Nieces

I realized reading over my last post that I often write about AbiLyn in a manner that might confuse a reader who doesn't know me. She is not my daughter, nor does she live with me. She is my sister's daughter and is the first grandchild in my mom and dad's family. To say that she is the apple of all of our family's eye might be an understatement and may not be very accurate because we are all becoming more and more smitten with her little brother, Lex, the more he flashes his dimples at us.

I did want to do a quick run-down of her and her little social circle because the older they get the more prominent they may become in my blog. (You're also starting to see them in pictures I post.) First, I should do some background. My sister, Liz, and I ran in pretty much the same crowd in our childhood/teenage years. She was mature for her age, and I, a little immature. We're about 3 years apart so we meshed together nicely, for the most part. We had 2 very close friends in between us in age: Chassidy and Crystal. This made for a very interesting friendship dynamic. There were 4 of us, so when push came to shove two could take sides against another two and never was anyone left out in the cold. The 4 of us could easily fit into whomever's car we were riding in, and when it came time for overnight youth trips there was never any question how we would room: the four of us together, no one left out and no room for an outsider (hey, I'm just being honest).

In 2003 Crystal had a little girl named Lilla. She was the first one to have a baby, and we were so excited she had a girl. The following year, in February, Chassidy gave birth to Kaylee. Again, the four of us were ecstatic. We were even more excited when Liz found out that her little bundle who would arrive in October of the same year would also be a girl! They would be friends...just like we were. (Trust me, I've taken plenty of heat over the fact that I haven't contributed to this group, but they'll be fine.) Also, in this blonde bunch is another little sweetie named Denayen (I totally butchered the spelling. I can't believe it. I'm so sorry, R.) There've been additional siblings added to these girls: Kaylee has a sister named Avery. AbiLyn has Lex. Denayen has a brother named Dallen, but there's something special about this first round of girls. They're always giggles, shreaks of excitement, and bashful little smiles, and they even hug each other when they get to church or Sunday school. They are all such sweet little darlings, and they are so much fun to be around. I feel like an aunt to all of them.