Highlight Of 2022-Meeting My Niece Riley Rose

Oh my sweet precious niece Riley Rose is even cuter in person !!!

Aunts provide stability and an escape from the day-to-day. Research refers to the aunt-niece relationship as “quasi-parenthood,” in that an aunt isn't the mother, but she does play a role in raising and shaping the life of her niece. Aunts serve as a safety net, a comforter, protector and supporter.

“Here's to the fools who dream."

If there's one other message we can take from La La Land, (one of my fave movies ever) it's that being an aunt gives us a chance to pass down our passions. In the film, Emma Stone plays a character named Mia, who's an aspiring actress. She got so interested in the industry because she used to go to the library with her aunt and watch old movies and write plays. The rest is a very rooted history. I wonder what passion of mine I will pass down to Riley. Maybe she will love photography and art. Maybe she will love cooking! Perhaps she will have a blog of her own one day.

Writing this also makes me think of my Aunt Tammy and how she was and is a true definition of an aunt. She was and is always there for me and supports and loves me unconditionally. I don’t really have many people I am close to in my family for various reasons but Tammy is the one person I care deeply for and would take a bullet for. She always taught me to hustle and to stay true to who I was. She always listens and has my back.

Meeting my sweet niece was sooooo emotional for me but also seeing my brother in an entirely different light was just almost too much for my heart to handle. Once your sibling becomes a parent, you see another side of them!!!

I just cannot wait for Riley to say my name for the very first time. Total bonus points if she makes up a really cute nickname for me that is chic! HA. I will let her figure it out for me though and I will adore anything she choses.

My dear sweet Riley Rose…I am here for you ALWAYS. And to my brother Miles and to sweet sweet Allison…..my sister-in-law…I love you both dearly and am grateful to you for making me an auntie. Allison, you are such a natural when it comes to motherhood and each time I see my niece in photos she manages to do something that completely steals every bit of my heart. She’s already getting so big!!

I love that being an aunt is part of my life now!!! I very much look forward to the special bond that Riley and I will have.