July 20th marked Alex's third birthday, and we celebrated in much the same way as we did his previous two birthdays: a quiet outing with friends at a neighborhood park.

A dear friend who lives in Canada and who was among the first to meet Alex came down and presented him with a couple of "I Spy" books, which he absolutely loves. If you have any kids near the age of three, or are otherwise inclined to purchase a gift for a three-year-old-ish child, I heartily recommend I Spy. They are coffee table books with large photos of small items that make for wonderful pattern-recognition games. And anything that helps foster a love of books can't be bad.

In addition to inviting friends of ours and Alex that go back to early play groups and the like, we also invited neighborhood moms and dads and kids we have recently started to get to know. Most showed up, much to our delight, and there was plenty of cake and lemonade to go around. These are the kids Alex is likely to go to school with and grow up with for the foreseeable future, and I'm happy to report that they all seem like a great bunch, with parents who are like-minded with Paulette and me.

A couple of weeks after his birthday, Alexander went with Nolan for his three-year (and Nolan's four-month) checkup. The doctor reports that Alexander is no longer at the very lowest end for his age group of height and weight, which makes Mom and Dad breathe a big sigh of relief. He's still on the small and light side of normal, but the doctor is happy with his progress and is no longer worried for his health (as was the case, at one point a little while ago).

There are several photos I've taken that I've refrained from posting here because of how skin-and-bones Alex can sometimes appear. This is not for lack of us making food available to him. He's just not interested in food. Good news for him in the future, I'm sure (if my own weight issues are any indication), but at this young age it's important that his body have the raw materials needed to make growing bones and muscles and all that.

Alex continues to have a healthy interest in trains and planes. A month or so ago, we all drove down to a tree-harvesting museum which featured a train tour of a 1910's logging camp. Naturally, Alex loved the train ride while his parents enjoyed the historical tidbits.

Given the terribly long hours and hard (not to mention dangerous) conditions that loggers worked under at the beginning of the last century, it amazes me that they would opt for that kind of work at all. As mentally exhausting as I sometimes find my own job, I'm living and working in the lap of luxury compared to many. As a history major, I am often amazed at people who complain about how "everything is getting worse." Au contraire. Everything is getting better. We may not have attained utopia or paradise, but we're doing a farsight better than previous generations.

My parents visited us recently, as well, and we took Alex to the Boeing Museum of Flight. My father is a pilot, and so it was an opportunity for all of the three generations to enjoy displays that likewise spanned the generations. As with the logging museum, I'm sure we all took away different appreciations from the experience. Like my father, I hope one day to earn my pilot's license. It's nice that the three of us -- dad, me, and my oldest son -- can all share this appreciation for flight, even if we all do so at a different level. I look forward to taking Alex along on a flight with his grandpa piloting before too long.

Encouraged by Alex's continuing interest in planes, Paulette suggested that we attend the Arlington Air Show that was held here not too long ago. I was pleasantly surprised to notice during our day-long outing that Paulette was every bit as interested in the show and the exhibits as Alex or myself. I get the impression that she might be looking forward to the time when we can take trips as a family in something other than a commercial (read: inconvenient) flight. She has also become more aware of airplane-related news.

Learning to fly is still a little ways off in my future. I've got other bills to pay and other demands on my time to meet. But the circumstances of my life seem to support the notion that we are moving in that direction.

In addition to trains and planes, Alex continues to be excited by books (of which we have plenty, and are always getting more) and... dinosaurs. Is anybody out there aware of a dinosaur petting zoo where we might take Alex?