From Uncle Chris

It’s hard to fully express how I fell about losing my niece. There aren’t many words that can explain the emotions I have when I think about her and the kind of person she was.
Alivia was the first niece I ever had. I remember when she was born how I felt so happy and proud that I was the uncle of such a cute little girl. I wondered what she would think of me when she got older and if she would like me or not. As she grew it became apparent that she did like me! It was such a great feeling to know that she knew I was her uncle and that she liked that I was her uncle. Whenever she would make a present for me, like a card with stickers on it or something that she painted, I always felt so proud. She was so aware of other people and she always wanted to help them when she could or share with them something fun.
A memory I have of Alivia that I will never forget was one night when she wanted to play with me in her play closet. She didn’t want anyone else to come in; it was just her and I. We went into the closet and looked at all the little animals on the walls and she would say “oh!” when she would see one that she hadn’t before. I was saying the noises that each animal made and she really liked that. I also pointed to the animals and asked her if it was a rabbit or a bird…ect and she would say “yeah” like it was the most obvious thing ever! She was so smart. Then she rocked back and forth on her little horse and wanted to go faster. She was obviously showing me how good she was at riding the horse and I was impressed. Then she proceeded to close the door on me and I would say, “hey let me outta here!” and she would laugh and open the door for me. Then we would do it all over again. I am so glad I was able to have times like that with her and I will never forget it.