Letters

I'm going to avoid talking about potty training in this letter, because I know the lack of progress we're experiencing right now will seem so inconsequential when we read this letter later. Or at least I can hope, right?

I forgot a bunch of your funny sayings in my last letter, so you get a whole bunch this time. I love how your brain connects things that aren't quite right, but make so much sense in your little kid world.

I took you and Sophie to stay at my parents house one weekend towards the end of August. That was a really neat experience. I liked being with you all the time, and it was good for Mama to have some time off too. At night you and I shared a bed, and Sophie slept in the portable playpen/crib at the foot of the bed. I had my cell phone with me, of course, and I would talk to Mama at least each night. The first night we were there, Thursday, we had all climbed in bed and I was talking to Mama on the phone. I remember asking you if you wanted to talk to her, and you said no. Then you rolled away from me and stuck your thumb in your mouth. I kept talking to Mama, and after a while you rolled back towards me and said in a grumpy voice, "Go to sleep, Daddy." I thought it was very funny, because you're usually the one awake late, and we're trying to get you to go to bed.

On Friday Mama and I went on a date in the evening. I took her back home, and stayed there a little while before coming back to climb in bed with you. When I did get back just after 11:00 PM, everyone in the house was asleep except my little Jonah who had lights on all over the house and was downstairs playing with toys. Silly kid.

The next day was Saturday, and I took you and Sophie down to Provo for a Moon Family Reunion. You had a blast there with the bikes and toys. We had lunch there, and of course all you really wanted to eat were chips. So of course you finished your meal before everyone else, and ran off to play in the field with a bat and ball. Well, before I finished eating, you let out a scream and came running to me holding your ear. You got a bee sting! I was pretty nervous at first, because who knows if you'd be allergic to that or something, but you were fine. You're such a healthy kid, and I'm very grateful for that.

Earlier this month I was getting dressed up for something, and I put on my new yellow tie with Chinese characters on it. I was standing in front of the mirror adjusting it when you came out of your room and told me that tie was gorgeous. How do you know a word like that? And do you really understand what it means? I suspect you don't really know, but it sounds so funny coming from you.

I got to drop you off at preschool about that same time, and when we opened your locker to put your jacket in, you told me there was a hooker in there, to hang your jacket on. Yeah. I'll let you figure that one out when you're ready.

You also like to play make-believe games now. You like to eat pretend Grape-Nuts with me in the pretend morning, which could be any time of day. And you like to pretend to be knocking on my door. I ask, "Who is it?" And you tell me to open the door and see. I say I don't open the door until I know who's there, and I don't have a peephole to look through, so you have to tell me. The first time I said that, you told me, "But the peoples are home, so you have them now." Another time you said, "But Sophie is here. She's a people for you."

So, because I'm a little late in writing this letter, I get to write about going to preschool with you on Monday of this week. I had the day off from work, so I volunteered in your class. It was a blast. I thought it was great to watch you and all your classmates learning how to follow the teacher and be in school. At first all the kids looked at me funny, I'm sure because I'm so tall. But when they saw that I was pretty friendly, they latched onto me like crazy. When we first got to class, the teacher had paper and pencils out for you to practice writing "1"s. One of your classmates wrote a few ones, and then turned his paper over and drew a big oval shape. He told me it was my head, and it was big. Then he drew two lines out from my "head", like legs, and said something that sounded very much like, "biddy dumpings." I tried and tried to figure out what he was saying, but I couldn't get it. Another kid wanted me to make a paper airplane, like his daddy does. So I made one, the way I always have, and he was so excited because it was just like his daddy makes them. One girl carried around a magnifying glass for a long time, fascinated by how it made things bigger. She kept coming up to me and telling me all the things that were bigger. We sang songs, talked about the Fall season, and went to the library and had a book read to us. It was a lot of fun. I was glad I could go. Most of all, I loved seeing you behave so well. You paid attention to the teacher, didn't pester anyone, kept your hands to yourself, and followed along really well. I think it's amazing you're already going to school. I don't feel that old. It's a nostalgic thing for me to remember my first days of school and all the things I learned about how to interact with other kids and my teachers. I'm excited for you to learn all those things, and it's fascinating to watch. You're REALLY not our little Jonah anymore.

I love you, Kiddo. I still find it amazing that every night you ask if I'll be there in the morning, and you get so excited when you can eat Grape-Nuts with me. You like knowing where I am and you love when I come home. I hope I can live up to the hero you see in me. And I hope I can help you learn to reach your full potential.

Love,

Daddy

There are some interesting things happening in the world these days. You got a swine flu vaccine this past weekend. A couple years ago, there was a scare about avian flu spreading to humans and lots of people dying from it, but that hasn't happened yet. Last year people started getting swine flu, or novel H1N1, as they call it. The normal flu kills a number of people each year, but this one was a bit more severe. And it seems to affect little kids more than anyone else. So they've been working on a vaccine all year, and finally got one finished. It's a separate shot this year, because it was only just finished, so although you've already had your normal flu shot for the year, you needed a different one for this. And Mama says you're supposed to go back and get a second dose in a month. Davis County organized a clinic that was this past Saturday, and Mama took you down and stood in line for two hours with you and Jonah. Jonah got a nasal spray vaccine, and you got a shot. I'm glad you have it. Your Peterson cousins all had swine flu last week, so I was a little worried about you and Jonah. I think we're pretty good about keeping things clean in our house, and we're not super social people, but Jonah goes to preschool, where he might bring it home with him. I don't want you or him to get sick.

After your flu shot we all went up to J & J Gardens in Layton and rode a wagon with hay bales out to their pumpkin patch. They had three wagons pulled by tractors taking people out and bringing them back. You were tired by that point, but I think you liked the ride. We had to stand in line a little, and you definitely didn't like that. We picked a small pumpkin for you, and one for Jonah too. We tried to do that last year, but it was rainy and they weren't giving rides that day. Afterwards, we went to the duck park and ate lunch. You always like to see the ducks and geese.

You've been learning some new words lately, which makes me very excited. Today you brought me one of Mama's books and said "book" as you held it out to me. I've been teaching you colors a little, and you're learning signs for some and words for others. At J & J Gardens they have a couple small fish ponds, and I was pointing out to you the red, orange, yellow, and white fish. You learned how to sign red, and last night as you went to bed snuggled up to your yellow-clothed Cabbage-Patch doll, you pointed to it and signed red. I told you it was yellow, and you said "yellow." You've also been saying "apple" and pointing at our jack-o-lantern lights over the fireplace. Sometimes you'll copy what I'm saying, or what Jonah's saying. You're especially good at copying tone of voice. You make it into a game.

For the cuteness moment in this letter, I love how you look up at me when you don't know a word or sign. I'll ask you what something is, and say, "Can you say it?" You'll wait a minute, and I'll say, "Can you sign it?" You'll look up at me with an expression that says, "I don't know this one, Daddy. Teach me." And you do learn. I think that's one thing that has started to connect in your head. You can learn words for things, and you can look to us to teach you the ones you don't know. Just today you wanted me to follow you upstairs, and I asked you what you wanted. You stopped to think for a bit, and then I could just see you saying, "I don't know this one," as you reached out and just waved for me to follow you. It turned out you wanted a bran muffin. I don't blame you for not knowing that one. But I love that you try.

I love you, and I'm still excited to hear you talk to me. You're making me wait for it, but I'm patient.

Love,

Daddy