Hi there! My name is Amber and I blog over at Belgian and a Half. My husband, David, (who is Belgian, hence the name :) and I live in Seattle and have a two and a half year old son, Aiden. I'm so excited to be a part of the Boy Moms Series - thanks Elizabeth!
When I was pregnant, I remember hearing (believing!) all kinds of dubious and sweeping generalizations which had probably no scientific basis; "if you crave fruit then you are going to have a girl", "an active baby in the womb will be an active kid", "bad morning sickness means you're going to have a boy". One in particular that seems equally ridiculous now (but that David and I both held onto really strongly) was that boys will bond most strongly with their mothers and girls will bond most with their fathers. Therefore, David was hoping for a girl and I was hoping for a boy.
Two and a half years later it all seems so bizarre. I'm proud to say that our little boy, Aiden, has had no difficulty bonding with either of us. And, when I think about it, it seems implausible that gender has had much to do with it on either end.
But in lot of ways, Aiden really is a typical boy - he loves trucks and sports and being loud. David also loves to roughhouse. For example, he loves to balance Aiden on his hand like a circus trick. They've been doing it since before he could walk- even since before he could sit up! There was something about the way it created a balance point for his feet/butt and aligned his spine that gave him baby abilities beyond his age. Aiden loooooves it and we have pictures of their circus act all over the country. If you believe it, they are still going strong to this day!
Aiden eats this kind of play up - the rough and tumble, typical boy play. It's really adorable to watch! His giggles and screeches of laughter are truly priceless. But, if you knew me, it would be also obvious that is not my natural temperament. Not that I'm a total stick in the mud, but I am pretty calculated and reserved. I can be goofy but I'm much more likely to be practical. And I'm always the one who says "slow down!" "not so rough!" "let's quiet down."
But that just sounds so boring of me, right?! And even though sitting quietly, coloring and talking about our days sounds perfect to me, is just not exactly Aiden's favorite thing. Instead, we play chase and cars and (bang/throw) legos and have wrestling matches. And you know what? It's awesome. Sure, sometimes I would rather sit on the couch and paint nails and I'm still the first one that wants to calm things down but Aiden loves to play wild with me as much as anyone. And the look of joy on his faces when I do is pretty much the best thing in the world.
I love that he is bringing out that side of me. I need every reminder possible not to get to serious. Honestly, probably most busy adults could probably use a reminder to let loose and embrace their inner wild child.
One of our favorite ways to focus some of this energy is sports. He has been riding a scooter for a while and has recently gotten pretty good at his glider bike. Sports were a huge part of my childhood and I'm so excited to share that with Aiden - teaching him to ski, watching his soccer games - that's the stuff that gives me the warm fuzzies. Not that they are specifically boy things but I can already tell Aiden is going to love them as much as me and what a great thing to bond over.
In a lot of ways, we fit the stereotype; Aiden's loud and sporty, David loves cars and motorcycles, and I like clothes. But there are also a lot of ways that we are the exact opposite of the stereotype; Aiden loves his baby doll, David was a full-time dad for 2 years, and I'm an engineer. I love that Aiden helped remind us to break out of our box and that there is so much variation in people, kids included.
So thanks for making me a boy mom, Aiden. Mommy definitely loves you.
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If you would like to share a post about you and your son, email me at chasinmasonblog@gmail.com .
I would love to feature you! You don't have to have a blog to participate!