She fills the void

By Jazmin Liborio 

Growing up I would always bug my family to have another baby. I wanted the family to keep on growing and so that I would have someone to take care of. Everyone would just laugh and say “ not me haha” which I understood since having kids is a huge responsibility. Luckily in December of 2022 my brother announced that his partner and him were expecting a baby. 

My niece, Gianna, has definitely filled the void in me of always wanting to be an older sister. Since I'm the youngest I have always wanted a little sibling to take care of and play with. I have a big age gap with my siblings so I never really got to play with them, I had to play by myself or with the neighborhood kids.

She's only one year old but I've made many memories with already. One of my favorite memories with her was going to Disneyland and California Adventure for her birthday. I could tell she had lots of fun, especially meeting Mickey and Minnie Mouse since those are one of her favorite shows right now. Seeing her love the things I also did makes me happy. 

The stage she's at right now is my favorite since she has me on my feet all the time when she is around. She loves books; she'll hand any type of book to you so you could read them to her. She enjoys going to my house because she loves playing in our backyard and looking at our neighbors dogs. She likes dancing to any type of music she hears. She loves animals as well, if she sees a dog she runs to it and tries to pet it. Overall Gianna is a very energetic baby/toddler.

When I would ask my family to have another baby, Gianna is exactly what I wanted. I've always liked kids since I grew up taking care of them or just being around them, but that was years ago so I feel like being with my niece brings back that joy that little girl Jazmin felt.