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.