Meet the Newest Baby in Our Family!

My brother Taylor and my sister-in-law Mariah just had their first baby last month, and I’m thrilled to introduce you to him!

For a long time, we weren’t sure if they would have kids, and I don’t know if they were sure about that, either. It’s been a dream of mine for a long time to raise our kids alongside my siblings and their kids, but the only siblings of ours that have children (our older sisters) live in different states, and we only get to see them a few times a year, so it would be up to my younger sister and my brother to fill those slots. But neither of them really showed much interest in having kids until the last year.

So when we found our Mariah was pregnant last summer, we were all over the moon with excitement. A whole new chapter in all our lives was about to begin! We hadn’t had a baby in the family in so long!

Just as we were all so excited for him to arrive, the exact date of the arrival made it all the more beautiful. His due date was my mom’s birthday, January 30th. How wonderful is that? I love that we get to celebrate them both now, and on a less happy note, one day far, far down the road when my mom is no longer with us, we’ll still get to celebrate that day for years to come. January 30th is taking on a whole new meaning in our family now, but it’s just as beautiful.

Another special thing to note about their baby, besides his birth, is my nephew’s name.

They wanted something that felt classic but still meaningful, and they landed on Garrett, which happens to be my middle name. Needless to say, I felt so honored they would name their first child after me, in a sense. Growing up, everyone knew me as Thomas Garrett, not Thomas. When I see people from my early childhood, they still refer to me as Thomas Garrett, actually. So now there is a new Garrett in the family, and I love it because he just looks like a Garrett. He wears the name so well already and is so friggin cute.

Look at this face!

We still haven’t met him yet, since the doctors advised he shouldn’t be around kids for a few months at the risk of getting sick, but I just got a text from my brother the other day saying that as long as no one in our family has been sick for a while, we’re good to finally meet him. We’re in the clear!

Our family group chat has been exploding with photos and videos of Taylor and Mariah and Garrett doing life together this first month, and it’s been so adorable. I love seeing my brother in this new role, one that I wasn’t sure he would ever fill. He’s a natural father already, I can tell. And Mariah is so caring and thoughtful and loving with Garrett. I can’t tell you how excited I am to see them raise Garrett and parent him. I’ve known both of them for so long (obviously since I was born with Taylor, but also Mariah and I were college classmates, so I knew her before my brother did!), and getting to see them in this new light is such a beautifully rewarding experience.

Their fur baby, Coco, is adjusting to life as a big sister. Sharing the spotlight is never easy, but she’s getting used to it. Or at least, I hope she is because she doesn’t have a choice!

I’ll be sure to share some photos of when we all get to meet Garrett. Until then, we’re all just so happy he’s finally here. xoxo