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Joe's Page

 Joseph was born at lunchtime in October 1994. I was there at his birth and it was the most moving experience of my life. I know that I have two children of my own but being an active participant kind of sidelines you from the magical qualities that are present, quite aside from the distraction of the pain.

Jennifer had an epidural, eventually, and the birth was straightforward. All I really remember is standing there with tears streaming down my cheeks and the doctor giving me a hug saying, 'congratulations Grandma.' Poor Jennifer, once Joe had arrived we all ignored her and watched him being weighed and cleaned. She had to remind us that she was still there!

He was quite a good baby, from what his mummy tells me, and was always ready for a cuddle. He walked at 12 months and loved to play with water. His only problem is with his speech. I must admit at first I thought he took after my side of the family and was going to be a late talker, but as time went on we all became worried. He can talk but the words don't come out right, it seems like a form of verbal dyslexia if there is such a thing. With regular speech therapy he is getting more understandable and when he talks to me on the phone I can guess most of what he's saying. It's very frustrating for him though to have to repeat everything 3 or 4 times although he is excellent at sign language and making himself understood in other ways.

Now at 6 years old he has started school and is reading and doing maths, even working out some of the answers in his head. He is very bright and only has to be told once how to play a game or to do something and he has learnt it. He beats me at some games without me letting him win, I'm certainly not going to play poker with him!

For a little boy he is very sensitive and considerate. I always get a big hug and kiss when I see him, which isn't too often due to the distance between us, and he loves to snuggle up on the sofa beside someone to watch television.

His favourite toys at the moment are Action Man and Lego and he loves to eat chocolate fingers. His latest fad though is Dinosaurs and for his birthday had lots of new toy ones.