Dear Tiny,
I’ve known your Mama since I was just a baby and she was two
years old. That’s longer than almost everyone! One day I’ll tell you what your
Mama was like before you met her. I’ll tell you how she was brave and took
airplanes to faraway places. I’ll tell you how your Mama met your Dad and how
happy they make each other. And how your Mama is better at being the Big Sister
than anyone I know. One day you’ll be Big to someone who’s littler and you will
be like your Mama.
Although we didn’t know when you would come into the world
(or who your Dad would be!), your Mama and I have been waiting for you since we
were little girls. When we were kids, your Mama and I played out our future
grown-up lives with our Cabbage Patch Kids. We took them to the pediatrician’s
office (my bedroom) to get weighed and have their temperature taken. When it
snowed, we sent them down the stairs on cardboard box sleds at Nana and
Pop-pop’s house. We also took them outside in our version of baby carriers,
which your Mama famously named “bed bags.” We have been practicing for so long
and are ready for you to come!
I can’t wait to share all of my favorite things with you.
The best thing about aunts and uncles is that they open up a world that’s
different from the one you share with your Mama and Dad. I remember going to my
aunts’ and uncles’ houses in Pennsylvania and exploring a whole world I didn’t
know existed, one with fishing ponds, raspberry vines, goats, and barnyard
cats.
I’ll teach you about the corners of the world I’ve visited,
how to bake delicious treats from scratch, and how to make crafts with your
hands. I’ll take you camping and bike riding and canoeing. We’ll read books
together and I’ll show you how to do cartwheels and downward dogs. And you’ll
teach me about all of your favorite things. We’ll have the best time!
Yesterday I heard your heart beating loud and strong when I
went with your Mama to see the midwife. It made you so real to me! I can’t wait
to meet you in October, Tiny— we
have so many adventures ahead.
XO,
Aunt Kiki
