Brad was 3 years old. Isaac was 18 months. Christmas was coming and I was preparing. I was wrapping. I brought several wrapped gifts to place under the tree. Brad asked, "Who can we give all these gifts to?" Later a neighbor dropped by and jokingly said to Brad that he wanted one of the presents. Brad immediately walked over to get a present for Dale. (We used to have neighbors named Dale and Dale. Both the husband and the wife had the same name! We lovingly referred to them as "the Dales". I don’t remember if this was the wife or the husband and my journal doesn’t clarify.) Brad was a tender little boy. But in the same journal entry I also wrote that he told Brian he had a nose like Mr. Potato Head.
I had wrapped one gift for Isaac that I wasn’t sure he would like. He wasn’t a typical kid. If you walked down the toy isle shopping for him, you would find nothing. I had to think outside the box. Part of that was because his vision was very limited to bright contrasting items that were placed right in front of his eyes. That is why I bought the snoring Ernie doll. With his bright red striped pajamas, red nose and black hair, I thought Isaac might be able to see him. To my delight Isaac loved the doll. Not because he could see him, he loved to feel him snore next to him. Isaac’s body would relax and his face light up when Ernie was placed next to him. In Brad’s word’s Heavenly Father had made Isaac "wiggly". On a visit to an elderly woman in the ward who had never met Isaac, she asked Brad if his little brother was walking yet. Brad thought for a moment and then replied, "No, but sometimes he stops wiggling."
I have hung onto Ernie for all these years. None of the kids really play with him, but I don’t have the heart to get rid of him. His batteries are dead. He hasn’t snored for a long time.
Ernie has a new friend. Rylan. And I love it.
I had wrapped one gift for Isaac that I wasn’t sure he would like. He wasn’t a typical kid. If you walked down the toy isle shopping for him, you would find nothing. I had to think outside the box. Part of that was because his vision was very limited to bright contrasting items that were placed right in front of his eyes. That is why I bought the snoring Ernie doll. With his bright red striped pajamas, red nose and black hair, I thought Isaac might be able to see him. To my delight Isaac loved the doll. Not because he could see him, he loved to feel him snore next to him. Isaac’s body would relax and his face light up when Ernie was placed next to him. In Brad’s word’s Heavenly Father had made Isaac "wiggly". On a visit to an elderly woman in the ward who had never met Isaac, she asked Brad if his little brother was walking yet. Brad thought for a moment and then replied, "No, but sometimes he stops wiggling."
I have hung onto Ernie for all these years. None of the kids really play with him, but I don’t have the heart to get rid of him. His batteries are dead. He hasn’t snored for a long time.
Ernie has a new friend. Rylan. And I love it.
Christmas Day, 2003. Right before holding Ernie. You can see the difference in Isaac's body and face.
While holding Ernie.
I am not sure if I was trying to dress like a candy cane or if I was hoping my sweater would help Isaac find me.
April, 2010. Rylan and Ernie snoozing.
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