I have a new niece!
Penelope Jane came to hang out with us last week, on Tuesday, October 11.
Penny Jane 9 lbs 5 oz 20 inches
That’s a baby alright!
She lives in Boston, so I won’t be meeting her in person for a really long time. That’s ok, though. She can use some percolating time to get more interesting first.
Since the time that The David and I met and started dating, we’ve gone from 0 nieces and nephews… to 5.
That’s 5 babies in 3 years and 4 months. His sister has had 2 girls and one of my brothers has begat 2 boys and this latest girl, Penny.
The David and I aren’t married, so even though his two nieces came before her, technically Penny is my first niece. She’s the first girl baby in my family.
I was thinking about “real” nieces and psuedo-we’re-not-married nieces. They feel mostly the same to me. Maybe a little different.
Do they start feeling more equal when you’re properly married? People are always saying that even though things are really the same on the surface, that it all feels different once you’re married. Maybe this is like that?
And then I was remembering being a kid with an assortment of aunt and uncle flavored relatives. Some of them were married in to being a relative of mine, but for the most part, those unions all took place before i was born. There wasn’t really a difference between Aunt Maureen and Uncle Roger to me.
And now, for the grown-up me, there’s also this element of feeling like I have to make an effort with the pseudo-in-laws. I care about whether or not they like me. So I want to treat the little English nieces like real nieces. Especially since if it were up to The David, he’d forget their birthdays, that they should get Christmas presents from their uncle in America, possibly even their names…
(Speaking of birthdays and Christmas presents… like I said, there are now 5. 5 little kids under the age of 3. What do you buy these people for gifts? Because Maggie does not know.)
Anyway. There’s a new Hannon. And she could go through the green glass door twice. Just like me.
margaret edith 
It’s probably not PC, but I feel very differently about my nephew who is my sister’s son than I do about my two nieces who are Chad’s brother’s daughters. They are sweet girls and I love them and all, but it’s just not the same as my own sister’s kid. I am insane nuts about him. It may also have something to do with the fact that my now ex (yay!) sister-in-law is a narcissistic crazy bitch, so maybe that always clouded my view of her daughters (my bro-in-law is awesome and I sure hope he can save those girls from their mother).
As far as what to buy for the under 3 crowd? Just go to the toy aisle in Target and look for the most obnoxious-looking toy and they will love it. Parents love it if you buy something that is awkwardly-shaped, hard to store, and makes a mess as well as lots of noise.