“I don’t know… it’s like, sometimes I feel like I barely even know him?” she said, looking on as her 18-month-old nephew flipped through a pop-up book. “The worst thing would be to drop an ‘I love you’ without thinking about it. That might catch him completely off guard, and I don’t want to lead him on.”

“We’ve had some good times — pointed at some garbage trucks, a few good peek-a-boo rounds — but is it really time to say those three golden words?” Callahan continued, self-consciously remembering how easily her brother said “I love you” to the nephew months ago. “I just don’t want to rush into anything. Maybe after a few more rounds of playing with his farmyard puzzle together I’ll have a better idea of where I stand.”

“We’re not the best at communicating,” she added with hesitation, recalling the many times she had tried to get her nephew to say her name before realizing he was physically incapable of doing so. “But maybe I’ll give him room to grow and see what happens. Everyone is capable of change. I have to keep that in mind.”

At press time, an area mother wasn’t sure if she was ready to move in with her newborn baby.