Hungry Mungry

Dear Eleanor,

Anyone who knows you, knows you love to eat.  You'll eat anything that's on your plate, your brother's plate, or anyone else's food that might be available to you.  Lobster, lima beans, pork chops; you don't discriminate.  You don't appreciate people eating in your presence if you're not eating something.  Today you were duped by pretend food.  Isaac "made" me ice cream in his kitchen and I pretended to eat it.  You were very upset that I was "eating" his ice cream, and you were not.  You came over to have some, and appropriately pretended to eat bowl after bowl of ice cream.

I'm signing you up for the Coney Island hot dog contest next 4th of July.

Love,

Mommy

Long Time No Post

Dear Isaac,

I haven't written to you in awhile.  Not for lack of fodder, you just say and do so many hilarious things it's hard to write them all down. 

Two things you have said recently that I have found particularly funny:

While sitting on the potty, you decided to show your advanced mastery of the English language by speaking in simile.  "Mommy, my poop takes a long time to come.  Just like the A train."

The other day as you and I were leaving for school, you told Daddy, "Have a good day, Daddy.  Don't forget to be a good listener for Eleanor."

Last we were running errands for Eleanor's birthday party and you told me you wanted to go to the store and buy her a present, just from you.  You are a really nice brother, so I decided it was a good idea.  I'm glad you ultimately decided to get her some Winnie the Pooh characters instead of a Mater car.  I'm not sure she likes Mater as much as you do, I think you were projecting.

Other things you love this summer:  going to the beach and putting your head under the water, blueberries, the park and children's museums.

I promise to try to keep in touch better from now on.

Love,

Mommy

You're One!

Dear Eleanor,

It's hard to believe that you are turning one today.  This past year has gone by so fast.  You are getting to be such a big girl, trying to stand alone and anxious to walk.  Still no teeth, but that doesn't stop you from eating anything you're offered.

You are a smiley little girl who adores her brother.  (He thinks you're pretty great too!)  You are a joy to be around and rarely cry.  We are so happy you are in our family.

I love you bunches and bunches.

Love,

Mommy

All Night Long

Dear Eleanor,

Thanks for celebrating your 11th month in our world by sleeping through the night. We love a party around here, so if you'd like to celebrate every night of the rest of your life by doing the same, we'll blow up the balloons.

Love,

Rachel

Ruling the Roost

Dear Isaac,

In response to your earlier statement, no, Eleanor cannot "do whatever she wants".  You can't either. 

Let me know if you figure out who the heck is in charge around here.

Love,

Mommy

I'll Meet You There

Dear Isaac,

You're definitely a big boy now that you're three.  You are not, however, old enough to "meet you (me) there".  Today, while walking home from school, you told me that you were going to go to the elevator entrance of the A train and would meet me down there.  I'm pretty sure it would be considered bad parenting for me to allow you to cross the street, walk down the block, get on the elevator, walk through the station, and get on another elevator to the platform by yourself.  You're going to have to stick with me until you're at least 4.  Hope it's just that you want some independence and not that your mother is already embarrassing you at the ripe age of three.

Love,

Mommy

Golly Gee, Three!

Dear Isaac,

Today is your third birthday.  Hard to believe the time has gone by so quickly.  You woke up this morning proclaiming, "Happy Birthday to me!  I'm so lucky!  I'm so proud!"  You were enthusiastic about opening gifts, and so gracious, saying "thank you!" over and over as you opened them.  You had a great, joint soccer party with your friend Diana, and enjoyed your pizza and cake.  You got lots of nice presents and only had 1.5 meltdowns.  All in all, I think you had a super duper day, and so did I!

I love you bunches and bunches.

Love,

Mommy

A Very Merry UnBirthday

Dear Isaac,

You have been obsessed with all things birthday for a few months now.  The obsession over balloons, cake and presents has reached an all-time high this week with your birthday just four short days away.  You've also recently been very imaginative, and play pretend all the time.  Most of your pretend play is based on Team Umizoomi (another obsession of yours), but this morning you decided to pretend it was Eleanor's birthday.  You told her, "Happy Birthday, Eleanor!" over and over and even gave her a gift.  She seemed thrilled with what you picked out, but I'm not sure most would be as enthusiastic about your leftover peach skins.

