Sachs Press

Dear Great-Grandma,

I hope you enjoyed it when I came to visit! It was good to see you again. I know it is always so short when I see you, and this time we were outside and that was very distracting! I loved those spinning things. They were so very pretty. Do you play with them a lot? I think if I lived with you I would play with the spinning things every day.

Well, anyway, I should tell you what I have been doing this week. After we left your place on Monday we went to see some more people that I remembered. They all played with me too. We ate some chili and blueberries and tapioca pudding. I like tapioca pudding! I will eat it from a spoon. I don’t like spoons but I like tapioca.

After we ate we played some more and then we got in the car and I fell asleep. I guess we got home at some point but I don’t remember. I was asleep! In the morning I woke up in my crib.

The next day it was rainy and yucky and Mommy wouldn’t let me go outside to play. But Grandma and Grandpa came to visit again! They were on their way to another place south of here and they spent the night at our house. I saw them before bed and then again in the morning when I woke up, but they didn’t stay long.

On Wednesday my friend Joseph came back. It was his birthday! He was a year old. Do you remember my birthday? It was a while ago but I remember. We had cake and people gave me presents. Well, we did not have cake for Joseph but he did get presents. He brought one over to my house so I could play with it. I will tell you about it.

It was a big penguin, not quite as tall as me. I could just hug my arms around it. It had a round bottom so if you pushed it, it wobbled, but then it would pop back up again. And then if you turned a switch on the bottom, it would make noise when you pushed it. It played a tune, and the penguin laughed. I liked pushing it and then dancing to the tune. Mommy thought it was kind of weird, though. I don’t know. What do you think?

Anyway, so Joseph was here on Wednesday, and he was here yesterday, and today. Today is Friday. And today was his last day, and he won’t be here any more because his mommy is done teaching at her school. I won’t see him for a long time now! I will miss playing with him, but Mommy says there will be other people for me to play with this summer, so I guess that will be all right.

Did you know we are going on a long trip? Mommy says we will get in the car and drive a very, very, very long time, and then we will be someplace completely new and different. We will stay there for two whole months, and then Daddy and I will get back in the car and drive home, and Mommy will come soon after.

I am not really sure what I think about that. It will be very different. I am a little worried that everything will be so different and I won’t recognize anything. But Mommy says she will bring a lot of my toys and especially the lamby that I sleep with at night, and she and Daddy will be there so that I won’t be too scared. I hope it will be all right. I will definitely write to you when I get there and tell you what I think. We are leaving in one week, next Friday.

Thank you for the letter that you wrote to me. I always like it when you can send me letters. When I get to the new place I will send you my new address and you can send me a letter if you are able to. If you can’t, that’s okay too, because I know you are reading my letters and you love me no matter what. That is a very important thing I am learning–that love is important. I am very little and I don’t understand many things yet, but I do know that when I am hurt I can get a hug from Mommy or Daddy and that makes me feel better. So here is a big hug from me for you, Great-Grandma, and you can take out my letter and get a hug any time you need one. Mommy is sending a hug from her, too. They aren’t quite as good as the real thing but I hope they will do.

I need to go to bed now and get some sleep because I am going to be busy tomorrow. I have new words to practice. I can say “off” and “on” and “up” and “down” and “all done” and “boo!” That last one makes Daddy jump. It is fun. I also have to practice climbing everything. Pretty soon I will be able to get to everything in the whole house all by myself.

Oh, there is one more thing I have to tell you–I got to ride in my bike trailer and I really like it. The only bad thing is I have to wear a helmet and even though I like the idea of the helmet, in practice it is not always so fun because it slides down over my eyes. Mommy says it is a little bit big for me yet and maybe it will fit better when we come back from our trip. But I like going fast behind the bike and seeing everything go past. So I think I will have many enjoyable rides in my bike trailer. I hope Mommy will remember to take a picture so I can send it to you.

I might not write to you again till I leave for our trip, because Mommy is going to be busy packing and probably won’t have time to help me with the computer. So it will be a little longer than usual unless something really exciting comes up. But I will write to you when I get out there. I love you!

Love,

Isaac

Dear Great-Grandma,

I just woke up from a nap and I think I have time to write to you before Mommy and I go run some errands. First we will go to the post office and mail this letter to you, and then we will go to the bank, and then we will go to the bike shop and pick up a bicycle trailer! The trailer is Mommy’s birthday present and I get to ride in it. It goes behind a bicycle and little people like me can sit in it. That means Mommy and I can go  very far without taking the car and wasting gasoline. I am excited to ride in it. I even get to wear my own helmet!

Well, I promised to tell you about my Mississippi grandparents’ visit last week, so I will do that first. They came Thursday night after I went to bed, and they were here all day Friday, and they left on Saturday morning. They will be back again this week on Thursday evening. But first I will tell you what we did together when they were here.

