I'M AN AUNT!

I interrupt your regularly scheduled programming of wedding recap posts to bring you a very important message...I'M AN AUNT!

Scarlett Elizabeth was born on Monday, April 25 at 9:59 PM, weighing in at seven pounds, eight ounces and measuring 20.5 inches. I'm not allowed to post pictures of her just yet, but you can take my word for it - she's absolutely perfect. I admit I'm biased, but she somehow skipped the creepy alien-like phase that most newborns go through shortly after birth and instantly became this precious little doll baby. Insert heart eyes emoji here.

As I was leaving for work on Monday morning, I noticed I had missed a call from my brother. He knows to never call me at 8:00 AM, so I knew this must be the big news. Sure enough, Elizabeth had been in the hospital for several hours and it was confirmed that the baby would be coming later that day. I went to work, which was hilariously pointless due to my lack of focus, and waited anxiously for 2:00 when I could take Wheat to the airport and head to Ohio (my car was in the shop).

When I got home, the general consensus was that the baby would be coming around 2:00 AM, so I unpacked and my dad went to pick up some carryout for dinner. Suddenly, the phone rang. It was LP and he informed my mom that Elizabeth had gone from 5 cm dilated to full-blown ready to push in just one hour. Nervous and excited, we hopped in the car and left when my dad returned.

We met Elizabeth's parents in the hospital waiting room. They told us that the baby was in position and Elizabeth was starting to push. The next hour was filled with excited conversation, lots of nervous jitters, and some Chinese food takeout. Elizabeth's brother and his wife arrived. Then another hour passed. Then another. Then another. At this point, calling us worried was an understatement. Every time the door opened, all of us jerked to see who was walking through it. With no news, no texts, and no help from the nurses (who weren't actually allowed to tell us what was going on), the room became silent with the exception of a quiet NBA playoff game on the waiting room TV.

Finally, at 11:26 PM, more than four hours after we arrived, Elizabeth's mom got a text from LP. Everyone was healthy and everything was fine. Relief flooded over the entire room. 20 minutes later, my brother came to get us and we instantly burst into tears at the sight of our new niece/granddaughter. It kind of defies explanation, but it was such a beautiful moment to see the incredible love and pride in my brother's eyes as he held his daughter and introduced her to us. For the next hour, we took turns hugging Elizabeth and holding Scarlett and I was amazed by how quickly you can fall in love with a person.

I'm so unbelievably happy to have this little ray of light in my life...and don't you worry. As soon as I get word, this place is quickly going to become a Scarlett photo album.