cousin crazy!

We went to Portland LAST Thursday. However baby Savannah has that fashionably late thing down. She took her sweet time being born, and we ended up back in the car and trekking home without meeting her last week. Within a few minutes of holding her today, we unanimously decided she was worth the wait.
The new parents, Tony and Tara agree, of course!
look at Tara. She's a natural!

Isn't the delight on all four of those male faces just the sweetest thing?
Though you can see by his expression, that Sam was a little freaked about how powerful the suction is in such a teensy pink mouth.

Then we traveled over to the other side of town to celebrate cousin Cody's FIRST birthday (it's actually tomorrow). Here Brian smooshes up some cake for him:
Anne with her babies:

Cody is so adorable, all chub and grins!

John and I are just SO grateful to have nieces and nephews to love on and spoil, only 2 hours away. The boys are tickled to play chase and peek-a-boo with little cousins who look up to them!It's so exciting to realize that now there will be babies and toddlers and preschoolers enjoying the holidays and seasons with us all!

When I think about how great both Tara and Brian were to OUR babies, ten years ago? Long before they were married or thought of having children of their own, they were loving on and playing with our chubby, drooly punks. Now this circle spins around. Those punks are almost teenagers now! We admit to kind of missing those toothless grins and baby fat cheeks and crawling on the carpet roaring like a lion, just to get a little joy shriek out of that baby. So with grandchildren still, hopefully, a decade away, John and I get to be the proud Aunty and Uncle. we watched you both do it and remember exactly how it goes...Let's see...

You bring lollipops the size of dinner plates. (Brian)

You teach them in Sunday School (Tara)

You swoop in right before bedtime for a rousing game of chase to get them all wound up. (Brian)

You read them books. (Tara)

You teach them how to make fart noises with their armpits (Brian)

You babysit and bring them pudding cups. (Tara)

Stark contrast there, eh? So sorry, Anne. I guess Cody and Caitlin might end up paying for the sins of the uncle...