Love,

Mommy

Don't Bite the Hand that Feeds You

Dear Eleanor,

I get that it's really fun to say, "Dada", and that he's an all-around fun guy.  However, it is not funny when I ask you to say, "Mama", and you smile coyly, and say, "Dada" instead. 

Love,

Mommy

PS - Actually, your technique is quite good, Daddy will probably eat it up when you're 16 and want to stay out late.  I'm onto your game.  Guess you'll have to wait until your cognition catches up to figure out who makes the rules around here.

Interpretations

Dear Isaac,

It's helpful that you try to translate for Eleanor, but as an interpreter, it is imperative that you respect the sentiment behind what the speaker is saying.  I'm quite certain Eleanor wasn't saying, "I don't want to play in our room with you anymore, Isaac."  I'm pretty sure what she was actually saying is, "This is so much fun, I can't believe it's taken me so long to figure out how to crawl into this paradise." 

Not only did you try to twist her words, by telling me that she wanted to be out in the living room with me and Daddy, but you also tried to guilt trip me into believing you were giving a true translation.  For future reference, yes, I DO like Eleanor, a lot, but that doesn't mean you get to be king of the castle all of the time.

Love,

Mommy

On the Go!

Dear Eleanor,

It took a little while, but you're now very mobile!  You spend your days crawling all over the place and exploring as many wires and electronics as you can get into before I move you.  You even kick to have me put you down when I try to hold you for too long so you can be on your way.  Your knees are getting rough, just like a big kid's!

It's hard to believe you're almost 10 months-old.  If I continue writing to you with the infrequency of late, the next letter will probably be about you getting your driver's license.

Love,

Mommy

Favorites

Dear Isaac,

You are really into favorites - foods, colors, books.  Like most almost 3 year-olds, your tastes change pretty regularly.  You, being wise beyond your years, have perfectly twisted an old expression to express your favorites.  Just now, you told me orange is your favorite color "in the whole week".  I'm not sure it will last even that long, but it's funny none-the-less.


Love,

Mommy

Travel Bug

Dear Isaac,

Thanks so much for inviting me to go to the big airport with you and Daddy.  I would love to get on a big plane with you and fly to China, as you suggested.  However, my passport still has my maiden name, so I won't be able to go.  I hope you have a great time "eating noodles and pizza and crossing the street" while you're there.  I'm sure you'll have great stories when you return.

Love,

Mommy

Like a Babbling Brook

Dear Eleanor,

I'm thrilled that you can say "Mama" just in time for Mother's Day.  I've been trying to get you to say it since the day you were born. 

Now, if you could just say it with a little less whine in your voice and a few less tears, it would sound a lot sweeter.

Love,

Mama

Maybe I'm a Pointe Dancer...

Dear Isaac,

You sure keep me on my toes - I never know what you're going to say next.  Here are some of the more hilarious things you've said lately:

I told you to pick up your toys because I kept stepping on them.  You responded:  "Just step over them, Mommy.  I do it all the time."

This morning I called to you from the other room to ask if you had socks on.  You told me that Daddy had put them on you, and then got all worked up, saying, "I forgot, I forgot!!"  When I asked what you had forgotten, you replied, "I forgot to tell Daddy 'Good job!' for putting on my socks."

On the way home from school today, I asked you something and you responded, "Yes, indeed!"  I asked you if you'd learned that from Daddy, because he says it ALL.THE.TIME and you said, "Yes, I learned it from Daddy.  I learned it in his mouth."

I never know what will come out of your mouth.  It's cute...for now!

Love,

Mommy

When Gimmicks Go Awry

Dear Isaac,

Grandma had suggested that I could get you excited about Easter by talking about the Easter Bunny coming to bring you treats.  I took it a little further, and made many empty threats that the Easter Bunny wouldn't come if you didn't listen to me.  It worked really well leading up to Easter.

