Reasons why I will be an awesome aunt

A) I like to give children candy and I'm not talking about the creepy man in a van way. I'm talking about getting the kid nice and riled up so the parents have to deal with it later in the night. Yes, I'm evil. Here is photographic evidence. That is my cousin's baby Alana at my sister's Superbowl party. I was feeding her Nerds and Pixies Sticks. That is my hand with the Nerds and that is her face in sugar-high glee:
I like her dress in the picture. I wish they made it in big girl sizes so I could look just as cute.

B) I'm one of the kids. At family functions, you can usually find me playing some type of game with my little cousins or joining them on the playground equipment. We have discussions about That's So Raven and Hannah Montana. One time I was trying to explain to my 7-year-old cousin that I was an adult and her response was, "Nuh-uh."

C) I tend to talk to kids like adults. I speak in complete sentences. I ask them about their day/school/family like I really care (and guess what...I do). Maybe this is why kids like me. I don't treat them like pets or little babies with the "baby" talk. All kids like to feel like they are bigger than they really are.

D) Recently my sister told me that while her and her husband were discussing possible guardians if *knock on wood* anything were to happen to them and they told me that I was one of them. She explained that she would want someone that would be open minded like me. I like to think it has to do with my general approach to life, where I don't take things too seriously but at the same time I am very realistic, stable and responsible.

E) Lets just be honest here. I will not, or rather never, be the aunt with the money/material things. Any future offspring of my siblings should not be expecting extravagant presents from me. What they should be expecting is a sarcastic sense of humor, frank discussions on taboo topics like politics/sex/religion/money etc., moments of embarrassment from anything I may say or do, unwelcome opinions on the way that they live their lives, and insults/fists to be thrown at anyone that crosses them. Most importantly, I will be the aunt that the kids want to live with when they are ready to runaway from home and my rickety futon will be waiting for them.

This isn't a reason, but I thought I would share a photo of my cousin's second baby, Isabella: