It's about one week from Kellan's third birthday and lest we forget about it, he has this new habit of asking for things "for his birthday." He has asked for everything from a goldfish to a spray bottle of glass cleaner. In fact, any time I discourage him from touching something, he asks if he can have that for his birthday.

What he doesn't know is that his birthday presents are safely hidden in our office closet. While a wrapped bottle of Windex isn't in there, we have some things that we hope will hold more lasting interest than yet another toy car. The gift I'm most excited about is a map of the world.  We also bought special markers to place over every city he's visited so far. I know this is probably over his head right now and not nearly as exciting as a toy car, but I hope as he gets older he will appreciate this map.

When I was a kid, I had a map of Manhattan that I took from one of my dad's National Geographic magazines. I was fascinated with New York City and I would study every street on that fold-out piece of paper. It's still one of my favorite places to visit and that map made a lasting impression.

Not to worry though, Kellan will get a toy car for his birthday. We aren't so lame that we wouldn't buy a three year old a toy, but we do hope his new world map will someday create excitement for future explorations.