In the week since the bunny came, however, it has become a little trickier.  Now when I ask you if you're listening to me, you respond, "I only listen to the Easter Bunny."

Note to self - gimmicks must be appropriate for all times of the year.  Seasonal gimmicks make parents lose credibility.

Love,

Mommy

The Return of Mr. Manners

Dear Isaac,

I've told you before how impressed I am with your manners.  Other people often comment on your politeness as well.  I didn't realize, however, how aware you were of other people's manners.  You made it abundantly clear at the grocery store today.  You kept asking what the announcements were and where they were coming from.  When you heard the announcement letting customers know their deli orders were ready, you told me the announcement had "nice manners" because it said "thank you".

Never a dull moment.

Love,

Mommy

I Like to Move It, Move It

Dear Eleanor,

I will always be proud of your achievements, but would rather recognize them when you've actually accomplished them.  For the past several nights, you've been waking up every two hours after 11PM to practice crawling.  Then you get stuck on all fours and cry.  First, you are perfectly capable of rolling over.  Second, I bet you'd learn to crawl more quickly if you practiced when you were fully awake.  Third, I'm over getting up all night.  I need to sleep.  So do you.  How about we make a deal?  I'll make you a sticker chart like your brother's one for using the potty, and will give you a sticker every time you sleep more than 4 hours in a row.

I'd be happy to acknowledge your sleeping achievements as well as your crawling ones.  Let's work on this.

Love,

Mommy

The Shoe's on the Other Foot

Dear Isaac,

It must have been hard for you, as a parent, to have to put Mr. Mono in time out.  I'm sorry he wouldn't listen to you and was eating my shirt.

You put him in the time out chair, and asked him repeatedly why he was in time out, but apparently he didn't listen.  At one point, you even had to tell him to stop laughing, that being on time out isn't funny.

You let him know that when your Mommy and Daddy and your Isaac say to listen, you must listen.

Then Woody got time out too - you didn't seem sure why he was in time out, but thought it was necessary to take a picture of the situation.

I'm glad to see you've got the time out routine down pat (minus the photo).

Love,

Mommy

Isaac-isms

Dear Isaac,

You say some pretty funny stuff.  Over the past couple of weeks your speech has become very clear.  You have such a way with words.  Recently, some of the following things have come out of your mouth:

"Mommy, you no feel well?  I need to sing you the ABCs."  And after signing...  "You feel better now?!"

"I'm getting mad.  I feel like screaming."

Last night, Grandpa and Marianne were here visiting and we ordered Thai food.  I ordered red snapper.  I did not realize it would arrive whole.  You were sitting next to me and said, "Mommy, your dinner is scaring me.  It's lookin' at me."

"Good morning, LAYDEE."  You say this to Eleanor every morning when she wakes up and each time she gets up from a nap.

"Oh really, Eleanor?"  You say this in response to any noise Eleanor makes.

This evening before Eleanor went to bed you told me, "I'm the good(est) brother in the whole world."  It's probably true.

And just now, trying to get Daddy's attention as he was sitting right by you, "Daddy?  You still here?"

Love,

Mommy

Identity Crisis

Dear Isaac,

I'm sorry the crossing guard still calls you "baby" everyday, despite the fact that you scream at her "I'm NOT A BABYYYYY" everyday.  It's possible that she can't hear you under her crossing guard hat.  Or the traffic is too loud.  Or she just says that to everyone.  I can't think of any other reason that she doesn't learn her lesson.  Maybe you should introduce yourself tomorrow and she'll call you Isaac instead of baby.

Just trying to make sure you don't scream yourself into tiny tot anger management classes.

Love,

Mommy

One of the Family

Dear Isaac,

Thanks for following up on the letter about my family drinking.  I think you may be the first 2.5 year-old that waiter last night ever had order a margarita.  Sorry we didn't let you actually get it.  Hope the milk and lemonade were worthy substitutes.

