Sonora Rose

We talked about her for months and months. We wondered if she would be a boy or a girl. We worried that she was going to be upside down. We didn't know anything about her.

And now she's here. Little baby Sonora. She is quite possibly the most beautiful newborn I've ever seen. Am I biased? Absolutely. Am I in love? Without a doubt. Is it impossibly difficult to be so far away? Exceptionally.

I wonder who she will become. I wonder how old she'll be when I first take her surfing. And will she look like me in adulthood as much as she does as a newborn? It's so strange to see this new baby, my niece, and known that she shares my genes. Even I could tell how much she resembled me. It frightened me at first; it wasn't something I'd ever even considered over these 9 months. But she has our family's genes for sure.

Until she arrived, I had no idea that it would be so hard to live half a world away. But for the past three days, I have done nothing but look at the pictures of her and imagine holding her to my pregnant belly. I think about when she'll meet her cousin. I want them to love each other like brother and sister. I want them to grown up together as much as that will be possible.

More than anything, though, right now, I want to touch my nose to her matching one and tell her "I love you, baby Sonora. You're going to have a great life and I can't wait to be a part of it."