The Afterthought speaks

Hi, everybody! I’m Annabelle, and I’m new here.

I’m writing to you all today because I was finally able to wrestle the computer away from my overbearing sister Eliza so I could properly introduce myself. As you probably know, I was born a little over a month ago, on Sept. 11. A day later, I went home. And, well, that brings me to today. I’ve been told life will eventually get more exciting.

Uneventful or not, this little thing called life has been pretty enjoyable so far. I spend most of my time with my mom, although I’m asleep or eating for much of it, so I’m still trying to get to know her. But from what I’ve seen, she seems pretty great. Eliza told me after I was born that there’s not a better person to snuggle with, and she was totally right. Also, Mom doesn’t mind that I’m slowly destroying her internal clock by sleeping for most of the day and staying awake for most of the night. I’m like the world’s tiniest vampire.

Now, my name. Obviously, “Annabelle” is quite a mouthful. Same goes for my sister’s name, which is why Mom and Dad call her Eliza instead of Elizabeth. But even though Annabelle and Eliza have the same amount of syllables, Annabelle just seems a lot longer when you say it, doesn’t it? So when you see me, you can feel free to call me just about anything you want.

Annabelle is just fine, but I’ve already heard Anna (my sister), Annie (Dad), Anna-Bear (Mom) A.B. (my Auntie Amy and Uncle Ben), Annie B. (my Grammy), and Annie Bananie (also Dad, who isn’t into the whole brevity thing).

But if you really want to be accurate, you can go ahead and call me “Afterthought.” When Eliza is around, wreaking havoc on everything she touches, Mom and Dad often forget that I’m in the room, sleeping peacefully in my chair. I guess that’s what happens when you’re a relatively quiet newborn and your older sister is a two-year-old force of nature. (That said, when Eliza goes to bed at 7:30, it becomes my time to shine, because her absence gives Mom and Dad the opportunity to lavish all their attention on me.)

Now, Mom and Dad may tell people they feel guilty about ignoring me sometimes, but deep down, I know they’re secretly relieved that they even have the option, because it means I’m much lower-maintenance than Eliza is. Will I stay that way? Only time will tell, but for now, I’m pretty content to just hang out in the background and observe. I have no idea if Mom and Dad plan on having any more kids, but if they do, I’d like to think I’m nailing the audition for the role of middle child.