Live Long And Prosper

Dear Byron,

We have been so sad these days to see you get sick for the first times. You came home from the baby-sitting service your Mommy and Daddy use with a bad cold and a slight fever. You were not a happy camper that day. This past week they sent you home with pink eye, an infectious disease that caused your eye to turn all red. It hurt bad too. You had to go see the doctor to get some anti-biotic medicine for those bad bugs that wanted to live in your eye. It went away—for a while. Then, just when they thought it was gone for good, whoops, it came back again. Your crying made us almost want to cry. Yesterday, when you stayed home with Daddy, Gma and me, you had some long naps. Those, together with the medicine, seem to have you feeling much better today.

I got sick when I was a little kid. One time I had pink eye too. They made me stay home from grade school until it went away. I don't think they had any medicine for it back in the 1930s. All I know is that it hurt and I was supposed to stay out of bright light. Eventually it did go away.

My folks were scared us kids would catch diptheria. We heard of kids getting really sick with that stuff.  You'd get fever and chills, a sore throat and headache, have a hard time breathing and a really stinky guck came out of your nose. I think there were other complications. Now kids like you won't get it because you're vaccinated for it.

What really, really scared my parents was polio. That was a disease that turned kids into cripples. My Uncle Gilbert had it when he was a kid and walked with a very, very bad limp all the rest of his days. The disease was passed on by people breathing. I especially remember we didn't get to go to the Minnesota State Fair because of the polio scare. Fortunately, hardly anybody gets polio any more, because Dr. Jonas Salk and his team developed a vaccine for polio in the 1950s. That was followed by another even better vaccine by Dr. Albert Sabin in the 1960s.

There were lots of other diseases that people got. Some in our community died from pneumonia, because nobody had good medicines to fight it. In fact, Byron, it wasn't until the end of the 19th century that doctors and scientists realized that there are lots and lots of tiny bad bugs everywhere that want to take up housekeeping in our bodies. I found a little booklet by Dr. Isaac Azimov that tells all about how we discovered germs. We call them bacteria and viruses now.

There were lots and lots of diseases that seemed ready to getcha when I was a kid, besides the ones I've mentioned so far. There was measles, mumps, smallpox, chickenpox, whooping cough and scarlet fever. Way back in 1900 I read that over 60% of American kids died from diseases like these that were passed on from one person to the next. In those days 165 of every 1,000 kids died before their first birthday. In some cities this number was as high as 300. Overall, the average person only lived to about 50 years.

But modern medicine has made some remarkable progress. Here's a list of major diseases conquered during my lifetime.

1. Chicken Pox
2. Diptheria
3. Influenza or Hib disease
4. Malaria
5. Measles
6. Pertussis or whooping cough
7. Pneumococcal disease—various types of pneumonia
8. Polio
9. Tetanus
10. Typhoid fever
11. Small Pox
12. Yellow fever

All I want to say, my dear Great-Grandson, is that you are very blessed to be born in the 21st century with all the progress that has been made to fight sickness and disease. Some are saying that you could live to be over 120 years. We do pray that you have a long, happy and prosperous life and that all through your life your remember that you are a beloved child of our Father in heaven. 

We love ya, 

GGPa

Learning And Growing

Dear Byron, 

You already started to walk over a week ago, but boy-oh-boy are you getting with it now. You have discovered this new way of getting around and day by day you are becoming more sure of how to do it. Yesterday, as you kept saying "Duck, duck, duck!" you paraded around the living and dining room on your sturdy little legs. Once in awhile you went plop down on your bottom, but then up you came and on you went. Meanwhile your Mommy, Daddy, GGMa and I all kept shouting, "Hurray! You're doing it. Good job." It won't be long now before you're even running. Congratulations on this next important step in your life journey.

And we see that you are learning to use your hands. You're getting quite good at picking up bits of food, holding your spoon, sippy-cup and bottle. That coordination thing, like throwing a ball, is coming along quite well too. And you've learned how to climb up on the couches and chairs. We have to watch as you do that, because a few times you have fallen and almost hurt yourself.

