Sharing Ada's picture

On my birthday, my sister-in-law came over to see me along with my little niece and nephew. My niece, Julie, is two and a half, and I love her so much. Her little brother, Evan, is 6 months old and he's one of the happiest babies I've ever seen. Anyway, I showed Monica the box for Ada and the picture of her that's inside. It was the first time that I've shown anybody the original picture. Monica cried, but I think she was happy to see Ada. Julie came over, and Monica let her see the picture. Julie held it with both hands and stared at it very seriously for a long time. Monica and I were both wondering what she would say, and finally after she kept studying the picture she pointed to Ada's head to where it was a little bloody and said, "Ada died." She said that about 10 times, and Monica and I took turns talking to her about it. Then she said, "Ada is sad," and I told her that I am sad because Ada isn't with me anymore. Julie came to visit me in the hospital and several times since then she has said "You were sad in the hospital." So, Julie made the connection when she looked at the picture and said, "This was in the hospital." I thinks she understood as much as any two-year-old can. Later on, I took some pictures of her and Evan with my camera and I showed them to her, and she asked to see Ada's picture on my camera too. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of Ada on my camera.

I have been very touched by Julie's response to losing her baby cousin. She also has named one of her baby dolls Ada. When I was still pregnant, if I pointed to my stomach and asked what it was, she would say, "Beth is gonna have a baby" and she always called her Baby Ada. I'm glad to know that Julie hasn't forgotten.

Here are some pictures of my sweet little niece:

Here is Julie taking care of her baby Ada

Julie and Evan on my birthday