Our Newest Family Member (Jacob)

The phone rang around 4 a.m. and the faint sound from my husband’s voice woke me up. I had no idea what time it was. Half asleep I’m thinking, “who could be calling at this time?”. I immediately thought “OMG OMG OMG!!!” I mean, a call at this time is always alarming. Then I heard the words “the baby is coming!?” from Renzo who is on the phone.

OK rewind!!! For those of you who may not know, my sister-in-law Karina was expecting, and we knew that any day now she would give birth. But why, oh why in the world did this baby decide to come when I’m sleeping? Since I didn’t want to miss anything, I jumped out of bed (literally), got ready as fast as I could, and we drove to the hospital.

Everything seemed to be progressing fairly quickly. Sooner then later, the waiting room was filled with friends and family. We all chitchatted, laughed, cried, texted, watched TV, talked on the phone, played games on our iPads & phones... we did anything and everything that could kill time as we waited. Before you knew it, it was time for breakfast and then lunch. What seemed like minutes, turned into hours. We waited and waited and waited...

If you ever had the chance to be close to the birthing process, whether you’re in the same room as the mother-to-be or in the waiting room with other family members, you would agree the experience is an emotional roller coaster. The day may start mellow and calm, then evolve to feelings of joy, excitement, and anxiety. Finally the time comes when those emotions climax to a peak. The tears of joy are inevitable. The arrival of a new tiny being is truly special. Indeed a miracle!

Meet my nephew, Jacob Sebastian Ramirez. I’m lucky to be able to photograph this beautiful baby boy...who will soon enough show us his personality, and grow into a person of his own. Pretty incredible don’t you think?