Wednesday 28 April 2010

Portrait of a Force of Nature


Littleboy 1 will be five in a few days. So this post for The Gallery is a Portrait of my son; no longer a baby, a toddler or an infant, but on the cusp of boyhood, school and a lifetime to explore....
Littleboy 1: it's hard to believe you are about to turn five. This picture was taken over a year ago, and it's not the greatest, but it's just one of many that sums you up; a Force of Nature.
You were born during the 2005 general election. Our hospital room overlooked the Houses of Parliament - but, as the nation cast its votes, you were oblivious, not caring that your mother might have wanted to watch some of the coverage on the bedside TV. Instead you wailed throughout the night as I tried to breastfeed you; you were the noisiest baby on that ward, and I ended up pacing the dimly lit corridors with you throughout Election Night, to let the other new mothers have some chance to sleep. You made your presence felt from day 1.
Five years later and another election is taking place. It's still impossible to ignore you; you are noisy, you are bouncy; you are gung-ho and are game for anything. You've marched up mountains, skied, played in the surf and thrown yourself down steep hills on a sled without an ounce of fear. Everyone in town remarks on your scooter prowess; you are the fastest five year old on wheels.
You've grown in confidence during our year in America; you'll talk to anyone and everyone and join in any activity with the utmost enthusiasm. You have a great sense of humour, whether it's guffawing at Ice Age or giving me a wickedly ironic look as I try in vain to scold you.
You love marbles, Thomas the Tank Engine, your scooter and anything that involves the outdoors. You adore your little brother. And you also love your Mummy; you tell me so every single morning when you creep into my bed.
What will you grow up to be? I often wonder. But in twenty years, if you've climbed Everest, flown a plane or competed in the Olympics (perhaps in a newly created Scooting category) I won't be altogether surprised.
Happy Birthday, beautiful boy.

19 comments:

Nota Bene said...

Happy Birthday to him...he looks cool in the pic...

London City Mum said...

Lovely post - know the feeling well as Widget turns 5 in September.
Bet Littleboy 1 also has tons of attitude!

LCM x

Liz (LivingwithKids) said...

Oh bless him - he looks like he's having a good time in that snow!

Harriet said...

Gorgeous post! Don't their birthdays make you feel emotional?! Happy Birthday to an amazing boy.

Iota said...

Lovely picture, but the word portrait is even better.

geekymummy said...

Ah! Happy birthday!

Dorset Dispatches said...

Happy Birthday LB1 - hope we get a chance to meet you soon! x

Liberty London Girl said...

Oh bless. He's adorable. And a lovely post too.LLGxx

ps now that I am back in NY, if you ever fancy a meet-up, let me know. LLGxx

Dumdad said...

What a lovely post! One day when he's grown up he will read this and wipe away a tear as he realises how much his mum loves him, likes him and admires him.

Anonymous said...

That is just gorgeous. Happy Birthday to your little man x

Calif Lorna said...

Oh wow, that's just lovely. Force of nature is such a good description, my youngest son is just the same.

Happy Birthday Littleboy 1!

Tanya (Bump2Basics) said...

What a lovely tribute to your fine Littleboy. He sounds like a catch in the making for LLC but I'm getting ahead of myself now!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday! What a wonderful childhood you are giving him.

Nicola said...

God - he sounds GREAT!! What a lovely, lovely post. Happy Birthday Littleboy 1.

nappy valley girl said...

NB - he does, doesn't he? We had to strap those shades on though....

LCM - he does indeed have attitude.....

Liz - yes, he loves snow. Something tells me that in a few years he will be shooting off on a snowboard while I look on helplessly....

Planb - Always.

Iota- thank you! I think I was always better at writing than art.....

geekymummy - thank you!

Brit in Bosnia - I hope so too. Roll on the summer....

LLG - would love to meet up! Will email you.

Dumdad - I do hope so. One always wonders how long blog posts will last. Hopefully that long.

Rosie - thanks!

CalifLorna - yes - sometimes hurricane is more like it too....

Tanya - haha, well, you never know. (Although Littleboy 2 is more her age, and I have been told that he looks like Brad Pitt...)

Mud - thank you. I really would love it if he remembered it as wonderful.

Nicola - he is great - although he can drive me up the wall as well! But birthdays are definitely a time to focus on the positive.....

Jo Beaufoix said...

Awwww happy birthday little man. 5 is fab, I promise. Miss M is loving it. :D And I agree with Iota, the word portrait is beautiful.

Metropolitan Mum said...

Happy birthday, Littleboy1! I hope you'll have a fabulous day with your brother, dad and your absolutely fabulous mum! x MM

angelsandurchinsblog said...

Happy birthday. Five is such a wonderful age. Cusp of being a truly big child, but still the toddler he's about to grow out of. My oldest (born what sounds like a month earlier, and pretty much in the same hospital room!) will race him in the Olympic scooter final!

nappy valley girl said...

Jo - I can remember being 5, and it is just about the most perfect age....

MM _ thank you! It's today, and he's delighted.

Angels & Urchins - you're on! Let's start lobbying the IOC now....