Dear Kensington,
In less than 2 months you will be four. Where did the time go?! My angel has grown up to be such a beautiful and kindhearted soul. There is also just enough piss and vinegar mixed in that I pray I have the courage to teach you to use your "evil" for good. I am constantly amazed at the love you show others. You are friendly to everyone you meet and never hesitate to offer a(n) [authentic] smile. You are truly one of a kind. I love you with everything I have!
So...
I would like to apologize now for all that I have and will inevitably do to "mess you up". As a mother I make tons of mistakes. I often go to sleep praying that on that particular day I didn't send you on a life long therapy journey.
But...
There is one thing that I refuse to apologize for, your "diet" consisting of no food dyes. I am however, sorry that we didn't start earlier.
Now that your sister is eating solid foods I have had the privilege of reading ingredient labels for baby food. This is nothing short of appalling! One would expect the ingredients of pears to be, oh I don't know, pears?! Nope. (Although NOT all are this way, I found it astonishing how many were!) Juices and Canola Oil were among some of the ingredients. I even saw some that contained water as the MAIN ingredient. Now let's get one thing straight...I am in no way, shape or form a nutritionist or food expert. Nor do I pretend be. But I would like to think that I have common sense. It makes sense to me that if I'm going to feed my children "pears", PEARS should be the first ingredient. Silly me. I understand that in order to puree something, liquid is needed if there are not enough natural juices. I am also thankful that water is the chosen ingredient for some. What I don't understand is why there needs to be more water than the food that is on the label?! This aggravates me!
So in conclusion, I'm sorry that 3.5 years ago I picked up ANY baby jar that was currently on sale. I'm sorry that I didn't take the time to find the best choices and pay more attention. I vow to do better by you and your sister. I promise that I will endure the comments and stares that are inevitable (because I must be some sort of monster controlling mother when I tell you that you can't eat Smartees).
I love you, Angel-Bug! Here's to all the trials and tribulations we will conquer, together!
Love,
Mommy
