it begins . . .

dear baby jake,

we warned you in our letter about our smothering, squeezing kind of love for you . . . and, well, it has begun, my love.  good thing those skinny little legs of yours are strong, because you’ll need them . . .

aunt katie, being laid-back and easy going (unlike her dear sister), really wanted us to come and visit baby jake in the hospital.  I gathered uncle judah and uncle christopher so we had a one-to-one, grown-up-to-child ratio.  when we arrived, mr. adorable was sleeping soundly . . .

 

everyone admired baby jake’s tiny toes while they listened to the rules about the new baby (washing hands, not touching eyeballs, only kissing the top of his head or his toes, no fingers in the mouth, etc.)

Little Missy was very interested in the tiny baby who was making a tiny crying noise.  She walks around saying “aunt kee-tee’s bee-bee jee-kee” . . . it is so sweet and so cute, and she points at him and says “MY BEE-BEE.  MINE.”  She is quite smitten and talks about this baby boy constantly. 

Baby Jake, I tried to warn you:  she thinks you are hers.  Enjoy it while you can, little love.

immediately upon entering the room, william needed to hold the baby, and hudson needed to eat his lunch—ha!  after a minute or two, william climbed up into my lap . . . and Anna was a sweet little on-looker blowing the baby tiny kisses.

William was very sweet and very interested in smooching the littlest man.  The kisses continue . . .

I had thought our visit went really well, until I saw this picture.  Oopsie, baby Jake.  So sorry about William’s love tap on the FACE!

Next, it was Hudsey’s turn.  He was really excited and so dear with Baby Jakey.  And, he wanted to be sure baby Jake had his duck nearby.

 Baby Jake, having a friend near you always makes things better.  Keep ducky close.

Sweet smooches from the big ole cousins!

And, fear not, Baby Jake, we are here to help you.  We know you are swaddled in a blanket in the heat of June, but it appears that you need your ducky hat on right away.  If we cover your eyes, it’s fine.  You don’t really need to look at too many things when you are less than a day old.  Yes, yes, you are welcome.  We are happy to “help.”

Uncle Chris-fer-fer-fer even got some good snuggles with baby Jake over the last few days.  He is a proud ole uncle!  And, you may remember that Katie’s children are Charles CHRISTOPHER and James JUDAH Larson, while Anna bug is Anna KATHRYN.  I told my siblings that they can all go ahead and start fighting over who will name their children after me.  If they can’t come to an agreement, I will be totally fine with having multiple children named after me . . . don’t worry, it’s fine, it’s fine . . .

We realized at the hospital that William was going to need some strict boundaries with Baby Jakey.  After having held him once, William stood on the floor with his arms held out to Katie and said “I want to hold him by myself!  Here, hand him to me!”  I thought I was going to fall over, I was laughing so hard.  The poor little love was serious.  Bless his pointed little head!  Sugie, having had a daughter (moi) who picked up her newborn brother (christopher) and both proudly and lovingly flung him onto the sofa, intervened and told little William that three year olds may NOT hold a baby without a grown up.  He argued, but I think he understands at this point!  When we went to visit Baby Jakey yesterday, William did have a special time of holding the baby (he was actually the only one of my little ones who wanted to hold Jake).  He was so sweet with his baby cousin, and William kept asking us help him scoot back or get comfortable before he put the baby in his arms again—it was so funny.  He loved being with little Jake, and last night, when we prayed before bed, he prayed “Thank you, Jesus, for baby Jake’s tiny pinky.  I love it.”  ah ha ha!

Baby Jake, it’s true . . . we adore you little one.  Every teeny little part of you!  Thank you for letting us hold and snuggle you—and get ready, there’s more to come!