Dear Daughter,
Today you turn two. You are turning two during a time that is not like any other. We are quarantined, stuck at home. Normally, we would take you some place fun like the zoo or aquarium, but we will still celebrate you because you have done so much for our life!
Your daddy and I did not plan for you. We thought we were done. We had a boy and a girl already — your brother and sister. We thought our family was perfect, but we did not know what perfect was until you came into our lives.
Your sister prayed for you the summer before we realized you were going to be a part of our family. She specifically prayed for a sister and I remember telling her that it was not going to happen; that God would probably answer her prayer in a way that she didn’t expect, but not a literal baby sister; that daddy and I were done. Your sister said, “I have faith. I know I will have a baby sister this time next year.” I laughed it off, hoping she would forget. You see, I was terrified of another baby. I had postpartum depression after your brother was born. It was so bad that we were not sure I would survive PPD a third time, so we planned for your father to have THE SURGERY.
But God DID answer her prayer and we are so glad God did. You see, you were already growing in my belly when your daddy had THE SURGERY and we didn’t even know it. You weren’t planned, but you were such a miracle. Our family was not complete even though we thought it was until you came into our life! The minute I started feeling you in my belly, I knew you were God’s plan for the completion of our beautiful family. The day you were born, your father and I knew that we had fallen in love all over again with a perfect and beautiful child. Our child. The child God had planned for us even though we were sure we didn’t want one.
You are perfect. You are beautiful. You are smart, sassy, stubborn, funny, and imaginative.
Your brother and sister fell head over heels for you the minute you came into their lives. You exhaust us with your two-year-old antics, but you also make us laugh with your singing of “Baby Shark.” We love painting with you, playing in the sun with you, playing dress up with you, watching you discover the world. Every morning, when you wake up smiling we can’t help but smile in return as you wrap your arms around our necks. Your brother thinks you are a “super duper mega double awesome playmate.” Your big sister loves when you snuggle with her while watching your favorite cartoons. I love watching you follow your father around the back yard while he works.