2014, the year of William

As the new year is upon us, we have been reflecting on the past year. We consider 2014 to be the best year of our lives. It was the year of our William. We have so many memories of our baby growing in my belly, talking to him, laughing with him, dancing, swimming, singing, traveling, and reading to him. William was a playful baby and made our pregnancy very special. He kicked and wiggled around in my belly every day. He kicked the most while we were watching football on TV or when Tommy would read nightly stories. He loved the sound of his Daddy’s voice and we laughed each time he kicked us. He loved sweets too, just like me. When we sang to him, he kicked us back as if saying “don’t stop!”. One time Auntie whispered hello to William, her face right up close to my belly, and he kicked her in the nose! During ultrasounds he was a bit shy and often had his arms up by blocking our view but we still managed to see his darling face. William liked the quiet comfort of home, he gave the most kicks during our peaceful times alone in the house. When we were around people and it got noisy he did not kick as much, maybe he was a bit introverted just like Daddy! William was born a fan of the Red Sox, the Redskins, and the Patriots. His favorite book was Alice in Wonderland. William loved music. His favorites included songs by Rockabye Baby, The Piano Guys, and Disney. We listened to music every morning together and sometimes throughout the day. William liked driving in the car, maybe he enjoyed the bumps and potholes of Boston because I felt him moving around often while we drove back and forth from the hospital. We sang to him in the car. We sang “Twinkle Twinkle”, “This Little Light of Mine”, and “In the Jungle” making up our own lyrics are we sang on and on. Madeleine and Noah would also sing and talk to him when they came to visit, we could tell William loved his cousins so much. He was an active baby in the womb and we love remembering him in that way. William’s whole life existed in 2014. He was our strong little warrior but he was also so very charming and won our hearts over the instant he was born. When we close our eyes we can see his cute little face and can imagine him in our arms. We could tell he loved to be cuddled. We prayed for a miracle but maybe the miracle was the time we were able to spend with William. We are and will forever be in awe of our little star, our light, our baby. It was hard to let 2014 go but we are looking toward the future now, knowing that the imprint William had on us and our family will last forever. Here’s to a new year full of healing and joy! -Liz and Tom

 “There is no foot too small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world.”