Last summer there was a flurry of baby announcements. And it looked like in the span of two months, there would be 6 babies. As it turns out, the first in line (Christopher) came late, and several others came early so it crunched Spring Baby Season into 5 short weeks. Last but not least, I am pleased to announce the arrival of Gloria Maureen Cousino. She’s my 14th niece/nephew. 14 in 2014. Kinda catchy huh?  She is darling, incredibly familiar, makes hilarious faces, and has a lusty pair of lungs. Her hair looks strawberry blonde and like there might be some curl to it already. Clearly she is the sweetest and the best! 

While her parents were at the hospital ushering Gloria Maureen into the world, the three big siblings were at my house for Monday and Tuesday nights. At dinner (before the baby arrived), I asked Jane if she had any thoughts to share about her experience as the youngest. Geno and Lucy were both around 2 when they got bumped, so they hadn’t really shared much. But Jane held that position for 6 long years, surely she had some reflections on the matter. She has been waffling between being very excited for her new “Sissy” and telling me she likes being the youngest, so I thought we’d gauge her response on the big day. She thought about it for awhile and said “Well, being the youngest is kind of just like being really happy. All the time!!” I asked her if she thought now that she was a big sister if that would change. She thought again, “No, I don’t really think so.”  Right. I’m pretty sure being really happy all the time is a Jane thing and not necessarily a youngest thing (we’ll see what Gloria thinks I guess). I told her that she and I are in the same spot in our families. #3. And that the cool thing about being #3 is that it will never change, no matter how many other people come along. She seemed pretty satisfied with that and has been repeating it ever since “We’re the awesomest geniuses number threes.”  Yes, yes we are.

Welcome to the outside world Gloria. We are so happy you are here! I might be slightly mush over you- and not just because of your awesome name.