Dear Olivia,
When you were born, we were so excited for all the things we would get to teach you one day. Alongside your parents, we were determined to help instill a love for learning (and a love for dessert!). We wanted to teach you about love and about family. We wanted help be good examples of what it means to be a Demos.
And, yet, we never expected that you would teach us so much.
Even so, there are still a few things we can teach you, and when you are a little older, we’ll introduce you to The Sound of Music, one of the greatest films of all time. And you’ll get to hear Julie Andrews sing a song we both loved growing up: “My Favorite Things.” For now, though, we decided to make a list of a few of our favorite things about you.
— You say what you think. Exactly what you think. You live without inhibitions, and there is nothing more beautiful.
— One cupcake is never enough. You’re a sucker for dessert, just like us.
— You’re a bookworm already. You love to read and cuddle at the same time — and we love it when we’re the ones you’re cuddling with.
— Playing make believe in your plastic kitchen is the best. We never thought cake and eggs went together until we met you.
— We love the way you say “stethoscope” when you’re pretending to be our doctor, and the way you calm our nerves by telling us to “be brave” right before you give us imaginary shots.
— You run to the door when we come over, scream our names, and jump into our arms. There’s almost nothing better in the world than when you say our names.
But, we saved the best for last…
— You always want us to stay longer and later. You never want us to leave, you never want the fun to end.
Believe us, Livy, we would if we could. We would stay all day and all night, because there’s nowhere else we’d rather be than with you. You’ve shown us what it means to live life without reservations. You’ve become a perfect example of what it means to live in the moment, to find
Joy in bubbles.
Magic in sidewalk chalk.
And happiness everywhere.
Thank you for inviting us to your Minnie Mouse pool party last weekend. We loved every minute of it.
Just don’t grow up too fast, okay? There’ll be plenty of time for you to do that. We know that some day you’ll drive away to college in your car like a grown up. For now, though, we’re just savoring these years with you, watching you drive around the backyard on your little pink scooter…
With all our love,
Aunt Mi-Mi and Uncle Jo-Jo
