Dear Grandma,
Isaac asked me if I would write to you for him this evening, since he was tired and needed to go to bed. So I agreed. He really enjoys writing letters to you, but I’m sure you’ll appreciate a mother’s perspective for a change.
We’ve had an interesting week. We did a few fun special things together, like a walk with a friend on Friday, and my mother came to visit on Tuesday and enjoyed playing with Isaac. (He enjoyed it, too.) We’ve also spent some time outside this week, as the weather has been lovely and warm. Our daffodils are blooming beautifully, and I brought a vase of them in to grace our table. The pansies I planted last fall (I bought them at the Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale) are blooming nicely, too. Mom helped me clean up a couple of the flower beds when she was here. Perhaps I should say, I helped her–she did most of the work! I was also able to hang my cloth diapers out on the line several times this week, which has the added bonus of bleaching them nice and white.
Tonight it’s raining hard, which means Greg will need to mow the lawn soon. He spent all last Saturday with a chipper-shredder, getting rid of the piles of branches in our garden. We’ll also need to till the garden so we can plant it! I bought seeds the last time I was at the grocery store, and I plan to start them in flats inside, because it’s time, and the garden isn’t ready yet. I am excited to have a garden again. I’m especially looking forward to fresh tomatoes and zucchini.
What I’ve been focusing on this week with Isaac is his sleeping. He’s never liked to take naps, except for his first two weeks which were pretty much all sleeping. And sometimes he does very well at night, only waking up once, and other times he is up two or three times. Now, I realize that even three times is better than four or five, but I’d prefer just one wake up at night! So I bought a book about sleeping that someone recommended to me, and I am keeping track of how he sleeps this week. A pattern is starting to form, so it will be interesting to see how that develops as time goes by and as I try some of the suggestions in the book. I still keep him wrapped when he is sleeping, because then he doesn’t wake himself up as much. Greg can wrap him much better than I can–he is so good at wriggling out!
He is up to almost 12 pounds now, and we have gotten out his three-month-old outfits. He will be three months in just a few days! It’s kind of hard to believe that he is not a newborn anymore. And I still remember so clearly being pregnant with him–and the first few times I felt him moving… what an amazing, joyful experience! I remember lying in bed during the summer, almost holding my breath, waiting to feel a little poke before I fell asleep. And when I did, oh! I could hardly contain my happiness.
Now I can hardly contain my happiness when I watch him sleep, or when he smiles at me, or coos or gurgles in his own funny way. I feel so blessed to have such a child! There are some rough times, to be sure, but although they are frustrating, I know that they are just another part of this parenting business, and it would be mighty strange if nothing ever went wrong. I can’t very well express how this all makes me feel, but you are a mother, and I am sure you know. It isn’t something you can explain very well, is it?
So I am gradually starting to get more things done during the day, doing little projects that can be finished while Isaac naps, keeping the kitchen clean–the rest of the house suffers, but my kitchen is clean! And if my kitchen is clean, I can live with the rest of it!–and starting to make better suppers again. (We were eating frozen meals out of the freezer for a long time!) It helps now that Isaac goes to bed pretty early–a little after seven, these days. That might even become earlier, as he seems to be tired even before seven. But anyway, we have been eating after he goes to bed, so supper doesn’t get interrupted any more.
Well, I have a couple of things to do, and then I must go to bed, too. I never know exactly when Isaac will wake me up! I heard that Mom and Dad came to visit you this week, and read Isaac’s letters. I was glad to hear you had an enjoyable visit with them.
With much love, hugs and kisses, and a smile from Isaac,
April