Six years ago this morning, I found myself eagerly anticipating the birth of my first born (well, after the Epidural kicked in anyway. Before then I was eagerly anticipating a little pain relief).

What we experienced over just a few hours was a ton of excitement, then worry, then deep concern, then surgery, then immense joy. It seemed appropriate that, from the moment he was born, Thomas started us on the roller coaster that I’m sure will continue well beyond his teenage years.

A few facts about Thomas at six:

• He changes his toy obsession from moment to moment. Right now our house is being overrun by Super Heroes. Lat week it was Cars and Wonderpets. Makes it difficult to shop for his birthday.
• He is currently going through a stage where he will sing everything to me, opera-style. It’s really sweet for the first 10 or so minutes. (blame Wonderpets)
• He is incredibly sensitive and often surprises me with his empathy.
• He is smart – and getting smarter every day (and I’m only a little biased).
• He has grown so much over the past year. From learning to ride his bike to blowing us away with his ability to learn everything from Math to Japanese, this kids amazes us every day.
• He will NOT be celebrating his birthday with a cast on his arm.

Happy birthday baby (I’ll still be calling you that when you’re twenty). We are so proud of you.