Dear Kaylee,
We have been having wonderful times together. Your Great Grandpa and Great Grandpa Lindgren came out and shared Easter with us. We went to the Science museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. You were a trooper that day. You got to eat ice cream with your Mommy and that is a rare treat for you.
Easter Sunday you came up to hear the children’s message and you made Grandpa laugh. Here is what happened-
Oh, well, I keep getting plenty of hugs from you anyway!
Love,
Grandpa
Dear Kaylee,
What the heck are you saying? Your mommy sent me a video of you saying, “Appo du du.” She said you kept on saying it. Sure enough, when you came over this morning, you looked at me smiled and said, “Appo du du.”
We haven’t figured out what you are trying to say, but you seem to enjoy it.
Maybe you are just saying, “My, but isn’t my Grandpa handsome.”
Appo du du to you,
Grandpa
Dear Kaylee,
We had fun the other night when your mommy and daddy celebrated their third anniversary. They went to a restaurant called “Salt Creek Grille,” where they had delicious steak. You and I spent the night running around your house and reading your books. The highlight for me was when it was time for you to go to bed. Grandpa has never put you to bed at night before and so I haven’t watched you brush your teeth. You did a great job!
Grandpa brushes his teeth a lot and enjoys having that clean mouth feeling. Our teeth are very important to us. We both love to eat!
Love,
Grandpa
Dear Kaylee,
What an exciting day this is turning out to be! It is St. Patrick’s Day, which is a special day when we remember a pastor like Grandpa who did many brave things so he could teach people about how much God loves them. His name was Patrick. Some of the people he taught, taught other people and they told more people about Jesus, and one of them, Boniface, showed the German people God’s love, and because you are part German, you can trace your Christian family tree back to St. Patrick!
This is a lot of people for over 1000 years who love you enough to keep bringing the joy of God. Now you have it, too!
It is also an exciting day because you were at our house with your mommy and we had a big earthquake! We haven’t had one of those in a loooong time. I was holding you when the earth went,
“BOOM! Rattle, rattle…”
You just looked at me and started laughing because Grandpa shakes you once in awhile, like we are on a boat, so I guess you thought we were sailing…
We stood under a center doorway and your mommy and Nana were laughing, too, because you were laughing. Right away, your mommy wanted to make sure she was hugging you lots.
Kaylee, we have earthquakes where you live. In fact the second strongest earthquake ever recorded (measured by total energy released in smallest area) was back when your mommy was a little girl. It was called the “Northridge Quake” and the epicenter was about two miles from our house.
Yes, we were in the same house! You and your mommy had your first earthquakes in the same house. Now, this morning it was scary and rumbly but nothing fell over around us. The Northridge earthquake was shaking everything and it was like a train was coming through our house, with loud noise and everything! Fortunately your mommy was laying next to me because she had waken up a bit earlier and wanted to snuggle. So when the shaking started, I put her under my arm and ran to the dining room and put her under the table, so I could run back and get one of her brothers. Nana had her other brother. I remember your mommy was saying,
“Shaky, Daddy, shaky! Shaky, Daddy, Shaky!”
We all stayed under that big table for awhile. We pretended we were camping…
So, Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Kaylee, and Happy First Earthquake Day!
Love,
Grandpa
Dear Kaylee,
It takes a big wardrobe to hang around with you lately. On Grandpa Day, Friday, you spit up about six times. Your eating now involves a variety of foods and so there is a variety of color available for your natural art…
You had to wear three different outfits. Nana had to change her clothes once and Grandpa twice. I thought we were doing a Katy Perry concert around here for awhile with all the costume changes!
I think part of the challenge is Grandpa likes to lift you up and put your tummy on the top of his head, then wiggle you around. That and bouncing you on my knee. And dancing with you. And rolling around on the floor.
