The Baby Torch

We keep passing it back and forth, me, my sister, and my sister-in-law. Cathy (SIL) went first, bringing us my beautiful niece, Elizabeth Grace. It took maybe a week from the time we saw the first pictures of her for me to decide that if they could do it, we could (or something a little more seasoned-sounding) and voila, Alex was conceived. I was already pregnant here, and I knew it but hadn’t told anyone. Note the dazed expression. The smile says “Pretty babyyyyyyy,” the eyes say, “Holy *$!#% I’m growing one of these?!”


But wait. Before Alex was, Jack was. My sister, Kelly, was pregnant with my nephew John Vincent almost exactly one month before Alex came to be dividing cells. So I got a sneak peek at What Life Would Be Like With a Newborn. (Disregard my tired eyes and puffy face in this pic; motherhood was a month in the offing and I was holding a living, snuffling dose of reality.)


THEN we got Alexander Kirk, courtesy me.


THEN we got Emily Marie, courtesy Cathy (round two).


THEN we got Nicholas Matthew, courtesy Kelly (round two).


THEN Cathy went all kinds of out of order and got pregnant with Charles William, whose birth we’re all eagerly anticipating as I type.

THEN Kelly again, trying to boot me out of the lineup altogether, announced HER round three contribution, who is due four days (count ‘em, FOUR DAYS) before my round two offering to The Family Pot of Babies.

Add it up and you’ve got lots of Christmas and birthday presents to buy. But you’ve also got funny cousins,


sweet hugs,


and sisters with whom to share the moments when you want to put them all up for adoption.



Cathy, can’t wait to add Charlie to the mix.