Captionpalooza 2011: photo 5

Like every other child on Earth, JJ finds the most enjoyment not from the expensive “educational” toys we buy him, but the random piece of furniture or household container. Mr. Laundry Basket (shown) has served as a fort, a boat, a wagon, and here, apparently, a TV.

On another subject, note my son’s awesome pink shirt (on sale now at Naartjie, where they refer to the color as “reef”… LAME). Most of the stuff I buy him I would kill to have in my size (okay, maybe not this). And as a gay man and a designer, I don’t have many hang-ups about the whole Pink is for Girls vs. Blue is for Boys issue.

There have been several stories recently on gender identity and kids. But while I like to think of myself as a liberal, open-minded, woman-empowering, proud gay Daddy, I admittedly find pleasure in the sheer boyishness of my son. I called my parents on Father’s Day (mainly to ask them how they hell they lived through raising FOUR boys) and my Mother confirmed my suspicions — JJ is a whole lot rowdier than I was at his age. I was pretty content with some crayons and the Super Friends, whereas JJ is all-outside, all-the-time. I’m enjoying the challenge of raising a kid that may end up pretty different than me. Just as long as he’s okay wearing pink once in a while.