August 21st 1919
Dear Mother,
Tad sits up alone in his little chair before his little table and we have begun to let him feed himself. He gets along much better than most normal kids, no mussing things up, but he does stick a finger in now and then to locate things. [kept doing that all his life from time to time-JB] Tickled to be able to feed himself. He insists on standing up with our help but cannot hardly hold himself on one foot while he pushes the other ahead. But in a few days he will be walking. He is just crazy to get around and feel things and when Jess let him feel the sideboard he said right away “Oh, brand new one” Now who in thunder would think he would know that. And yesterday we had him dressed for the first time while we took him down for a haircut and before we got home he wanted a drink and I took him into the drug store and got him one, and while there he felt of the marble top to the soda fountain and immediately wanted a soda, he knew that he was in the soda shop.
He talks a good deal, some say more than he ever did before and that he talks plainer. And when he thinks that possibly we don’t understand him he takes our hand and places it to his face and then talks and if we then place our face to his and answer he seems more satisfied. I just left him playing with his bunnie rabbits and talking with them or rather to them and thoroughly enjoying himself.
I don’t know how we are going to discipline him, we have not the heart to spank him and we try to get for him everything he asks for and that is not much for it is just eats or some toy or candy or auto ride, but when he asks for something that we have not got and there is no way to tell him he just keeps on asking and asking until the tears come. No whining only that hurt tone and we cannot stand it. But before we are done he is going to be badly spoiled and we don’t know what we can do about it.
[Dr. Winthrop S. Chapman]
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