I'll see your tiny white cardigan and raise you a 3-inch long pair of patent leather Mary Janes

So, I’m an aunt now and I’m terribly excited about it. Julia Diane was born on August 30, after she and her mother gave us the scare of a lifetime. I learned on that day that Melis is great in a crisis and I am the opposite of great in a crisis. I simply slip into a fugue state. But now that Jules and Jen are doing fine, I have begun to think about the obvious implication of all this: how much stuff can I buy for my little cutie?

I am telling you, it’s a whole new world for me. I used to be blind to the Children’s section in stores; now I’m pretty sure it emits a subliminal tone that summons me to it, beckoning me to find the prettiest little dresses and hats and purple corduroy pants. Oh, I’m so stoked that Jules is a girl because the girlie stuff is just plain more fun to buy than the boys' stuff and nobody can deny that. I can’t wait for Christmas.