When Jake Met Summer

A dear friend said when her first baby was born, she fell in love with her husband all over again. Then with the arrival of her second baby, she fell in love with her first child all over again. This was certainly true for me.

Around 3:45, a nurse wheeled us to our recovery room and Jake was on his way upstairs to meet his little sister. I'd anticipated this moment since I first saw a positive sign on the pregnancy test. Since Jake is still so young, I wasn't quite sure how it would go, but I pictured him liking her and thinking she was cute. It was sweeter than I could have ever imagined.

"Mommy!" Jake exclaimed as he and Matt entered the hospital room. Then, Jake saw his baby sister and his face lit up. He pointed at her and smiled bashfully as his daddy carried him to the bed where I was holding our girl. Jake just kept pointing and smiling at Summer for the next couple hours. He wanted to be right there to watch as they weighed her and bathed her, and he was already so eager to help us with her. Jake leaned down to kiss his little sister repeatedly, and then talked all about "Baby" and "Sis" for the entire 1.5-hour drive back to my mom's house. He was the best big brother already. It melted my heart to see him love her so much, so instantly.

When I left for the hospital to have Summer, I told Jake that we were going to get his Baby Sister and that they would be best friends. And they were, from the very first moment they met.

We bought a new set of cars to give to Jake in the hospital. They were the perfect little present. He was excited about his new toys and they kept him entertained during those lulls when Summer had to nurse.

Helping us get Sis dressed:

*All photos by the incredibly talented Kirstin Roper.