Aunt Life

This past weekend, my twin sister made me an Aunt! Baby E came into this world safely and is just the most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes on. I can't get enough of him and am so thankful that I get to be around for the first few weeks of his life. 

I was so excited to be an aunt when Danielle told me she was pregnant back in February. The thought of getting to be the cool relative and watch him grow up was just plain awesome. Now that he is here, I can't believe how much I love him. I just think he hung the moon and want to snuggle him all day long. 

My dad said something this weekend that stuck with me. He said a mother's love of her newborn child is one of the closest examples of Christ's love for us. Here you have this baby who hasn't really done anything to deserve love, yet you love him unconditionally. I'm not even his mother, but that comparison is cool to think about, and it's amazing how much I can love a baby that isn't my own. I'll be honest, he feels like mine! ;)

Parker loves being an uncle and is soaking up all the Facetime dates with his new nephew! This is the first new baby on either side of the family in quite some time, so Parker and I are really getting a taste of what life will look like with a new baby for the first time. I know it's not going to be a cake walk, but man are we excited for February! Our son will be just about 5 months younger than our nephew, so they will be in the same grade in school and hopefully grow up being really close friends. So fun!

Here's a picture from the hospital just a couple of hours after sweet baby E was born! He is already the best baby, and how does Danielle look so amazing hours after giving birth? Motherhood looks good on her, that's for sure!

Twin Sister's Baby Shower | Details

When Danielle told me she was pregnant, I was (and still am!) over the moon to be an Aunt! I really just can't wait, and knowing my nephew will be born in just a couple of months is just the happiest feeling. After the initial shock of "oh my gosh I can't believe she's pregnant", I started thinking about her shower!

I knew from the get-go that I wanted to throw her a baby shower and had so many ideas swimming around in my head for what I wanted it to look like. As soon as we found out the baby is a boy, I scoured Pinterest like crazy! For some reason, girl things just seem easier but I was determined to make this little boy's shower one my sister would love.

The shower was a couple of weekends ago (belated blogging at it's finest!), and it ended up being so wonderful and just what I was hoping for! Danielle loved it and was showered with so many sweet things for baby G.  I thought I'd share a few pictures of some of our favorite details!

Of course there were yummy baby boy-themed treats! Those cake balls are literally the biggest cake balls I have ever seen. I think I had 5 cupcakes and have zero regrets about it. 

I wanted to make little corsages that Danielle, my mom, and her mother-in-law could wear, and after much Pinteresting, I threw in the towel and decided to wing it. A little ribbon, hot glue, card stock, and stickers made the dream a reality. I also added a magnet to the bag so that they wouldn't have to poke a hole in their clothes.

Do you think these two are excited to be grandmothers??

The same family friend that did our wedding flowers put together this beautiful arrangement for the centerpiece. I surrounded it with a few baby pictures of Danielle. All I can say is thank goodness my mom labeled those pictures! I can't tell Danielle and I apart as babies but I am 90% confident the pictures we had displayed were of her.

My mom really wanted to do an "advice for the new mom" table, so I made a little sign, cut up some card stock, and called it done. Sorry mom- I don't think the advice cards made it home with Danielle, but it was a fun activity anyway!

My favorite thing we did was an activity called "Make a bowtie for baby Emmett and big brother Sul". Danielle loves her pup Sully like I love Jenny, and I knew she'd be thrilled to have him incorporated into the shower. I winged this idea as well, but it turned our great! The bowties that attached to the onesie adhered with a snap, and the bowties that attached to the dog collar adhered with velcro. Each guest made two matching bowties- one for the baby and one for the pup!

I also made a banner with the baby's name to hang in the main room. I just picked out a few colors I liked at Michaels and went for it! These were the same colors used on the invitation, so I tried to keep a subtle theme with that. 

It was a great day showering my twin and baby nephew! We are so ready to meet him, and Danielle is ready for me to stop banging on her stomach to talk to him. ;)

Aunt Chrissy & Uncle P- Spoiling Starts September 2016

I have been bursting at the seams and am so excited to finally get to spill the beans... Parker and I are going to have a little niece or nephew this fall! My twin sister is about 15 weeks pregnant with the perfect baby that we cannot wait to spoil the crap out of. 

me holding the sign

When I flew home to Texas for my birthday, Danielle (twin sister) told me she would pick me up from the airport. When I arrived, she made up an excuse of why she had to park the car and met me inside the baggage claim area. I didn't understand why she couldn't just wait in the car line but chalked it up to her inexperience with airports and didn't think anything of it. When I saw her coming down the escalator, she held a sign that read "Aunt Chrissy". 

Danielle holding the sign

I'll be honest- I totally didn't get it at first. I think I said something like "aww, thanks", to which she followed "you don't get it, do you?". I think I gasped so loud the entire airport heard me! Tears were flowing and I just couldn't believe it!

There is something so special about your twin sister being pregnant. I can't even describe the joy I feel for her. It's funny, because I'm usually pretty good about the whole "missing everything due to the military" thing. I understand and accept that we just won't get to be with our families for every little thing that comes up, but knowing I am going to have a niece or nephew 1400 miles away is a tough pill to swallow. I loved growing up with my aunt, uncle, and cousins at arms length and want that for this baby, but we will savor the time we do get. My sisters and parents all live close by, so this baby will still have so much family around to love on him/her. 

Her kid will call me Aunt Chrissy, a long-standing joke in the family. My name is obviously not Chrissy or any form of it, but a long time ago at my first internship, a lady got mad at me and called me "Little Girl Chrissy" because she didn't know my name. It just stuck. :)

How cute is their Disney-themed reveal? Sully the pup is very excited to be a big brother!