In the morning we just played! I showed them everything I can do and told them all my words. I played and played and then I ate lunch and took a nap. In the afternoon we did something special. We went to a park and I rode in the stroller and everybody else walked around this long, long trail together. Then we stopped at a place where there were animals I could ride. They were little metal animals and they jumped up and down, up and down, up and down. Mommy or Daddy could sit on the animal on the other side–Mommy said it was kind of a see-saw–and then when I went up, they went down, and when I went down, they went up! Does that sound confusing? I guess it kind of was! It confused me but I also enjoyed bouncing up and down.

Then we went a little farther down the trail and came to a big wooden castle. It had stairs and towers and slides and swings and balance beams and lots of other fun things that I didn’t understand. I think when I am a little older I will really enjoy that place but for now I mostly enjoyed the swings and slides. I love to swing! I could do that for hours and hours. Sliding is a little scary but I like to try it, at least once or twice. After the park we came home and ate supper and then pretty soon I went to bed. It was a long day, but I am looking forward to seeing them again next week.

I did a few other fun things this week, too. I went to a party for a lady who is going to have a baby. She has a big belly! There were lots of kids there and lots of toys and I had fun swinging and sliding again and playing with the different toys. One little girl was catching me when I went down the slide.

And yesterday, I went to my friend Eleanor’s house and she had two other friends there. We played lots of games together and sang some songs. We sang “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” and “Ring Around the Rosy.” I danced in a circle with the other children and then we all fell down. It was fun!

Something that I learned this week was how to climb onto Mommy and Daddy’s bed. There is a suitcase under the bed and I can pull it out and climb onto it and then I can get on the bed. This is a very useful skill because now I can get anything they put on the bed, and I can also climb up and make faces into the mirror above the bed. I can make a fishy face! I make a fishy face and then Mommy or Daddy makes a fishy face and we kiss that way. It is very funny. Sometimes I am smiling so hard I can hardly make the face!

Well, Mommy says she must change my diaper and then we must go so we have enough time to run our errands. I love you!

Love,

Isaac

Dear Great-Grandma,

It’s me again, Isaac! Have you been enjoying my letters lately? I have been trying to write every week and I think I am doing pretty well. I have some interesting things to tell you this week!

First, I learned to say two new words. Mommy has a little brown spot on her hand and she told me it was called a “mole.” Well, I can say that word! So now I point to everybody’s moles and say “Mole!” It is a lot of fun. The other word I learned because I pointed to something on my hand and said “mole” and she told me that it was not a mole, it was a knuckle. Well, I can’t quite say “knuckle,” but I can say “Guckle!” So that is what I do. I like moles and knuckles. Aren’t those fun words for me to say?

Second, Grandma and Grandpa Gonzol came to visit me yesterday. That was Sunday. They came to church with us and then they came home and had lunch with us and then I took a nap and when I woke up we played and played and then they went home. Grandpa sang to me a lot and Grandma gave me a balloon. Grandpa gave me piggyback rides and Grandma helped me play with the stacking rings. I showed them the new things I had learned, like how to say “mole” and “knuckle.” I can also sing the alphabet song. Well, okay, so I am not very good at that, but I can say “Ah! Eh! Oo! Eh!” and it kind of sounds right. Mommy and Daddy are always very proud, so I guess I am doing a pretty good job.

Oh, yesterday was also Mommy’s Day. I think that is what it was called. Daddy got up with me in the morning instead of Mommy and he also made lunch. I don’t know what else happened. I think somebody said the balloon was supposed to be for Mommy’s Day but I am not sure, because clearly it was for me to play with, not Mommy. Great-Grandma, are you a mommy? What is it like to be a mommy? Will I ever be a mommy?

Well, the third thing I have to tell you is something that has not happened yet. My Grandma and Grandpa Sachs are coming to visit me! They will be here later this week. Mommy says they will come Thursday night after I am in bed, and they will spend all day Friday with me. Then I think they are going somewhere else and coming back here later. I am not really sure exactly. Anyway, I am excited to see them again. I have not seen them since my birthday, and that was a very long time ago! So next week when I write I will tell you what happens when they come.

The fourth thing is that I have been having fun with Joseph this week. He is the baby who comes every day to play with me. It is funny to watch him crawl around and sometimes I crawl, too, to keep him company. It is not so funny when he takes my toys away from me. I get mad at him sometimes, and Mommy tells me I need to share, and I am starting to understand but it is still frustrating. We play with the stacking cups together. Joseph likes playing with my lawn mower and he likes riding my rocking horse but I don’t want him to ride my rocking horse. He may play with my lawn mower but not my rocking horse. My rocking horse is just for me. I hope that is okay with you, Great-Grandma, because I feel very strongly about it.

Joseph is also going to start walking sometime, just like I learned to walk when I was about his age. Well, I was a little younger, but I am very advanced for my age, don’t you think, Great-Grandma? Anyway, he was taking a step or two by himself today when Mommy was playing with him. When his mommy came for lunch he took a step towards her and she was very excited. I remember doing that for Mommy and Daddy! It was scary to let go and not hold on to their hands, but now I can walk so well that I only hold their hands when I absolutely have to. I want to do things by myself now.

