Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Jan 29, 2003, Beth’s age: 5 In kindergarten, there apparently is a no moving around policy in the lunch room. In other words, once you find a seat you stay in it until you are done. Beth has been given an exception to this rule. She has been told that if someone at her table is…

Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Jan 15, 2003, Beth’s age: 5 Mommy and Daddy were having a little disagreement. Beth was caught in the middle, sitting at the table trying to do her homework. After this discussion began to wind down and mommy left the room, Beth called out, “mommy, stop being argumentative!”…

Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Jan 22, 2003, Beth’s age: 5 I consider it a natural law of the human experience; we tend to find more joy in the unexpected moments than in those that are more routine. If there is anything that makes me feel like a failure as a parent, it is that neither myself nor my wife has more…

Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Nov 13, 2002, Beth’s age: 5 Veteran’s Day is a holiday for state employees in Florida. It is not a school holiday. Little did we know, our alarm was about to take a holiday too. It was seven-thirty, a full hour after Cheryl and I had hoped to be up. We had exactly thirty minutes…

Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Jan 20, 2002, Beth’s age: 4 Title: One tooth, three teeth Beth is holding three pencil erasers in the shape of teeth. She advises me (in her typically loud fashion, as if from half way across the house) she has three toothes. Recognizing the grammatical error, I explain to her she…

Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Jan 8, 2001, Beth’s age: 3 Title: A Lesson in Physics Beth, doing her best impersonation of Isaac Newton, reaffirmed a couple of principles this evening: mommy and daddy’s rules are for good reason, and gravity plays no favorites. Beth was in the family room when she decided…

Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Aug 6, 2001, Beth’s age: 4 Title: You’re Never Too Young Beth started the day, like nearly every other weekday, at 6 am. Although this is not out of the ordinary, getting up any earlier than 8 am is inherently bad. I’m neither looking for, nor do I expect any sympathy from those…

Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Feb 26, 2000, Beth’s age: 2.5 Title: Beth Finds New Ways to Get Into Trouble A little while ago, Beth decided she didn’t like having to wait on us to get her food for her. She is, as you know, a big girl now. She is capable of many things, including opening doors, especially the…