This time last week, I was eagerly anticipating the arrival of my latest niece* Livie Jo. Finally, just before 10 PM on 8/27 she arrived, weighing in at 6 lbs. 11 oz and measuring 20 inches long. Ooh! I could barely contain myself! Still, I restrained myself from going to the hospital until the next morning because a) all the grandparents were there vying for LJ time and b) Brandi, LJ’s mom, was recovering from c-section. Plus, they needed some time that was just for them.

I spent four hours at the hospital on Friday,** holding her as much as anyone would let me. Actually, there were a few hours when it was only me, Brandi, and Jacob in the room, so I got to hold her a lot. But you don’t want to hear about how much I held her, you want to see the pictures:

Exhibit A: LJ is all cheeks, but she has her daddy’s nose.

Exhibit B: LJ is squirmy, even when she’s sleeping.

Exhibit C: Aunt Sarah is LJ’s favorite*** aunt.

Exhibit D: LJ has a lot of dark hair, which is funny because her parents are both blond.

Exhibit E: LJ poops as soon as her dad opens her diaper. She and I are going to be friends.

As you can see, LJ is quite possibly to cutest baby ever. Plus she has great comedic timing. I am already plotting how Chris and I can move just a little bit closer to Clinton (even if it’s merely into center city Springfield, it would cut 45 minutes off my drive time). And I’m bribing Brandi with the promise of Olive Garden, if she’ll bring LJ to Springfield. And I have her Christmas present picked out. I have some big aunt shoes to fill, and I must get started!

* To be clear, Chris and I have two nieces and six nephews on his side of the family, all of whom were already around when we got married. LJ belongs to my brother, and I don’t know why, but being an aunt to her just feels different than being an aunt to the others. Is that normal?

** The hospital was an hour and twenty minutes away, and Jacob and Brandi live 100 miles away from me. I stayed as long as I could since I won’t get to drop by and hang out with my niece any time I want.

*** Technically, I’m her only aunt, but that simply means I have a lot of spoiling to do.