Boils, Toils and Little Boys

On the 18th of August, 2000 my father was visiting and removing a garden path which he had a particular use for. It was late in the afternoon, a lovely warm winters day and Tony was at work. Every time I moved my dads eyes would shoot up to me and he would ask, with some concern, "Are you OK?" He is sweet and funny and had every right to be concerned since I was pregnant with my second child...very, VERY pregnant. At that time, on that day I was pretty darn sure I was in the early stages of labour. My back was killing me and I was getting regularly short little contractions. He asked if he could take Caitie home with him for a sleep over with him and Nanna Jen and I was happy to oblige.

No less than ten hours later I was in the labour and delivery ward giving my son away. Nope, by that stage I had had enough, the contractions were incredibly painful and I was not doing this any MORE! So I told Jen she could have him, yup, lock, stock and two smokin barrels, he was hers!

Ten years on, I hafta look back and laugh at that early recollection of Aidens birth. I was supremely disappointed I was having another C-section and was dismally aware of what a failure of a real woman I was. Couldn't give birth normal, couldn't breast feed normal...I sucked...and yet, I had one of the fattest and happiest babies of all. He had long roo feet and acted like a koala. His first nickname was Drop Bear because he ate and slept. Placid, content and rarely fractious.

Caitie adored him from the start and we used to sing a song to our boy as he was being bottle fed....

Baby, don't cry

Baby, dont cry

Its alright now

Its alright now

When the world is getting you down

And you don't know what to do

I'll be a friend to call on

I'll be there for you, so

Baby, don't cry
Baby, dont cry
Its alright now
Its alright now...

Her sweet voice always got me.

And then, tragedy hit our family. Aiden was 11 months old and I was diagnosed with Cancer of the tongue. Apparently I was swearing too much (grin) Nine days in hospital with 25% of my tongue removed, a scar from one side of my neck to the other, up and around my ear. But we got through it, just in time to celebrate Aidens first birthday. By that stage he had become a happy, healthy, bubbly bundle of joy who earnt his second nickname, Tootle, for the way he wandered around on his little trike.

And time marches on. This kid has been in the wars like all kids. He fell over in the yard and gouged a hole in his knee which was fine until he visited my Uncles farm and let every bacteria known to man in it. When he got home, the whole knee was hot to the touch and the sore itself was black. It took me sitting on him and Tony holding him down to lance it! And then there was the time he decided to paint the bathroom floor with soap....he jumped out of the bath, looked at his toes as they zoomed past his ears and cracked his chin open on the bath...or when he had croup so badly he was close to dying. His body was fighting for oxygen, he was blue around the mouth and making no sense as his brain was starved with air. I got him to the hospital just in time.

In 2004 we welcomed his baby brother Conor to the world...and these two have been as thick as thieves since. Where there is trouble there is one dark head of hair and one blonde usually hunched over the top of it. Naughtiness is second nature to them, bodily emission jokes are fantastic and when a fit of the giggles comes on, nothing can stop it. Conor still sneaks up into Aidens bed of a night time. Conor fell out one night, hit the floor with a thud that scared the doolies out of the both of them. Now, Aiden makes sure Conor is on the inside of the bunk bed.

School has been hard. After three years of something being "not quite right" we got a diagnosis. Aiden is an Aspergers Kid. He sees the world different to us. Sometimes we have to let go and see the world the same way. He is funny with it though. He won't eat tinned fish because he knows its cat food. You can't tell him any different. He is terrified of deep water and it took two years for him to jump off the diving blocks because he was convinced that the water didn't have a bottom. He has the attention span of a gnat. But when something catches him, it catches him hard and fast. He loves researching the weather and loves trains.

And he loves his girl. She is his best friend at school and these two are stuck at the hip. A is naughty, sassy, spunky and full of fun. And A loves him dearly (though she won't admit it). She mothers him like a Mother Duck, tucks his shirt in and makes sure he has everything. They are so sweet. She hugs me when she sees me and I love her to bits because she sees past Aidens problems to the fantastic person he is inside.

And now he is ten! He comes out with the funniest things. Calls his sister Miss Fersnickety. He makes me laugh and hurts my head all at the same time. I hate it when he gets frustrated because I can't help him. I have to stand back and let him fall and then be there to pick up the pieces. I have to teach him to control his wildfire temper. I have to be there to make sure he doesn't let it go and accidently hurt someone, usually Caitlin. Its a tough road, paved with stones but occasionally? We'll hit a stone with a hidden gem.

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!