Everything is new and interesting. It's fun to eat food, to use a spoon and bring it to your mouth. And my, but those strawberries, blackberries and raspberries are really good. I notice that once you've learned a new skill you want to do it again and again and again. That's great. It creates the coordination I mentioned above.

You're also learning now to manage your feelings. Basically I see that you are a very cheerful little guy. You wake up happy most of the time, but when you are tired or want something you will let us know loud and clear. Of course there are also those moments when you very much want to be held and comforted. Its complicated, isn't it? Lots of us adults still struggle with our feelings. And I believe you will continue to do so as well. 

We hear you learning to talk. Lots of nonsense mumbles yet, but your vocabulary is growing. You still do lots of pointing and using one-syllable words, but little by little you are trying to combine words. We're trying to teach you what nose, ear, mouth and eyes are. And you're quite good at doing patty-cake, patty-cake, baker's man. We also see you responding to simple directions like, "Get your ball" or "throw it to me."

What was fun last week was to see you bring home your first painting from school—day care, that is. They gave you some water-paint and a brush. Suddenly, there it was. Or shall I say, What was it? In any event, we put it up on the frig. Besides that, you're pointing to the animals and machines in your picture books. You don't know yet about writing, but that too will come in time. 

We see that you love to put things in holes or boxes. When I gave you a bath last night, I was rather amazed to see that you know all about filling up a cup and pouring it out. You love water and you love your soft "blankie". When you hold it, in goes your thumb into your mouth.

And you are discovering music. Mommy and Daddy were plunking away on the piano a couple nights ago. Suddenly there you were pounding the keys yourself as you stood beside them. We notice that you have a growing sense of as rhythm as we sing little songs or keep beat with our hands. All quite amazing. 

So many things to learn. Such great fun, for you and for the rest of us. Keep it up, kid. There's a whole, big, wonderful world out there. 

We love you. 

GGPa

Safe In Daddy's Arms

Dear Byron,

This note will be posted the day that I am in the operating room having my aortic valve replaced. There are some dangers connected with that operation, but I'm confident that the surgeons who do their work are skilled and experienced. I write this in advance. By the time you read it, everyone will know the outcome.

But there is more I wanted you to know about this experience and others like it. I'll illustrate it by a little story a dear friend recently sent me. Its about a pastor who was riding home in a passenger plane when a violent lightning storm struck. The pastor, like the other passengers was uncomfortable and afraid.

"As I looked around the plane," he said,"I could see that nearly all the passengers  were upset and alarmed. Some were praying. The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm.

"Then, I suddenly saw a little girl. Apparently the storm meant nothing to her. . . She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat. She was reading a book and everything within her small world was calm and orderly. Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world. 

"When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible storm, when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity, when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid. I could hardly believe my eyes."
When the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark, the pastor lingered to speak to the litle girl whom he had watched for such a long time. He commented about the storm and how the passengers were so afraid. Why, he wondered, had she not been scared?

The child replied, "Cause my Daddy's the pilot, and he's taking me home."

You, Byron, understand that better than many of us grownups. You know your Daddy will always make sure you are safe as he brings you home. I've often seen him carrying you in his arms from the car, sound asleep and completely unafraid.

That's how I'm approaching this operation. It's a bit of a storm in my life, but I know that I have a Daddy in heaven who is keeping me safe as I make my way home.

The Hebrew word for Daddy is Abba. Sounds a little like Papa, doesn't it? Well, Jesus and His friends taught us to use that name to talk to our heavenly Father. He reminded us that we are truly the specially adopted kids of our Father in heaven. We really do belong to the family. He has made sure of that (Galatians 4:6). You'll have some storms in your life too, Byron. Just remember that you are always safe in Abba's arms.

We love you,

GGPa

Byron's Baptism Birthday

Dear Byron,

Happy Second Birthday! Yes, this past week you had your second birthday—your Baptismal birthday. A year ago, on May 15, 2011, you were baptized at St. Paul Lutheran Church, McAllen, TX. in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. On that day Jesus said to you that you are His most special and beloved child. He said that He took you with Him in His heart when He was beaten and crucified. You were with Him in all His suffering and pain. You went with Him when He knew His heavenly Father had forsaken and turned His back on Him. And you were with Him when He said, "It is finished!" and He gave His spirit into the hands of His Father and departed from His body.

