Meeting Cooper, Our New Nephew

I  became an aunty for the second time!  Logan’s sister and her husband welcomed their first baby, Cooper, into the world on February 11^th, 2016.  We waited for the news anxiously at home, keeping our cell phones with us at all times.  Finally, the call came in shortly after 7p.m. that he had arrived, and mom and baby were doing well.  

On Tuesday we made the trip to P.A. to meet the newest member of the family.  When my eyes fell on him I couldn’t believe how teeny, tiny he was.  Swaddled into his cobalt blue blanket, he honestly looked like a tiny jellybean, sweet enough to eat.  My sister-in-law was very relaxed and offered the baby to me to hold right away.  Umm, yes please!  As he rested in my arms all this love for him just seemed to overtake my body and make me melt all over.  Babies are truly remarkable little humans who make every person feel hopeful, peaceful and loved.

 

Watching my husband, who has always wanted a little boy but ended up with two wonderful and lively little girls, cradle him in my arms was extremely heartwarming.  My husband is a gentle, caring and an intuitive father and I know he hopes to provide this little baby with endless hours of playtime as he grows up.  Even more emotional for me was watching my little girls go absolutely gaga over their little baby cousin.  I suspected Anya would be into the baby, she is a doll player, but I was moved to see Halie, who is much more reserved and shy, hold her new baby cousin with such tenderness and love.  The girls have had other babies around but something about Cooper being their cousin, brought out a new side out of them.  They often came in to look in on him, to ask me what was wrong when he let out a little cry, and to fight over who got to hold him and whose turn it was. 

Cousins are those childhood playmates that grow up to be Friends Forever.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Logan and I always talk about what kind of an aunt and uncle we aspire to be.  We already have a nephew, Alen, who we love, adore and consider to be a part of our family.  Alen arrived on  October 5^th, 2003, to my sister and her husband.  Even though he lives in B.C. we spend a great deal of time with him and invest our time and energy into making our relationship with him strong.  When he was little we went out to visit him often and when we were there, we were completely hands-on.  As Alen has grown, our love and bond with him has grown also.  I will have to write a post about just Alen one day in the near future.    So here are a few ways of how I plan to build my relationship with Cooper: 

 

 

 

 

1. Play, play, play.  When children are little and as they grow they want a playmate.  You know the kind that’s willing to get on the floor, play silly games, and pretend to be the car, train, superhero, etc.

2. Quality time.  Spend quality time with and without his parents around.  To get to know a child really well you have to invest time into them.  So little dates of all kinds such as ice cream, park, swimming pool, etc.

3. Family relationships.  Build and encourage a strong family relationship between Cooper and the girls. Cousins are the next best thing to siblings.  

4. Be SILLY.  Laugh until my side hurts.  Let my inner child out to play.  Make fart sounds.  After all I am not responsible for the type of person he turns out to be.  :) 

5. LOVE HIM.  

Please feel free to share your favorite aunt/uncle/niece/nephew moments.