The summer gift bag

Dear Brit,

I was super excited to come to work today to find the hallway empty.  Probably not something that most people would find exciting, but it meant that your dad came by this weekend and picked up the presents we left for you and your brother and sister!

You see, BF and I have been picking up fun summer themed toys/gifts for you for the past month.  We also got presents for your brother and sister who will be celebrating their first birthday this Saturday.

For your brother and sister, we got big chunky cars.  Your brother's is a John De.ere tractor and your sister's is a girly pink car.  We liked the John De.ere tractor because BF works for a John De.ere company.  We also got each of them a stuffed lovey (elephant and doll), and a couple of other small toys.

For all three of you, we included a pair of little sunglasses and a wind up water toy. They look like great bathtub or pool toys. We also got you a soccer goal to share.  We thought that was appropriate because your dad was a soccer player and our boys played soccer with you when you came for your last visit.  Hopefully the three of you can play soccer together.

In your Do.ra the Ex.plorer gift bag we included the swirly straw M&M cup that we got for you when we were in Vegas a few weeks ago.  As you can see by the pictures here, we loved the M&M store.  And you were the only person we got a gift for while we were there.  Sadly, these silly pictures are the best photos we took on that vacation!

Because we know you love to read, and your mom teaches ballet, we included a book called Gira.ffes Can't Dan.ce accompanied by a stuffed giraffe.  If you are anything like  me, you will understand that dancing is a skill not everyone is good at.  Including giraffes.

Another item we sent you was a cute little patriotic outfit with tutu skirt that has a dog that looks like our pet Sassy on the top.  You loved Sassy when you came to visit us.  I even put copies of the pictures of you and Sassy in with the outfit so you could remember playing with the dog.   Speaking of pictures, we also printed several photos from your visit and put them in a small photo album you can carry around.  They are photos of only you, that way you can take it anywhere you would like, without your parents having to explain who the other people are in the pictures (since many of the photos we took that visit had one of our family members included).

But by far, our favorite gift in the bag was the books that use a picture of you as the main character.  I hope the books don't scare you, because it is a bit creepy seeing your face on a bunny, but maybe you will like them.  We hope you do.

On the last page of each of the books we personalized the message just so you know that we were thinking about you and hopefully when you can read, you will recognize that the books were made with love by us.

And finally, I added a postcard with a simple little note wishing you fun playing with the new gifts.

So today, I sit thinking about how you might be playing with something we sent you.  I know you don't know who we are, but the idea that maybe we were able to send gifts that make you happy brings joy to my heart.

I hope you have a very happy, fun filled summer!

We love you so very much!