Finally!

Mika-chan has finally joined our family! After more than 12 hours of labor capped off with a C-Section at sunrise, we welcomed our daughter to the world. She's beautiful.

Yuki was UNBELIEVABLE (in caps, not just lower case). I knew she was tough, but Yuki was a superstar during labor. She never complained, never lost focus, and never gave up. She even said "please" and "thank you" whenever she needed something during labor. It went something like this: "GIVE ME ANOTHER PUKE BOWL, please" or "MORE PRESSURE! I NEED MORE PRESSURE, thank you." She even held back the f-bombs until we were joking around with the nurses in the recovery room. She was first-class the whole way.

I have so much to say about Mika... it's hard to figure out where to begin. She has Yuki's eyes, cheeks, mouth, nose and hair. You're probably thinking: But Pete, what did she get from you? At this point, I appear to have made one small, but significant contribution: eye lashes (they're long like mine). She could do mascara ads for Loreal straight from the womb.

There's nothing not to love... even her crying. It's just so cute. I may have a different opinion about that when she's wailing for the third straight hour, but right now I find it utterly adorable. I feel like nudging the folks out in the hall and saying: "Yup, that's my daughter in there crying. Isn't she the best?"

I've taken a ton of photos, which I'll post soon. But right now, I'll leave you with a little snippet of our new life with Mika. She's wrapped up tight in a little blanket, sleeping in Yuki's arms. It doesn't get any better than that.