My sweetest little Giovanna,
On your 2nd birthday I am filled with mixed emotions of excitement, sadness, happiness and pride. I am excited because I see how much you’ve grown, and I know so many magical moments await you. You are the sweetest spirit but also have a commanding attitude that lets us know you are fearless, strong-willed and independent. You are and will be a force to be reckoned with and I know that your strength and persistence will serve you well in life and shape you to be a remarkable little lady.
I can’t wait to have conversations with you about life and answer all of your questions about hair, careers, clothes, and anything your curious and beautiful little mind wants to know. But, I must admit, I am kind of sad. You are growing up so fast and the baby days are gone. Over the last two years, you’ve amazed us in so many ways. My days spent cuddling with you, munching on your plump little arms, thighs and cheeks are coming to an end. Every chance I get, I bury my nose in your neck and hair and greedily inhale that special baby scent that is uniquely yours. I savor each tiny kiss you plant on my cheeks, my lips, my eyes because everyone of them I can collect is one to remember in the days you will no longer willingly do so. As much as I may wish for my darling girl to remain a baby, I know you will not be forever. I must push my tiny bit of sadness aside and embrace the part that thrills me about your growth and the happiness you have brought me. You came into this world with the sweetest spirit but an attitude that told us you were strong-minded and independent. You are a force to be reckoned with for sure, and I just love that about you. I know your strength and persistence will serve you well in life. Being compassionate and tough will make you such a remarkable woman.
You know the part I love the most about you is how incredibly smart, witty and funny you are. You have mastered all the letters of the alphabet, counting to 20 in English,Spanish and Italian. You know the days of the week in all 3 languages, and your first and last name (mine and Daddy’s too…they way you pronounce Ky-oollll is adorable). You were efficiently expressing your needs and desires with words and phrases rather than whines well before you turned 2.
So what’s next for you, my little girl? I can’t be completely sure, really. I may not know what career you will go into when you grow up, but I am certain that the sky is the limit in all aspects of your life.
I am certain you will learn and explore in a way that makes your life rich and fulfilling. You will grow and figure out who you want to be and what you want from life. You will accomplish great things and inspire many. I’m confident that you will develop a bond with your family and friends that nourishes your soul in such a powerful way. I know that you will always be fiercely loyal and compassionate to the people you love. I am sure that I will butt heads with you at times because we share so many personality traits (a blessing and a curse for you my little love), but I also know that we will always make peace because our compassion allows us to step outside of ourselves and see things from someone else’s perspective. Working through our differences and through the process will only serve to strengthen and deepen our relationship.
The road ahead will be filled with trips to places throughout the world – Europe (especially Italy), Asia, Australia, and the Caribbean. You are already such a good traveler and have been a trooper through airports, cruise ships and time zones. You have been on 28 flights, 2 cruises and explored 12 countries (England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Montenegro for example). I hope through travel you gains true understanding that there are many ways to do things, as different cultures will demonstrate, so you can always have the confuse in yourself to choose the path best for you. Your educational experiences (not limited to a classroom) will open up a world of opportunities for you, and you will take advantage of whatever speaks to your heart.
The challenges you face and overcome will help shape you into the amazing woman I know you will become. I am eager to help you grow into an adaptable, determined, persistent young woman who is destined to become.
If the first two years of your life serve as any indication of what the next two will bring, I have to just push my little bit of sadness aside and embrace the part of me that’s thrilled about your growth. As much as I may wish for you to remain a baby, I know you can’t be a baby forever. You have to learn and explore. You need to grow and figure out who you want to be and what you want from life. Since you were born, my favorite book to read to you is “If I Could Keep You Little” by Marianne Richmond, which reads much like this letter to you. I cry every time I read it to you…still! Although the book “warned” me this would happen, I was powerless to slow down time!!
On this special day, I hope you are able to feel every ounce of love that surrounds you. Despite this letter to you, I can’t really put in to words how much I love you. I must say it to you at least a million times a day and yet I still hope it is enough. I am so grateful to have you as my daughter, to teach me how to be a better person, a better mom. Your love for me is truly unconditional my sweet precious Giovanna, and I will do my best to make you proud to call me your Mommy.
I promise you our family unit will give you the security that every kid wants and deserves. I hope you know that you were born into a family that wants the very best for you. I hope that your childhood shapes up to be much of what mine was, and also a lot of what mine wasn’t. I know life won’t always be perfect because it just doesn’t work that way. But I do know that life will always have magic in it if you simply train your eyes to see it. I hope we do a great job teaching you how to train your eyes.
Loving you always and forever,
Mama & Daddy