Two weeks ago, on a beautiful late summer day with the cool tang of autumn in the air, Miss Lily was born. Her arrival was in every way different from her older sister’s, starting with a slow gradual labour and ending in a flurry a mere twenty minutes after we arrived at the hospital,  setting the stage for her to be her own little person. We are excited to have her with us and looking forward to discovering her personality as it emerges. Maisie is a wonderful big sister, expressing so much love for Lily. She’s also old enough to understand quite a bit and ask questions that we are not always prepared to answer. She tried to get some answers out of her aunt and my sister’s attempt at deflecting with a vague response was thwarted by a cooly logical five-year-old who pointed out that since she’d had two babies she must know these things.

While I’m sure our experience with Maisie helps a lot, Lily has been a blessedly easy newborn. I know that projectile vomit or hourly wakings or stunningly violent tantrums may be in the future (and probably all three at one time or another) but I am happy to appreciate the easy stage while it lasts. She is already becoming more alert and interactive, looking at our faces and turning towards our voices. Maisie is constantly making plans for when she is crawling or walking or dancing and regularly asks me when we can expect these things to happen. A reminder that we will also be privileged to watching these two form their relationship.