lambscapearchitect: jillian juniper

Today the world welcomed one of the luckiest little girls. Little "baby J", as we had been calling her, was finally born this morning. She is the daughter of my sister, Jenny, and her partner Liz. If you know Jenny and Liz then you already know what incredible parents they will be.

Jillian Juniper was born into a long legacy of strong, lovely, smart and beautiful women--all with J names, and all wearing the J ring. Our great-great grandmother, Johanna wore a simple gold band as her wedding ring. She gave that ring to her daughter, Jessie who had the letter J put on it in diamonds. Our great grandmother, Jessie, gave the J ring to our grandma, also Jessie, who gave it to our mom, Johanna, or Jody, as she is known. When Jenny told my mom she was gay years ago, my mom gave her the J ring and said that she hoped that one day Jenny would give it to someone that she loved as much as mom loved Jenny. Today, with the arrival of Jillian, I know that she finally can.

To Jenny and Liz, as you embark on this new chapter in your lives please remember that there is no such thing as the "perfect parent". There is the "pretty damn good parent" and the "I'm doing the best I can parent" and of course, the "holy shit, I'm just making this up as I go parent". Any of those parents would be perfectly suitable at any time. I remember someone saying that as hard as you imagine being a parent could be, you end up wishing it was that easy. But don't fret. It is also filled with moments so wonderful you think your heart just might explode from the overwhelming amount of love and happiness.
I am definitely not an expert on parenting but I am willing to help with anything you need at any time. Middle of the night phone calls through tears are my specialty. That is what family is for.
I was not given a ton of advice that I remember but some of the best I ever received was, "Teach them how to pump their own legs on the swing as soon as possible." So simple. So brilliant.

To baby Jillian, you are so lucky you don't even know it yet. You have been born into two amazing families and every one of us is just dying to love you. I will always be there for you. You can always count on your super cool aunt Liz, especially when your moms are being totally lame.
Jillian, if you grow up to be half as sweet, hilarious, brave, brilliant, generous, kind, open hearted, and fun as your moms, then you'll be twice as sweet, hilarious, brave, brilliant, generous, kind, open hearted, and fun as anyone I know.
Congratulations. I love you. Enjoy.