Passing Down Family Heirlooms

Dear Isadora,

You are eight months old and getting into everything.  One of your daily rituals is going to your pink bins of toys and systematically pulling each and every bin out to play with every toy you own.  (You have yet to learn how to put all these toys back.)




Your favorite toys to play with are a collection of old McDonald's Happy Meal toys mommy collected as a child.




But there's a story behind these toys, Isadora.  These aren't just oridinary fast food toys for mommy.  Oh no.  These toys are special - just like you.




These toys represent for me the day I met mommy again - your Mimi.  When mommy was a little girl, about five years old, my parents got divorced.  I had to live with my father, and  I didn't get to see my mommy again for a long, long time - almost seven years.  But one day, she found me, Auntie Barbara, and Uncle Grant.  When we met her, we had dinner at McDonald's.  Every weekend after that moment, we would meet, go to McDonald's, and we'd spend the weekend with Mimi.  Eventually, my father gave Mimi custody of us kids, and my life changed forever - for the better.








When I see you play with these keepsakes, it makes me remember the moment I first met my mommy again.  And I understand why she tried so hard to find us again after all those years.  Good mommies love their babies, Izzy.  And I love you very, very much.

Love,

Mommy

New Things We've Learned about You

Dear Izzy,

You are now eight months old.  At eight months, we're starting to see your little personality really take shape.  Here are some things we've observed about you:

1.  You'd rather be standing.

2.  Peas are your favorite vegetable.  Peaches are your favorite fruit.  (Daddy likes this photo of you.  He calls it your Godfather face.)

3.  You CAN hold the sippy cup by yourself.... You just CHOOSE not to sometimes.

4.  You like it better if daddy reads to you (rather than mommy) right before bed.

5.  You have a great sense of humor -- and it seems to be accompanied by the best laugh, too.

6.  For a while, you had a special corner for "taking care of business."  So funny 'cause it's true...

7.  You are addicted to wheat toast... but only if it has Country Crock butter on it.

8.  You know how to get to your toys... you don't know how to put them all back where they came from.

9.  If you could, I bet you would cut anyone who tried to take a graham cracker away from you.

10.  You are a social person and don't like to be alone.  Even a baby gate can't keep you away...

11.  You're a fashionista.  (Even mommy wishes she had your wardrobe!)

12.  You make Mondays bearable.

I'm certain this list is going to grow and grow.  But for now, these are the things I wanted to capture about my eight-month-old sweetie.

Love,

Mommy