Boys vs. girls

When we were expecting G-man, we didn’t know what we were going to get. Not like personality or looks, but would it be a boy or a girl? Despite our usual tendency for instant gratification, we managed to let the birth of our baby bring us a long-anticipated surprise.

Scott wanted a girl. I wanted a boy. Either way, one would have to lose.

But the universe has a funny way about it sometimes. Yes, I got my boy, but as the G-man grows, we see that it’s softened the blow of the missing X chromosome and tried to level the field a bit.

For one, he’s pretty. Not just cute, but actually pretty. And yes, as my parents read this they are screaming about how it’s because I’ve let his hair grow long. But really, even if he had short hair, or even a buzz cut, he’d be pretty. He has long lashes, striking eyes, red lips and cheeks nanas want to pinch and kiss. As a baby, even if his hair was in a cap and he was dressed all in blue, people thought he was a girl.

All boy, he runs until he falls down or crashes into something, then, does it again. He destroys and throws whatever is in sight. His fingernails are harboring bits of dirt from all over town. He’s fascinated by machines, fire trucks and tractors. He squooshes his boogers, laughs at farts and puts his hands down his pants.

Yet, his second favorite color is pink. He adores ladybugs and things with ladybugs on them. He loves to wear his friends’ dress-up heels. He prefers Hello Kitty band-aids to Batman. He likes butterflies, calls the cat pretty and likes to feed bottles to baby dolls.

I love that he doesn’t fit a mold or the expected norms of what a boy should be vs. what a girl should be. There are so many things that I feel are taken away from kids when they are “steered” towards one gender preference over another. As he seems destined to be our only, it’s great that we get the best of both worlds while we can.