50 for 50: 2005

YEAR: 2005

AGE: Turned 35 on Nov. 6

LOCATION: SLC, Ramona Avenue

CUBS' RECORD: 79-83

SONGS I LIKED: "Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day; "Beverly Hills" by Weezer

MOVIES I SAW: "King Kong"; "Robots"; "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith"

TV SHOWS I WATCHED: "The Sopranos"; "Battlestar Galactica"; "Threshold"

VIDEO GAMES I PLAYED: Advance Wars; Fire Emblem

CONCERT I EXPERIENCED: Lyle Lovett

"Three ... is a magic number."

The classic Schoolhouse Rock song teaches multiplication but also tells the listener about how a man and woman had a little baby, making three in the family. That's a magic number.

Don't get me wrong: The arrival of Ben in 2006 was as joyous and amazing as having Michael was. There's just something so unique for families with two or more kids when the family was just the parents and the one child. Every adventure is especially new for the parents as well as the child. The world feels like it just exists for the three of you.

In 2005, Michael was already walking, and he was hitting the fun age in which everything was an experience for his developing brain. He was a tall 1-year-old and rather coordinated, and the slides and swings at the park were a challenge, not an obstacle. He was always moving, always playing, and usually smiling (when he didn't have a pacifier in his mouth).

We traveled with Michael in 2005 -- to Wisconsin and Chicago, to Sea World and Lego Land, and to Moab. He loved toy trains and Baby Einstein and dinosaurs and chocolate milk. 

When I scanned pictures for my 1972 post, I found ones of me trying to figure out Clue and being enthralled by a record player. I thought that I must have been older in those pictures than not yet 2, but reflecting on Michael's 2005, I totally get how he was becoming independent and inquisitive as a toddler. 

It was, indeed, a magical time for us three. More magic awaited in 2006.

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