A Few of My Favorite Things: Happy Birthday Titus!

On this day, September 19, in the year 2005, I walked into my doctor’s office DETERMINED to have a baby! I was up on the two weeks overdue mark, and no signs of anything happening yet…or so I thought.

I had been having contractions, but my pelvis was TOO SMALL for my baby to be born naturally. He had been trying to be born for almost 4 weeks, actually, but my body wasn’t agreeing with this activity at all. My doctor ended up doing a C-Section on his lunch break, to bring my son into this world!

Now, I used to hold my infant Titus, pinch his little nose, and joke saying nonsense like, “When you are older, I’m gonna let you know just how much trouble you gave me from the start!” And, you know… it’s like he knew what I was saying, and decided to just make it better from there! His first smile was in the back of a church sanctuary, in the pew on his Mawmaw’s lap. We were all excited!

When I wanted him to smile for me…he farted. Yeah…that’s my child!

With each year that passes, Titus grows taller and taller…he started out BIG anyway! 10 pounds and 9 ounces and nearly 22 inches long, he was too big for newborn clothes, and never got to wear the newborn or size 1 shoes! Not my ideal first child’s size…but I wouldn’t have him ANY other way!

Titus has always been the type to do it RIGHT. When he cut teeth, he cut them 5 or 6 at a time. We didn’t have to worry about 5 or more teething sessions. He got it all done in 3! Oh the recollection of sleepless nights (thankfully very few), and a young mama hurting for her baby during this time. Until he bit me, of course. Haha.

At nine years of age Titus is 59.5 inches tall (that’s almost 5 ft *wink*); he wears a men’s size 5.5 shoe; his reddish hair, bright freckles, and sparkling eyes just enhance his already adorable personality! In his nine, short (yet seemingly long at times) years Titus has endured separation and divorce of his parents, moved 5 times, experienced changes in family, gained a stepfather and stepsister, went to 2 different schools and was told he’s “slow” and picked on in both schools, moved to homeschooling (this year), and has excelled greatly through it all! He has never said a bad word about anyone, even those who said bad things to him. Titus and his heart of gold.

Titus has endured several things most boys do, and then a little more… kissing pavement (multiple times), splinters, bruises, cuts, scrapes, blood, pain, but such are the prices of

being a super hero, power ranger, transformer, cop, soldier, scientist, doctor, zombie, monster, dinosaur, ninja, Ninja Turtle, lion, robot, and so many other things that I cannot even cover in the imagination of my child! Most of his markings were laughed off and forgotten in minutes. Some, not so much.

He had an incident last year that landed him in the ER for the first time with an injury. Titus was bitten by a large dog, and nearly lost his thumb and part of his hand. He only cried when the shock wore off at the triage nurse’s desk in the ER. His tears were short lived when his fascination of the repair process grew. Yep…my child. There are some points in time I’d prefer he remain emotional and weepy. LOL! But no. Not Titus. Titus had to watch them mess with his hand, asking questions the whole time! And here I thought I’d be comforting him! Nope! Mama had to walk away and go sit on

the other side of the room while Titus inquired about what they were doing to his hand, every step in the process, making me even queasier with their discussion. Yeah, even now my nerves get all super sensitive at the thought!

But that is just another thing about my child that completely fascinates me to no end!

(Along with his ability to fit in tight places...kinda like his Aunt Nikki)

Titus’ favorite color is green. Why? Because all his favorite things are green. Grass, trees, the mountains in the pictures and paintings, the walls in his bedroom. He loves hiking. He loves fishing. He wants to be a “Police Boss” when he grows up. He loves working with his hands. Science is his favorite subject. He says his favorite subject is Art, which I guess the two are kind of the same. He says they are. Titus loves people. Sometimes he cannot interact as he would like to, but he is very observant, and aware. He captures details at a glance that most people miss looking directly on, in any

given area.

Titus: My son. My heart. My joy. My comfort, even when I don’t realize I am in need of comfort. He picks up on things under the surface, and surprises me often with his depth of understanding. For one so young, he knows so much. His random hugs and smiles, and his unexpected “I Love You’s” warm my heart every time he gives them. There aren’t enough words I could say to describe the love I have for my redheaded freckled big boy! I could blog on, and on, and…on. I am SO BLESSED to have the privilege of being Titus’ mother. I am thankful for every single moment I have with him! And I look forward to every moment we will have hereafter!