Love,

Mommy

Tardy for the Party

Dear Eleanor,

I'm always complaining that you're not a great sleeper.  You've made the solution pretty clear, so I'm going to roll with it.  From now on, I'm going to make plans around the time I think you won't be napping, instead of the times I think you will.  You nap best when we're supposed to go somewhere.  I thought we could be at our playdate, which will take about 15 minute to get to, by 10:30ish if you took a nap right when we got home from taking Isaac.  Here we are at 10:34, and you're snoozing the morning away. 

From now on, please assume that we have standing plans from 9AM to 11AM, 1PM to 3PM and 7PM to 7AM everyday.  If you sleep through them, you sleep through them.

Love,

Mommy

I Love You a Bushel and a Peck

Dear Isaac,

"I like you the bunches and bunches," too.  Don't worry - I don't love you to infinity and beyond - because "ONLY Buzz do that."

Love,

Mommy

Numbers Are Hard

Dear Eleanor,

I know you're still young, so you're not as into numbers and counting as Isaac.  I wanted to gently remind you, however, that you are 7.5 MONTHS old, not weeks, so you need not wake up three times a night to eat.  I get that you totally love me and want to hang out, but luckily for you, I'm not working full-time this year, so we have all day (every day!) to be together.  Let's spend some time apart at night.  It's good for us.

Love,

Mommy

Gender Bender

Dear Isaac,

You are pretty un-gendered kid.  You love the colors pink and purple and spend lots of time cooking in your kitchen.  When we visit your friends who have dolls, you love to care for them and play with their play strollers and high chairs.  On the other hand, you love to build with legos, play with trains, and run around playing sports.  You happily play with anything you are offered and seem to like boys and girls toys equally.  Despite this fact, whenever you play trains with Eleanor, you always give her the pink, girl one.  I wonder if you give it to her because she's a girl, or because it's pink, therefore really special to you and you want to share it with your sister...

Love,

Mommy

 

The Human CD

Dear Isaac,

You're really getting the hang of singing songs.  You do a mean "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider".  Yesterday I was singing some other songs I remember from being a kid (stop laughing, I was one...once) and you told me you knew a lot of them from school.  You got pretty upset however, when I didn't know the other ones from the CD you listen to at school.  Sorry that I don't know the "Pirate Song" or the "Water Song".  It's just a coincidence that they are on a CD of songs I happen to know.

Love,

Mommy

Potty Phone

Dear Isaac,

You are sort of trying to learn how to use the potty.  Some days you're more interested than others.  This morning, you decided you would sit on the potty for a bit, and when I came back to check on you, you were on the phone.  The toilet paper phone.  You were holding some squares to your ear, still attached to the roll - what do you know about phone cords, anyway?! and had the following conversation:

"Hello?  Hi-LO!?  Yes, I'm still here.  I'm doing fine.  Hi Leo.  I'm going potty.  Hello?  Ok.  Can you hear me?"

For future reference, I'm pretty sure both phone and potty etiquette dictate that you don't do both simultaneously.

Love,

Mommy

Cheers

Dear Isaac,

You're not feeling so hot today - you have the stomach bug we have been trying to avoid all winter.  Hopefully you won't be the good sharer you are and will keep your germs to yourself.  I'd really prefer Eleanor not catch it.  You had a similar bug at Eleanor's age and it lasted for 3 weeks.  No thank you.

As you lay on the floor being a little sickie, you were telling me all about our family.  You told me who we are and what we do.  Then you said, "Your family drinks."  Not an untrue statement, but you later clarified that what we drink is ginger ale.  The statement was probably truer when it stood alone without explanation.

Love,

Mommy

Flattery Will Get You Everywhere

Dear Isaac,

I was trying to get Eleanor's attention this morning and as usual, you thought you'd try to help.  When Eleanor didn't respond to me, you said, "Eleanor!  Turn around and look at Mommy!  She's beautiful."

You make my days.

