Scarlett Grecia Mercurio-Corao: 2014

My Sweet Scarlett,

I wanted to tell you a bit about the summer we just spent in Valley Center at Mimi and Doodle's house. We had such a glorious, free, and peaceful couple of months and it was my pleasure to spend my time with you, watching you grow, experiencing each new word as it passed your mouth, and witnessing you discover the world, one bee and bug at a time.

You are so interested in everything. I, personally, think you are brilliant. You learn so quickly and your language skills have blossomed so quickly. I know you are way smarter than I will ever be. You have this amazing ability to focus and you just catch on to everything so fast. I am in awe of you.

We spent our summer at Bates Nut Farm, the libraries, the Chidren's Musuem, swim classes, friend's homes, Balboa Park, The Stone Farm, the beach, Palm Springs, Newport Beach, Coronado Island, and so much more. I think of all those places, I loved taking you to the farm the most. We would feed the animals, and you just ran to each one, greeting them and saying hello. You loved the llamas, the sheep, the giant turtle, the turkeys (not so much the ostrich) and all of them really. One of your favorite parts of the farm was the granola bar we bought each time. I would get you a raw food granola bar and a bottle of water and we would sit on the bench and have the snack while we watched the goats. I felt like it was our special place.

The Children's Museum was another great place. You got to know it so well and your favorite part was the bubbles outside. You also loved to dress up like a dinosaur, who reminded you of Viva. You would run around the museum with a little shopping cart and play in the kitchen. We had a blast.

We did so much, as I just want to expose you to all the wonder and beauty of the world. You are teaching me so much about being in the moment, focusing, and finding beauty in the littlest things.

You loved being at Mimi and Doodle's. You loved to feed Friday, the birds and the chickens (the girls) and you played outside in the park. It was a true wonderland and we were so lucky to be there. You became so close with Mimi and Doodle and they love you more than you know. You also continue to talk to Cuckoo and Papu every day on Facetime. They love you so much.

It was great having you get to know my friends in San Diego. They all loved you. We spent time with Lea, Carson and Landon, Amy, Rob, Andre and Jr, Andee, Jenn, Lucy, Laney, Harper, Dax, Sandi and so many more. It was fantastic. Your favorite person was Amy.

I just wanted to thank you for the best summer of my life. It is the joy of my life watching you grow, and the world is so much better with you in it. I love you more than you know.

Father's Day at Balboa Park! On the little train!

The Balboa Park carosaul

You love parks

Checking out the lily pond

You loved exploring Balboa

At the Ruben H. Fleet Science Museum

Lunch after a hike with Doodle

Your Mimi and Doodle!!!

We went to Palm Springs for my birthday!

On the way to Palm Springs

We had an amazing hike.

A little playhouse in the desert

From the top of the cable car on the mountain above Palm Springs

Checking out a clown at the Valley Center Public Library

At Bariquitos Lagoon with Audrey

In the pool in Palm Springs

San Diego Children's Museum

At the San Diego Children's Museum with Landon and Carson

One night in Hollywood with Madeline, Frank, Audrey and Trish

Checking at the chickens at Stone Farm

At Stone Farm

Swimming lessons at the YMCA

You and Tia Lea

Feeding the girls. Your favorite chore.

Daddy pulled you and Landon around!

We went on a biking adventure with Lea, Diego, Carson and Landon around Mission Bay

With Aunt Katie

At an Aztec dancing ritual

Chilling in the playhouse at the museum with Audrey

At the Children's Museum with Harper

On the ferry

At the Newport Beach Pier with Sandi and Zach

You loved hanging with Lucy and Laney

My Dearest Scarlett,

On May 1, 2014 we returned to San Francisco after being away since January 1, 2013. We drove up from Valley Center, spending the night in a hotel along the way. We stopped in Berkeley along the way and we got to meet Baby Gus, and see your Godmother, Wendy! It was so great to see them and Baby Gus was super adorable. I do hope the two of you will be friends forever. Driving into the city over the Bay Bridge was a magnificent experience, as we had our introduction to the brand new Oakland side of the bridge, which was glorious. As we drove in, it just looked perfect in every imaginable way. The building were so shiny and tall; every little corner manicured perfectly; gorgeous street murals; and just a feeling of being alive. We drove immediately to our home on 901 Post, despite the fact that we would be renting it out to tourists after May 3. Our little Urban Rainbow was gorgeous, Scarlett. Everything looked just as we had left it, but maybe more beautiful. I had so much gratitude. We even went up to the rooftop and it was a sunny, hot, gorgeous day to take in the views. We felt so happy to be home, Scarlett. Home. San Francisco is our home and we know it is going to be a challenge to raise you there. It's changing fast and simply not easy to do things, but we truly believe that the benefits for you will outweigh the challenges. We want to raise you to celebrate diversity and serve the marginalized populations in our city. We want to expose you to art, music, people from all walks of life, food, and all of the nature within the city. I want to show you the whole world, and when we are not traveling, I believe the best way I can expose you to the complexity and beauty of the world is there. I think you will have a better life, overall, but you will never have a big home. I hope you understand and forgive us for this. You will probably never have a big back yard, but we believe that your back yard will be the city: the parks, the theaters, the museums, the cable cars, the wharf, the crazy neighborhoods. We hope you do not resent us for the small homes in which we will live, but we think you will appreciate it. We hope so. We want to give you the world.

So this first month back was a whirlwind. We stayed out in the Sunset at 1903 18th Street @ Ortega in a tiny little place that was basically a bedroom and a kitchen. We put our bed in the kitchen and you slept in the bedroom and it was great. We were happy and there was a little back yard. I must say, this last month in May was one of the hardest months ever for me, Scarlett. I had to leave you each day and it was so hard for me to be away from you. I had to return to my job, and while I absolutely love my job, it's my dream job, I love you more. It was a great consolation that I left you with your daddy. He is such a fantastic dad and you two had a blast. During this month, we did so much and it was awesome! We explored SO MANY parks, we did the end of Bay to Breakers, we joined the Academy of Sciences, we went to the beach, we went to Twin Peaks, the wharf, Stern Grove, the libraries, Lands End, and so much more. In these places, I became confident that we are making the right decision to stay in SF. Just at the Academy, you got to see penguins, aquariums, rain forests, and more every day! Our library is six floors, Scarlett, and there are so many books to expose you to. The playgrounds at the parks are like no other playgrounds we have ever seen. The structure are out of this world and creative and beautiful. You will have the best of the best in this city. We may not always be able to afford everything, but we will do our best to give you the best of the best.

I hated that I only got the end of the day with you, but we tried to squeeze in whatever we could and we made the most of our time, my little one. This month, you started to speak so much. Your language explosion is the most incredible thing I have ever witnessed in our life. I have to tell you, and I know I am your mom and supposed to think this, but Scarlett you are incredibly smart, thoughtful, and just an total delight to spend time with you. It's so crazy but I even miss you after you go to sleep. Spending time with you is the highlight of my life. I feel like you are catching onto things so fast. You are so well behaved and you really listen and take so much in. Your ability to sit and listen to books continues to amaze me. We are avid readers. You can sit and sit and sit through book after book and that is just a pretty cool thing for a kid who is just a year and a half. You are also eating so well using a fork and a glass bowl now. I am still breastfeeding you and I continue to love it. We stare into each others eyes and I just think I have never seen anything more precious than you. Can you tell that I love you? I think you are a perfect little human being. Thank you for being my daughter.