Rock the Vote!

Dear Everly,

This week you experienced your very first presidential election. On Tuesday, November 6, 2012 President Barack Obama was reelected by the citizens of the United States of America to serve as our 44th president. One day you will learn all about the election process, the requirements for becoming president, and the history of our great nation, but I also want you to learn what it means to be a responsible, active, tolerant, and global citizen. It won't be long before you learn about the inequities and injustices in our world. I wish I could protect you from all of the hate, ignorance, and prejudice that exists, but unfortunately, I know that is not possible. Instead, I will do everything I can to educate you, encourage you, and model for you what it means to be an open-minded, tolerant, compassionate, and rationale young lady.

I want you to always remember how important it is to exercise your right to vote and support issues that are important to you, especially since women haven't always been allowed to exercise this basic democratic right. Baby girl, don't ever be afraid to stand up for what you believe in and know is right. Always follow your heart and remember never to judge someone by their appearance, but rather pay close attention to how they treat those around them because this will tell you a great deal about their character. Surround yourself with positive, caring, and hard-working people. Don't ignore those who are less fortunate than you, embrace and celebrate diversity, and do what you can to help make this world a better place.

Your visit to the polling place with your Daddy on Election Day marked the first step in our journey together as a family to promote responsible and active citizenship.  I look forward to the day when we can participate in community service together, engage in thoughtful deliberations, examine multiple perspectives, and respectfully agree to disagree! :)


Love,
Mama

Rocking Daddy's "I Voted" sticker after he cast his ballot. 

Daddy dressed you in your little black dress and your hot pink cardigan to go and vote!

May the Force Be With You!

Last week we celebrated Everly's second Halloween and it was SO much fun! Even though Everly didn't quite get the whole "Trick or Treating" concept, she did enjoy walking around the neighborhood and interacting with all the people. By the end of the night she had the whole "grab the candy out of the bowl" routine down. She actually scored some pretty good treats for her Daddy and I! 

I am also super proud of our costumes! When I found out my mom's group was going with the Star Wars theme, I knew immediately that we were going to have a blast choosing our characters and designing our costumes. Since Danny is a HUGE Star Wars fan, we had to contemplate all the different character choices carefully. We finally decided to go with C3PO, R2D2, and Anakin Skywalker. 

Side note to Everly from Her Daddy: Everly, since your Mama has never seen STAR WARS! Dada will explain to you one day how Anakin, aka Darth Vader, was the original owner of R2D2 and C3PO...well actually he built C3PO and received R2D2 from Padme...I digress...anyway I promise to introduce you to Star Wars at a later date ;)). 

Isn't Everly the most adorable R2D2 you have ever seen?