Dear Great-Grandma,
Happy new year! This is the third year I have been alive in. It doesn’t seem very different from the last year so far, and I don’t remember the year before that. But a lot of very exciting things have happened over the past few weeks.
First, I got to come see you. Do you remember? I gave you some kisses. I was kind of scared of your oxygen tubes but after Aunt Lucy took them off then I realized that it was okay so I gave you a kiss. And we sang lots of songs to you. Well, I didn’t, but I listened to the songs. I really enjoyed that.
Also, I got to spend time with Oma and Opa and Uncle Darren, and with lots of other people I don’t get to see very often. Aunt Joyce and Uncle Chris and Aunt Lucy and Uncle Harold and Great-Grandpa Al and Uncle Don and cousins Kyle and Derek. We had supper at Aunt Lucy and Uncle Harold’s house. It was very nice, although I was kind of tired and grumpy.
I got to visit Daddy’s grandma in Chambersburg and his cousin and aunt. I also spent the night at Daddy’s other grandma and grandpa’s house in Maryland. And then, after all of that, Daddy’s mommy and daddy and sisters all came to visit us at our house! There were six extra people in our house. It was a lot of fun because they all played with me and read books to me and laughed at all my jokes. When you ask me how old I am, I say, “I’m NO!” I know the answer is supposed to be “I’m two” but the other way is much funnier. So that’s what I say.
I also got to open a lot of presents. They were for Christmas and my birthday. I learned about the baby Jesus and the angels and the shepherds, and I got to open Christmas presents. I got some books and some music and some trains and a doll and two teddy bears and my goodness I don’t even remember all of it. But it sure was fun to keep opening presents. I even opened some other people’s presents. I am kind of sad that now there are no more presents to open.
Also, I am two years old now! I had a birthday and people sang “Happy Birthday” to me and I had a cake with two candles and I blew them out. It was a chocolate cake and actually there is still some left. It is very good. My aunt Sarah made it without any wheat because wheat makes my tummy hurt. So instead of wheat it is made with rice and tapioca some other things. What do you think of that?
Well, so those are some of the exciting things that have happened recently. I think my favorite toy from Christmas is my train set. It is wooden. There are lots of train tracks that fit together in different ways. I put them together on the floor so they make a track. Then I carefully put the train on the tracks. There is an engine and a lot of cars. Actually there are a couple of engines but usually I just put everything together in one big train. Then I start the engine. It has a battery that makes the wheels turn, and I press a red button that makes it turn on and it pulls all of those cars around the track. I love to watch it go around! Sometimes I stand and spin around while the train drives around the track, and sometimes I set up the wooden trees that came with the track, and sometimes I just watch, and sometimes I go to another room and just listen to the train go. If Mommy goes and turns it off I run and turn it back on. The train has to keep running!
I should also tell you some of the things I am working on learning. My talking is getting better and better. Today I was spinning around and making my pants fly like a flag (I was not wearing them) and I said, “Pants are flying!” I also was pointing out the things that were driving on the road when Mommy and I went to the store together. “There’s some bus! There’s some car!” Mommy says I am confused about “count nouns” and “mass nouns.” I have no idea what she means by that.
Also, I can count to twelve, and sometimes even higher, without skipping any numbers. I used to skip “five” a lot but now I don’t anymore. I think I can get to “fifteen” without any help sometimes. And I know pretty much the whole alphabet now. I get mixed up about some of the letters, especially “K” and “X” and “Y”. They all look alike to me. But I more or less know all of the letters.
Let me see, what else can I tell you about? Oh, we have a Christmas tree. We went and cut it down together and then we brought it home and put it in our living room. It drinks water and we put lights and decorations on it and it is very pretty. I helped to decorate it. In fact I am still helping to decorate it. I take the decorations off and then put them back on. I put lots of red Christmas balls together in one section. I think it looks very nice. I am proud of helping.
Actually, I really like to help with lots of things, at least some of the time. For instance, I help Mommy with the laundry. She brings the laundry basket to the top of the stairs and then I throw the clothes downstairs, one at a time. I also like to help open and close doors and drawers for people. I will always gladly carry a bag for you if it is not too heavy for me. It is good to help because it makes people happy. I have noticed that. And I always politely say, “Thank you Isaac!” whenever I help someone, because that is what they say to me so I think it must be the right thing to say. Isn’t that polite of me?
I hope that this letter helps you to be happy. I like to help people be happy and laugh, so here is a tickle from me to help you laugh. Tickle tickle! Just pretend I am tickling you with my fingers. I love you!
Your great-grandson,
Isaac