Hi! We’re the Kelehan family, and our daughter Ava is in the 3s class.
Last year was our first at WLCN, and just days after Ava first met her new friends at school, her little sister Emma was born. Ava was so excited to meet her sister, but because of COVID, she couldn’t be anywhere near the hospital for her sister’s first days. We sent pictures to the family, but requested that nobody show them to Ava. It was important to us that the first time they saw each other was in person.
As soon as we brought Emma home, it was absolutely love at first sight. Ava was old enough to know exactly what was going on, and she looked at her little sleeping baby with so much affection. From then on, she wanted to be wherever her sister was. If she wanted to play in her room, she’d say something like, “Emma wants to play in my big kid bed!”
As they’ve grown together, they’ve only gotten closer. Ava cheers Emma on whenever she takes a step or does something new, and nothing makes Emma laugh more than Ava being goofy. Ava used to just call her sister “Baby Emma,” but now she’s more likely to call her “Little Buddy,” “Little Squeaker,” or “My Cutie-wootie.” Almost every morning, they greet each other with a huge smile, and every night, Ava wants to know what jammies Emma is wearing so they can match.
Emma loves dropping Ava off at preschool, and Ava’s new friends always want to say hi to her. The teachers are always happy to see her, too, and when Emma is a big kid who’s ready for preschool, she’ll have known them her whole life!
