Part 1 Starting My Engine/Toddlerhood

“Dad, I have your birthday present! You have to come quick!” My dad said gleefully into his phone.  “We’re at the hospital! His name is Calvin!”

The little boy was 6 pounds 10 ounces, 20 ½ inches long and born May 16, 2002 at 1:30pm.  He was born at Chandler Regional Hospital in Chandler, Arizona.

 I was patiently waiting for my loving grandpa that had the same birthday as me.  I was born 2 days after my mom and dad’s wonderful anniversary, and couldn’t wait to see the beautiful things in life!

My name wasn’t on the name list my mom and dad had made for me.  One of the top names on the list was Carter, but once my responsible dad first held me, he told my caring mom he knew I was a Calvin.  That wonderful name is also my honest Grandpa Reed’s middle name.  Since I was born on my gentle Grandpa Richardson’s birthday, I have his first name as my middle name.  It’s a little embarrassing to say, but, my name means “bald”.  It doesn’t have anything to do with me because I’m not bald!!!  Something good about it is that it was an honor to have that name since the 19^th century.

The day I was born, my head was perfectly round, unlike many other baby heads, and my skin was very smooth.  It was a white as a cloud.  My arms and legs were long.  They would move up and down at the same time so my mom said that I was like a baby frog.  I was a skinny and tall baby.  Also, when I was born my nose was larger, but the next day it was back to normal.

When I came home from the hospital I had two older brothers waiting to hold me.  They are identical twins, Caleb and Carson.  I also had twenty-one loving aunts and uncles and ten caring grandparents coming to see me.  I had a cousin wanting to see me.  Her name is Briley.  She was a huge baby. She was as big as a skyscraper. She was three months older than me.  We never really got along when we were babies.  We always fought, but now we’re good friends.

            When I ate food, I wasn’t a messy eater like a pig. I wouldn’t be picky and not eat my broccoli.  All the delicious good on my plate, I would gobble up.  I didn’t have a favorite food when I was small, but when I was three, I was too sick to eat my colorful birthday cake.

I was an early walker.  At just nine months I started walking!  One time, my friendly grandpa was teasing me and chasing me through the house.  I was scrambling away, but out of nowhere, I tripped and fell and hit the corner of his coffee table.  With a “BONK” as loud as a dinosaur roar, blood starting gushing from my head.  That’s how I go the weird scar on my forehead.

When I was a toddler, I was a miniature model of my dad.  Just like him, I was easy going.  It seemed like I would just go with the flow.  I was also mysterious. No one knew what I would do next.  I was cool.  If someone asked me a question and I didn’t want to answer, I didn’t answer.  My two older brothers liked to do things for me, but I didn’t like it when they did my jobs.  I would just be independent and tell them to stop so I could do them myself.  I didn’t have any favorite toys, but I had a hat that I really liked.  It was a dark blue fisherman hat that I wore everywhere! One day I went to my kind aunt’s house and I lost it there.  I looked everywhere and never found it.  I had another thing I liked.  It was a tire that I would always sit and relax in the sun, but then we moved and we had to throw it in the smelly dump.  My mom used to always tease me because my hair was blond and it was hard to see my eyebrows.  They were as transparent as glass.  She would ask me where they were and I would say that I threw them in the garbage. So I was always looking for my eyebrows in the trash can.  Finally, she explained that I really did have eyebrows, but they were blonde and hard to see.

So overall, everyone loved me as a little kid.  I was a mini model of my dad but with the name of Calvin.  My two older brothers loved to hold me.  I always at my food and was an early walker.  I had a great toddlerhood!