proof that Ben and I will have adorable children

I've often stated that my sister's adorable kids are proof that I will have adorable children. Now to add to the evidence we have Ben's first niece, Brooklyn. She is one of the happiest babies I have ever met, and she was so fun to play with. Here are some pictures of Ben and Brooklyn from Christmas in Oregon.

Ben playing with Brooklyn.

Brooklyn LOVES all gadgets. It is something about pushing the buttons and watching the lights.

Brooklyn also loves to taste everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. I loved watching her crawl over to something and lick it. Here she is testing Ben's cell phone.

Ben enjoying being an uncle, with Melissa enjoying all the free babysitters vying for Brooklyn's time.

Brooklyn has a favorite elephant stuffed animal. It has a magical ability to usually get to to stop crying if you give it to her. Did I mention that Brooklyn is the happiest baby I have ever met?

Brooklyn playing with a volleyball in the Dawson living room.

When we weren't playing volleyball, relaxing, or laughing at stories, Ben was usually working on b-school admission essays.

If anyone hasn't seen the "Dawson look," here it is. I didn't realize it was the Dawson look until the wedding reception in Oregon when I met all of Ben's brothers and they demonstrated it for me.