Dear Ivan:

The good news — the great news — is that you are learning more all the time and become more and more curious about the World around you.

The bad news is that you are becoming more and more curious about the World around you.

Don’t get me wrong.  Mommy and I love that you are inquisitive and are learning through the “scientific process” of asking questions to learn through interrogation.  On the other hand, Mommy and I would definitely like to not be interrogated.  It’s like living with a 4-foot-tall member of the Stasi who uses incessant smiling, cartoon-watching, and dimples to “crack” his victims. Forget waterboarding.  If you ask “Why, Mommy, why?” over and over and over and over again, eventually even the toughest person will breakdown sobbing and answer your question . . . even if he or she is not your Mommy.

So, yes, we love that you’re learning, but perhaps remember that this isn’t 60 Minutes and you’re not Mike Wallace, and there’s no time limit upon learning.  You have a lifetime to learn why the Sun is yellow and dirt is brown and tv is called tv and food is eaten with your mouth and shoes go on your feet, etc, etc, etc.

In the meantime, remember, we love you very much, even when you are handcuffing us to a chair, holding a bare lightbulb over our eyes, slapping us around and asking us why and what and when and where and how.

Love always,

Daddy