Part of the age

When we got our family pictures back back in October, I loved how they looked. Not all were perfect, but there were lots of good ones.

But as I scrolled through them, my mouth opened in shock. For almost every single picture, Joseph wasn't smiling! Not a real smile, at least.

Then I began to laugh. What on earth had happened to Joseph's smile? I talked to my mom about it and she said, "it's pretty typical. Part of the age."

I had a vague idea of what she meant, but tonight I got a much better idea. I've been working on a post about kindergarten (which will hopefully be done soon . . . maybe tomorrow?) and to help me out my mom sent me some pictures from that age. (She's pretty great.) As I looked through them, I had the same reaction I did back in October to the family pictures.

Part of the age, huh.

I am 100% sure there is a picture of Joseph that looks exactly like this, except with short hair.

Luckily, there are a few other pictures here and there to prove that I had eyes and teeth, but . . . goodness! Do all 4-6 year olds forget how to smile? When do they grow out of it? (Kevin said not until they're 15, but I'm hoping it's sooner. For some men I think it's never.)

Anyway, I guess this is reason #457 why I'm grateful for digital cameras. Better to have surprises like this when you still have thousands of other pictures that show your kid's teeth.

And, honestly, people might be better at smiling if they are taking selfies all the time. One good thing that came out of selfies!