Inspired by the birth of her first daughter, Kaavia James, Gabrielle Union has written her first children book “Welcome to the Party” which debuts today. The actress appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on Monday, May 4 to talk about the book, her journey to motherhood and being the best step mom possible to her bonus daughter, Zaya Wade.

“Welcome to the Party” explores the concept of surrogacy for children and explains how some children come into the world. Union and husband, Dwyane Wade have been public about suffering through infertility issues and a number of miscarriages. Their experiences led to the decision to use a surrogate for Kaavia’s birth.

“We wanted to be able to show Kaav that we were so excited for her,” said Union. 

"Even though she was brought into our lives in a more nontraditional way, we wanted to celebrate her in the same way that every baby, or most babies, are celebrated and cheered on."

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Kaavia is already a star in her own right. At just one-year-old, the youngest member of the Union Wade clan has 1.2 million followers on Instagram who look forward to her daily unbothered, #shadybaby moments and jokes with her imaginary good good girlfriend, Shirley.

Union also opened up to DeGeneres about daughter, Zaya Wade, who revealed earlier this year that she is transgender. Both Union and Wade have been praised for unconditionally loving the 12-year-old.
"To us, it’s a little odd to get any kind of recognition for doing what you’re supposed to do, which is love and accept and embrace your kids," she said.
"Unfortunately, there are so many people who just don’t. There are so many people who really truly feel like their kids are disposable and if they’re not perfect images of them, they’re not interested. It’s heartbreaking."
Watch the full interview below: