happy news

My niece was safely delivered this evening, at approximately 8:30 pm. Both my sister and the baby are doing really well, which is a huge relief considering how nerve-racking this pregnancy was for the entire family. La bebe has a ton of curly black hair and weighs in at a very respectable 6 lbs, 14 oz and 20.25 " long. I'm including the lyrics to one of my favorite songs from Buena Vista Social Club, Y Tu Que Has Hecho, in deference to my niece's hispanic heritage...

En el tronco de un árbol una nina
Grabó su nombre henchida de placer
Y el árbor conmovido allá en su seno
A la nina una flor dejó caer.

Yo soy el árbol conmovido y triste
Tu eres la nina que mi tronco hirió
Yo guardo siempre tu querido nombre
Y tú, qué has hecho de mi pobre flor?

Please excuse my iffy translation - my Spanish is a bit rusty:

In the trunk of a tree a little girl
Carves her name full of pleasure
And the tree shaken to it's core
Drops a flower down to the girl.

I am the tree shaken and sad
You are the girl who wounded my trunk
I guard your dear name forever
And you, what have you done with my poor flower?

(I don't think I can wait 31 days to see her. I'm literally overwhelmed about having this new little person enter my life and I don't even know her yet. Maybe it's the result of being so close to my nephew, but I'm just blown away by the potential of her, the potential for how we are sure to affect each other. I'm shamed by my sister's bravery to endure 9 months of misery to bring another beautiful child into the world, and I'm so grateful to her for sharing them with me so willingly. And I thank God for my healthy family. )