1st grade and picture perfect

Here he is... my big first grader!

Call me biased, but I think he's a pretty good looking kid. Even without his two front teeth.

Glasses are straight. Hair is too short to be messy. And his clothes stayed clean.

I was fearing something much messier. Some highly intelligent being had scheduled the first grade photo shoot at 1 p.m. What a great plan, because everyone knows six- and seven-year-olds are great at staying neat through snack time, lunch and recess. AJ's teacher is a miracle worker.

A note about AJ's clothing choice. This is his favorite shirt because "it's like a police man's shirt." He was rather disappointed that I wouldn't let him add one of his "junior officer" badge-shaped stickers to the front pocket.

As many pictures as I take of my kids every week, I still can't help but pause when I see a professional portrait. It's like an official reminder that my little boy isn't so little any more. His face is thinning out and he just looks older than I'm ready for him to be. Thank goodness the dimple remains!

It doesn't help that the "timeline" we'd made earlier this fall came back home in his backpack. It's covered with pictures of him from birth to present. It makes the age progression even more obvious. I asked AJ if he'd like me to hang it on his wall. No, he told me. He has bigger plans for it. "I think we should put it in our time capsule."

Um... sure. That's something I was planning on creating in all my spare time. Right. I can't remember where I set down my car keys last night. Does he really think I'll remember where we buried a time capsule forty years from now?

He still has the innocence of youth.