You know that book, I’ll Love You Forever? The one where the little baby grows up and his mom keeps telling him how much she’ll love him regardless of all the bad things he does? Adorable…right? WRONG! Absolutely 100% wrong. I remember reading this book when I was younger and thinking it was so heartwarming and sweet. It quickly became one of my favorites and I read it to all the kids I babysat and even found excuses to read it to my class when I was teaching. Well, I hadn’t picked the book up in a number of years until one of my very best friends recently sent it to Leo. I was so happy to have it in my collection, fondly remembering the sweet story…and the other night when I felt like I needed a good sappy cry, I decided to read it to Leo. Well cry I did, but they were not happy tears.  Now that I identify with the mom in book instead of the child, I find the story horrifying. This isn’t the story of a cute child…it’s a story about a baby who wrecks his mom’s beautiful home with paint and mud, and hangs out with hoodlums, and insists on wearing horribly awful Hawaiian shirts (when I’m certain his mom has invested lots of time finding much more fashionable outfits for him to wear)…and then the baby grows up and moves to his own house where he only visits his mom during the night. This very kind, nurturing, selfless mother gives that baby her blood, sweat, and tears and what does she get in return? She gets to die old and alone! AH! This book should be removed from the children’s book section and put in with the horror novels.  It’s frightening!  I’m sticking with Eric Carle picture books from now on–at least those won’t give me nightmares.

And now that I’m over my rant, I’m so excited to introduce to a baby bump that is growing a little peanut I know I’m going to love forever (and one that I know would never wreck his/her mama’s house or leave her to die alone!) Inside this pretty little belly is a baby that I am lucky enough to have call me Auntie Janelle in just two more months. This baby…this healthy, strong, growing baby, is such a miracle and blessing to my brother & sister-in-law, and our whole family, and being able to capture this time in their lives is something that I don’t take for granted. I am sure that it has felt like forever for this baby to come, but the fact that this little one is going to be born just a few months after our little Leo, makes me sure that in a world full of lots of uncertainty, there has to be a purpose for it all.  And I cant help but think there’s a certain guy up there in the clouds somewhere that has played a part in these little lives that have been added to our family, and a reason why he purposely put them so close in age…and if we weren’t completely positive that this baby was helped down to earth by that guy, he made the due date of this little one on his birthday just to clarify.   Our babies might not have the chance to have met their Grandpa Joe down here…but I’ve got a sneaking suspicion they’ve already spent time with him in another place before being sent to us.  Greg and Jess, it only seems right to have our babies enter this world together and I couldn’t be more excited for a very fun and happy future ahead with lotssssss of healthy Bruno babies!

Here they are…

My beautiful sister-in-law, Jess. Happiness doesn’t begin to describe how I feel seeing her with that growing bump.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weezy is ready for his new role as big brother–as long as that baby doesn’t have any balls that he might want. In that case, watch out, baby!

I think one of the best parts about having a baby is watching the way Alex interacts with Leo, and I can’t wait to see Greg be just as great of a dad to his little one…after all, they learned from one of the very best!

Sweet baby…as lucky as they are to have you, you are truly blessed to get to call these two mom and dad.

Greg and Jess…thank you for letting me freeze this moment in time for you. I can’t wait for holidays and birthdays and family vacations and everything in-between!
And to my little peanut in there…we have loved you long before we knew you were coming…and will love you forever and always!  Cannot wait to meet you!

Muah!!!