Dear Charlotte: No one else will ever know the strength of my love for you. After all, you’re the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside...
October 25, 2011: remember this date. It's the date your cousin Mason entered the world and joined our wonderful family. I hope you and Mason will grow up to be as close as cousins can be. I want you to watch out for each other, take care of each other and be there for each other especially during those years when "grown ups just don't understand." Daddy and I are ecstatic that you have a cousin so close in age, just remember... he may be a few weeks older than you, but you outrank him (haha), so don't let him bully you! Jokes aside, we really do hope that you and Mason will both grow up healthy, happy and will share a special bond that will link you together for life.
[Mason Minh Van. October 25, 2011. 8:39 a.m. 5lbs 15 oz 19 inches]
Pretty soon after we found out that you were a girl, mommy began dreaming up your nursery. Whether you were a boy or girl, I knew going in that I wanted a giraffe theme to encourage you to grow big & tall and to one day become the first Vietnamese (W)NBA basketball player. I would then go to all your games and the cameras would pan over to this proud mother decked out in your team colors. Alas, that is my dream and not necessarily yours, but a mother can live vicariously through her child right? If it were up to daddy, he would have made your nursery into the Star Wars theme. I told him getting you to fall asleep while staring up at Jabba the Hut is out of the question. Luckily for you... mommy won this round.
The video will show two months of hard work and many trips to Hobby Lobby, Babies R Us, and Target. The sales associates at Hobby Lobby pretty much began recognizing mommy and greeting me by name as stopping there after work became a daily routine. I think the pay off was worth it though! And I hope you love your nursery as much as we loved putting it together. Daddy put all the furniture pieces together... and didn't even have [that many] screws left over..ha. Just kidding.
I am doing this video tour now with two months until your arrival- while your nursery is still neat & organized. I will admit that I can't wait to see it cluttered with your dirty diapers, onesies, blankies and burp cloths full of spit up. So bring it on, child.
This nursery was created out of love- just as you were. I hope it is everything you wanted in a home and more.
