10 little blessings

I've loved babies for my entire life. I would ask for baby dolls every Christmas and birthday. My bed time routine was to put every single doll and stuffed animal that I owned in the bed with me, while managing to save a little space for me to squeeze into. 

I thought babies were the cutest creatures on earth (and I still do).

When I was 11 years old my first nephew was born. Since then, I've been called Aunt Sarah by 10 beautiful children. Sometimes I feel like I should have earned the title of mom by now. At least I feel very well prepared for my own children after all of the munchkins running around me constantly. 

Today I am writing about 10 little (and some not so little anymore) blessings in my life.

 

Alyssa is my oldest sister's first child and she is now 10 years old. It feels like yesterday that my first niece was born and I was thrilled beyond belief. She was the cutest baby girl with chubby legs, dark black hair, and a huge smile. She has grown up to be a beautiful and brilliant young lady. Alyssa is gifted in piano and learns things very quickly. She's got a goofy sense of humor and is sometimes a little clumsy, yet, she still manages to be an excellent soccer player. Alyssa works hard to be the very best at everything she does. She is dedicated and persistent and never fears competition. She will grow up to be an excellent mom because she has been a huge help to her own mom with her little brothers and sister.

  

Eight year old Benjamin is my sister's second child and he is the prime example of a middle child. His sense of humor is his most charming quality and he can make me laugh on a daily basis. He was born with a love for birds...all birds. Ever since I can remember, he has said he wants to be an ornithologist when he grows up. Yes, he uses that term and it means "bird man" in simpler terms. Penguins, flamingos, blue jays, wrens; he loves them all. A few years ago he decided that he was a genius and gave his family "genius lessons" every Monday afternoon. I am Aunt Alfred to Ben, and he is Leroy to me. Ben's greatest quality is that he is so comfortable in his own skin that he never just goes with the crowd. If he doesn't want to do something, he is perfectly fine being alone. He is tender-hearted and LOVES his mom who is also his best friend. (He tells me that I'm his best friend, too)

  

Abigail is 2 years old, going on 35. She is completely independent and follows her own rules. Her role model and best friend seems to be her big brother Ben and she is strong competition in the humor department. Her smile is contagious, but when she is angry you would rather be a few miles away because she is REALLY angry. She speaks very well and seems older than she really is because of that. She recently informed her mom that when she is 3 and a half she will lose her teeth just like the blue shark. She is fierce and will definitely make a name for herself in the world!

 

Christopher is my sister's baby boy. He is 18 months old and absolutely precious. Just like his big brother, he is completely in love with his mom. He has the most precious smile and laugh and is always willing to flash it for the camera. He is capable of making all animal sounds, yet he chooses to just say "moo" for every animal. He enjoys being a big boy and trying to claim every toy before his big sister. I know that one day he will work hard to protect her, though.

 

Joshua is my oldest brother's son and he is my oldest nephew at 11 years old. He has always had the sweetest and most gentle spirit. When he was a baby he had all of my attention with his sweet, round baby face and his love for all things Mother Goose. Art is his passion and he loves creativity. He is extremely efficient with a pencil in his hand. Drawing, writing, homework...he loves it all. His favorite subject in the 5th grade is spelling, just like his Aunt Sarah. He was recently chosen to be in the Louisiana state children's choir, so it may be unnecessary to say that he loves to sing. Josh enjoys hanging out with his dad and aspiring to be just like him.   

 

Jacob is Joshua's only little brother. At 8 years old, he often has the personality of someone much older. He can sit with any adult and feel completely comfortable with holding an adult conversation with them. He not only answers questions from adults, but he initiates his own conversations and questions with them. Jake loves to sing and dance. If it's music from the Disney channel, he loves it. He can be found at nearly any moment of the day with a song coming out of his mouth. Jacob is a helper. He enjoys doing things to help out and typically doesn't complain about it. He is strong-willed and pretty independent and has no trouble leading others. He is a math whiz in school and cousin Ben is his best friend.

  

Devin is my brother Stephen's oldest son. He is 8 years old with blond hair and beautiful blue eyes. He was a baby during my high school years and he stayed with us a lot. I remember rocking him to sleep and me falling asleep with this sweet baby boy in my lap. Devin has grown up to be a very unique boy. He can be incredibly sweet and sometimes shy, but when he is around the people that he knows and loves he is a huge talker and jokester. He loves feeling important and showing his little brother how to do things. He is tough and strong and does really well in school.

  

Mason is Devin's only little brother. At 6 years old he has grown to LOVE Michael Jackson's music. He can always be found carrying his MJ cd, ready to sing and dance. He is the spitting image of his dad, just with darker skin. He loves his Pawpaw's hot rods and can name cars that I've never even heard of. He befriends anyone and his favorite subject at school is art and recess. He loves being around grown-ups and often follows the big people around. He is active and and can "run faster than Devin". Mason is loving and affectionate and always greets me with a big hug.

  

Two year old Tucker is my brother Jon's oldest son. He is precious with dark hair and big blue eyes and just like his shirt says in this picture, he is fast as lightning. He has a way of making me feel important every time I see him. It's as if he hasn't seen me in years. He freezes, gasps, his eyes get big, and he jumps up and down. Even if I just saw him yesterday, he always does this. He is a firecracker and LOVES to jump and run. He has an obsession with Yo Gabba Gabba and I'm convinced that it's because of the weird techno music on the show. If I do something fun that he really likes, he looks at me, holds up his pointer finger, and politely says, "One more!" (But he really means one more, and one more, and one more, and so on...) Tucker is a ball of fun and rarely gets upset. 

 

Tarver is 6 months old and is affectionately called "Tar-Tar" by his big brother Tucker. He has gorgeous, big blue eyes that are very prominent on his face. He is one of the sweetest babies I've ever been around. He is always ready to smile and is learning to do new things every day. He will be sitting up and crawling around soon so that he can keep up with his super fast big brother. 

And there you have it. Ten precious blessings in my life. I've accumulated so many of these munchkins that I'm beginning to have trouble remembering birthdays for the little ones, but they will always be extremely special to me. I know that God has given me each one, with all of their distinct personalities, to help prepare me for my own sweet babies in the future!