“A cousin is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.” -Marion Garretty

Happy New Year! I know it’s insanely late, but in my need to start off the year right. I wanted to get work done starting Day 1 out of 365 days that I have left in this year. It’s crazy to think a year ago, Ronan was still just a newborn. A month into living his life, already on his way to Tahoe and the many trips since. It didn’t matter that he had terrible reflux issues and woke up every hour even after the first six weeks. As my motto has always gone, “If you’re going to feel terrible anyways, might as well do it someplace you really love.” Hence, my visit to Napa when Jude was 7 days old. With all those wonderfully exhausting days behind me, we returned to Napa today with Juju & Roro’s cousin Nattie and Aunt and Uncle. With two healthy boys, I drove up to my favorite local getaway.

I spent so much of my childhood with my cousin Anna, who is 3 months apart from me. It’s amazing to think that Jude and Ronan will get to experience the same closeness that I have had all these years. We have watched, Nattie, my niece fall in love with her older cousin and baby beasty cousin in the span of a single year. She literally calls for them and follows them everywhere. As you can see in these photos, she walks around with her heart on her sleeve looking for a hug from Juju who is faster than lightening. She’s the sweetest when it comes to Roro, always bringing over his lovey and offering water every few minutes. No matter how crazy life gets, I hope we won’t ever stop having fun with these munchkins in tow.