Yes, Byron, you and I and Great-Grandma, your Mommy and Daddy, your Grandmas and Grandpas and all the millions and billions of people who are in this world or who ever have been—all of us were with Him on His cross and in His grave. We were with Him on that most glorious day when He rose again from the dead. We were with Him, alive, breathing, eating and celebrating. And we will never, ever be separated from Him now and forever. Because of Jesus we are alive—forever and ever and ever, even if our bodies die. For we will be with Him when He returns to raise us up in the new creation.

That's what He said to you, Byron, on May 15. That's what He wants you to remember when you grow older and start to realize that you have not and cannot always do what He wants you to do. He wants you to admit it to Him and then He wants you to remember that you are baptized. He wants you to hear Him say, "I forgive you. Go in peace and sin no more." That means that He really, really does forgive you.
Like the Apostle John said,

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. - 1Jo 1:9 ESV

Just as you are clean outside when Mommy or Daddy give you a bath, so Jesus tells you that you are clean inside and through and through in the water of His baptism, the baptism that you now share. Never forget this. It will sustain and keep you safe throughout your life on this earth. In fact, my dear Great-Grandson, you can come back to this special Word from Jesus each and every day of your life. Listen to these special words written by the Apostle Paul,

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. - Rom 6:3-11 ESV

That's way too much for you to put your little arms around at this time, but as you grow older you will want to come back to these words again and again. For now remember that in your baptism you were and are and always will be united and joined with Jesus in His death and His return from death to life. You belong to Jesus, so live for Jesus now! Nothing else is as important.

We love you,

GGPa

Yummy And Good-For-You Food

Dear Byron,

Its fun watching you eat and watching you learning to eat on your own. Yes, you still love that bottle of formula or milk, but you're also eating fruit, vegetables, meat, crackers and all sorts of things like that. You are still picking up bits of your food with your fingers. Why not? You'll always be doing that. But you are beginning to use a spoon. Of course, you often use the spoon for banging the table, but little by little you are learning to use it to scoop up food from a dish and put it into your mouth. Your coordination is improving day by day. And we're all so very proud of you.

Now the question is what foods will become your favorites? That seems to depend a lot on what you are learning to eat at this stage in your life? My, but there are so many different flavors and kinds of food available. Some are very good for you and will help you to keep growing strong and big. Others, well, many others may not be so good for you. Here in the America we have a problem. Many, many kids do not eat the right foods and they become overweight. That in turn leads to a variety of health problems.

The percentage of overweight children in the United States is growing at an alarming rate, with 1 out of 3 kids now considered overweight or obese.

That is nearly triple the rate in 1963 when your Grandma Cheryl was growing up in our house, says the American Heart Association. They even tell us that excess weight at young ages can be linked to higher and earlier death rates when you finally grow up. The site I'm linking gives some good ideas on how your parents can help you to reach and maintain a body weight appropriate to your age and body makeup.

At the moment, we're not real concerned about that, but maybe we ought to be. The journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine warns that parents might idealize their child as being a normal size, because a heavy child is sometimes seen as a “sign of successful parenting, especially during the early years when parents are responsible for their child’s health, nutrition and activity opportunities.”

'Nuff said. Your Mommy and Daddy are going to pay close attention to the food you eat and how much weight you are gaining. I'm not in the least worried about that. Meanwhile, keep on pounding the table with that spoon. Before long you'll be scooping up big bites of good-for-you food and popping them into your mouth all by yourself at every meal.

We love you,

GGPa

Learning By Imitating

Dear Byron,

We say ball and you say ba. We say Mama and you say Ma. We say Daddy and you say Da. We clap our hands and you try to follow, with a big smile on your face. We frown and you frown back. We smile and you break out smiling. We lift up our glasses to drink. You follow by lifting up your sippy-cup to take a drink of juice.

Its wonderful to see how you are imitating and learning how these grownups around you communicate. Its amazing to see you developing the complexities of language. It won't be long now before you start using short phrases.