Love,

Mommy

Goopy Eye Be Gone!

Dear Eleanor,

You have had a goopy eye since you were born.  Your tear duct in your right eye has been persistently clogged and infected.  We've tried lots of drops and massaging, and nothing has made a difference.  Until Thursday, when the ophthalmologist took away your goopy eye forever (we hope!).  I called the doctor to see what I should do since the problem wasn't getting any better and he said you should come in.

We went in to see the doctor, and although he had said we would wait until you were 12 months-old to do any procedures on your eye, he thought it was time to take more drastic action since it wouldn't go away.  They strapped you to a board and straight-jacketed you in and held your head still.  You didn't like it.  Neither did I.  Then they put a needle in your eye socket and injected it with a mixture of saline and some medicines and probed your tear duct.  The doctor said he was really glad he did it, because it didn't look like it would clear on its own.  You cried through the whole thing, but luckily it only lasted maybe 90 seconds.  As soon as I picked you up, you were back to your happy self.

I'm sorry they had to do that to you, but am so happy that your eye is finally clear!  You're a real trooper.

Love,

Mommy

One Castle, Coming Up!

Dear Eleanor,

Apparently my wish is your command!  We have been sleep training you over the past few days, and you no longer sleep in our bed or the swing!  You have spent 3 successful nights in your pack 'n play and even when you've woken up, you've gone back to sleep quickly after eating.  We can put you to bed awake, and you put yourself to sleep!  We are throwing out the swing today and couldn't be happier.  You are sleeping well, Mommy and Daddy are sleeping well, and everyone is happy!

I'll build you that castle just as soon as I win the lottery.

Love,

Mommy

In There

Dear Isaac,

Big (great) Grandma gave you a very special gift for Valentine's Day.  She gave you a recordable version of Guess How Much I Love You and read it for you and Eleanor so you can hear her whenever you like.  As we were listening to the book this morning, you told me you'd like to go in there (the book) so you could see Big Grandma.  I know she'd love to see you, too.  You always have a great time together.

Love,

Mommy

Choices

Dear Eleanor,

I always like to give you and Isaac a few choices when it comes to the things you do.  For Isaac, it's a bit easier, because he can tell me if he'd rather wear a red shirt or a gray one.  With your limited communication skills, you can't tell me exactly what you'd like.  I am going to give you three very clear options of where you may sleep:

1.  In your crib.

2.  In your pack n' play.

3.  In your swing.

If you could read, or understand options, you'd notice that no where on this list are you offered the choice to sleep in MY BED.  Somehow you have decided that this is the only place to sleep and are taking up prime real estate.  There are many reasons I prefer you sleep elsewhere, among them:  I end up having about 4 inches of bed to occupy, I don't sleep well because I fear I will roll on you and I do not appreciate being woken up by having my hair pulled to let me know you'd like to eat.

If you sleep in one of the places you're offered I'll build you a castle.

Love,

Mommy

Grandpa Cheese

Dear Isaac and Eleanor,

Peepaw's cheese business is up and running!  It was really exciting to be in Pennsylvania this week and see all of the wonderful things that are going on.  You especially liked visiting the goats at the farm and trying delicious cheeses.  Not everyone can get the up-close tour of the cheese operations or sample the cheeses right on the farm, but now they can like the page on Facebook or visit the Farm Fromage website.

Love,

Mommy

Can I Try That?

Dear Isaac,

I'm sorry the deli man didn't understand or hear your subtle attempts to get him to give you pieces of what he was slicing.  It was very classy that you didn't actually ASK him to give you a piece of ham or cheese, but rather said, "Mommy, I'm getting a little hungry" with a little wink within his earshot.  Eventually I just asked him for a piece of ham for you, but I didn't want to push our luck by asking for cheese too. 

Let's agree that I gave you ham, salami and cheese for dinner, instead of a real meal, to make up for what you missed at the deli counter, okay?

