Auntie Lindsay

Here are some pictures from my recent visit to Nebraska. I dubbed the trip “baby-pa-looza” as it orbits around my nieces and nephew. The first day I got to babysit my 5-week old nephew Bennett overnight. My sister dropped him off with my mother and I while she and her husband went off to celebrate their anniversary. FYI, their anniversary celebration was dinner out and a night in watching TV. I guess having a newborn makes you appreciate the old things you used to do. Up till that point Bennett was the youngest child I’ve ever held (or even seen in person). Let me tell you, don’t believe the hype, a 5-week old baby is boring. Boring! I was hoping for giggles, cooing, tricks, you know. Nope. He slept the entire time. Every so often he would open one eye (just one) and decide that I wasn’t worth opening the other one for. Okay I know, all new parents out there would beg for the kind of night we had with Bennett…no crying or fussing, just sleep and drink. I wanted action! My sister said he was going through a growth spurt which made him flash out his limbs unexpectedly. We called it his rattlesnake legs (legs sticking straight out while shaking). Well that was about all I got.





The next day, my niece Ava celebrated her 3rd birthday. She was just about the age to understand what was going on. I’ve been holding on to the perfect gift for 6 months…a purse in the shape of a dog, covered in pink sequins. I figured little girls would like a purse (especially one that looked like her actual dog). She also got a lot of puzzles (she loves them…they are her crack…she is a puzzle addict), some toys, and a big wheel. Of course after each present, she wanted to play with the thing, so it made for a long opening period. Afterwards was cake and dairy queen star popsicles. I don’t know what exactly is in the “starry” popsicle (does anyone) because it is a confusing blend of cream and fruit. I did learn what composed the frosting on my Mother’s cake…powered sugar and Crisco. Delicious but disgusting (like a hot dog). I don’t think Ava has ever blown out candles before, I can’t blame her as it does seem like an odd thing to do.






Show us your teeth Ava (how we get her to smile big).

A couple of days later, we went to the hospital to await my niece’s arrival. Again don’t believe the hype, it wasn’t all that exciting…just a lot of waiting. We kept Ava busy in the waiting room with you guessed it, puzzles. She also broke out her kiddy karaoke machine and sang us the “if you’re happy and you know it” song. Okay, that was super cute.



During labor, my sister got an epidural and boy did it work wonders. The doctor asked her what her pain level was on a scale from 1 to 10. My sister said “oh um maybe a 1”. The doctor looked at her and said “you know you are in the middle of a big contraction”. My sister sighed and was like “oh”. Nice.
Eventually my sister gave birth and they brought in Ava to meet her new little sister. I’m sure she was confused because she immediately started to cry. After a bit, the whole family crowded in and we passed around the newborn. Now she is officially the youngest child I have ever held. I was being super careful because she was so fragile…and disgusting. Seriously, they don’t wash the babies right away, so she was covered in this white booger like paste (yuck).





I got to hold her for 15 whole minutes while the room was cleared out. I was also keeping Ava busy while the doctor checked in on my sister. They had to “cut” her you know where (yes I know, waaaaay too much information), and when the doctor lifted the sheet she saw a lot of blood. Okay don’t fret; the blood was completely normal and mostly just leftovers from the birth. I guess they put you on this giant maxi pad and it protects the mattress from liquids and stuff during the birth. Again sorry for the gross out. Anyway, Ava got one look at the bloodied pad and burst out crying “mommy ouchie!!!!”. Cute but traumatic.