Susan du Plessis reminds us about how babies learn their parents' language:

The baby learns language in one way only, and that is by hearing language as the parents talk and talk to it. The more a parent can talk to a child, often repeating the same words, the same phrases, the same structures over and over, the sooner the child will learn language. 

An important thing to note here is that by the time a baby is about nine months old he should be able to understand simple words and commands. He may perhaps also be able to say a few simple words already. Invariably, however, one finds that the baby understands much more than he is able to say. In fact, this remains so of any person throughout his life. One is always able to understand more of any language, even one’s mother tongue, than one is able to use in active speech. This is even more so of any second or third languages that a person is able to speak

She teaches more about how to prepare your child for reading, writing and 'rithmetic

. . . language is at the very bottom of the learning ladder. Its role in the acquisition of the three R's can be compared to the role of running in the game of soccer or ice-skating in the game of ice hockey. One cannot play soccer if one cannot run, and one cannot play ice hockey if one cannot skate. One cannot read a book in a language - and least of all write - unless one knows the particular language. 

If a child's knowledge of English is poor, then his reading will also be poor. Evidence that links reading problems and language problems has been extensively presented in the literature. Research has, for example, shown that about 60% of dyslexics were late talkers. In order to prevent later reading problems, parents must therefore ensure that a child is exposed to sufficient opportunities to learn language.

Susan du Plessis is the co-author of "The Right to Read: Beating Dyslexia and other Learning Disabilities" and the author or co-author of four other books on learning and learning disabilities. She has been involved in helping children reach their full potential for 15 years. She holds BD and BA Hons (psychology).

Visit her website at http://www.audiblox2000.com

Other articles by Susan du Plessis:

Preparing Your Child for the Three R's,  

Nurtured by Love or Matured by Nature? 

If Dyslexia Runs in Your Family, Will Your Child Inherit it Too? 

Dyslexia: Is the Shoe Perhaps on the Wrong Foot? 

We're all going to do the best we can, Byron, to help you keep on learning.

Crawl Before You Walk

Dear Byron,

We saw you! You took a step, maybe two. You have been crawling everywhere. You're quite good at this crawling thing. Then you started to pull yourself up. Next you grabbed hold of that little walker with wheels and began to push it around with those awkward steps. But you did it. You were walking and we saw you. Now you want to go more often. You let us know you want to try it out. At times you stop, let loose and simply stand there all by yourself. You are on the verge of walking all by yourself. Its wonderful to watch you develop.

Most of the time we've been told that it is quite necessary for babies like you to crawl before you walk. The child doctors and those who study such things tell us that crawling helps to develop neurons, nerve cells that transmit signals. These neurons help both sides of your brain to work together. It is important because of the gross muscle groups crawling uses and the oppositional arm and leg movements. It will even help you develop skills to read and in general make all parts of your body work together. This crawling thing is important.

But there are kids your age who never crawl. Really. Some of them simply start walking as early as eight months. The doctors say that may be OK, but they still encourage us grownups to help kids crawl. For kids who don't, they tell us to get down on the floor with the baby and crawl with him. Make it a fun game. It's kind of a brain-gym thing and good for developing stuff like I explained above. Of course you don't have to be concerned about any of that—as if you were—because you're great at crawling.

There's another important lesson to be learned about crawling, one that will serve you well  in many areas of your life as you grow up. Always remember to crawl before you walk. As you grow you will want to do lots of different walking and running things. You may want to learn to dance, play football, run in a race, even climb mountains. Whatever the skill, remember to start out by crawling first. Learn the basics, build on them and practice. Little by little your skill will grow.

That's true with learning to talk, to sing, to write and a thousand other things. Always learn to crawl before you walk. It's important. Meanwhile we're just so very happy that everything about you is developing in this wonderful way. And we love to put our arms around you and hug you as we sing this well-known little kid's song.

My Eyes Can See 

My eyes can see. 

My mouth can talk. 

My ears can hear. 

My feet can walk. 

My nose can sniff. 

My teeth can chew. 

My lids can flutter. 

My arms hug you!  

Love you, Byron. Keep on growing up. 

GPa