Aunt-hood

My sister Lindsay just sent me some of the latest pictures of her kids and this one was so stinking cute I just had to share it with everyone. I'm sorry it's not bigger, but it wouldn't enlarge. Eva is about 21 months old and Shepherd, the newest addition to the family, is about 6 weeks old. He was born the day after Christmas. He is a robust little guy with a deep cry that doesn't sound like a newborn. It's so fun to have new babies in the family. We have one more on the way. My sister-in-law Lizzie and her husband Tim are expecting their first child in May. That will make me an Aunt for the 5th time. I love all my nieces and nephews very much and would never play favorites, but I will say I have a special place in my heart for Eva. I was privileged enough to be able to be in the delivery room when she was born almost two years ago. About an hour or two after she was born, we had our first bonding experience. Lindsay was exhausted, naturally, and John, my brother-in-law, was visiting with his parents so I got to hold Eva for a while. We sat in the quiet of Lindsay's hospital room while she slept and I just got to stare at this new life and talk quietly to her. I had never held such a new child before and she was so tiny and sweet. She had a bunch of dark hair and she had Lindsay's eyes. It was amazing looking into this little face and seeing parts of my sister. I am so thankful that I was able to be there at the moment of her birth. Most of you know I had a rough labor which ended with Jackson being born via C-section. Of course, I am so thankful that Jackson was healthy and fine, but I was so out of it that I don't remember the first time I saw him. I know the nurse showed him to me, but my eyes were blurry from crying and it was hard to focus. I didn't get to hold him until probably almost two hours after he was born. But when I did hold him, it reminded me of holding Eva when she was just born. It was the same type of feeling, except this time, it was my child that I was holding. The fun part was that Lindsay was there when Jackson was born too. She was the first person to meet him in the nursery when they brought him out of the operating room. I hope that those memories are as special for her as my memories of Eva's birth are to me.

Jackson and Aunt Lindsay minutes after his birth.