Love,

Mommy

Ewwww

Dear Isaac,

Your vocabulary never ceases to amaze me.  Today we had this very funny conversation while I was folding laundry:

Isaac:  "You washed my jammers?"

Mommy:  "Yup."

Isaac:  "Why?"

Mommy:  "You wore them, so they were dirty."

Isaac:  "That's disgusting."

Later in the day you told Daddy that snow is disgusting too.  I totally agree.

Love,

Mommy

Terms of Endearment

Dear Isaac,

You are a big boy.  I am quite aware of this, because you always respond to any label** I give you by telling me, "I'm not a _______________!  I'm a big boy!" 

I'm sorry that not everyone knows you are a big boy.  I'm sure the crossing guard doesn't really mean it when she calls you a baby every morning.  She just doesn't know your name.  You need not scream at her, like you did this morning, "I'm NOT A BABY!!! I'm A BIG BOY!!!!"  I don't think she heard you anyway, so I bet you'll be "baby" again tomorrow.

Love,

Mommy

**Offensive labels include but are not limited to:  sweetheart, smartie, and great helper.

Sweet Dreams

Dear Isaac,

Tonight when I came in to say goodnight at bedtime, you said, "I love you, Mister." 

Well, I love you too, Mister.

Love,

Mommy

Happy and Healthy

Dear Eleanor,

I took you for your 6 month appointment this week.  You weigh 18 lb 14 oz and are 27.5 inches long.  Your head is off the chart.  You are a big girl.  I was interested to see when Isaac was that size, so I looked at his yellow card.  At 9 months, he was 7 oz lighter and half an inch taller. 

Isaac's been eating everything in sight this week.  I think he's trying to get bigger so you don't eat him for lunch.

Love,

Mommy

Somebody's Got to Do It

Dear Isaac,

You're very interested in the kitchen.  Yesterday we had this conversation about it:

Isaac:  "Mommy, that you kitchen?"

Mommy:  "Yes."

Isaac:  "Awesome.  Daddy need to clean you kitchen."

Mommy:  "Daddy's not the only one who can clean the kitchen.  I can do it too."

Isaac:  "Why?"

I like your thinking - you can be the chore assigner around here.

Love,

Mommy

Who's the Boss?

Dear Isaac,

I'm not "getting bossy".  I am the boss.

Love,

Mommy

Pushing Buttons

Dear Isaac,

You always want to push the buttons on the elevator, but usually can't because I have to pick you up for you to do so, and I generally have Eleanor in the carrier.  When we got in the elevator this afternoon, you said, "I want to push B!"  I told you we were coming from the basement, so B wouldn't take us anywhere and asked you where we live.  Your response?  "New York."  Very true.  Our neighbor told you you are very smart.  It's true.

Love,

Mommy

God Made You Special

Dear Isaac,

Anyone who knows us, knows we're not religious.  At all.  For Christmas however, probably in attempt to keep you from being a heathen, you received a couple of Veggie Tales DVDs as a gift.  As with all movies, you want to watch them over and over.  Your current favorite is called "God Made You Special".  I figured it was a good message so we let you watch.  Despite the fact that you tend to be very good at comprehending movies and books (for example wanting us to write "Isaac" on Woody's boot like Andy did in Toy Story), you have totally missed the message with this movie.  Instead of buying into the message of the story that God made you special, you watch intently and then get a really sad look on your face and say, "I no special" over and over.  As a result, we have to have a pep talk every time you want to watch this movie and make you agree that you won't say you aren't special before we let you watch.

I can't say for sure that God has anything to do with it, but you certainly are very special.

Love,

Mommy

A Memory Like an Elephant

Dear Isaac,

Today on the way to school you suggested that it would be a good idea if I made cookies today while you were playing with your friends.  I told you that I didn't think I could because I needed to put the laundry away.  (Never mind that that only takes a few minutes.)  When I picked you up, you asked if I made cookies.  I told you I had not, and you said, "Oh, you have to put laundry away." 

How much longer do I have until you have a sense of time?

