It be my birthday today?

Was the question asked day in and day out over the course of a two month period by my son. Every morning Calvin would bolt upright in his bed, pop his head up over the edge of the crib, and say "It be my birthday today? My Mickey party today?" And I would say "No, sweetie. It's not your birthday today. But, soon!"

Well, soon very quickly turned into three weeks ago and this mom of the year is just now looking through the pathetic assortment of photos I took during Calvin's birthday party. Really, my worst showing yet. Somehow I have no problem capturing the boring everyday moments on film, but the big, important events in my son's life? The ones he talks about for two months beforehand? Not so much.

No photos of our family. No photos with the Grandmas. No photos with Uncles Jon or Mike or Aunt Mary. No photos of the expertly strung crepe paper or Calvin and Grandma Mary jointly blowing out the candles on her birthday cheesecake.

Sigh.

Sorry, kiddo. Just know that we all had lots of fun at your Mickey party. Even if we don't have the best photos to prove it.















Since I'm already admitting to my failures as a mother, I may as well tack this one on: I really dropped the ball on that whole keeping a baby book thing. Good intentions and whatnot. Luckily I've heard the internet will be around forever, so I'm relying heavily on the blog to fill that void. Here's hoping Calvin never wants to know when his teeth came in or what his favorite vegetable was at 18 months, because I've got nothing.

Anyway, I took Calvin to the pediatrician two weeks ago for his two-year well child checkup. He is, in fact, a well child. The ever-important stats:

Weight: 28lbs, 50th percentile
Height: 36 inches, 80th percentile
Head: 19.5 inches, 75th percentile

He's on track growth-wise, and his verbal and large motor skills are on par with that of a three-year-old. We heard a similar account during his spring conferences at school a few weeks ago — he's the youngest in his class but he's keeping up (and then some) with the three-year-olds. He knows his colors and shapes, can count up to 10, has a very large vocabulary, and has begun stringing along pretty impressive sentences (most of which begin with "I don't!").

While I am proud of my son's "academic" achievements (for which I take no credit, the Lord has truly blessed us with a bright and capable kid), I am most impressed by Calvin's tender heart, sense of humor, and good-natured personality. He is a joy. And a challenge. But mostly a joy.

I'm so lucky to be his (disorganized) mom.