Baby Barnibbe

Dear Young'uns,

As we all know, our friend The Other Brooke has been pregnant for years and we've all been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Cedar's new brother or sister. Last week, Hagen got to go with me to Brooke's baby shower. Sorry, big guy, but it's probably the last time you'll attend a party where the female-to-male ratio is 19:1.

Brooke and Todd are the kind of people who enjoy surprises, so they didn't want to know the gender of the baby in advance. Since I'm one of those people who has to poke, weigh and rattle every present under the Christmas tree until I can tell you what everyone's getting without removing the gift wrap, I don't think I could have gone this route.

On Wednesday afternoon, Todd called and said that Brooke had gone into labor, and wanted to know if we could come pick up Cedar. They were having a home birth with a midwife and thought Cedar might enjoy playing somewhere else during the process. Legend has it that when your dad went to get Cedar, Todd was making small talk with him in the front room while packing a bag for Cedar until Brooke screamed from the back, "TODD! THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR CHATTING!" I love that story.

I made pizza for dinner, but Laney and Cedar climbed up on the counter and Laney - as spokesman for the group - announced: "We just want 'cados." I find it's good to confirm with Cedar that she's on board for this kind of decision, because it would be just like Laney to determine the menu without actually consulting anyone else. I asked Cedar if she was down with the idea of avocados, and she shrugged like, "Well, it's not the dumbest idea Laney's had all day."

The girls played upstairs for about half an hour, in which I tried to explain to Cedar that the process of making wine isn't as simple as it seems on paper...

...and then we got the call that Brooke had delivered a beautiful baby boy. That's right - exactly one hour after Cedar got here, it was time to go home and meet her new baby brother. They had a glorious new addition to their family in less time than it would have taken me to drive to Walmart and back.

No idea yet what they're going to name the youngster. Brooke told me once that in the state of Montana, you don't have to name your baby for a year. All I know is that it entertains me to no end to imagine what Peg Peg's reaction would have been, had I called her during my pregnancy and said, "Here the deal: We're not going to find out the gender in advance - because we love surprises! - and when he/she/it gets here, we're going to take our time choosing just the right name." I think the pressure in her brain might have caused her ears to bleed, like those people who contract the ebola virus.

So glad to meet the newest member of their family, and Hagen's first friend.

Love,

Mom