New Home pt2

Part 2


Dear Daughter


We're Here!
It looks like a mad house, there are boxes everywhere and I can't find my hair brush (why did I pack my hair brush) but that's OK because we are in our New Home! Your Daddy, Uncle Chris, Mike and Adrian worked so hard in cold and snow to move everything in. I looked like a chicken with its head cut off running back and forth moving boxes into their rooms. And you, you sat like the Princess you are, watching over all of us. Smiling every time the boys came in the house like they had come to see you especially.I was thinking that a new home means new beginnings. Fresh starts and promises.


So Here Goes:


I promise to never take you for granted. That goes for your Daddy too, and all the things he provides for us.


I promise that when you cut your first tooth and bite me, I wont be angry with you. I might yell, but its in shock no more.


I promise to show you the world. I don't mean far away places but the things right here. The way the leaves change in the fall, the taste of snow on your tongue, and the dangers of licking the swing set in the winter. (Even though friends might dare you to do it, dont listen. It hurts. In fact, I'll just tell you that story later, not show you.)


I promise to take your for walks around our neighborhood and greet new faces.


I will always kiss you goodnight, never hug you in front of your friends (after your turn 12) (maybe) and to cut the crusts off your grilled cheese.


Our new home has opened doors for us Little Girl. New adventures, new memories, and new things to see and learn everyday. I know its just four walls and a roof. But it means a place that you can look back and say "I remember that place. I had a lot of firsts there. First tooth, first steps,and first fall" (you could skip that if you want)


And if you already haven't noticed, I really, really......really like to take pictures. I promise to try and capture all those little moments in time that are special. Even the ones that just make good memories. You can look back and remember all the good times we had here. Remember that we love you. We want to provide everything we can for you. Daddy and I do our best every single day, and that will never change.


I love you Little Girl
Always and Forever
Mama


written: December 2010

New Home pt1

Part 1


Dear Daughter


We are Moving!
Recently Daddy and I  have been discussing the need for more space. Actually, more space for you and all the things you have accumulated since you were born. Surprisingly, there is A LOT :) We found a house that meets all our needs, and as a bonus, its very close to friends, parks, the library and bus stops. Now to start packing. I don't mind it. We have moved quite a bit so I have a routine down. I pack things according to items and the room they go to. Daddy packs things that say "Our Stuff". (who's else's would it be I wonder)


I sat on the floor of your room yesterday and went threw all of your clothes. I folded little pants and onesies, matched socks and slippers and felt a little yearning inside for the so tiny little girl we had in the beginning. I held up a favorite outfit of mine, (the purple Winnie The Pooh overalls) and wondered where the time has gone. You used to fit into that. You used to fit along my one arm while I fed you. I thought you were so fragile, like glass. Now its hard to believe your the length of the pillow I lay you on. I see you learn something new everyday and I am so very proud.


I have a request. Don't grow up too fast Little Girl. Enjoy this time well you can. Now is the time for kisses, cuddles and hugs just because. Bedtime stories, lullabies and Eskimo kisses. The time for being afraid of the dark and sleeping with Mama and Daddy. And when  the time is right, and you want to be a big girl; I promise to let you. I promise not to hold to tight when I bring you to school, not to cry (in front of you) when you have your first sleep over, and to let you do things on your own.


But every once in a while, if you could let me just hold on to you. Smell your hair and rub noeses and remind me, that you'll always be my little girl. That would mean the world to me.


I love you Little Girl
Always and Forever
Mama


written: November 2010

The Price of Children

Dear Daughter

Gramma sent me this email and I hadn't seen it before but it made me tear up 
(of course a lot of things make me tear up when it comes to you) and it's worth the read!

 The Price of Children

 The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and 
came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! 
That doesn't even touch college tuition. But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. 
It translates into:
$8,896.66 a year,
$741.38 a month,
$171.08 a week.
A mere $24.24 a day!
Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is: don't have children 
if you want to be "rich." Actually, it is just the opposite. 


What do you get for your $160,140.00?

• Naming rights . First, middle, and last!
• Glimpses of God every day.
• Giggles under the covers every night.
• More love than your heart can hold.
• Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
• Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
• A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
• A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
• Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said 
• or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to: 

• finger-paint,
• carve pumpkins,
• play hide-and-seek,
• catch lightning bugs,
• never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:

• keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
• watch Saturday morning cartoons,
• go to Disney movies, and
• wish on stars.
• You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and
• collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas,
• hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and
• cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck.
You get to be a hero just for:

• retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
• taking the training wheels off a bike,
• removing a splinter,
• filling a wading pool,
• coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
• coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the: 

• First step,
• First word,
• First bra,
• First date,
• First time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal.
You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of
 limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren.
You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and
 human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God.

• You have all the power to heal a boo-boo,
• scare away the monsters under the bed,
• patch a broken heart,
• police a slumber party,
• ground them forever, and
• love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren!!!!!!! 
It's the best investment you'll ever make!!!!!!!!!

I read this and I cried and smiled all at the same time. I want you to know 
something Sweetheart; Nothing I'll ever accomplish in life will be more important or
 more significant then being your Mama.
 You'll feel the same way when you have kids...........after you turn 30 and 
Daddy lets you start dating.

I love you Little Girl

Always and Forever 

Mama

written: 03/15/2011