After seeing the big bold resurrection flowers adorn many Easter images and celebrations in late April, I got to meet quite a special Lily on May 2nd. My beautiful niece raced into this world – literally, Mama had a 10-15 minute labor!

Since my SIL is a midwife she didn’t give many details except that baby #2 was expected to arrive some time in May. To our surprise, 2 days into the month I got a call at dinner that asked me to come soon, the baby will probably come tonight. My friend and I rushed to finish dinner and I promptly headed over.

I called and walked into the door and heard…crying. Little sweet shrills of a newborn. That’s when my brother told me the baby was already here. Before the midwife even made it. My SIL settled into the bathtub after her water broke and my brother caught the baby minutes later. Thankfully the midwife was only 10 minutes away and came quickly after that!

Kai was a patient little dude, happily watching an episode of Sesame Street while all the commotion happened around him. My brother told me he really wanted to make a cake for his sister. When I came up to him and said hello he excitedly exclaimed, “Baby come out! Not in Mommy’s tummy!”

We got out all the supplies and found out they were out of eggs. Ha! So we headed to the store and he held out 4 fingers and reminded me we needed “three eggs!” I let him pick out a bouquet for Mommy and we grabbed a carton of eggs. He was singing happy birthday baby as we paced the aisles for supplies and all the way home. He helped stir and crack the eggs in, and when the cake cooled, he proceeded to help frost the cake and eat half the container of frosting. 😉

I can’t remember when I got there, maybe 7:30pm? But the birth photographer and midwife didn’t pack up and leave until around midnight. Because of the precipitous birth they had to give her some coaxing to get her active and thriving but Lily is very healthy and a good eater and sleeper.

Now that she’s nearly 2 months old, she’s beginning to react more to people’s words and facial expressions. Her little smiles are so cute – they start on one end and then slowly widen. She loves to scrunch her lips and furrow her eyebrows. I happen to think she looks a lot like her Momma, and her mom thinks she resembles her grandma.

Kai is both helplessly in love with Lily and jealous of the time she gets with Mommy. We’ve all given him extra love and attention to help him understand he’s still very important to us and we love them both.

When Kai was born, I felt much more prepared and conscious of his arrival and presence. I also spent many weekends over there helping since it was freshly after my brother’s accident. With Lily, the first time I held her it all felt a little alien. That’s not to say I wasn’t excited or think less of her. It just felt less real? I don’t even know how to put that into words. But she is absolutely precious and my brain finally connected that she’s here. Haha. I think when Kai was born we paused the world around us a little bit but when Lily came everything was still whirling around us. I guess that is the plight of a second child. I can’t wait to see the two of them interact more with each other as they grow, but I’m perfectly happy soaking in these baby days again and hoping the time she is little doesn’t speed by.  Auntie life is the best.