I hate to tell you this, Mom...

That's how Lex breaks it to me.

"I hate to tell you this, Mom, but you lost track.  I'm not five, I'm six."

He has been telling me this story for weeks.

I've tried telling him that I am absolutely positively certain that he is five years old.  I've told him that I was there for all of his birthdays, including the day he was born.

I have even tried recounting to him all the different birthday party themes that he has had:

First Birthday Boy when he was 1;
Mickey Mouse when he was 2;
Scooby Doo when he was 3;
Octonauts when he was 4; and,
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when he was 5.

But he says we missed one.  We somehow lost track.  He had another birthday, and he is six.

I hate to tell you this, Lex, but you are five.  Five years old.  FIVE.

I will be happy to celebrate your sixth birthday with you this fall, but don't you dare try to skip it and go straight to seven.  That's just not gonna happen, okay, buddy?