i can’t believe we had to wait 2 whole weeks to meet this little angel kid. 
and that he is.
their little quiet home is hallowed ground with this little guy around.
seeing these 2 boy cousins next to each other just gives me butterflies.
i can’t wait for them to be friends and have someone so close in age to play with.
{less than 4 mths apart.}
my sister-in-law emily is a champ.
and can i be frank here for a second?
{good, cause it is, afterall, my blog…}
emily is maybe the last one on the planet 
you would have thought would go through a natural childbirth. 
she has what she would consider to be a lower pain tolerance, 
and, let’s face it, her dad is an anesthesiologist. 
days before she went into labor, i asked her what she had decided. 
{secretly i had been trying to help fan the flame all along, 
but didn’t want to sound too involved…}
she said she planned to go “as natural as possible.”
she did it. she did it all.
and when she called to tell me all about how it went, i could tell she was hesitant,
knowing that it might be hard for me to hear.
miraculously, i was overjoyed.
in some weird way, i feel like emily proved me right,
about how great natural childbirth can be. 
i was emotional with her about it all.
the emotions i didn’t really feel in the first many weeks after my “delivery”

she said, “well, we were very lucky.”
no! you were prepared, healthy, and educated!
she just held on tight and made it happen, 
and had an amazing experience.
and i couldn’t be happier for her.
in fact, it gives me hope that i might get to do it too someday.
and at the end of the day, we have 2 little dudes that will keep us close.
does it get any better than that?
{hint: no. it sure doesn’t.}