Dr. Livingstone, I presume?

Dear Oma,

Mama says you liked my letter from yesterday and that you are still sick, so I thought maybe a letter today would be good.

Big news! I ate oatmeal cereal today! Tastes like . . . rice cereal. Sabrina says it's better with a little brown sugar on it. Maybe we could try that when you come visit?

Mama finished the playroom yesterday and it looks very nice. At least it did until Sabrina woke up. Mama found all the toys that had been boxed away forever and put them on the new shelves, so now Sabrina is like an ADD kid in a candy store. She barely plays with one toy before running off to get another. Mama follows her around, telling her to put her toys away before she gets out more toys and books. Silly Mama. She should just do some of those deep-breathing exercises and enjoy the show. That's what I do.

Mama has been “freecycling” all the things she took out of boxes that she says we don't need. She says we’ve received some nice things from other people on Freecycle, so we should “share the wealth.” From what Mama said while she was unpacking yesterday, I think we're actually “sharing the junk.”

That big sister Sabrina is having trouble sharing today. Mama gave me a fish teething ring this morning. It was just sitting on the counter, not doing anything, but the minute Mama gave it to me Sabrina cried and sobbed and dissolved into a puddle saying she wanted it. Mama said no. Sabrina finally had to go upstairs and lie down for a while until she could calm down enough to come back.

When she came back Mama told her that it was hard to share, and that even big people have trouble with it. She said it was doubly hard because Sabrina was used to being the only kid in the house. Sabrina agreed and then “practiced sharing” for a while. That means she practiced “take-the-toy-away-from-the-baby-and-give-her-something-less-desirable.” Just wait until I can crawl and talk. Then she'll really have to practice her sharing.

Mama has been spending a lot of time with pee today. Sabrina had an accident while she was standing on her SABRINA puzzle stool at the sink this morning. That’s bad. All those puzzle-piece letters and the grooves where the letters go are wood and hard to clean.

One of the cats apparently had an accident, too, on the mat upstairs. I figured by the age of six that everyone was potty trained, but I guess not.

Sabrina had an accident last night, too, in the new playroom. Her clothes were on the washer and Mama says that was stinky too. Mama says this afternoon she’s going to go and search out everything else in this house that smells like pee. I’m pretty sure that’s like searching for the source of the Nile.

Well, that’s all for now. I'm going to go take a nap with my bunnies. Occasionally I might wake up and watch Dr. Livingstone-Mama search for pee. Ha ha!

I hope you feel better soon!

Love,
Linnie Lou