I just could not cut for a long time.

I mean...could you cut this hair?

Adoption day was one of the greatest days of my life!

Well, my sweet boy...You just turned three years old on me! We took you to the aquarium...

And then to Toys R Us to pick out a gift.

One of your favorite shows to watch is Oswald the Octopus.  Aunt "S"  did a great job making your cake!  You were so happy to see him on there! 

Thank you Aunt "S" and Uncle "B" for all you do for us!

Timothy, we love you so much!  You are such a wonderful, loving, son!

1 Corinthians 13:4-8  Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,  Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;  Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;  Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.  Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

Love, Dad, mom, Stephen, Antonio, William, Carolyn, Zeke, Elizabeth, Billy, Kinsley and Baby "A"!