Dear Sweet Baby Keil,
I am awash in emotion! My friends who have grandchildren are excited for me, and most of them have drawn me aside to tell me how much I will love being a grandmother and to tell me I will be amazed at how much I will love you. The first time that happened, and every time since, I laughed to myself and thought, "They haven't a clue how much I'll love you! I will love you exponentially more than they have ever loved any of their grandchildren!" You see, I am already unabashedly smitten. I can't read your Mom's blog update, see her picture, or write you a letter without my joy tears causing me to sniffle and laugh.
I already have a big concern about you, though. How will I convince myself that you are not MY baby? Loving you the way I do, I'm going to have to be really careful not to overstep my bounds. I'm sure, when you're old enough, you'll tell your parents when I mis-step, and then I'll make sure you understand about forgiveness. If I'm anything like your Aunt Marion, I'll tell on myself before the sun goes down!
Your Mommy was an extraordinary baby, an extraordinary person, from the day she was born. Her older sister, your Aunt Rosie, was 2 1/2 years old when your Mommy was born. Rosie was used to commanding my full attention, so your Mommy could have been dramatic to seize her share of the spotlight. That wasn't your Mommy's way, though. She was a good baby, and she put up with her sister's constant interruptions without a fuss. I think she was taking notes, memorizing everything her big sister did and how we parents reacted to each action. One of your Mommy's early nicknames was Speedy Feets, which seems prophetic now. She waved her feet around when she was having her diaper changed. She was good at directing music, too, or so we imagined, as she used her hands to dance before she could stand upright.
Although your Mommy adored her big sister, she never seemed to be in her shadow. She was always as independent and self-sufficient as a child could be, at every age. When her younger sister, your Aunt Marion, was born, your Mommy was just 1 1/2 years old. Much of the time, we were still giving her age in months - almost 18 months old, she was. Your grandfather and I were a bit concerned about moving our sweet little Lillian (your Mommy) to the other end of the house from our bedroom (and from her sisters' rooms), but it made sense that she should have her own room, and the only one available was at the other end of the house. With some trepidation, we bought a used baby bed and some affordable Minnie Mouse sheets for her, put a monitor in her new room, and moved her to the other end of the house. Your Mommy quickly proved that she could handle being farther away. Then she showed she could be as patient with her little sister as she had been with her big sister. In fact, she was helpful with her little sister, and she was quick to claim her. Your Aunt Marion had 2 powerful sister advocates!
As you grow up, you will hear plenty of stories about bacon people (Aunt Jaynie has the video!) and the times your Mom got in trouble. We'll be sure to embarrass her and make her seem a little less intimidating to you, but not as a service to you. Rather, we want to recall how much we have loved her these past 23 years (which includes those months she spent in the womb!) Loving your Mommy has been a privilege and a sheer delight, with bits of frustration mixed in, but none that could ever detract from the pure love for her that has expanded our hearts, just like you are expanding them now, all from the comfort of her womb! Soon you will be hearing her voice, unmuffled by amniotic fluid, and you will be transfixed by her beautiful face and the love that emanates through her smiles and her tears. (Later you'll hear us blame hormones for some of those tears, but she'll have tears of joy, too. Hormones can't claim those!) Your Daddy will finally get his hands on you without Mommy's skin getting in the way! He is the best Daddy you could ever have, so watch him like a hawk!
You are being born into a family who loves you beyond anything you can conceive of, until you help a loved one conceive. (Aunt Marion will be exclaiming "Mooooom!" when she reads this.) We will love you through your shining triumphs and through your trials and tribulations. We will tell endless stories about you, about how clever you are, how sweet you are, how much like your Mom and your Dad you are, and we'll exclaim that you have all the best genes of the Keil/Siman/Andrews clans. We'll find ways that you resemble each of us so we can stake our claims even more forcefully.
Your Mom and your Dad will make sure you know that God made you perfect, that you are exactly who He meant you to be. They will hold you accountable when you push the boundaries, and if you are anything like your Mom, you'll push hard, when you push! You'll learn loving discipline is just that. And your aunts will call you to task, too, especially when you disrespect your incredible parents. In return, you will get to teach your aunts and me about boyhood. (Aunt Shelly has the inside track on that, being your Dad's little sister.)
Your Mommy and Daddy are getting to know God even better, thanks to you. They will realize every day that their love for you grows and grows, and they will better comprehend how deep and wide and long and high God's love is for us, His beloved sons and daughters. Your Mommy and Daddy will also appreciate their own parents more and more! Thank YOU, Baby Keil!
Your Mommy and Daddy are the official expectant parents, but your whole extended family is expectant. We are expecting joy upon joy, blessings upon blessings, and some fearful moments, too. (If you are as active as your parents, we will have several of those!) We are praying that your entry into our lives will be dramatic enough to entertain you with stories later, but not dramatic enough to have us rushing to the hospital.
A small favor, please, Baby Keil, could you cooperate a bit with your Mom's muscles and delay your entry until I am on the scene?
Loving you always,
JuJu (or whatever name you bestow on me with love!)
