I am loved. I know that mommy loves me because she takes such good care of me and she also tells me that she loves me every single day. Daddy shows that he loves me with all the games he invents for me and with all the fun we have together. Yes, I am very loved.

Everyone else I know loves me too. They show me that they love me by bringing me presents. Lots and lots of presents. They bring clothes, toys, books, and knickknacks of all sorts. I must be really special to evoke that much love from everyone.

I probably like the toys best. I especially like the ones that have buttons, lights, and play music. I am very musical. Even though each one of my toy bins is literally overflowing with toys, I can always use some more. Mommy disagrees. She says I can’t possibly play with them all. I play with each and every one!

Books are nice as well. I enjoy reading books with mommy. I like to turn the pages and point at the pictures. Mommy likes to read the letters and tell me what the things I’m pointing at are called. We have a system and it works. My bookshelves are packed beyond capacity too but mommy doesn’t seem to mind that nearly as much. I hear only a faint grumble while mommy tries to reorganize the shelves to fit any new acquisitions.

I don’t mind getting clothing. I like to dress up and look my best. However I think I can agree with mommy that my closet is struggling to contain my wardrobe. I do have a lot of clothes. The trouble is that I am growing so quickly that I often outgrow an outfit before I ever have the chance to wear it. That is wasteful!

By the time I get big enough for my next size, mommy already has a full selection of clothing purchased, washed, and ready to wear. As soon as I begin to wear that size, mommy starts shopping for the next one, while the size I just outgrew gets folded up and put away in storage. It’s a rotating system.

By shopping ahead we can take our time and get some good deals. With this strategy I always have clothes that fit. However it also means that my closet has to hold two sizes worth of clothing. Furthermore, any clothing that I am given as a gift is not really clothing that I need since I already have an entire wardrobe purchased for me in advance.

Mommy keeps telling everyone that if they’re going to buy me clothing, they should buy them in bigger sizes so that I can wear them in the future. For some reason people don’t always listen to this sound piece of advice. I would think people should know this without even being told. Clearly I have clothes to wear. I’m always well dressed when we have company over.

I don’t want people to think that I don’t appreciate their thoughtful gifts. I really do. I love getting presents no matter what they are. Even simply the process of opening a present gets me excited. It’s just that mommy gets sad when she has to fold up unworn outfits for storage and when mommy gets sad, I get sad.

If people can’t follow mommy’s one request for buying me clothes, they should just bring me toys and books. It might make mommy grumble about where we’re going to store these newly acquired treasures, but a grumbly mommy is much preferred to a sad mommy. Besides, mommy always stops the grumbling when she sees how much fun I’m having turning the pages of my new book or playing with my new toy. Then everybody can be happy.