I'm an uncle again. My sister Kristen had a baby boy earlier this week -- Benjamin Francis weighed in at 8 lbs. 8 oz. and measured 22.5" long. That's an inch and a half longer and about 5 oz. heavier then Luke when he was born ... and about 2 lbs. bigger then Ben's sister Sydney. (Ben came 8 days late, Syd 10 days early).

Of course we'd have been thrilled with any healthy baby, but I'm glad there's another little boy in the family, and I suspect that Luke will be too (in a couple of years). Right now, he's surrounded by girls, his cousins Sydney and Kaida (both are about his age) and his sister, who's four.

Of course, he plays with the girls and has a blast with them, but I think having another boy to play with is going to be a welcome relief, particularly if his cousins follow Jordan down the princess path.

For my sister and I, our growing families mark a radical change from our own childhoods. Our parents were both only children, so we have no aunts and uncles and thus, no cousins. We have a few second cousins, but they're a few years older then us. Growing up, it was mostly my sister and I at family functions, and that was it.

Not any more. Now a family gathering means kids, kids and more kids ... and all the happy chaos that goes along with it. It's a welcome change, and it's only going to get better as the kids get older.