My niece called me "uncle" for the first time

It was my birthday yesterday so my parents, nephew, and nieces called. They sang happy birthday and when they got to the "dear (name)" part they all just went silent except for my older niece who actually said "dear uncle (name)." The silence from the others was super awkward, but it's the first time I've gotten "uncle (name)" from any of them so that was nice.

For context, I've been out and transitioning for over a year and a half, legally changed my name 6 months ago. My parents are still "struggling" with it I guess.