Sunday, June 12, 2011

Baby love

Unsurprising fact: I love being around babies. As an only child I don't have brothers or sisters to make me an aunt. Luckily, J's brother has a great brood of kiddos; Three girls and one new little boy! Sadly though, they live in Texas so we don't get to see them as often as we'd like -- usually only once a year. However, my cousin and his wife had a baby boy last year and live just a few minutes away. We get to see them a lot, which means I get my necessary fill of baby love. Yay!

JH3, as I'll call him, turned one in March and we have been a part of his life from the day he was born, visiting at the hospital. Since Second Cousin Liz is kind of a mouthful, even for those of us with fully-evolved vocabularies, J and I have taken on the role of honorary Aunt and Uncle and we enjoy spending time with and spoiling JH3 as if he were actually our nephew.

I honestly think being around him helped J feel more comfortable around babies and therefore, the idea of having one of our own. He didn't have a lot of experience with children, especially wee little ones, before his brother's kids and having frequent access to one definitely boosted his confidence that he wouldn't break them! It also doesn't hurt that JH3 is a really good baby -- happy, healthy and pretty laid back (and did I mention he's irresistibly cute?!)

I credit some of that to his parents, who aren't afraid to bend his schedule a little to go on fun adventures, so JH3 comes along for impromptu lunches, dinners and drives. Seeing a real-life example that your social life doesn't have to completely come to a halt after having a baby has been good for me and J, a natural concern for folks like us who relish time with friends.

So, there's my little shout out to JH3 (and his rockin' parents). Thanks for being you!

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