love letters

Dear Em,

"And if you still smelled bad, I wouldn't mind, and I would hug you tight and whisper in your ear, 'I love you, Stinky Face.'"

- I Love You, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt

There is a keepsake storybook collection called "I Love You" that my mom bought you when you were young. The collection includes some of my favorites, I Love You Through and Through by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak & I Love You Because You're You by Liza Baker. The collection is so long that we typically just take time for a couple stories, & I almost always go right into my favorites...until the other day.

I was getting ready for work &, per usual, you were buzzing with excitement around me. As I was trying to concentrate on what was ahead of me that day, I half noticed you twirling around me & was only half listening to you. I was trying to listen to you & keep my head on straight. I would murmur "mmmmhmmm" every few moments or so to simulate that I was listening, but I had a million things going on in my head.

When I finally took a moment to give you my full attention, I realized you were reading me a book. If I didn't know better, I would have thought you were actually reading. Actually, you were reciting by memory. It was the cutest stinkin' thing to watch & made my heart so happy.

"Em, what are you doing?" I asked. "I tooooooold you. I'm reading Stinky Face!" you rolled your eyes.

At that moment, I couldn't have thought about getting dressed or what I needed to get done that day if I tried. You had me at Stinky Face. It's seriously the most adorable children's book. The true beauty for me was the presentation of the story. I don't know how you had most of it memorized (I'd never even read it), but you did. You made faces. You did different voices. There were hand gestures. It was adorable & hilarious & amazing.

So, now I have a new favorite book & just another reason why I love my very own Stinky Face.

I love you so,

Mommy