When I was pregnant with Jimmy I knew he was a boy instinctively. We didn’t find out just as we hadn’t with Florence but like the first time when I knew a baby girl was on the way it was my sixth sense which told me he was going to be a he and I was absolutely right of course.

My little bump got patted and touched by friends, family and strangers (how come people do that eh?) and most of the time they would say ‘Oh you MUST want a boy?’ assuming that because we had Florence already we would feel more complete with ‘one of each’! Honestly and truthfully I never felt that and if anything, if I’d HAD to choose, then I probably would have opted for another girl because practically, I had all the clothes!

He was born and as Jonny shouted ‘Don’t SIT down’, I looked between my knees on the living room floor where he had just come out, been caught by his Daddy and promptly dropped and I felt this animal instinct to GRAB him and hold on to him. A BOY! Oh a BOY! I never knew what joy I would feel to have my baby boy! I kind of didn’t understand, couldn’t quite comprehend it before he was born? Even though I KNEW he was going to be a boy, I was so used to girls that I just couldn’t imagine life with one of those other creatures but as soon as I saw his tiny gorgeous face I knew that my boy was a very special creature indeed!

Amidst the normal congratulations came the very strange ‘Well done, aren’t you clever’! People thought I was more intelligent for producing ‘one of each’? Others said ‘Well that’s it, you’re done now, you have ‘one of each’! How come they thought they could decide when I was done? Totally odd! I just felt so happy to have my boy because he is my boy not because he IS a boy and I remember thinking of that line in ‘Friends’ when Monika says to her newborn baby son ‘I’m going to love you so much no woman is ever going to be good enough for you’!

As he grows I am learning that bringing up my BOY is totally different from bringing up my girl. She and he, although so similar in lots of ways, are so very different and if you could paint a picture of what you think a boy is like then Jimmy is it. Absolutely!

Slugs and snails and puppy dog tails, that’s what little boys are made of!

That line couldn’t be truer when it comes to my boy.

He is strong and jumps and climbs. He pretends to be cars, plays with cars, wants to drive THE car. He loves planes, cranes, trains… He is naughty and nice is equal measures. He loves his sister although he can be very mean to her and he is every bit as intelligent as her but he uses it in very different ways.

Jimmy is coming up to three and has asked for a magic trick party so I am busy organising that now. ‘Three is the magic number’ is our theme and Grandad will be ‘Mr Amazing’ the magician. It’s going to be awesome but what I don’t know is how the time has gone for him to be turning THREE? And more to the point how he is old enough to know EXACTLY what theme he wants for his party!

Boy I love my boy! Not because I have ‘one of each’ (and I certainly want more babies despite the person who asked why on account of my having a ‘gentleman’s family’)! Jimmy is fierce, fun, loving, caring, beautiful, cute and gorgeous!

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