such a boy

When I was pregnant with Henry, I wanted a girl. A number of people with supposed intuitive powers told me I was going to have a girl. The first shot of the 20-week ultrasound proved us all wrong with a clear “penis picture.” Those were the doctor’s exact words. When we found out, one of the intuitives went so far as to say that he would be a very feminine boy. It took me awhile to adjust to the idea of a boy but by the time he was born it hardly crossed my mind. These days, he’s quite emotionally sensitive and a good sharer but he loves to fly through he air and run into things. He is amazing at figuring out mechanical things and has great fine motor skills and dexterity. He loves to throw and kick and hit things with other things (golf clubs/balls for example). Really I don’t ascribe these traits and tendencies as boy traits. They are such stereotypes and I hesitate to draw much meaning from them. But, when he was singing his favorite song, “happy birthday to you,” a few mornings ago and spontaneously concluded it with a loud and excited “happy birthday to you monkey poop,” I could no longer deny that this kid is a boy through and through. Boys are definitely different than girls and I wouldn’t have it any other way.