I'm an uncle. My sister Brittany gave birth to my niece Veronica Gabrielle Gomez-Matos 48 hours ago. I visited her for the first time on Saturday afternoon, after arriving in Minneapolis late Friday night; the hospital was/is right nearby the University Avenue Days Inn where I'm staying, which didn't prevent my mom from taking 20 of the scariest minutes of my life to drive there. (Among other infractions, she turned the wrong way onto a wrong way street. Twice.) Veronica is beautiful--looks a lot like her dad, Miguel, but there's some of Brittany there too; she's very strong, can hold her head up fairly well on her back and very well on her stomach, and while the birth was difficult (the baby's head is a little distended on top because they had to use some suction; it'll go down in a matter of days), it was also not problematic in a larger sense. I held her for awhile at the hospital; she's really quiet even when she's hungry. Her eyes are huge, but she didn't open them too much while I was there. We'll see more about that as she gets older. Brittany and Veronica get out of the hospital tomorrow (Sunday) and I'll be headed over to their house (by the Mall*of*America, near Mom's) to visit. Scrabble will be played (not with Veronica). God, I love being on vacation.

How to celebrate all this: go to this, the best ILM thread in ages.