Last October, my sister came into the living room while my Mother and I were watching TV. She was teary eyed as she asked to speak to my Mother in private first. I didn’t think much of it, but then they come back, both crying. My sister Emily said “Lauren, you’re going to be an aunt.” I was immediately excited and started yelling “OH MY GOD REALLY!? SERIOUSLY!?” It was that moment that I knew I was going to be an aunt and my life, and our family changed forever.
Nine months came and went, and on July 19th, 2016 at 4:47 pm, my niece Aribella Renette Kimball was born. I called out of work as soon as I found out my sister was in labor. I immediately went to the hospital to see her. Four hours later, we were told she needed an emergency C-section. Not long after that, my niece was born. I had learned to sew and made Aribella a pink and blue quilt with her initials embroidered on the silk edge and gave it to my sister and her boyfriend as soon as we were able to see them and meet Aribella. I’ll always remember walking in and seeing my sister hold her little peanut. She was only 5.3 pounds when she was born, so she was tiny! Over the summer before coming to school, our family grew close. Emily and her boyfriend Adam, as well as my new little niece lived at our house with my Mom, Dad, and I. We all pitched in feeding, changing, bathing, and caring for Aribella. Now, she’s a happy, healthy, 3 month old baby. I love her more than anything, and I love seeing her adorable smiling face when I go home on the weekends. I am proud to be an auntie and I am so excited to see Aribella grow and change for the rest of my life.
