Being an Aunt (Again)

I realized recently I am about right in the middle of being too old to be a mom again, but too young to be a grandmother just yet.  The good news of that is, I am the perfect age to be an aunt!  With the birth of my newest nephew recently, I decided to head to Tennessee early to spend some time with the baby, my beautiful niece Adalene and my brother and his wife.  

 

Of course, there was an adorable baby, only a few days old. 

Amazingly precious.

 

Of course there was lots of holding by all the relatives.  

Including a proud Papa.

 

He's adorable, isn't he?

 

The Mister held a newborn for the first time in his life. 

He loved every minute of it.

The tiniest fingers.

 

 Precious Baby Garrett.

I expected to be helpful, to help with cooking, dishes, holding crying kids, changing diapers and anything else my sister-in-law needed during the first few days home from the hospital.  What I didn't expect was to have the most amazing time being an aunt.  And while I was there to help with the baby, the truth of the matter is, I really loved being there with my soon-to-be-two niece.  

 

You can see how easy it would be to fall in love with this face.

 

And so I did. 

We played, we laughed, we learned new words and we bonded.

 See those dimples on her elbows?

 

Having a snack, Gretel style.

 Diana and Adalene figuring out what sound Baby Garrett's nose makes.

 Even with a sleepy head look, she's still adorable.

 Snuggling with Mom.

 We went to the store together. 
She can actually make the grocery store fun!

 Adalene and her mom hanging out on the front stoop blowing flowers together.

 The best part?  Hearing her say, "Amy" for the first (and hundredth) time!
(Oh, and "ciao!" and "down, up, milk, ball, puppy..."

Thank you Big Garrett and Diana for letting me crash your homecoming for a long week.  Thank you for letting me hold a baby, play with a toddler and to be an aunt to a far away niece and nephew for a little while!