OOOh, maybe it’s not so much a food issue…
Love,
Grandpa
Dear Kaylee,
Well, the first year “firsts” just keep coming. This time, it has to do with food again. You are getting the chance to feed yourself. At least put some little puff crackers in your mouth. This is hilarious to watch because you put one in and then another and another, kind of like Grandpa shoveling in some BBQ chips. Nana and mommy watch you and are trying to figure out if you are using your left or right hand most. I think you are a two-fisted puffer. Keep using both hands and we’ll have a point guard on our hands…OK, that’s a bit early…
Another first is how animated you get now when we Facetime you on the weekend. You know it is me and Nana because you give us your “Hi, how are you doing?” grunts. Sounds like you are trying to mimic a machine gun. “Ach, Ach, Ach, Ach Ach!”
I don’t know orders of things and months when this or that is “suppose” to happen with you. What I do know is living in the present is the way we are wired anyway. Don’t worry about what happened in the past and don’t worry about what’s going to happen someday. Live the way you are designed. Live today. Sounds like a good plan for your whole life doesn’t it?
Love,
Grandpa
Dear Kaylee,
Come on now. Grandpa goes out of town for one day and you go ahead and start crawling. What’s with that?
Nana gets to see you crawl and I get a picture and a video. O, well. You are really moving now. In my head, I was hearing the song, “Going Mobile,” by The Who, as you are moving about, but boy, that really dates me.
Then I just saw you on Facetime and you were crawling backward. Instead of the “Moonwalk,” you were doing the “Mooncrawl.” I would start humming “Bille Jean,” but that would date me again, so I will just say it is hilarious watching you and keep working on that core strength!
Love,
Grandpa
Dear Kaylee,
Well, your first Christmas is over. I am writing this as I look at a framed picture of you sitting on Santa’s lap. You two got along fine. Yes, Christmas was a whole lot of pictures of Kaylee in many different Christmas outfits. You were involved in much hustle and bustle, but you didn’t seem to mind. Several dinners in restaurants even, and you made it just fine.
My favorite memory of your first Christmas is about the real Christmas. When we celebrate Jesus being born. This is a big deal. What does it mean?
It means we can finally understand God for the first time because he comes to us on our terms. If we are going to be in a relationship with God, he has to address us in our terms, in a way we will understand. And so God does.
God comes as Jesus and, Kaylee, everybody gets it. Who doesn’t love a baby? Who doesn’t want to be around a baby? O, people may think they don’t want to be around a baby, and then one actually shows up and smiles, and all bets are off.
So, what is my favorite first Christmas memory of you?
You are at the altar when Grandpa is telling all the children the Christmas story. Your mommy sits with you off to the side. My baby girl with her baby girl listening to the good news of Jesus.
What could be better?
Now we get it.
Love,
Grandpa
Dear Kaylee,
Well, it is time for you to start eating some food. You have your first tooth!
I guess there isn’t much you are going to chew with that one tooth, but now your mom and dad are going to start giving you cereal. This is just one of those milestones that are so much fun. When I had the chance to feel your tooth in your mouth, it reminded me of going fishing.
Except this time I caught a Kaylee fish and I am not going to throw here back!
Love,
Grandpa
Dear Kaylee,
Grandpa is interested in brain research and he is reading a great book, Joy Starts Here. The brain research author, James Wilder, says God wires our brains for joy. The part of the book that I liked most was about how important it is to have a high-joy atmosphere connected to feeding in a babies’ life. Here is a quote.
“Infants respond with joy to being fed, held, and stroked. Pleasant smells, being kept at just the right temperature, smiles and warm voice tone bring joy. Babies respond with joy to being fed good things. This joy at being fed is designed to bond the baby and the feeder together.”
That’s you, Kaylee. You bring so much joy to everyone who sees you. And the best time is when you eat, isn’t it? Your mommy feeds you with her milk and hugs you close. Your daddy feeds you with a bottle with mommy’s milk and hugs you close. During the week, Nana and Grandpa get to feed you and hug you close. You are just one little bonding machine!
I love when you look up at me when I am feeding you. There is pure trust in your eyes. For all of us who feed you, God is creating an imprint that will last the rest of our lives.
Here’s Grandpa’s promise. I will always feed you and will always be filled with joy at my Kaylee. I know this not because of me, but because God is the one who gives me this kind of love, and with God, you never have to worry about being loved. He’s got that one figured out. And he’s so smart he connects joy from the very beginning with feeding. Something you have to do several times a day. How amazing is that?
Love,
Grandpa