Who was James?

James was a wonderful little boy who was definitely becoming more boy than baby. And he knew it… He was in a big boy bed, he was beyond crawling up stairs and with a little help would walk up the stairs, he refused to be spoon fed since he was more than capable of using a spoon, fork or his preferred utensil – his hands. He could use a computer (to some degree), and didn’t seem the need to know any words other than Mom (“Baaaaa”) and Dad (“DaDa”) since he could get along fine with the sign language his mom had taught him. That doesn’t mean he didn’t talk, oh goodness he talked. The first day he’d spent in the Toddler room at daycare he blabbed on and on all evening. He knew he’d graduated to something bigger and more exciting from where he’d come from.

With big boys comes attitude, and yes it was starting, but it was too cute to worry about. If he ever threw a fit it was because we’d just come in from outside. Before I could get his coat off he would throw himself on the floor and roll around screaming. Like most kids once he knew the tantrum was falling on deaf ears he’d get up and get on with business (a.k.a. playing). He would also constantly test us; just to make sure the rules hadn’t changed from the day before. “Nope, feet on the table still aren’t allowed by dad, and mom still won’t let me climb onto the coffee table.” Once he was able to determine that the rules were the same as before, it was, once again, back to business.

James loved to play Peek-a-Boo and Hide ‘n’ Seek. He loved being tickled, and sitting on my lap to read books. His favorite books were “Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb”, “Curious George and the Bunny”, and any book that had lift up flaps. He was also meticulous; he would line his “Little People” up in straight line and knock them down, just to line them up again. He was becoming fascinated with building blocks and towers, again because of the ability to knock down and rebuild. James was also a soccer player. He understood the concept of kicking the ball past mom to score a goal, and to stop the ball mom kicked at him. He would run and run with a ball at his feet. It didn’t matter if it was a tennis ball or soccer ball. The only time he didn’t kick a ball was when he was playing with his two dogs Toby and Tayla. I think throwing the ball for T&T was his favorite of all games, and the funniest part was when he would pretend to throw the ball, and the dogs would take a couple steps towards chasing it. He would roll in fits of laughter that he just fooled the dogs. Once a day we would let James give the dogs treats, unfortunately twice in a row James had failed to let go of the treat and got his fingers pinched by Toby’s teeth. James was not one to be disturbed by this but he was also not stupid. From that point on James would put the treat down and push it along the floor to Toby. Which suited Toby just fine, a treat is a treat.

As most parents, we think our boy was best. But there were a few things that made him stand out from other kids. First off was his size, he was usually the biggest kid in his age group, and on the off chance there was a kid bigger, James was stronger. The strength of James was amazing. He could push a full 5 gallon water jug from one end of the house to the other. He could lift his toy piano, which was not only heavy but very awkward for short arms, up onto the couch. Next to his size standing out, were his eyelashes. Complete strangers would stop and comment on James’ eyes, they were so big and were framed by beautiful and very long, dark eyelashes. You could tell this kid was going to be a knock out, and girls were going to fall for him and his eyes.

For his whole life James knew nothing but love and kindness, and he was growing into such a compassionate little boy. He never tried to hurt the dogs (apart from the time he tried to belly flop on top of Toby. Toby however is not stupid either and moved). He never pulled their hair or ears, in fact it was a constant effort to keep James from sharing everything from Cheerios, to milk, to toys with the dogs. Even with his stuffed animals James would hug, and pet them, he’d even feed them. He was full of hugs for the other kids in his daycare or at music class. The one thing I will always remember about my beautiful little boy is his kisses. He would give kisses on demand or out of the blue. More than once as I was putting him to bed and he would look up at me and give me a kiss, then put his head back down. No feeling has ever been as wonderful as a spontaneous kiss from James. He was also becoming famous for his blown kisses. He knew kisses made people happy and was hardly ever shy with them, often throwing multiple kisses at a time. James loved his mom and dad best. When we were able to all sit in the living room together James would buzz around in a flurry of activity. Giving us High Fives, alternating kisses between mom and dad or getting a kick out of running between the two of us and knocking us over with a big hug.

This is a little taste of the wonderful son that I had bless my life for too short of a time. I gained so much by having him in my life and lost so much the day he left. This boy was special to not only me and Mike but to many people all over the world. Since I have been left on this earth without my son, I feel the only thing I can do is to keep his name and memory alive. To tell as many people of the wonderful boy he was and to try and learn from his short but precious life. Many people have said to me “James would want you to be happy”. My initial reaction was “How would you know, he was just a baby”. But when I look at James’ life and how much fun he had, I realize James has taught me this…Get pleasure from the small things in life. Watch kids play in the street. Throw a rock into water. Play with a dog. Kiss the person you love.

Eulogy for Baby James