I am happy to announce the birth of my newest niece—Kayla Elizabeth! After many months of anticipation, my family welcomed Kayla into the world on October 1, 2009. She is healthy, tiny, has a head full of dark hair and (in my opinion) looks just like her mother. In short, she is perfect.

Kayla and I also have something in common. We are both little sisters! Which means Aidan is now a big brother. At one and a half, we don’t know if he knows what this means or who exactly she is, but he’s already given Kayla several kisses, which is just about the sweetest thing I can imagine.

When Kayla was born, I was so excited to meet and the new baby. Before I could make it to the hospital to introduce myself to my new niece, I had to sit through what felt like the two longest days of work. When I finally held Kayla in my arms and saw how special she was, I realized that I wasn’t going to have to divide my love. To the contrary, my love for these kids has grown even more, so there will always be enough to go around! 

Extra care for big brother

What was even more special was that the rest of my family got to care for Aidan while my sister was recovering in the hospital. As happy as we were to welcome Kayla into our family, we were all very aware that Aidan needed some extra attention. And that he got.

He got to visit the aquarium, go pumpkin picking and spend hours playing with his cousin, and best friend, Caroline. It’s pretty amazing to watch them play, like they have known each other for lifetimes. Now that Aidan can walk and has started talking, he and Caroline can play for hours, whether it’s chasing each other around the house or working on puzzles.  It amazes me how big they have both gotten, even though they are still so little and have so much to learn.

The age gap between Aidan and Caroline is only about fourteen months, and with Aidan and Kayla being just eighteen months apart, I can only imagine how much fun the three of them will have when Kayla is big enough to keep up.

So far the transition with the new baby is going well, and Aidan is showing an active interest in getting to know his new little sister. Caroline is already saying her name, and my family is just elated that Kayla is happy and healthy.

But for now, I have two toddlers running circles around me and a newborn niece who I just want to hold and snuggle with all day.  I never thought I could care about three little kids so much, but every day they surprise me, and I surprise myself.

Photo: Writer Auntie Margaret Bristol with her new little niece, Kayla.