Dan - Week 8 - A New Integrant of the Family!

 I have a brand new baby cousin! Well, technically we’re not really cousins. I’m more of his uncle since he is the son of my first cousin, but I don’t even care about the technicalities right now! His name is Ilan, and he is the newborn son of my first cousin Gal, who lives in Long Island with her husband Nicolas. Even though Ilan is only a few days old, I have no shortage of pictures and videos of him on my phone, as our family group chat has been buzzing with pictures and videos from my cousins and Aunt and Uncle (the new grandparents) of little Ilan. He is so cute, and - weirdly - almost photogenic. I know that sounds weird, but somehow he is managing to crack a smile - or something close to it - in every one of his pictures, and it’s the cutest thing in the world. One of the best parts of Ilan being born is that it adds a whole new chapter and generation to my mother’s side of the family. For one, and maybe most importantly, my grandparents are now great-grandparents! Seeing them witness Ilan’s birth - even though it’s virtually for them - has been one of the most joyful things our family has witnessed. My grandparents have 8 grandchildren, including myself, and Ilan makes him their first great-grandson. My grandpa and grandma, at 91 and 87 years old respectively, are thankfully in good health both physically and mentally, which has allowed them to fully appreciate this moment and has flashed a massive ray of sunshine in their lives, after these especially rough past two years. Another great thing about Ilan’s birth is that this gives us a great reason to have a family reunion. My mom’s side of the family is kind of spread all over the place, with us in Florida, Ilan and his parents in New York, the rest of Gal’s family in Los Angeles, and everyone else in Santiago, so it’s extremely hard to coordinate family reunions due to distance, coinciding events, and financial restrictions, but when amazing events like this happen, we have great reason to have a family meeting and welcome our new little member into the world. Have you had any siblings/cousins or any other relative who was born recently? If so, how is it having a family member so young?