A Birthday Carol

Today my youngest son, Jack, turns two years old. Richard and I don't know if we should be excited or nervous. While two years old means Jack will finally talk in full sentences and come closer to being potty trained, two also means the terrible twos. Frankly, I can't imagine Jack any more terrible (and cute) than he already is. Already, he's hurling limes across the living room, scaling bookshelves, and flooding the kitchen with water from the kitchen sink.... Who only knows what terrible twos will bring.

We'll steal a page from Charles Dickens, "A Christmas Carol," in celebration of Jack's Birthday past, present, and future.

Birthdays Past: I have a friend from college whose name is Wayne Slocum. I can't quite remember how we met, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't in class. I think Wayne was an Aeronautical Engineering major and I was a History/English major. We definitely weren't hanging out in the same classroom buildings. Wayne took me on one of the most creative dates I have ever been on. He packed two spoons and two pints of ice cream in his beaten up Honda, so we could drive to the airport and watch planes land. Today, Wayne is living happily ever after in San Diego, California with his adventurous and beautiful wife, Jennifer. He, like my husband, is a great guy - the kind of guy we want our sons to grow up and be. It just so happens Wayne's birthday is also March 6 (though for the longest time I thought it was the 4, 5, 7, and 8th). Last year I made the decision to use Jack's birthday as an my annual opportunity to check in with Wayne and Jennifer. How about you? Who's birthday can you use to connect with someone from the past? By the way, I used the fun picture postcards to send this picture to Wayne with a short birthday message.

Birthday Present: I could use this as a chance to tell you what present Jack is getting. Boring. Or, about the adorable Elmo doll my mother sent him from New York. Just did. Instead, I will use Birthday Present to give you a sneak peek at Saturday's birthday party. For those who were around last year, you might have heard me tell you my vision for a Dog Party, based on the children's book, "Go Dog Go." In the book, dogs gather at a tree and climb a ladder to the top. Past the branches and on the tree top is a Dog Party. Big dogs, little dogs, black dogs, and white dogs. Each dog is wearing a dog party hat, eating food, and playing games. Tomorrow we are hosting our own small Dog Party. We'll make dog party hats, read the book, eat lunch out of dog bowls, dig for bones, and everyone will leave with a Doggie Bag. Pictures to follow next week.

Birthday Future: If you were around last year then you also know that during Jack's birthday party I took Polaroid pictures of each guest and asked them to make a prediction about Jack over the course of the year. Last night I looked at the predictions for the first time in a year. They were fun to read. Here are a few: "We will be waiting to see you climb the jungle gym." (True. He was climbing the jungle gym at 13 months old). "Jack will learn how to open doors and catch and throw a ball." (Yes on the doors. No on the catching and throwing)."I predict one trip to the emergency room... nothing serious." (False. Thankfully). "Your first word will be 'ball." (False. His first word was "car" and when he says it, it sounded like a crow "cawing."). "Jack will weigh 32 pounds." (False. He's weighing in at a stealth 28 pounds).

Today is Friday. How about telling us how you like to celebrate birthdays. Or... make a prediction to be opened next year at this time. None of the above, but have a topic of your own? Share that.

As for me, I'm off to work and then to do some birthday party prep.

Signing off until tomorrow...