Welcome to the family

It has been years that my parents have been waiting for their first grandchild. They've realized already they weren't going to be having one from me, so the only hope left was my baby brother. Mr Bachelor. Mr. "I'm too career-oriented" and Mr. "I love the freedom I have to travel and pursue my dreams." This all changed when he met the woman of his dreams. Rachel. Sweet, kind, compassionate and just as adventurous as my brother. She fit right in to our family. My parents and I love her and when my brother and her married back in 2006; the question of "When are you going to have kids?" kept coming up. Of course the response was "we'll see..." You need to understand my family - parents, brother and I have been bitten by the travel bug and we have all been bitten hard. My father has worked in the Middle East, UK, Asia and all over the US (not military), my mom was traveling before she met my father. Together my parents have been around the world - exploring every nook and cranny that came their way. This carried on to my brother and I.

Anyway, we waited to see when they were going to start to plan their family. How could they? My brother was gone frequently for research in Asia...but low and behold we finally go the news that Rachel was pregnant and she was due end of August 2008! I got the message that my nephew Santiago was born on August 19th when I was on my European Adventures with Rob. I called my brother from Russia to say CONGRATULATIONS! I'm finally an Auntie! Whoo-hoo! My parents are finally grandparents - they've been waiting for this forever! So I then told my brother that I would come and visit as soon as I could. ..

So here I am now in Seattle, Washington.

It was the first time I took Virgin America and you know what..it's a cool airlines. Very lounge like feel to the plane. You enter and there is a red plexi-glass that covers the "First Class" section, there is a violet neon light that rims both sides of the ceiling and white lights rim the edges of the floor...if you see a red light, it means there is an exit there - in case of an emergency. Also, they were playing cool lounge music...made me feel like I was at a spa or ultra hip Miami lounge/club. Cool! I'm glad that the plane wasn't full - not even half full! I had the entire row to myself and since I didn't get much sleep and because my plane left LAX at 7:10AM - you know I was exhausted. It was nice to have the extra room and put my feet up and take a nap...a cup of tea later I was out cold.

I called my brother and told him I landed and he said they just got to the airport, so I told him I'll be waiting curbside. All of a sudden a black Volvo station wagon pulls up...station wagon? My brother? At least it's not a mini-van...HAHAHAH!!!!! LOL!!!!! OK, OK, Rachel drives the station wagon, he drives a Bronco and/or a motorcycle. I'm sure the motorcycle will not be used as much now with his little one. All of a sudden I saw him! There he was....it was love at first sight. Santiago a beautiful little boy with a headful of hair! He's only 6 weeks old and he is beautiful. OK, I know, I'm biased because he is my brother's child, but it really was love at first sight. I got into the car next to him in the back seat - all I could do was stare. All these thoughts came flooding into my head. How did this happen? Yeah, I know how it happened, but when did my brother and I go from being kids to him having his own child? Watching him carry the carrier, baby bag, stroller and who knows what else - and Rachel trying to help and carrying her purse and making sure doors are locked, etc., etc., etc. When did all this happen? We used to be the kids that ran like wild banshee's when we were out with our parents. We were the ones that my parents made sure we had juice, water, milk and snacks in the car when we would head out for the day. Now my brother is doing it. WOW!!! I'm getting old...

We head to their place and I finally had my chance to hold him. What a sweetheart. Why do babies smell so good? Why are they so soft? Why is it you just want to nibble on every fold of their skin. Why is it that babies always fall asleep or stop crying when they are in a car? Why is it that these little ones are the most amazing little things? After a little rest - we hit up a chowder house in Alki Beach called Duke's (something or other) and had some great clam chowder with a great view of the water. The weather is cold and I'm bundled up in a long sleeve t-shirt, a North Face fleece and something that almost resembles a parka and I'm still cold. My brother and his wife were just in fleeces. Something wrong with this picture. Anyway, here are some photos of my beautiful little nephew Santiago...