MEETING TRACEY'S BABY

Yesterday I made my way to Greenwood Heights to meet my new niece, the two-week-old Aurora, at the home of her parents, Tracey the Waitress Goddess and Brendan the Hairy. I'd put off meeting the new arrival for two weeks in order to give her time to adjust to the noisy world she now finds herself in, as well as get to know the two primary big people in her life, and I'm glad I did because I feel that all newborns look like wiggling gerbils and I wanted to see her looking a bit more fully-cooked and comfortable.

When I walked in there was Tracey, sitting on the couch and looking as sleep-deprived as I expected — and, I might add, looking so good that you'd never know she'd recently had a kid — , holding the tiny creature to her breast, and once that meal was done I went in for a closeup look and was overwhelmed by this offspring of two of my favorite people. I'd held my nieces Sadie-Rain and Cleo on the day they were born, and the swell of raw emotion that I felt then was once more brought forward.

My first gander at the sprout.

After my initial wonderment the proud parents and myself retired to the kitchen and chatted about all things baby and recent developments in other aspects of our lives, all while Tracey sat on a huge rubber ball and bounced up and down to soothe Aurora; as Tracey bounced I found myself bouncing up and down along with her in order to keep my gaze focused on her as we talked.

I was then lucky enough to capture Aurora's "Wooo!" face for posterity, and I intend to use this shot should I ever need to draw that particular expression.

The "Wooo!" face.

Uncle Bunche scolds the baby for hogging all the good stuff.

The proud parents and their future menace to society. Hey, I'm her uncle, so it's only a matter of time.

A sleepy little pea.

Infants and the metal horns: two things that were meant to be together.

The kid's a cutie, and I can't wait until she's old enough to make her thoughts known. THAT'S when the real fun starts.