Dear August,

亲爱的八月：

Welcome to the world! Your mom and I are so excited to see who you will become. 

欢迎来到这个世界！我和你妈妈迫不及待地想要知道你会成长为一个怎样的人。

When your sister was born, we wrote a letter about the world we hoped she and now you will grow up in — a world with better education, fewer diseases, stronger communities, and greater equality. 

你姐姐出生的时候，我们给她写了一封信，告诉她我们希望她在怎样的一个世界里成长。现在，你也将要在这个我们希冀中的世界里成长。在这个世界里，教育更完善，疾病更少，社会更团结，也更公平。

We wrote that with all the advances in science and technology, your generation should live dramatically better lives than ours, and we have a responsibility to do our part to make that happen.

我们写道，因为科学和技术的进步，你们这一代人的生活应当远远好于我们，我们有责任将这个愿景实现。

Even though headlines often focus on what’s wrong, we still believe these positive trends will win out. We’re optimists about your generation and the future.

虽然人们经常关注负面消息，但我们仍相信进步的趋势会占上风。我们对你们这一代人、对未来都十分乐观。

But rather than write about growing up, we want to talk about childhood. The world can be a serious place. That’s why it’s important to make time to go outside and play. 

不过，相较于成长的话题，我们还是更想跟你说说童年。世界终究是个严肃的地方，所以抓紧时间出去玩耍很重要。

You will be busy when you’re older, so I hope you take time to smell all the flowers and put all the leaves you want in your bucket now.

一旦长大，你就会变得很忙。所以我希望你能尽情地去嗅嗅所有的花朵，把你喜欢的叶子都放进小桶里。

I hope you read your favorite Dr. Seuss books so many times you start inventing your own stories about the Vipper of Vipp. 

我希望你能翻来覆去读你最爱的苏斯博士的书，直到你灵感涌动，开始创造自己关于Vipper of Vipp的故事。

✩ 注：苏斯博士（Dr. Seuss），二十世纪卓越的儿童文学家、教育学家，一生创作了许多在西方家喻户晓的早教作品。Vipper of Vipp，是苏斯博士写的Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!一书中的角色。

I hope you ride the carousel with Max until you’ve tamed every color horse.

我希望你跟Max（扎克伯格的大女儿，2015年11月出生）一起骑旋转木马，直到你们驯服每一匹彩色马为止。

I hope you run as many laps around our living room and yard as you want.

我希望你可以在我们的客厅和后院里自由奔跑，想跑多少圈就跑多少圈。

And then I hope you take a lot of naps. I hope you’re a great sleeper. 

我还希望你能好好睡觉，我希望你是一个能睡的小姑娘。

And I hope even in your dreams you can feel how much we love you.

我希望即使在梦里，你依然能感受到爸爸妈妈是多么爱你。

Childhood is magical. You only get to be a child once, so don’t spend it worrying too much about the future.

童年时光充满魔力。你只有一次童年，别把它都花在担心未来上。

You've got us for that, and we’ll do everything we possibly can to make sure the world is a better place for you and all children in your generation.

那些事情，留给爸爸妈妈，我们会竭尽所能地让这个世界变得更好，为了你，也为你们这一代的所有小朋友。

August, we love you so much and we’re so excited to go on this adventure with you. We wish you a life of joy, love and the same hope you give us.
宝贝，爸爸妈妈非常爱你，我们满心激动地和你踏上这段探险旅程。祝愿你这一生欢喜、有爱，充满希望，如同你带给我们的一样。

Love,
Mom and Dad

爱你的，

妈妈爸爸

「中英文对照内容来自：中国日报双语新闻」