Tags: Birth, Birthday, Boys, Creativity, Family, Growing Up, Motherhood, Personal, Play, Poetry
Right this very moment, four years ago, Giggles came into the world, the exact same weight as his sister but a good inch shorter. That trend continued for the next two years as he grew out before growing up, sporting Marshmallow-Man thighs that still make my uterus giddy.
Then, of course, he abandoned babyhood for fire trucks and sandboxes.
His legs and waist are now a long, lanky, elastic-requiring unit. His eyelashes reach to the moon and back. And his laugh, the one that earned him his nickname here, still persuades waiters to bring him an extra peppermint. Even after he’s dropped three forks, an open salt shaker, and a glass of juice on the floor.
He uses made-up words like “yesternight,” which I think might actually have a valid place in the English lexicon. He loves “babloons” and “bestruction paper.” And he’s always doing some “special project” or other, even if it’s just rifling through the bag of cotton balls and picking out three he can glue-stick to a straw.
His favorite number is 2. His favorite color is green. His favorite fruit is banana. And his favorite banana is the one he chooses from the bunch.
When he feels like he’s not being heard above the din of his sister singing Romanian Christmas carols and his brother wailing for another juice box, he says, “But it’s my turn to talk now!” Then he says it again, until finally we all stop and listen.
He has a monster growl that he uses to annoy his sister. And a shriek he uses to annoy his parents. And a sweet way of kissing our cheeks — “Mmmmpahhhh” — that makes us forget about the shrieking.
He’s equal parts creative and clumsy, like me. He’s intrinsically gentle, like his father.
He likes to orbit things like lampposts and tree trunks and coffee tables. He emits more energy than the sun.
And his smile? Is just as bright.
Can your mind’s eye still see your baby’s chubby thighs? What traits of yours and your partner do you see in your children? And do they have a cotton-ball obsession, like my Giggles?
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