Joshy!!!!

I am pretty much in love with my nephew. He's made me an aunt for the 6th time.  I have two beautiful nieces and 4 handsome and wonderful nephews. I am a well seasoned aunt. Yet, Joshua just makes me melt into this puddle of goo whenever I see him, hold him, play with him, or even think about him. It's not as though all of my other nephews or nieces are not near and dear to my heart. I love them all, very much. When my oldest niece, Bonnie, was younger and then when Will was born, I was still figuring out babies. I enjoyed them, loved them, but wasn't very motherly like at all. I was all "Auntie April". By the time Luke was old enough to play with, I already had a kid. Likewise with nephew Caleb and niece Rosemary. Totally in mommy mode at that point. Now...all the other kids are big. Bonnie is almost 12(WHHAAAAAATTTT?!?!?), Will is 9, Cate and Luke are 8, Caleb is 5, Simon & Rosemary(affectionately called Moe, by me) are 4 but nearly 5, and Liam is going to be 4 this May. The "babies" are not babies anymore. So hanging out around Joshua is totally different. All of my kids are self-sufficient. We are a bottle-free, crib-free, diaper-free family. Our kids are growing up! But Joshua...he's new. He's tiny and sweet and fat and cute and makes gurggley sounds and is just finding his own little personality. And he LIKES ME!

In a weird twist of fate, I was present for the birth of 4 of my 6 nephews and nieces. I wasn't there when Bon was born because Seth and I were not really dating yet at that time. I was there when Will was born, I literally watched Luke come into the world, and I was there at the hospital when Caleb and Rosemary were born. But I was at my in-laws with Caleb when Joshua FINALLY made his grand entrance. So I am closest to Bonnie and Joshua, even though they were the only two that I wasn't there for when they were born. hahaha!

So, while I could never pick a favorite out of the lot of beautiful nieces and nephews, Joshua just as a tight hold on my heart these days. I think I am simply enjoying being able to enjoy the closest thing you can get to your own child without it being your child. For so long, my own kids took so much of my time and energy and attention that I was not able to fully enjoy this. Well, now...I can.

Being able to enjoy a baby that isn't mine is actually quite grand. I cannot explain it exactly. But what I do know is that this little feller has stolen my heart and I adore him and I am so thankful that my own kids are old enough to wipe their own butts and feed themselves so that I have have two readily available arms to hold this little miracle that is my nephew, Joshua Abel Brown. I love you, Joshy!