Love,

Mommy

Don't Bite the Hand that Feeds You

Dear Eleanor,

This just in - despite the fact that you get 95% of your sustenance from me, I am not the only person who can feed you.  Your daddy is more than capable of giving you peas or any other food you may be eating.  You need not flip out when he tries to feed you and then eat nicely when I offer the exact same thing to you.

Love,

Mommy

PS - You also don't have to cry when I leave the room, you're a little young for that. 

It's Been Awhile

Dear Isaac and Eleanor,

This is the longest I've gone without writing to you since I started the blog.  I don't know what I've been doing - avoiding snow mostly - we have so much here in NYC!  But you've both been doing some cute things, so it's time to get back to it!

Eleanor, you have started eating solid foods, and you love them.  So far your favorites are peas and pears, but you've also had squash, carrots and rice cereal and have eagerly eaten them all!  You can almost sit up by yourself - a few seconds here and there - and you are constantly trying to roll everywhere and then get frustrated because your head gets in the way.

Isaac, you're having another "word explosion" and have added such words and expressions as "why?", "quickly" and "That's why!" Every day when you get home from school you update me on who got time out that day and why, and remind me that you're a good boy, so you don't get time out.  You often think you're the boss of me, telling me not to sing, dance or talk to you.  Power struggles are fun.

You're both still really cute.

Love,

Mommy

Please Eat Your ...

Dear Isaac,

You've always been a good eater.  Recently though, you are veggie obsessed.  Clearly, this is not a bad problem to have.  I'm fairly certain, however, that you are one of the few two and a half year-olds who has to be told nightly that you can have more salad when you eat something else. 

Here's to healthy habits starting young.

Love,

Mommy

What to do?

Dear Isaac,

After your nap today, we were trying to think of something we could do to get out of the house for a bit.  I asked you what you thought would be fun and you told me you wanted to go to a birthday party.  I guess you had so much fun at Celia's party on Friday you'd like to repeat the experience as often as possible.  I told you we couldn't go to a party because we weren't invited to any and that we're not birthday crashers.  Never fear, you had another idea, we could be "cake crashers".  I guess you really just wanted the sweet parts of birthdays.  You were happy enough with a trip to Barnes and Noble to get a "speshul tureet" and a few new books with a gift card you and Eleanor got for Christmas.

Love,

Mommy

Natural Instinct

Dear Eleanor,

You've been rolling from back to front for quite some time and I've been wondering when you would go in the opposite direction.  You often rock back and forth when you're on your tummy, but until today had never actually made the roll.  We have your friend Elea to thank.  She is a very curious little baby who wanted to reach out and touch you.  On the face.  In the eye.  As soon as her hand touched your face you quickly rolled from front to back to get out of her reach. 

Necessity is the mother of invention...or something like that.

Love,

Mommy

Way With Words

Dear Isaac,

You and I had a great day today.  I had a bunch of errands to run and you had some Christmas money to spend, so I thought it would be fun for us to go do both together.  I was a little apprehensive about going out late morning, as I knew it would mean you would miss your nap, but I took a chance anyway.  We started by going out to lunch.  Yours was chicken with some steamed broccoli and mine was a salad with shrimp and edamame.  You ate most of the shrimp on my salad and quite a bit of edamame and then took on your own food.  You did a great job of eating a lot of broccoli and chicken when you announced, "I want ice cream."  This might not be an unusual request from a normal kid, but as we know, you are anything but.  I thought maybe you saw someone who had ice cream which prompted you to want it, but after asking you, I soon found out from the neighboring table that you had been eavesdropping and they were ordering ice cream.  They did the usual parent apology, but I didn't mind since you had eaten anyway.  I was going to tell them as much, when you piped up, "It's fine!  It's fine!"  When the waitress came over, you told her, "I want ice cream sundae, please."  The ice cream arrived, and in your typical fashion you decided you'd rather eat more broccoli than ice cream.  Thanks for the dessert.

