the story of us

Dear Em,
Your papi thought I would grow up & be a politician. Your nonnie hoped I would be an author. I'm still not sure ultimately what I want to be when I grow up, but I'm pretty sure I will be neither of those. However, my love for you led me to do something I never thought I would. I wrote & published (well, not exactly) my first book: The Story of Us.

As a girl, I would love to have your nonnie tell me the story of how I came to be. I swooned to hear the story of how your nonnie & papi met, fell in love, & got married. As you were growing inside my belly, I could hardly wait to share your story, the story of us, with you. After you were born, I rocked your newborn body & softly whispered our story in your tiny ears. Your tiny body grew & grew. Your curiosity & love of stories & books grew too. One of your very favorite books is a family picture book that your aunt & your nonnie created for you. Your eyes light up as you point to your family members and we read you the love messages from each one. That's when i realized how fun it would be for you to read & interact with our story too.

I already had the photos (as I take more pictures than both you & your daddy like). I just had to put words to our story. Putting words to the love in my heart was sometimes tricky and difficult, but it felt so amazing see the finished pages filled with our adventure.

I found out about to adoramapix. The wonderful thing about making photobooks with adoramapix is that the pages are thicker than with most photobooks. This is perfect for a little love like you. You really love your books- I mean really, really love your books. Your favorite books are torn & bent & missing pages because of the amazing love you have for your books. You come running to me with sad tears in your eyes because of a new gash in your beloved pages. I quickly & calmly transition into the role of a book surgeon, deftly using tape to repair the possession you so greatly love. The sturdy pages from your adoramapix book have endured countless turns from your chubby toddler hands & still remain intact. This gives me hope that our story will survive and perhaps be read by your own little loves someday.

It puts a smile in my heart every time you plop your book into my lap and say, "Us! Us!" I love that you point out everyone from our family and some of our closest friends by name. I love that you clap your hands as we read about mommy & daddy getting married. I love that we can share our story together. I hope you enjoy the story of us as much as I enjoy watching you read it. I can't wait to live each new chapter with you.

I love you so,
Mommy