Giselle,
I wrote this letter to your birthmom and I think it's the perfect letter to save for your 18 month update. A dedication to your birthmom; the one who chose me to be your mommy. You and I wouldn't have this incredible bond if it weren't for her. Every day, for the rest of my life, in good days and bad, I will be forever grateful to her. I love you way, way more than you know, baby girl. But, you already know that.
Love,
Mommy, Daddy and Emeline
(Oskar and George, too!)
Shelby,
I can’t believe 18 months ago
you blessed me with becoming a mother of two. I’m an only child and because of
your loving choice, my dearest dream became my reality. Motherhood has been the greatest journey I’ve
experienced yet and I firmly believe these are the best years of my life. I
could never ever thank you enough for this amazing gift. I’ve never been
happier or more fulfilled in my life and it’s because of your decision. Thank
you for helping me find my place in this world. Motherhood was my calling -
it’s been my greatest adventure and hardest challenge all at the same time.
I’ve grown more and loved deeper in these last few years. Your loving choice
has been and will always be our absolute biggest blessing.
Giselle has been such a gift,
such a rare treasure. She radiates joy with everything she does and everything
she is. This attribute of hers reminds me of you. We met once. And it was
brief. But the sparkle in your eyes that I saw on that day, is the same sparkle
I see in Giselle’s eyes every day. We know in our heart of hearts that she will
grow to be a perpetually happy, joyful and positive person. Just like you.
She brightens every day with
her mischievous grins and deep belly giggles. Everything is funny to our sweet
girl. Tickles (really only slight touches) and her sister give her the deepest,
uncontrollable giggles you can imagine. That sound is heaven on earth to me.
Giselle is still her Mommy’s
girl and you will find her most often on my hip with those chunky thighs
clinging on for dear life. I actually still wear our 27 LB baby in a baby
carrier. She loves it and gives me the sweetest hugs while doing so. I may just
carry her until she’s three if she keeps that up!
Giselle has a very timid
side, but also a very silly side if you are lucky enough to witness it. She only has a handful of people who she is
truly is at ease around and will let look, talk and touch her comfortably. This
number is growing quickly now, but we aren’t forcing her to interact in
situations that make her uncomfortable. When she is shy, she hides that sweet
face in my chest and we walk away if we can. If she’s feeling silly, she makes
the cutest smashed faces on the other side of my washing machine door, she’s a
mean dancer, the messiest eater I’ve been blessed to clean and a total klutz
from the moment she started walking.
Giselle is one verbal baby.
She’s only 18 months, but she can say up to four-word sentences already and has
been for 2 months now. She has great communication skills and she’s a girl who
knows what she wants! Oftentimes you will hear her yelling her requests, but
with the sweetest ‘peas’ (please) at the end. And upon receipt, she always
says, ‘tank you, mommy’. I remember her first four-word sentence was, ‘I wan
caakie (cookie), mommy.’. You just can’t say no to that! She may be able to say
four-word sentences, but our sweet girls still can’t say ‘yes’. Everything you
ask her, she replies with a nod and a ‘no’. She’s a mess!
She has a fierce
determination to learn. She repeats after me her ABC’s pronouncing every letter
but W correctly. Repeats after me 1-10 saying every word correctly. She pretend
plays already, has mastered her shape sorter, stacks all kinds of things around
the house and loves to color and paint. I’m hoping soon we can start color sorting
together. She knows all her main body parts now and absolutely loves to read.
It’s one of our favorite things to do together as a family.
She wants to desperately be
‘big’ like her sister. Giselle admires and adores Emeline and that adoration is
mutual. At first I thought that was just how all sibling relationships looked
like, but their love seems to run a little bit deeper. They are thrilled to see
each other first thing in the morning, give each other kisses on the lips
before bed and during the day, they never part whether by my side helping me or
playing. You’ll often find them holding hands while walking or riding in the
stroller. Somedays I feel like I’m raising the same child. If Emeline loves
something so does Giselle and if Giselle is interested in something so is
Emeline. I suppose that makes my job easier! They are truly best friends.
Giselle is loving – so
incredibly loving. She will stop what she is doing, run over to us and give us
the biggest hugs that just melt you into a puddle. She gives kisses on command
and keeps on kissing even when you ask for 5 in a row – guilty! Our laps and
our arms never seem to be empty because our sweet girl loves to cuddle and we
wouldn’t have her any other way.
Giselle loves playing babies;
she the sweetest little mommy to all her dolls always kissing and cuddling them
just as we do her. She enjoys swinging and sliding at the park, going on long
walks/runs, loving on our dogs Oskar and George, reading, playing with musical
toys, dancing, singing, playing dress-up and Barbie’s with her sister, Minnie
Mouse, Elmo and eating – that might be her favorite pastime of all.
Giselle has such a kind heart and loving
disposition – two characteristic of which remind us of you. We met you briefly,
but those moments and those memories are imprinted on our hearts forever. In my opinion, she’s the best of everything
good in this world and I love everything about her fiercely. Mother-to-mother,
I thank you immensely for choosing me to be her mother. Because of you, I can
share life’s ups and downs with her, show her the world and impart any and
every wisdom I know onto her. I’m doing my very best and always will, in your
honor.
We love you more than you
will ever know.
Happy Birthmother’s Day to
you! I hope you feel loved, honored and celebrated, because you are. Everyday.
Love,
Ashley, Kris, Emeline and Giselle
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