The Most Precious Marcella Elizabeth!

On November 22, I became an aunt to a baby for the very first time!

My brother and his wife welcomed to the world their first child, Marcella Elizabeth.

It goes without saying that our entire family was beyond excited to finally meet the bundle of joy.  After all, she is the first grandbaby for my parents and when Justin and I married, I inherited teen-age nieces and nephews (who I happen to think the world of).  But getting to watch my niece grow up will be super special!

Marcella's name is French--just like her mother.  And that's not the only reason why the name is so special--we have a dear family friend named Marcella, it's the feminine version of Mark (my father's name) and it also deviates from Marcene (my father's mother's name).  Marcella's middle name, Elizabeth, happens to be a family name on both my dad and mother's sides...AND it's my middle name, too :-)   But do you know what else the two of us share?  We were both born with a head full of black hair!

It's been almost two months now since Marcella has been born and we have enjoyed every minute spent with her.  Like I said earlier, I can't wait to watch her grow up!

Baby Marcella--just moments after she was born!

We made it back from spending Thanksgiving in Louisiana and went to go meet Marcella.  She was already 5 days old--and it was a LONG 5 days until we got to meet her! 

Look how tiny she was compared to Uncle J!  Everytime we look at this picture, she reminds us of a baby doll.

And she slept away our visit!

Marcella was born 3 weeks early--here she is arriving for her Baptism (also her due date) on December 10.

Nikki is a natural Mommy!  Here Marcella is in her Christening Blanket (made by my mom) with her Mommy and Great-Grandma pat

After Marcella's birth, my brother will finally show his face in pictures!

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Marcella slept through her Baptism and the entire Mass!

And here she is on her 4-week birthday! 

If you haven't had enough baby pictures just yet, you HAVE to check out her professional newborn pictures HERE  They are absolutely freakin' adorable and the photographer did an amazing job capturing just how special a newborn baby is!