Dear Great-Grandpa Al,
How are you doing? I heard that you have not been feeling so well lately. I know you are also sad that Great-Grandma is not here to talk to or write letters to anymore. Mommy and I are sad, too! I miss writing letters to her and having letters from her telling me that Jesus loves me. I wish I could sing “Jesus loves me” to her, and to you too.
But you can still read letters from me, Great-Grandpa Al, and so here is a letter for you! I would like to tell you all about everything but I am not sure I will remember it all, so I’ll just see what I come up with.
Well, one thing I would like to tell you about is what is happening outside. It is pretty exciting. First, it is getting warmer and rainier. Some days are colder than others but on the whole, things are warming up. And on the bright, sunny warm days, I love to go outside and play. I like to dig in the dirt with the shovel Oma and Opa gave me. I like to ride my car around on the patio, or sometimes just run in circles. I like to talk to the chickens and feed them oats. I like to look at the flowers, or run next door and talk to our neighbors Paul and Ann. They have a football that I like to play with! I also really like to just do whatever Mommy or Daddy are doing. Whatever they do, I try too. I figure it must be something important to learn, so I need to try it.
Mommy has started a garden. She planted peas and lettuce and onions and garlic and spinach and shallots. The peas and some onions and lettuce are all poking up. We also have some flowers that look very nice: daffodils and tulips and there were some crocuses but they are done now and another kind that I don’t know the name of and pansies too. The pansies are just starting. And the cherry tree is also starting to have flowers. Mommy is very excited about the cherry tree having flowers–I don’t know why.
Mommy and Daddy also cut down a whole bunch of stuff, and then we all went to a place where they had lots of baby plants and we took some of the baby plants home. Mommy and Daddy say they will give us grapes and berries and nuts when they grow up to be bigger. But first we have to plant them. Right now they are in our kitchen staying warm because they are baby plants that would burn in the hot sun and freeze in the cold nights.
As for me, I just keep on doing the same things I always do, only a little better all the time. I am getting taller and stronger and can do more things with my hands. I can also talk about more things and remember things better. I am starting to tell little stories and sing little songs. I have a lot of things memorized, especially songs but also books. My very favorite song is the alphabet song. I like to sing that one a lot and sometimes I will sing it when Mommy or Daddy don’t expect it, like at the store or while they are praying to thank God for supper. But I also like to sing Jesus Loves Me. Today I sang that while playing on the piano. Mommy was very proud, even though what I played didn’t really sound like what I sang.
I can build very tall towers out of blocks. I can play a tape in my tape player, and when it is done I turn it over and play the other side. (My very favorite tape right now is about Big Bird and the Orchestra. I like hearing all the different musical instruments play their different parts.)
I am learning to help around the house. A couple of days ago I helped Mommy make my granola cereal by stirring the granola in the bowl. Tonight I picked up all of the dried beans I was playing with and put them away without Mommy having to remind me. And I always like to help dust and vacuum. In fact, if I am not allowed to help vacuum, I am very sad!
I love to throw balls and play baseball. I can’t really hit the ball yet but I can throw it to Daddy and he hits it. I like to use Daddy’s tools but I’m not really allowed so instead I use my pretend tools. I have a lot of pretend tools but my favorite is the drill. I like to fix things with it.
I like to eat lots of things. We had hot dogs for supper tonight and I had a whole one but I also like hamburger and spaghetti and curried chicken and pea soup and rice and granola and eggs and mushrooms and pizza and blueberries and peanuts and marshmallows and carrots and lots of other things. There are a few things that I really don’t like: broccoli and lettuce and cabbage. I do try them but they just don’t taste very good, so I don’t take any more bites and if it is very bad I spit it out. But there is one thing that I would really, really like that I can’t have, and that is a bagel. Mommy says she will try to make one for me one day, but since I can’t eat wheat it is hard to make bagels for me. But I do so wish I could have a bagel. I talk about it a lot. Is there anything you really want that you can’t have, Grandpa Al?
Well, I really ought to go to bed now, so that I can get up nice and early tomorrow morning. I like to go in to Mommy and Daddy’s room and turn on the lamp and climb up on the bed and jump on them. Well, sometimes I just walk on them, but either way is fun. Anyway, I should go to sleep now. I love you!
Love,
Isaac