Next, we stopped to buy Eleanor some pajamas.  You helped me pick out the ones you thought she would like best and told me we definitely had to buy the ones with an elephant on it, because he was singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."  I'm not sure how you knew this, but you were convinced.  When we checked out, you told the cashier, "Eleanor NEEDS jammers."

Our next stop was to buy diapers for Eleanor and for you to spend some of your Christmas money.  You have been obsessed with the Toy Story movies and I thought it would be fun for you to buy a Buzz Lightyear or a Woody doll.  They were out of Buzz, but I showed you the Woody doll, which you thought was cool, until you saw a very inexpensive cash register you HAD to have.  So instead of getting the toy I thought you would want, we bought the cash register.  You also suggested a few things you thought we should get for Eleanor, like a gigantic pillow and a sippy cup that said "David".  You assured me "Eleanor like it!"  Buyer's remorse struck as soon as we got in the car, and you said, "I want Woody, I want Woody."  Lucky for you, you had plenty of Christmas money left and we had another stop to make where you could get Woody.

We made our last stop at Target where you found your beloved Woody doll and pulled his string all around the store while we got what we needed.  I did not heed your suggestion of the purple argyle socks for Daddy, only because he doesn't have anything that matches.  Of course, when we got in the car with Woody, you told me "I want Buzz Lightyear."  Nice try.

When we got home, you showed Daddy your new toys and insisted he write "Isaac" on the bottom of Woody's shoe, since Andy tagged him in the movie.  Pretty cute.

The last nugget of the day is perhaps the cutest thing you've ever said, and you've said some pretty adorable stuff.  I was tucking you in and you ran your fingers through my hair which desperately needs to be cut and told me, "You haircut beeeyooootiful, Mommy."

You're a real character.  What a way with words you have.

Love,

Mommy

I Guess You Won't Wear Diapers to College

Dear Isaac,

Daddy and I have been trying to encourage you to use the potty.  We tell you about how much fun it is and often ask you if you'd like to use it.  Santa even brought you underwear for Christmas.  You thought they made a nice hat.  Today you told me that your "bum hurts" and "it's a little red" so I explained that if you used the potty and didn't wear diapers it wouldn't hurt anymore.  Your response?  "Cream works too, Mommy."

Surely someone with your logic skills can master toilet training?

Love,

Mommy

Host with the Most

Dear Isaac,

Today my good friend Lauren came over to visit us.  You were a very gracious host.  When she walked in, you introduced her to your sister, saying, "This is my sister."  You entertained her with your cuteness and then said, unprompted, when it was time for her to leave, "Thank you for coming to my house."  As soon as the door closed behind her, you were sad she was gone.  "I miss Lauren," you told me.  With such a nice boy to visit, I'm sure she'll come back soon.

Love,

Mommy

Gone Fishin'

Dear Isaac,

You come home with lots of neat pieces of art and crafts from school.  At Christmas time they took a picture of you and you made a snowman frame to put it in.  It is on our bookshelf in the living room.  Today you went up at look at it and said, "That's a beautiful picture."  Daddy wanted to make sure he heard you correctly and said, "It's a beautiful picture?"  Your response?  "Thanks, Daddy."

I guess we haven't complimented you enough recently, so you went looking for some yourself.

Love,

Mommy

Not Nice!

Dear Isaac,

You often self-regulate and tell me you need a time-out when you start to get grumpy.  You usually just sit down for a minute and then are happy to go play.  This morning you gave yourself a time-out for something I did that you didn't like.  When I asked you why you put yourself on time-out you replied, "Mommy's singing not nice.  Need time-out."

I'll just assume you didn't like that particular song.

Love,

Mommy

Hungry Like the Wolf

Dear Eleanor,

You have a great interest in what everyone's eating these days.  Unfortunately, you're still a little young for food.  The doctor said you can start at 5 months, which is on Thursday, but I prefer to wait until you can sit up on your own.  Sorry to disappoint you, but even if I did give you some food on Thursday it would be a strained vegetable or some rice cereal, not the celery you were just eye-ing ravenously.

Love,

Mommy