There is one more thing I would like to tell you. My Mommy and Daddy like music, and so do I. I like to dance to music but I am not really very good at dancing just yet. I am still learning. Right now I stomp my feet to the music or bend my knees and bob up and down. I think that is a good beginning. Later I will add more things to my dancing. I also like to try to sing. I like the alphabet song because I can pretend to say the letters. When Mommy and Daddy sing “Down by the Bay” I can sing “Bay” for them. (I can’t say any of the other words, just “bay.”) And other songs that they sing for me, I like to sing after them. I don’t usually get the tune or the words right, but they get the idea, so it is fun to do. I think it is the practice and the enjoyment that matter right now. Don’t you think so too? Do you like to sing? I remember you singing to me a few times. It was nice to hear your Great-Grandma-y voice singing to me. It sounded just like a Great-Grandma ought to sound, and I sound just like a baby ought to sound. We are just right, you and me, don’t you think?

Well, dear Great-Grandma, I need to go to bed now. I know Daddy will sing me some lullabies! Have I told you about the lamby I like to cuddle with at night? I think I have. Yes, I think I sent you a picture, didn’t I? Well, I am going to go cuddle with my lamby now and go to sleep. I love you! Good night!

Love,

Isaac

Dear Great-Grandma,

How was your week? Mine was not too bad. I did not have to go to the doctor’s office this week and nobody stuck any needles in me. I got to play outside a lot and help Mommy in the yard. I also got to ride my rocking horse and drive my car and go visit friends. I guess it was a pretty good week!

Yesterday I went to my friend Ethan’s house. We played with his toys and had supper and played some more. He has a really fun toy that I like to play with. Mommy says it is called a “helicopter.” It has something on top that spins around and around, and it also runs along on the floor.

We have something else in our house that spins. Actually, there are two of them. One is in the kitchen and the other is in the living room. They are both way up high on the ceiling, and Mommy and Daddy can make them spin and blow air down at us. I love to watch them spin. They are called “fans” but I can’t say fan so I tell Mommy, “Go! Go!” and she makes the fan go for me. At least, most of the time she does! Sometimes she doesn’t and then I am unhappy. I don’t know why she doesn’t always do exactly what I want.

My friend Joseph is here today to play with me. Mommy says he will be here most days now for a while. I like playing with him. He’s funny. He doesn’t walk yet, he just crawls. I call him “baby” because that is what he is and also I can’t say “Joseph.”

I like to climb. There are rocks in our yard and I climb up on them and stand on them and then I am tall. Sometimes Mommy helps me climb the very big ones and then she helps me jump off of them. That is a big jump! But I can do it (with Mommy) because I am a big boy now. Well, at least, I am bigger than I used to be. And bigger than Joseph and Ethan.

I also like to climb the chairs in our kitchen. I especially like to climb the chairs that Mommy and Daddy are sitting in. I just climb right up the side and then slide in behind them on the chair and look at what they are doing. Well, sometimes I don’t just look, sometimes I help. Especially if they are working at the computer! I like to press the keys and make the computer do things. I don’t know what it does but all kinds of thing happen. There is also a picture of me on my Mommy’s computer, so I always remind her of that by saying “Baby!”

Oh, I should tell you what happened on Friday. Mommy and I went on a walk. Then we stopped at a playground and I swang on the swings and slid down the slide. It was lots of fun. I can climb the slide all by myself and I can sit on the big swings and hold on by myself, too, but Mommy is always very close by so if I let go she can catch me. So I like playing on playgrounds. But anyway, while I was at the playground I found a little green ball. It was about the size of a pea and it was sort of the same color but it wasn’t a pea, it was a ball. So I picked it up and carried it around with me because I really like balls. After we were done at the playground we kept walking and went to where Daddy works. I got out of the stroller there and I still had my ball, so while we were waiting for Daddy to get done working I played with my ball. I would throw it and it would bounce around a lot and then roll and stop, and then I would go get it. I guess maybe that doesn’t sound like fun to you, but I really enjoyed it! A couple of times Mommy and I almost lost the ball, and I would hold my hands out and say “Ball?” and she would say, “I don’t know where the ball is, Isaac!” and then go look for it. And pretty soon she would find it for me. Isn’t she a nice Mommy?

I carried my tiny green ball all the way home in the stroller and then we got out of the stroller and went to talk to our nice neighbors. We were standing in the ivy in the back yard and I think I dropped my ball. Anyway, we couldn’t find it any more. Did you ever try to look for a little green ball in ivy? It doesn’t work. So no matter how much I held out my hands and said “Ball?” Mommy still couldn’t find it for me. It was too bad. But you know what, I have lots of balls at home, so even though it was disappointing to lose my little green ball, it was okay. It was fun to play with for a day.

Well, it is time to go play outside now! It is a nice sunny day out and I am looking forward to running around in the grass and looking at everything. I hope you have a good day too!

Love,

Isaac