Dear Scarlet,
The other night you just woke up and kissed me. Then you requested a peanut butter sandwich. I caved and got you one. So there we were, sitting in our bed eating midnight pb&j and you asked, “Mom, where does love come from?” I didn’t really know how to answer that, so I asked you where you thought it came from. You said, “I think it comes from you.” I think my heart suffered a small explosion.

Anyway then you wanted to ask Siri. She just led is to a web search and then we got distracted and started googling unicorn birthday parties.

It was a Saturday night and there I was, sitting in the middle of our way after bedtime peanut butter picnic, and I thought, my life is literally perfect right now.

“Why would Tinkerbell need a hot air balloon when she can already fly?” -Scarlet

Dear Scarlet,
Today we got down the art box to make some cards for our friends. You found this big piece of cardboard in the kitchen. I told you you could paint, put stickers on, and color it into whatever you wanted. You decided made a stretcher so that we could play EMT all day. Good thing we have an entire roll of white streamers to use as bandages! Almost all of your stuffed animals have had some sort of tragic accident and been transformed into patients already today.

We have mouths for a reason. Use your voice. Sign here: http://sopastrike.com/strike

Dear Scarlet,
I’m 24 years old, 24 and a half to be specific. A lot of people my age either have careers or are well on their way to getting to that point. When I got pregnant with you, your dad and I decided that it would be best for me to stay at home as much as possible. Neither one of us liked the idea of daycare. I’ve spent the past 5 years either growing you in my body or raising you. I never want you to feel like I regret this. While I never want you to be financially trapped into a situation, I also want you to hear this loud and clear: They have paychecks. I have you. Maybe things are a little rough around here money-wise, being a single mom wasn’t part of the plan. But, Scar, sometimes you have to say screw the plan. Sometimes you have to jump ship. There are so much more important things than money, and knowing when to throw in the towel is one of them. There is more than one way to live happily ever after. There’s no shame in doing things backwards. Maybe we’ll be doing homework and going to school at the same time, but I promise I will try my absolute hardest to be sure that you never go without. Your dad would also never let that happen. I guess my point here is this: You had a heartbeat before a bank account, so always always tend to your heart first. Never confuse the word can’t with the word haven’t. I love you, and staying home with you for these first four years was absolutely one of the greatest privileges of my life. I’m so thankful for your father for working so that it could be a reality. I’m going to figure out exactly the why the universe needs me and work as hard as I can to fulfill it and provide for you.

Holy whoa! So, because we’ve gotten a ton of new followers in the last 12 hours, we decided to just say thank you and explain what we’re about a little bit. This is a project we started in 2009 after our own personal blogs were becoming completely overrun with letters to our daughter. With the intent of keeping them personal, we moved them over to dearscarlet. Our goal has never been to gain a following, let alone 20,000 of you, but just for her to look back on this as she grows. Eventually we got married and are now separated, but we continue to both coparent and run this blog together 50/50. Despite all the changes over the last year, she’s continued to be a constant source of joy in our world, and we are so happy to share that with you guys. We are overwhelmed with the support and kind words you’ve thrown our way. We don’t know how long this blog will remain public after she gets in school and learns to read, because we intend to respect her privacy if she wishes, but we are happy to spread her positive energy while we still have that opportunity.

Thanks again!
- Kait & Gabe

FAQ

What kind of camera do you use?
Canon Rebel T1i with a canon 28-135mm or an iPhone 4S

How old we’re you when you had Scarlet? I was 19 when I got pregnant and 20 when I had her. Gabe was 21.

How old is Scarlet - She was born in September of 2007. She’s 4.

What’s her middle name? - Scarlet Aurora Michelle is her name

Dear Scarlet,
Today Paiton watched you while I was at my work meeting. This is a picture of you and Reggae playing at the park where she took you guys. As soon as I got in the car you screamed, “I GOT TO PEE OUTSIDE LIKE A NATURE WOMAN!” Clearly, it was the highlight of your week. I guess Oklahoma parks didn’t plan for a lot of visitors in January and locked up their bathrooms. When you gotta go you gotta go, man.

Dear Scarlet,
Today you threw a huge fit. It was a thrashing, screaming, biting, pretend like the entire world is ending sort of fit. I could not calm you down for the life of me. Aunt Carly texted me in the middle of it and asked if she could call and try to talk you out of it. At first you weren’t having it, but eventually you started to make conversation with her. She told you that she really missed your smile and asked if we could take a picture of it and send it when we got off the phone and she’d send a picture of her new teacups. You agreed. You are so lucky to have so many wonderful people in your life, near and far. A few minutes ago we were talking about why you threw such a fit in the first place. You said, “Remember when Michael ran Meredith over with his car? He didn’t see her. It was an accident. Accidents happen. Sometimes when I cry, it’s an accident.” And that’s why I can’t stay mad at you.

Dear Scarlet,
Last night I taught you how to play UNO. Today we are having an UNO kind of day.
Love,
Pop (your new name for me)

Dear Scarlet,
FaceTime was our hero this Christmas! You got to talk to and compare gifts with your cousins and see Grandma and Grandpa and their Christmas tree! You told Aunt Carly and Uncle Chris thanks for the pooping penguin toy they gave you. Technology is a beautiful thing.