Birthday boy - O's hit the Big Six!

Wow - I've got a six year old. That little blue baby who was placed on my tummy, not breathing or moving or making any sound on 16 July 2004 is today a big boy of six. He's mad on Sonic the Hedgehog, looking forward to the freedom of summer holidays and the heady promise of being in Year Two.

It seems like an ideal time to revisit some of O's best bits - his show reel if you like. I've said before that he's got a cracking sense of humour, tinged with the faintly absurd and downright odd. Without further ado, I give you O...

Aged 2 and a half
Me, O and M are in the car, travelling up to a bunk barning weekend, listening to The Smiths' Greatest Hits. 'How Soon is Now' is playing. Morrissey sings the classic lines:

"And you go and you stand on your own
And you leave on your own
And you go home and you cry
And you want to die"

A little voice pipes up from the back seat, "That's like pre-school."

Aged 3 and a half
"It's a good job I've got bones in my legs. I need to run for a wee-wee."

Aged 5 and 363 days
Me, O and his best friend, W, are in the car on our way back from swimming. The talk is of being six, the funeral rites of W's newly deceased goldfish, Sonic, and all manner of things in between.

O: Mummy, what year will it be in 95 years time?
Me (calculating wildy whilst negotiating sharp bends): Errrrr, 2105.
O: W, if I live to be 100, 2105 is the year that I will die...

Happy birthday, O. Here's to the next 95 years!

Mother's pride...

O's coming to the end of Year One. He's had a really good year and I can see the huge changes in my boy since September last year, not least the fact that he suddenly seems to be so much taller and wrestling is definitely much of a challenge.

This boy used to scream and cry if water went in his eyes or ears when I washed his hair. Now he disappears underwater for ages at his swimming lessons and is grinning when he finally emerges. He's even been picking bricks up from the bottom of the pool and finally managed to pluck up the courage to jump in with abandon this week. Such huge strides in such a short time.

Another six months...

So there it is. Another six months under my belt. Another milestone in the difficult journey away from breast cancer. I had my six month check up today with my smiley consultant, the one who took away the cancer that could have killed me, reshaped my breast and saved my life. He's lovely, human, smiling and has Motorhead's Ace of Spades as his mobile ringtone. An all round good sort and a rock-lovin' man to boot.